Jay Wolf said the “crush time” of Christmas can be overwhelming for church leaders, so he encouraged them to “bring the unbridled joy of children to Sunday worship.”
Wolf, pastor emeritus of First Baptist Church Montgomery, spoke to ministers of the Birmingham Metro Baptist Association at their Christmas gathering Dec. 14. He was introduced by Birmingham Metro Association ministry intern Mary Conley Teel, a former member of FBC Montgomery and former International Mission Board Journeyman serving in Uganda.
“My pastor was always gentle and humble, a well of refreshment,” she said. “He was also a phenomenal teacher. He taught us with what we called ‘Jayisms,’ like, ‘Have an attitude of gratitude’ and, ‘You’ll never shake the hand of someone God doesn’t love; you’ll never look in the eyes of a person Jesus didn’t die for.’”
Wolf said the symbols of Christmas are like the Ebenezer taught in 1 Samuel 7.
“Sometimes we have spiritual amnesia, and these symbols remind us of the main thing about the season, which is Christ, of course. Ministry can be tough, and sometimes we get sidetracked with various duties and fail to remember the majesty of Christmas.”
Angels
Wolf said he chose to use the approach of a children’s sermon for the day in order to highlight the joy of children at Christmas; thus, he displayed three angel figures.
“Angels are mentioned more than 300 times in Scripture,” he said.
“Sometimes we’re guilty of faulty theology since many believe angels are ‘graduated humans!’ Actually, they’re a separate creation of God and fulfilled various functions as God’s emissaries. They also show us the way we should live.”
First, angels are warriors who show the importance of standing firm, Wolf said.
“God placed an angel with a sword at the entrance of Eden to prevent Adam and Eve from returning,” he said.
“And in Isaiah 37, we read of a single angel who slaughtered 185,000 Assyrians in a single night. Jesus said He could have called 72,000 angels to rescue Him from the cross, so this would’ve been a formidable army.”
Stand firm
Wolf said ministers should be warriors too and stand firm for the Lord.
“I think there are too many wimps in ministry,” he said with a laugh. “We must be warriors and stand firm for the One who gave His all for us. The writer of Hebrews encourages us to persevere in faith and run the race with patience.”
Second, angels are worshippers, teaching us the value of standing still.
“Isaiah in his call experience and John in Revelation told of angels who worship the Lord in heaven,” he said. “We too must make time for worship and personal growth in the busyness of our schedules. People won’t tarry long at a stagnant well, so ministers must seek refreshment in the Lord.”
Wolf reminded attendees about Mary of Bethany.
“I was in Bethany with a group from Montgomery in September, fortunately before the unrest began in October,” he said. “I thought of Martha who did good things to help her guests, but I also thought of Mary who sat at the feet of Jesus. Our message must be permeated with the authenticity of Jesus. Sometimes we must park at His feet too and be still.”
Witnesses
Finally, Wolf said angels are witnesses who remind us to stand up for Christ.
“Certainly, we remember the angelic messengers,” he said. “The angel told Mary of her choice as God’s instrument and Joseph of his duty to protect his family. And the angels told the shepherds about the good news of salvation for the whole world.”
Wolf said the shepherds were at the “bottom of the social ladder.”
“They couldn’t go to the temple to worship since they were ‘unclean,’ but the angels brought the good news to them, and they shared it with others. The gospel is for everyone. The timeless message the shepherds heard is timely for us as we stand up and proclaim the good news this Christmas.”
The Dec. 14 event was the final ministers meeting for 2023. Other programs are planned for the spring and listed at bmbaonline.org.
Share with others: