{"id":13437,"date":"2016-12-27T12:53:40","date_gmt":"2016-12-27T16:53:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/?p=13437"},"modified":"2017-02-09T17:36:43","modified_gmt":"2017-02-09T21:36:43","slug":"zephaniah-offers-encouragement-during-longest-night-service-122116","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/?p=13437","title":{"rendered":"Zephaniah Offers Encouragement During Longest Night Service (12\/21\/16)"},"content":{"rendered":"

December 21… the first day of winter, and the year’s longest night.\u00a0 For those who have lost something or someone during the year, this night can be a forebearer of a Blue Christmas. And so, as part of our Advent preparation, our Blue Christmas service helps us to re-connect with God’s promises.\u00a0 A\u00a0 loss may be a painful bump in the road or change in course, but God is still in control.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

During our service on 12\/21\/16, Pastor Jim turned to the “Minor Prophet” Zephaniah…<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t

Zephaniah 3:14-18<\/span><\/p>\n

14 Sing, O Daughter of Zion;\u00a0 shout aloud, O Israel!\u00a0 Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,\u00a0 O Daughter of Jerusalem!<\/span><\/p>\n

15 The Lord has taken away your punishment, he has turned back your enemy.\u00a0 The Lord, the King of Israel, is with you; never again will you fear any harm.<\/span><\/p>\n

16 On that day they will say to Jerusalem,\u00a0\u00a0 “Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands hang limp.<\/span><\/p>\n

17 The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save.<\/span>\n He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.”<\/span><\/p>\n

18 “The sorrows for the appointed feasts I will remove from you;<\/span>\n they are a burden and a reproach to you.<\/span> \n NIV<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n

Zephaniah was talking to the people of Israel who had been hauled off into captivity by the Assyrians.\u00a0 God’s people had suffered many losses by this captivity, but speaks through Zephaniah to re-assure and encourage them.\u00a0 Zephaniah makes four points…<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

1:\u00a0 Don’t let your hands Hang Limp…<\/span>\"\"<\/span><\/h4>\n

Fear can paralyze.\u00a0 For the Israelites, they were captives of Assyria.\u00a0 Their culture and even their God seemed as far away as the Temple.\u00a0 But through the prophet, God tells His people to not “let their hands hang limp.”\u00a0 In other words, move on!\u00a0 Keep obeying and praising God.\u00a0 Keep looking for ways to glorify Him.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When we suffer a loss, we react with denial.\u00a0 There’s a numbness.\u00a0 It’s a natural reaction that allows us to cope with the shock of the sudden change.\u00a0 And yet, God assures us that there is a time when we’ll be able to lift our arms and return to faithful service.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

2:\u00a0 God is With You!<\/span><\/h4>\n

Verse 17 reminds the Israelites that the “Lord is with them.”\u00a0 Even during the exile, God still watched over them.\u00a0 It was part of His plan, and He knew that He would one day bring them back.<\/p>\n

For those who are mourning a loss, it seems that you are alone.\u00a0 People are friendly and caring, but they can’t replace what’s lost.\u00a0 There’s a piece of you that’s torn away.\u00a0 And yet, God is with us.\u00a0 The one who provided the channel of love that you once had is still with you, ready to continue to care for you.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

3:\u00a0 He Rejoices over you with Singing!<\/span><\/h4>\n

The end of verse 17 tell us that God delights in us.\u00a0 In fact, He rejoices over us with singing!<\/p>\n

Music is a powerful tool.\u00a0 People on their deathbeds, those who can’t speak or who otherwise seem unconnected with the world, can usually connect with music.\u00a0 A hymn sung in an ICU room can have a powerful effect, drawing the singer (and maybe even the “sing-ee”) closer to God.\u00a0 Even as we sing music to God, God sings to us using creation and the love flowing through His people.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

4:\u00a0 He will Restore You<\/span><\/h4>\n

In verse 18 God eyes the “sorrows” and “burdens” of his people and promises to remove their sins.\u00a0 Like the prodigal son, God the Father will welcome them home and restore His relationship with His people.<\/p>\n

When we mourn a loss, we loose connection with the things that are “normal.”\u00a0 Going forward as we did in the past is impossible.\u00a0 God doesn’t promise to restore the things we’ve lost, but He does promise to remove the burdens of our losses and to restore us to a joyful and productive life that’s lived in a faithful relationship with Him.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I Was There… I Am Here…<\/span><\/h3>\n

The service ended with the singing of the hymn “I was There to Hear Your Borning Cry” (by John Ylvsaker<\/a><\/span>).\u00a0 The lyrics remind us of God’s continual presence throughout every leg of life’s journey…<\/p>\n\n\t\t

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t“I was there to hear your borning cry, I’ll be there when you are old.<\/p>\n

I rejoiced the day you were baptized, to see your life unfold.\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t

\n\t\t\tI was there when you were but a child, with a faith to suit you well;<\/p>\n

In a blaze of light you wandered off to find where demons dwell.”\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t

\n\t\t\t“When you heard the wonder of the Word I was there to cheer you on;<\/p>\n

You were raised to praise the living Lord, to whom you now belong.\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t

\n\t\t\tIf you find someone to share your time and you join your hearts as one,<\/p>\n

I’ll be there to make your verses rhyme from dusk ’till rising sun.”\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t

\n\t\t\tIn the middle ages of your life, not too old, no longer young,<\/p>\n

I’ll be there to guide you through the night, complete what I’ve begun.\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t

\n\t\t\tWhen the evening gently closes in, and you shut your weary eyes,<\/p>\n

I’ll be there as I have always been with just one more surprise.”\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t

\n\t\t\t“I was there to hear your borning cry, I’ll be there when you are old.<\/p>\n

I rejoiced the day you were baptized, to see your life unfold.”\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

December 21… the first day of winter, and the year’s longest night.\u00a0 For those who have lost something or someone during the year, this night can be a forebearer of a Blue Christmas. And so, as part of our Advent preparation, our Blue Christmas service helps us to re-connect with God’s promises.\u00a0 A\u00a0 loss may […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4456,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[144,161],"class_list":["post-13437","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-god-moments","tag-godspresence","tag-grief"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13437","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13437"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13437\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13456,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13437\/revisions\/13456"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}