Preparing a Highway

Wesley United Methodist Church December 5, 1999 Second Sunday of Advent Mark 1:1-8 "Preparing a Highway" There is one thing that you can be sure of if you are stranded on a desert highway. There is no one around who knows to come and get you. There are no people around, no telephones, no buildings to walk to, no cars, there is nothing for miles around. Even if you were to cry out in the middle of the desert, who is going to hear you? At some point, the sand at your feet that seemed to mold itself around each and every step that you take, seems to grab your feet and trap you, and remind you that you are stuck. Even the majestic hills in the distance, which seemed to have drawn you further and further down this road, echoes an empty call realize that the sounds that they repeat are only your own helpless call for help. And the silence that hits your ears, that once brought you a sense of serenity, is beginning to sound a lot like hopelessness to you. As the sun goes down on the on the terrain that it created, and as the heat is drained from the air and coldness set in, you start to realize that the walk that you took in the desert in the first place was not such a good idea after all. Exactly what was it that brought you to this place in the first place? Was it a need to get away from all of the noise of the house, the children or sisters and brothers, was it the phone constantly with people who asked questions of you that you didn't want to think about much less try to answer, or were you trying to escape some major desicion that you had to make in life that you knew you were not ready for, or you were running away from something, or your were caught up in some cirsumstance where you were no longer in control, all you could do was to follow the highway in front of you, or maybe you were bored, or curious, or just tyring to find a way to do something different in your life. It really doesnt matter anymore, because you are here now. In the middle of nowhere, lost, unhappy, afraid and most importantly disillusioned. I am reminded of a movie that I once watched, of a young man, who had gotten caught up in life. He had some major decisions to make in life, he was about to propose to his girlfriend and needed to really think through what he was about to do, life was getting really hectic at home and at his new job. things got so bad for him that the hustle and bustle of living in community with people got too much for him. So he took off into the wilderness. He was able to find a monastery in the wilderness. And he was so greatful for to find peace, and he really appreciated the guidance that the priest gave him to think throught his life. There's one thing that we can be sure of if you're stranded on a desert highway, God will be faithful. That is probably the question that we were asking when we took off on this journey in the first place. We went looking for a sign. a new way to test God. We had gotten lost in the midst of our lives, and we needed to find ourselves. We wondered if God was still with us in the midst of our troubles. Well in the movie, after the man had been in the bliss of peaceful living for a while, he started to miss his girlfriend, he felt guilty for abondoning her, he wanted to get back to work and the noises of the city were so much a part of him, that he did not understand why he had ever left home in the first place. He takes his frustration out on the priest, why would anyone want to spend their life out here in the middle of nowhere - Why are you here? He asks the man, why do you choose to live in the middle of nowhere? How can you live like this? don't you get tired? The peace and quiet was starting to get old for him. He was ready to get somehting different. The wise priest looks at him at tells him that he makes his living in the wilderness, because he knows that there are always people like him, who will get tired of their lives and wander in the wilderness looking for something new. He has to make sure that when they wander, they have something to find. And as the sun is going down on our desert, and we are becoming enveloped in darkness, perhaps we can sympathize with the man who left his life. and even thought at one time we find peace, here in the serenity, things are starting to get a little old for us to. And as we wander a little farther down the desert highway, we too find a man. a strange man crying out in the wilderness, "prepare a way for the lord". And as you walk a little closer to the man, you look at his clothes. What store sells camels hair shirts like that? And where did he get that leather strap looped around the shirt to make a belt. You can't buy that kind of stuff even for a halloween costume. And his hair is long and doesn't lokk like he combs it very often, my what a strange man. He's not even wearing any shoes. As he walks into a pool of water, you look around and realize that you are not alone. There is a crowd of people with him, who are lined up to step into the water with him. Others have come this way too, wandering in the desert, escaping from life, running from some circumstance, so caught up in things that the only thing they could do was to follow the road in front of them. I guess that would explain the highway in the middle of a desert. There are many who need to make this journey to the middle of nowhere. John is telling these people to prepare the way. You mean all of these people are here, but this man is not going to resuce us and take us home? that means that your going to be stuck in the desert still. Why can't you just go home, back to where everything makes sense. And suddenly you realize that you really can't just go