I reheated some leftover soup for lunch on Wed- nesday. As the microwave in the copy room dinged, I wasn't quite feeling sorry for myself, but the prospect of sipping some bland soup alone in my office staring at a computer screen that had been refusing to yield brilliant ideas didn't float my boat. Had the soup been any less interesting or my deadlines any closer, I could've silently sighed, "what did I do to deserve this?" For this Christmas week's Message About Purpose and Strategy, I'll share what happened next and how I felt about it. Carrying my Tupperware, I was met in the hallway by Sue Hood, our church secretary. She had a problem and asked for help. "Larry, my lunch came with chip and salsa, can you take care of this?" I thought it was too good to be true. Maybe the chips would be stale or the salsa container small? But no! The blessing was abundant! No sooner had I sat at my desk to accept her challenge and chips, but I heard Sue talking to someone in the outer office. I caught only one phrase, "Tell him it was too hot for me." Sue then came into my office with a second, even larger bag of chips and a second container of salsa from another restaurant! Tamra Burleson apparently needed my help as well! One thought leapt to my mind: "What did I do to deserve this?" The answer, which has surfaced time and time again in our Sunday evening study of Romans in the young adult Rooted service, is that we have done nothing to deserve God's love! He has shown amazing grace - unexpected and underserved. The overlapping surprises reminded me of the many abundant blessings I don't deserve. At the very top of the list is God's original Christmas gift of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 2 Cor. 9:15 - "Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift." Have a Merry Christmas!

A few weeks ago I quoted an old blues guitar- playing friend of mine from my pre-Dayspring days. His words about what makes churches healthy fit well as one of my Messages About Purpose and Strategy. Now I'm reaching back to input from an even older friend, this one a surfer from my college days. I asked him about reviving our hearts and he sent me something along these lines: Remember the parable of the guy who found a treasure hidden in a field and who went and sold everything he had and bought that field? God's kingdom is of supreme value. Everything else is details. We should focus on what is ahead of us. He said, "Our forgetfulness of Heaven is like hoping God will make our lives better by helping us make better mud pies in our ghetto while we are ignoring that across town there is a beautiful beach with 4-6 foot waves with an offshore breeze." We need to lift our eyes to what God has for us. It is beyond imagination.

Merry Christmas!

We hear these words often these days, but what makes Christmas so merry is the reason God the Father sent his Son here. In this week's installment of my Messages About Purpose and Strategy, I want to remind you of some familiar verses that clarify the good news about Jesus as God's perfect Christmas present. Get your Bible out and follow along. This exercise will help you grasp God's amazing grace and it will also equip you to share what makes Christmas so merry!

Why did Jesus come here? See Mt. 1:21.

How did he do that? He died in our place (Is. 53:3-6).

What does this show? See Rom. 5:8. Next, look up John 1:29.

Now, answer this: if Jesus takes away the sin of the world, where does he put it? See 1 Pet. 2:24. See also 1 Pet 1:18,19 and 3:18.

These verses explain why Jesus was born here for us.

Unless your have had your head buried like an ostrich, you've been inundated this week with news about Tiger Woods, the previously squeaky clean golfing superstar. Suddenly, more than his car seems to be wrecked. I've been trying to avoid the media coverage concerning his "transgressions," but it has been headlining everyday. In this week's installment of my Messages About Purpose and Strategy, I don't really want to chime in on the Tigergate scandal. Instead I want to make an observation about our world that should influence our ministry mindset. Isn't it amazing how our culture seems so focused on the lifestyles of the rich and famous? We follow the lives of celebrities with intense fascination. They have no privacy. Paparazzi document their every move. Commentators are quick to judge their appearance, actions, and values. Who is best dressed? Who is cheating on whom? Who is getting divorced? Who is in and who is out? I'm convinced this atrocious addiction to media reports is an example of the emptiness of modern mundane life. People seek to enter the lives of the stars because they have no life of their own. There is really only one person who deserves such focus. The only one worth celebrating is Jesus himself. Recognize, as you seek to serve him, that many people are living boring irrelevant lives of silent desperation. We can help our world "get a life" - the life of Christ!

What does a healthy church look like? In last week's installment of my Messages About Purpose and Strategy, I quoted an old friend who had something important to say about this topic. Today I'll quote directly from Luke, the author of the Book of Acts, who has something to add to the discussion.

42 They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

These early Christians were devoted to the teaching of God's Word. They were also connected relationally. The community of believers shared their lives and the life of Christ. I can't help but to notice that verse 42 says they were also devoted to prayer. Somehow, I think this must have been a key to their worship, sacrificial giving, unity and enormous growth.

Like these early Christians, we want to be in awe over what God is doing in our midst. There is no greater miracle than the changed lives of those who place their trust in Christ. If you are in a group of any kind here at Dayspring, make prayer a regular part of your gathering. Whether you are on a committee, serve in a ministry, participate in a Bible study, or meet with others for support, please join your hearts in group prayer that God will turn our world upside down through the way he leads us to faithfully follow Christ.

An old blues guitar-playing friend of mine from northern San Diego Country recently moved to Eugene and we have reconnected. Since the time we were in the same church, over 15 years ago, he's lived several other places and has played in a variety of worship bands. I asked him what he's learned about what makes churches healthy. In this installment of my Messages About Purpose and Strategy, I want to quote him. My friend Chris first commented on what keeps churches from getting healthy.

"What seems to be the disconnect is a slow transition into a "gimmie" attitude toward the church - a cultural shift that the people coming to church are expecting something in return: let me receive great worship, let me receive a "feel good" message, let me experience great kids programs, but don't make me work, don't make me open my Bible. Contrast that with a lifestyle and church environment of coming to give worship, to give my gifts, to demonstrate my hunger for knowing the deep things of God. Where is the contagious joy, vivacious life and abundant strength of the Christian in the walk? Do we not want to be a people that are consistently asked what is it about you that makes you so strong, happy, fun and vibrant all the time? There are a lot of Christian folks out there who feel the need to be so spiritually constipated and dowdy that they look like they have been sucking on lemons all day. Transformation is makes people come alive and it is the living church that is blessed and grows abundantly."