Waypoints: The Emergence of Jesus

I have always liked the word emergence. It sounds so exciting and new and positive. I am well aware that something can also emerge that is not so great but I choose to think on the other side.
 
The dictionary definition of emergence is:
1. The process of coming into view or becoming exposed after being concealed.
2. The process of coming into being, or of becoming important or prominent.
 
I like to think of it in terms of someone stepping up in a way that is a blessing to others. They see something that needs to be done and they do it because they can. Throughout history people have been willing to use their resources and time to do things of significance. I have also had people emerge in my life to help me when the going has been tough or to bring me joy when it seemed to be absent. I am guessing if you take a moment or two you could also think of some people that have places of emergence in your life as well.

Oak Hill Church is a family that is in a perpetual state of emergence as God works in our midst. If we are to be the living family of God, we will need to emerge individually and corporately to be who God made us to be. Not a one of us was called into God’s family to sit on the sidelines and let others get all the joy that comes from serving the Lord. Part of the gift and responsibility of being saved by grace is to emerge as the servant God wants us to be.
 
This Sunday’s message will focus on the greatest emergence to ever take place. It was the emergence of the Savior, the Messiah, and the Christ. He is the Long Expected One that could heal our brokenness and set the captives free once and for all. He was spoken of as early as Genesis 3, and then all through the Old Testament God’s people anticipated the coming of the one that would set them free. He was described as powerful and gentle, as holy and merciful, as the savior of Israel and the savior of all nations. All of these qualities and so many more would come together in the tiny village of Bethlehem.
 
His name was Jesus and He was just a baby – or was He more? He looked like any other little baby boy with all the needs and limitations that came with that. He truly was one of us, but He was also completely OTHER – He was God! Jesus grew up just like the rest of us but without sin. He knows about pain and suffering and rejection, but He was never crushed by them. At 30 years of age Jesus emerged as the one to follow and the one to save us. His
completed emergence as all we need would reach its culmination with a cross and an empty tomb. This Sunday we will consider what that means for us today.
 
See you on Sunday,
Pastor Nick