As we move into 2012 we are happy to announce that we have fully transitioned to the new blog site on TheTyger.com.

The content, blog posting & all comments from pastordoug.tygerriverpres.org and dougcushing.wordpress.com have been migrated to the new site.

We hope you enjoy reading and following us in 2012 at the new site. Please update your bookmarks.

Thank you and Happy New Year.

 

Wow, what an amazing children’s musical yesterday! The kids of Tyger River rocked the house! Sherry Boswell did a phenomenal job leading the children. The overflowing second service congregation rose to their feet in grateful applause. But most importantly we heard the simple but profound message: “Don’t miss the manger.”
It’s easy to ‘miss the manger’ in the rush and hurry of buying gifts, attending Christmas parties and meeting family obligations. It’s easy to ‘miss the manger’ in the exhaustion of everyday life. It’s easy to ‘miss the manger’ at Christmas. I’m thankful for the Sherry Boswell; for the kids and for their message.
What struck you most about the musical yesterday?

This Sunday during the early Java with Jesus service we will be looking at John the Baptist. JtB is a popular figure to study during Lent because he is all about preparing people for the coming of the Lord. Advent means coming and the Advent season is the time of the year when we prepare ourselves for the coming of Christ at Christmas.
In Matthew 3:3 JtB gets on his soap box and preaches one of his favorite themes: repent! We hear the word ‘repent’ a lot inside the church (outside the church not so much). Anyway, that word repent has a lot of negative connotations.
When you hear that word: ‘repent’ what do you think about? What does that word mean to you? What do you think it mean to Jesus and JtB?

Greetings Everyone,
Wow, I’ve sure received a lot of positive feedback from the soliloquy sermon I preached yesterday. Lot’s of people felt that hearing about the birth of Jesus directly from a shepherd was moving. So, let’s talk about it. What struck you most about hearing the story of the birth of Jesus from the perspective of a shepherd.

The sermon this coming Sunday will be a soliloquy. I will take the part of a shepherd in the field who recounts his experience of seeing angels in the field by night and his subsequent journey to the manger. The focus will be on the phrase: “I bring you good news of great joy…for all people.”

The shepherd will recall how unworthy, unwanted and unloved he felt in his relationships with everyone but that in Jesus Christ he found the love of God was for all people including him. When we receive the good news of Christ it should fill us with great joy as well. Joy is a Christmas gift that will not break.

This Sunday our attention is turned to the shepherds who were among the first to receive the announcement of the birth of Jesus. In Luke 2: 1 – 20 we read about the angels announcing the birth of our Lord to lowly shepherds. During the time Jesus was born shepherds were on the lower run of the social and economic latter. Often uneducated and existing in the margins of Jewish life, shepherds would have been the least likely people to receive the important announcement of Jesus’ birth. Yet the Lord blessed with the announcement.
Sometimes we feel we are the most unlikely and unworthy people to receive God’s blessings and God’s love. What makes you feel unworthy to receive God’s blessing?

Friends, this past week pro football quarterback Tim Tebow made the following remarks about his faith and love for the Lord. Christians and non-Christians seem polarized by his remarks. Some agree with his very public expressions of his faith while others wish that Tebow would be more circumspect with his spirituality. What do you think?

Good Monday morning to everyone! Today during my devotional time the thought occurred to me that I need to provide some space for bloggers to respond to what the Lord was doing in their lives during Sunday worship. My thinking is that I often leave the congregation with a challenge. Moreover, in early worship we often spend time discussing the sermon. My thought was: “Why not provide some space for folks to continue the conversation that we started during worship?”
Soooooooooo, here is my first attempt at Monday Musings. Yesterday I ended the sermon with a story about how a grumpy landlady shared the love of Jesus in ‘small’ ways with a young lady who was alone. I closed by asking you all to think of ways you can, similarly, share the love of Christ in ‘small’ ways with others.
* What are you thoughts?
* In general, what was the Lord saying to you in worship yesterday?

Oh, and one final question I’m thinking of calling this space “Monday Musings” but I’m totally NOT sold on that title. I’d love to hear some ideas for what I can call my Monday blog that invites you all to reflect on the worship experience from Sunday. Thoughts?

This Sunday we will be discussing the doctrine of the incarnation. The incarnation is the belief that in Jesus Christ God became fully human. Advent is the right time to talk about the incarnation because we are forced to wrestle with why God came to earth in the person of a vulnerable baby. We will talk about that on Sunday. But in the meantime here is a fascinating question for us to chew on:

Do you think planet earth is the only planet that Jesus Christ visited? Or, stated differently, do you think there are other planets fostering intelligent life and if so, what sort of relationship would that created life have to the creator of the heavens and the earth?

Friends,
If you have a moment check out this Acura commercial.

the end of the commercial says: “In a season marked by overindulging and over spending Acura introduces the concept of over-saving.” If Christians banded together to create a commercial faithful to our understanding of the holiday season the tag line of our commercial would go something like this: “In a season marked by overindulging and over spending our Lord introduces the concept of …..” How would you finish this sentence? Let me hear from you…and, yes, you may see the Acura commercial this Sunday morning.