Top 10 tweets

1. “Grace is a stunning reversal of the way the world does business.” – Tullian Tchividjian

2. “Only Jesus can be both the consummate Man of Sorrows, AND the One who is anointed with joy above his fellows. What a Savior.” – Scotty Smith

3. “The birth of Jesus is a radical visible announcement. God’s not satisfied to leave us the way we are and we should not be either.” – Paul David Tripp

4. “The sovereignty of God over evil is our biggest problem in life. Also, our only hope.” – Ray Ortlund

5. “We are changed not by being told what we need 2 do for God, but by hearing the news abt what He has done 4 us.” – J.D. Greear

6. “Joseph & Mary did everything for Jesus the law required (Lk. 2:39), not realizing Jesus came to do the same for them.” – Scotty Smith

7. “For your marriage to succeed you have to demote your spouse out of the center of your significance and security.” – Dave Furman

8. “God has had a passion 4 the nations 4 all eternity. Surely we can pursue that same passion 4 His glory 4 a single lifetime!” – Daniel Akin

9. “Jesus, grant us grace for serving others with joy & humility to receive service from others. Free us from the illusion of self sufficiency." – Scotty Smith

10. “The logic of grace is incomprehensible to our law-locked hearts.” – Tullian Tchividjian

Preparing for corporate worship: To 'all things new'

We will worship as the church of Christ this Sunday for the final time in 2012. We will do so with the knowledge we are not headed just toward a new year but toward a new heaven and a new earth, as well as a new Jerusalem descended from heaven prepared as a bride for her husband, as described in Rev. 21. “And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.’ And He who sits on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new’” (Rev. 21:3-5a, ©NASB). As we gather Sunday, may we do so in the complete confidence we are headed to that day when our God makes “all things new.” This work of renewal will take place because God in His grace and in His good pleasure sent His Son to reconcile us to Him through the blood of Jesus. As a result, may we arrive Sunday with hearts and minds full of adoration, thanksgiving, rejoicing, humility, and submission.

Top 10 tweets

1. “Grace exposes our prejudice, mocks our greed & sabotages our control idol; that’s why some of us prefer legalism/moralism.” – Scotty Smith

2. “Christmas: the Son of God expressing the love of God to save us from the wrath of God so we could enjoy the presence of God.” – John Piper

3. “If you fear God, you need fear nothing else, even the devil. If you do not fear God, you will ultimately fear many things besides Him.” – Randy Alcorn

4. “Christmas is God’s answer to the slavery of self-salvation.” – Tullian Tchividjian

5. “The vertical relationship between a husband and God is the only proper basis for fulfilling his marriage role in the home.” – Dave Furman

6. “Look into the manger and see life, hope, forgiveness, deliverance, freedom; all resting on the shoulders of the One sleeping in that manger.” – Paul David Tripp

7. “Unless we go to the Bible to see Jesus and his work for us, even our Bible reading can become fuel for our own self-improvement plans.” – Tullian Tchividjian

8. “Note to self: beware of spiritual pride b/c you apply law & gospel to your kids in the midst of others who do not.” – Tim Brister

9. “Jesus still seeks foolish men and wise men. Jesus is the primary seeker in the whole Story. Hallelujah.” – Scotty Smith

10. “Husbands have hope because Jesus is the perfect husband who gave His life for His bride the Church.” – Dave Furman

The Christmas Child: Suffering Servant and Substitute

The world celebrates the birth of a baby on this date, but the world of that time did not welcome that child when He grew into a man. And so it has continued to this day.

Isaiah described the suffering of this One in the 53rd chapter of his prophecy:

He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed.

Christ came to suffer -- not for any shortcomings of His own. He came to suffer for our sins.

As we celebrate the birth of the Christmas Child today, may we not neglect the adoration and gratitude that is due this same One who was a Suffering Servant who came as a substitute for us that we might know Him as the only Savior from sin.

Mondays are for music: 'For Unto Us a Child Is Born'

"For Unto Us a Child Is Born" is a great chorus from one of the greatest musical works of all time, Handel's "Messiah." In this video, the London Symphony Orchestra and the Tenebrae choir perform this piece about the coming of our Savior.

Top 10 tweets

1. “Christmas is about a rescue mission.” – Greg Breazeale

2. “The magnifying of Christ in the white-hot worship of all nations is the reason the world exists.” – John Piper

3. “Christmas is the arrival of the creator onto the stage of his own broken, defaced, sinful creation with the goal of making all things news.” – Tullian Tchividjian

4. “Because the war for the rule of our hearts will wage again today, what we all deeply need is grace.” – Paul David Tripp

5. “For us Christmas is about celebration, for Jesus that first Christmas began with suffering that continued and then culminated on the cross.” – Paul David Tripp

6. “Wives don’t submit to their husbands because their husband is worthy of it, but because Jesus is worthy.” – Dave Furman

7. “I love exchanging gifts with Jesus at Christmas. He gets my sin, I get his righteousness. Awesome!” – Scotty Smith

8. “Church membership is the shape of Christian discipleship.” – Mark Dever

9. “Christmas is God running to us in Jesus.” – Greg Breazeale

10. “If we are indifferent about the lost in our city, then we must conclude God’s glory is unimportant in our lives.” – Tim Brister

Preparing for corporate worship: God became man (4)

There may be no more significant and precious thought at Christmas than this: God came to save us. He has always been the Savior of His people. In Hosea 13:4, He testifies to this truth, saying to those Old Covenant people, “Yet I have been the Lord your God since the land of Egypt; and you were not to know any god except Me, for there is no savior besides Me” (©NASB). He commanded them not to worship any other because He is the only one who could save them. In Matthew 1:21, the angel testifies to the same truth, telling Joseph, “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins” (©NASB). God the Son came to save His own. He had to become a man to be our substitute in His life, death and resurrection. He came to save us. May we let that reality sink in as we prepare for corporate worship this Sunday. May we arrive prepared to express our praise and thanksgiving to our Savior, to proclaim that saving message in our singing and to give our lives anew to Him.