home. Since this desert expereince, everything will be new. things won't make sense the way they use to. You can still hear John saying , prepare the way of the Lord. Make his paths straight. and you realize that John is talking to you about you. It is you who brought you into this desert in the first place, and it is you who will get you out. It is you who will have to change. And yo walk closer to the river. John turns to you and invites you in. He tell you to repent for the forgiveness of sins. And as he brings you to the water, you are afraid. Afriad to give up your thoughts, your cares, your worries. You are afraid to be honest with yourself, about what your problems really are and what you secrets that you need to confess in order for things to be different. But when you come up from the water, things seems clearer. All of those things that have been holding you back from changed have been washed away from you. with a sigh of relief, you ask John if you can go home now. John doesnt say no, but he doesn't yes either. he says "The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me, I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the things of his sandals. I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the holy spirit. One greater than he, one who will baptize you with the holy spirit. What does that mean to you, somone who lives in the citym not the desert, one who is used to the hustle and bustle of life. You just want to go home. You only came to the desert, to clear your head. It is almost christmas time. The busiest time fo the year. you have cookies to bake, and present to buy, and parties to attend, and phone calls to make and questions to answer, and major life desicions to make. You really need to get on with the rest of your life. What does this mean? What is John tyring to tell you? It means that as you prepare the way for the lord Jesus Christ, that your wait. There's one thing that you can be sure of when your are stranded on a desert highway. That is that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. This is the beginning of the good news. And if Jesus Christ is the son of God, and if God is faithful, then your life is not to be lived for it's own purposes. But your life is to be lived in preparation of Jesus Christ coming to get you. In the middle of the desert, when it seems that there is nothing there that will help you in your quest to get home. Suddenly you realize thatThe desert is your life circumstances, and the highway that you are standing on is your soul. It is important for you to prepare a way for the lord. Yo don't have to find a way out of this, because when Christ comes to you in your circumstances, the desert will be transformed. The terrain around you won't have to change, you will not have anywhere else to go. God is faithful, Jesus Christ is the son of God. As long as you have Christ on the journey with you, you are alwys home. When you are stranded on a desert highway you can be sure of that. And in the midst of all that you know that you want to do in life, the most important thing for you to do right now is to prepare your heart and to wait on the lord. The darkness will soon be light, when the light of Christ comes into the desert. ok in the desert in the first place was not such a good idea after all. Exactly what was it that brought

Bless the Lord O my Soul

December 9, 2018 Luke 1:68-79 Luke 3:1-6 Second Sunday of Advent Bless the Lord O my Soul Year C Children’s Time Lighting of the second advent candle Luke 3:1-6 Common English Bible (CEB) John the Baptist’s message 3 In the fifteenth year of the rule of the emperor Tiberius—when Pontius Pilate was governor over Judea and Herod was ruler[a] over Galilee, his brother Philip was ruler[b] over Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was ruler[c] over Abilene, 2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas—God’s word came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 John went throughout the region of the Jordan River, calling for people to be baptized to show that they were changing their hearts and lives and wanted God to forgive their sins. 4 This is just as it was written in the scroll of the words of Isaiah the prophet, A voice crying out in the wilderness: “Prepare the way for the Lord; make his paths straight. 5 Every valley will be filled, and every mountain and hill will be leveled. The crooked will be made straight and the rough places made smooth. 6 All humanity will see God’s salvation.”[d] Footnotes: This week our nation laid our 41st president to rest. I took advantage of the national day of mourning to watch all of the ritual on tv. It was interesting to watch all of our living presidents gather together to say goodbye to one of our leaders. I watched both funerals on both days. It was interesting to see all of the pomp and circumstance and protocol. I watched with fascination as the military carried the American flag and the presidential flag with precision. I was shocked that after the both flags were bought into the church, the honor guard kept control of the presidential flag, but turned the American flag over to a priest, who held it in front of the congregation while they sang a patriotic song. As a pastor, I have never seen the military turn an American flag over to the church. As a matter of fact, the church had their own American flag already in place. I think it was a very powerful symbol of who George HW Bush was as president. And also what the American flag represents. The presidential flag always represents the president. The American flag represents the fact that there have been 45 presidents. The fact that when one falls, there will