2020 Worship Guide

2020 Worship Guide LINCOLN DAILY NEWS December 2, 2020 Page 5 No bed to carry that pain, And then, the child, rag-wrapped laid to cry In a trough. Who would have chosen this? Who would have said: “Yes, Let the God of Heaven and Earth be born in this place.” Who but the same God Who stands in the darker, fouler rooms of our hearts And says, “Yes, let the God of Heaven and Earth be born in THIS place .” But even this wasn’t the end of the transformation. “And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:8). The Creator of the universe humbled himself. The One who spoke everything into existence, the Ruler of all, became obedient. And not JUST obedient! Jesus chose to be obedient to the one thing in creation that He did not create – death itself! And in case you think that is far enough, Jesus isn’t done. He will die cursed on a cross. There is no Easter story without Christmas. I don’t understand Clark Kent. Superman is the one with the power. I want to wear the S. And then I read the Christmas story and discover the Hope of the world wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. And then a crucifixion and more swaddling clothes, only this time it is not a birth wrap but a burial cloth. This is what Paul referred to when he talked about taking on the mindset of Christ, to think like Jesus. Christmas is a reminder of the powerful love of God, laid low for the sake of a Father who desperately seeks restoration with His lost children. But I can’t end our time together without a reminder of my favorite Superman scene ever. The first movie with Christopher Reeve. Lois Lane dangling from the rooftop of a building after a helicopter crash. Clark Kent running across the street and opening his button-down shirt to reveal the S. How he catches her in the air. Then he catches the falling helicopter. Cue CONTINUE