How to Respond When Life is not Ideal

Based on a message I preached at Abundant Grace Church on the last Sunday of 2009.

Most people relate to God the majority of the time in 2 ways.

1) To thank him for extraordinary blessings. (Think winning the Super Bowl.)

2) To beg God to change unwanted circumstances. (Think my rent bill is due tomorrow and I just overdrew my bank account!)

In moments of great happiness, we might thank God; in moments of great peril or stress we might request God's aid. In between, there is the absence of any real relationship or communication with God. When we are happy we thank him, when we are not we curse him, in between we don't miss him.

This type of relationship is never something God intended for us. It reveals that we are treating God as an aid or a tool to get what we want. You don't have a relationship with your hammer or credit card, yet we attempt to use God in a similar way. God becomes our servant we tell him what to do, thank him when he does it, and grow angry and bitter when he doesn't...

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Next Two Sundays @ Abundant Grace Church

On Sunday December 27 & Sunday January 3. We will be meeting with Abundant Grace Church in their building in Brighton. Start off the New Year right and join us in worshiping Jesus and setting our sights on all God has before us.

Sunday December 27 & January 3 @ 10am

77 Guest Street

Boston, MA 02135

www.abundantgraceboston.org

Christmas Greeting

To my friends and brothers and sisters at Fenway Church (and those who might watch online):

Sending along my thoughts via a webcam recording this Christmas. What a joy to celebrate Jesus' entry into our world. Have a merry Christmas and grace-filled New Year.

David W.

Christmas Greeting from David W. Hill on Vimeo.

Christmas Festivities @ Fenway Church

Christmas is the celebration of God entering our world. It is a celebration of life, hope, humanity, & Deity. As Eugene Peterson put it, "Christ moved into the neighborhood." And, the neighborhood was never the same again.

Experience the life-giving power of Jesus as we invite our friends, neighbors, & co-workers to worship and celebrate with us.

Celebrate with Christmas carols, worship of Immanuel, festive food, coffee, and messages from the advent story that reveal how Jesus' changed the lives of those who first met him.

Be inspired as members of our church share how everything changed when Jesus entered their world.

Gatherings @ 69 Kilmarnock Street, Boston

Sunday December 6 10:30AM & 1PM - "Jesus Entered Our World: Three Magi"

Sunday December 13 10:30AM & 10PM - "Jesus Entered My Life: A Young Carpenter"

Sunday December 20 10:30AM - "Jesus Entered Our Job: Restless Shepherds"

Sunday December 20 1PM - Christmas Caroling & Party

~Guests from Peterborough Senior Center and St. Cecilia's Senior House will be invited to join us for carols & party.~

Stay tuned for how you can be involved in the upcoming homeless outreach & caroling at the senior centers as we give to our city this Christmas season!

Learn how the Advent Conspiracy is restoring the scandal of Christmas by substituting compassion for consumption... click here.

Advent Conspiracy

Advent Conspiracy is an international movement restoring the scandal of Christmas by substituting compassion for consumption.

The story of Christ's birth is a story of promise, hope, and a revolutionary love.

So, what happened? What was once a time to celebrate the birth of a savior has somehow turned into a season of stress, traffic jams, and shopping lists.

And when it's all over, many of us are left with presents to return, looming debt that will take months to pay off, and this empty feeling of missed purpose. Is this what we really want out of Christmas?

What if Christmas became a world-changing event again?

Welcome to Advent Conspiracy.

www.adventconspiracy.org

Check out this movement and re-assess your priorities this Christmas. As a church can we allow our own desires for consumption to dissipate by learning how to give sacrificially and show compassion to others?