always be a standing president for our nation. It represents who we are as a nation of people. It honors those who have sacrificed their lives so that we could have freedom. I think that as George HW Bush planned his funeral, he wanted to remind us that the power of our nation stands in the people. – it stands at the bottom, not at the top. That is an important lesson a lesson of faith, that has been demonstrated many times before. If you look at the beginning of our scripture today – it starts out by naming the political leaders of the day the emporer Tiberius, Pontius Pilate, Herod. It even names the religious leaders of the say Ananias and Caiphas. They were all important people. But scripture says that the word of God didn’t come through or to any of them. The word came to John, son of Zecharius, while in the wilderness. God’s word came to no on special, in the middle of nowhere. When John started his ministry, he didn’t start with the leaders in Jerusalem – but in the middle of nowhere – talking to everyday people. I have a friend who said that if you are looking for God – look at where the excitement is. Look at where the energy is. Look at what is already happening, and get on the band wagon. When you are trying to find God, - you probably don’t want to look to the leaders, but amongst the people. Not in the rich, but amongst the poor. Not in the capital, but in the wilderness. Not in the populated place, but in the middle of nowhere. I have been fascinated that the wilderness seems to be where faith begins. When Jesus is trying to find his ministry and calling – he spends some time in the wilderness. And now, when John fortells the coming of Christ – he is a voice crying out in the wilderness. Calling out to the people – to repent. To turn from the way of the world and listen to God. John calls out for the people to come to the water and to be baptized into repentance. John’s challenge to the people is to change their hearts, to live in righteousness and to ask God for forgiveness for your sins. A cleansing ceremony is a big part of many religious ceremonies. Before entering worship space for muslims, they will wash their feet and hands, before entering the temple you would also wash, even for us as Christians, the baptismal font is at the entrance of the sanctuary, so that we can remember our baptism before we come in to worship. William Barclay tells how at the coronation service in Westminster Abbey after all the congregation was seated, a squad of cleaners unexpectedly emerged with brushes and vacuum cleaners and proceeded to sweep the carpets so that they would be absolutely clean for the coming of the queen. So here is John, the messenger for the King saying the same thing. Get things cleaned up before Christ comes. John is challenging us to come and to take a part in the coming of Christ. Water is important to clean the outside, but we are being challenged to also get cleaned in the inside, inside of our hearts. Metanoia – means repentance, it means to have a change of heart. From the things of the world to the things of God. Not to look to our leaders for change, but in the wilderness. What is God up to in your neck of the woods? In order to know and be a part of it – we have to prepare our heart for something different. Most of us like the idea of change, but we really don’t like the process of change. We don’t want to admit that we are sinners, and that there are some things in our life that we need to do different. John is inviting us to just come – come to see what God is up to in the world today. God is inviting us to be willing to go along and to participate. To realize that God is in charge, and that God is present. And that God invites us to all participate. This is our country, this is our world, this is our salvation. We can prepare ourselves for the journey of life with God. Just as our country belongs to the people, the church also belings to the people. I thought that it was interesting, that when George HW Bush’s funeral was over, the military took both the American flag and the presidential flag out with the casket, and it stood behind the casket. But The priest also took the cross out and it stood over the casket as well. Once the casket was in the hearse, the honor guard stood at attention until the cross was bought back into the church and the church doors were closed. We are all citizens of this nation, but we are all children of God. God oversees our world, but God also invites us to participate in the salvation of the world. We are all invited to see what God is doing in the world today – and to jump on and be a part. But before we get in the game – we have to get cleaned up. The Work of the Church At the Annual Conference of the Methodist Church in Sierra Leone, West Africa. The meetings were held in the large sanctuary in the capital city, Freetown. Each day as we entered the large doors into the sanctuary there was a young girl, maybe about the age of 8, who begged at the door. She looked ragged, dirty, her hair was matted and knotty, and she had on tattered clothes. No one seemed to know her, and people brushed her aside upon entering. Some of the pastors tried to tell her to go away. We were busy doing the work of the church. She was a bother. This went on for several days. As I sat in the pew observing the Conference one day, my peripheral vision caught some motion outside. I looked out the window, and there on the patio, outside the sanctuary was a woman, a lay member of the conference. She found a bucket and some soap. Although dressed in a beautiful traditional tie-dye gown, she pushed up her sleeves, and she was giving that 8-year-old girl a bath. She soaped up