Earthquake & Tsunami :: How You Can Help

As of this writing, the tsunami death toll in south and southeast Asia tops 76,700. Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) has already mobilized money and people to support our church partners in southeast Asia and their relief organizations.

If you wish to donate directly to this specific relief effort, you can do so via an account PDA has established online (link updated--click on the "give" button). You may also make cash, check, or money order contributions via the address you'll find on PDA's donation page (please identify the donation for Asia #DR000167).

If you are not familiar with the work of PDA, you might wish to visit its homepage at http://www.pcusa.org/pda/index.htm. There, you'll find links to information on its mission, its current efforts, etc. Its Frequently Asked Questions page is particularly useful.

Newest Member of God's Family

Sierra Faith Pribyl was baptized in church on Sunday, 26 December 2004.

Sierra is the infant daughter of Lisa and Doug Pribyl and the granddaughter of Rod and Jackie Payne.

The Second Day of Christmas

Galatians 4:4-7
Hebrews 2:10-18

"What Happens Next?"

For the service on 26 December 2004, Mr. Hunter posed a series of questions to the congregation, which I represent below:

Why do we celebrate Christmas?

»to remind us »Jesus's birthday »Santa Claus »custom »family time »light & hope in the dead of winter

What are your plans today?

»bingo »sales »sleep »making Christmas candy »cleaning »ball games »family

What about the day after tomorrow?

»ball games »thank you notes »everything not done in time for Christmas (cards, Christmas letter, wrapping gifts, etc.)

How about next Wednesday?

»82nd birthday of Ray Nott »back to routines

And in two weeks from Wednesday (January 12)?

»finals »back to normal »drive to Arizona »Wednesday night dinners and classes resume

We have, Mr. Hunter said, patterns and rhythms to our lives which allow us to predict what we'll be doing in the future. The big question, however, is this: How will our celebration of Christmas still affect us two weeks from Wednesday?

Mr. Hunter further visited with the congregation about what we know of Christ's childhood. From Luke, we know he was circumcised, named, dedicated at the temple, went to live in Nazareth, traveled to Jerusalem each year for Passover, and grew up. We know this not only from Luke, but also from the fact that Mary and Joseph were faithful people who raised Jesus according to religious tradition.

We don't know what lies ahead of us, but our Christian traditions and faith guide us through our lives. We can live with uncertainties because God is with us to guide us.

Christmas Eve :: Love Came Down

There are those who do, those who watch, and those who have no idea what just happened. On Christmas Eve, Mr. Hunter reminded us that the same is true of Christmas: we spend a lot of time "watching" and "making" Christmas happen, yet most of us don't understand it.

Consider the start of John: "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:14). Christ's Incarnation is the essence of Christmas. God's love for us is a love that involves action--the Incarnation is the supreme expression of God's love.

Soren Kierkegaard tells the parable of a King who falls in love with a peasant girl and wishes to marry her. But he faces a dilemma on how to approach her. If he issues a decree, she may feel she is forced to marry him. If he appears as himself, she might marry him for his wealth and power. He wants the peasant girl to love him for himself. Finally, he decides to appear as a peasant--as such, he successfully wins her heart (Kierkegaard, Philosophical Fragments, 1844). Kierkegaard uses the parable to illustrate how God approaches humans in the guise of another human: Christ's Incarnation.

As we search for the true Christ of Christmas, we must reject all of the false images of Christ presented to us:

• The Santa Claus Christ, who gives and gives and gives but asks nothing of us in return.
• The magic potion Christ, who magically solves all of our problems for us.
• The passport Christ, who offers us quick escape from trials.
• The middle class Christ, who encourages us to stay within our comfortable status quo.

The true Jesus of the Incarnation is God's Christmas gift to us:

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:6)

Fourth Sunday in Advent :: Let It Be

Now as Christ's arrival nears, we are reminded of Mary's words, "Let it be." It is not up to us to dictate to God how Christ will come into our world and lives, for God continually surprises us. Let God's will be done in each of us.

Luke 1:26-38
Matthew 1:18-25

On the fourth Sunday in Advent, Rev. Hunter preached on "Surrender." As Mr. Hunter reminded us, our society finds words such as surrender, submission, and broken distasteful. Ours is a competitive society that focuses upon winning and success. Our culture tends to believe that wealth + power + self-determination = success.

Yet surrender is at the heart of discipleship and worship.

Rev. Lloyd Ogilvie writes,

“Our need to be in charge of ourselves, others, and situations often makes our relationship with Christ life's biggest power struggle. We are reluctant to relinquish our control and allow Him to run our lives. We may believe in Him and be active in the church and Christian causes, but trusting Him as Lord of everything in life can be scary.

Even though we pray about our challenges and problems, all too often what we really want is strength to accomplish what we've already decided is best for ourselves and others. Meanwhile we press on with our own priorities and plans. We remain the script writer, casting director, choreographer, and producer of the drama of our own lives, in which we are the star performer.”

The problem with being in charge of our own lives is that we can never anticipate what God has in plan for us. Our perspective on what's important in life may be short-sighted in light of God's vision of eternity. We must submit to the will of God.

Mary's response to the angel Gabriel when he announced the Incarnation is a wonderful example of submission--an act of faith. Even though Mary was deeply troubled at Gabriel's news, her response is trust, surrender, and a resultant song of worship.

Joseph offers another example of surrender to God's will. He accepted Mary and Jesus and fled to Egypt with his family upon the angel's command. Yet he seems to have been a quiet, behind-the-scenes kind of guy. An ordinary person who followed God's will and, as a result, did extraordinary things.

Jesus, however, is the ultimate example of surrendering to God's will. His temptation in the Wilderness and his night of anguish in the Garden of Gethsemane show that surrender to God's will did not come easily.

Mr. Hunter concluded by asking if we had completely surrendered ourselves to God's will. Giving ourselves to God is what He wants for Christmas.

Keep Your Computer Safe :: Spyware on the Rise

The Register-Guard (Oregon) reports that infections of spyware and malware (malicious spyware) are on the rise. The article provides a good overview of the problem, but the most useful part may be the list of suggestions at the end of article from the Federal Trade Commission:

Signs that indicate your computer is infected

• A barrage of pop-up ads
• A hijacked browser
• A sudden or repeated change in your home page
• New and unexpected toolbars
• New and unexpected icons on your computer screen
• Keys that don't work
• Random error messages
• Sluggish or downright slow performance

Tips on how to keep spyware off your hard drive

• Update your operating system and browser: Your OS may offer free software "patches" to fix vulnerabilities that spyware exploits.
• Download only from trusted sites: Beware that some "free" software applications, such as games and file-sharing programs, come bundled with other software, including spyware.
• Don't install any software without knowing what it is: Read the small-print user agreement before downloading. If it's hard to find or understand, think twice about installing it.
• Minimize "drive-by" downloads: Make sure your browser security setting is high enough to stop unauthorized downloads, at least the "medium" setting on Internet Explorer.
• Don't click on links in pop-ups: It could install spyware on your computer. Instead, close pop-up windows by clicking on the "X" icon in the title bar.
• Don't click on links in spam offering anti-spyware downloads: Some software offered in spam actually installs spyware.
• Install a firewall and trusted anti-spyware program: Two widely used spyware programs are Spybot (www.safer-networking.org) and Ad-Aware (www.lavasoftusa.com).