her hair and was tenderly making her all clean and new. She washed the clothes the child had been wearing, and they were spread out on the bushes in the sun drying. The woman went out and got another dress for her to wear, too. Hundreds of pastors and devoted laypersons poured into the Methodist Church of Freetown to do the work of the church. But outside, on the edges, quietly and without notice, the work of redemption - the work of Jesus Christ was being done. It was not the work of committees and reports and programs. It was the work of soap and water and human touch and being able to see the face of Jesus in that of an abandoned 8-year-old girl. Sharon Rhodes-Wickett, Collapsing the Distance between Heaven and Earth God is still in the saving business, and all of us are invited to be a part of it. Change does not come from the top, but from the bottom, not in the city square, but in the wilderness. And it is not what we can see on the outside, it is what is inside of our hearts. Won’t you take John’s challenge – and repent and turn to God. Amen. Other illustrations…. A Higher Standard of Living Max Lucado tells the story of a man who had been a closet slob most of his life. He just couldn't comprehend the logic of neatness. Why make up a bed if you're going to sleep in it again tonight? Why put the lid on the toothpaste tube if you're going to take it off again in the morning? He admitted to being compulsive about being messy. Then he got married. His wife was patient. She said she didn't mind his habits . . . if he didn't mind sleeping on the couch. Since he did mind, he began to change. He said he enrolled in a 12-step program for slobs. A physical therapist helped him rediscover the muscles used for hanging up shirts and placing toilet paper on the holder. His nose was reintroduced to the smell of Pine Sol. By the time his in-laws arrived for a visit, he was a new man. But then came that moment of truth. His wife went out of town for a week. At first he reverted to the old man. He figured he could be a slob for six days and clean up on the seventh. But something strange happened. He could no longer relax with dirty dishes in the sink or towels flung around the bathroom or clothes on the floor or sheets piled up like a mountain on the bed. What happened? Simple. He had been exposed to a higher standard of living. That's what confession and repentance do for us. That's what Jesus does for us. Billy D. Strayhorn, Thunder in the Desert John at Christmastime The First Sunday in Advent begins with apocalyptic images that, in the popular imagination, are as non-Christmasy as can be imagined. Now in the Christian tradition the Second Sunday in Advent confronts the church (and the world) with John the Baptist, whom the church has also long insisted is an absolutely necessary character in the Advent drama. But even most Christians don't want John at Christmas. We don't put John on Christmas cards. We have no John the Baptist Christmas tree ornaments. No child plays John in Christmas programs, and he's nowhere to be seen on front yard manger displays. John is too untidy, too dangerous for Christmas. Invite John to your holiday party and he'll spill eggnog all over your Persian rug as he flails his arms around talking about the need to repent. He's too shrill. If we let John in the door, he'll wake the baby in the manger. Then again, if we do not let John in, if we will not or cannot tolerate his uncompromising message that Christ is Lord of all, then that baby in the manger may as well just go on sleeping forever and ever. Because if we can't let John in, we're not ready for the baby to wake up anyway. If we don't like what John says, we won't like what that baby will eventually say, either. And then Christmas is over before it really began. Scott Hoezee, comments and observations on Luke 3:1-6.

Have Hope

December 4, 2016 Romans 14 Second Sunday of Advent Have Hope One brief, sunny morning a woman looked out her living room window and was amazed to discover a dead mule on her lawn. Immediately she called the sanitation department and asked them to remove the carcass. But by the time the work-crew arrived, she had changed her mind. She gave the men $100.00 each, instructing them to carry the mule upstairs and to deposit it in the bathtub. After they had dutifully followed her instructions, one of the workers asked why she wanted the dead mule in her bathtub. She said, “Well, for 35 years my husband has been coming home at night, throwing his coat on the rack, grabbing the newspaper, plopping into the easy chair and asking, ‘What’s new?’ Tonight, I’m going to tell him.” What’s new this Christmas? Every year we plop ourselves down in the Christmas calendar and ask: What’s “hottest?” Who’s got the most popular gift? What’s the best of the best? What toy/gizmo requires a five-hour wait in line? Every Christmas season there is some new sound, or flavor, or decoration, or game, or cell-phone “app” that defines the cutting edge of “cool.” And probably the memory of waiting in line, clawing through a crowd, falling into debt, will linger longer than the “new,” “cool,” “hot” thing you suffered for. But wait a minute? Isn’t the exact opposite equally true? It’s the “old” stuff that we hanker after and hunger for. We hang the ratty old homemade ornaments on the tree. We crave the same old cookie recipes. We want to hear the old arrangements of the familiar carols we heard as kids. The candlewax spotted tablecloth is reinstated. That strange cheeseball thing reappears. So much of the joy of Christmas Is the sameness of it all — Always the wreath upon the door, The festoons in the hall; The mistletoe hung overhead, The squeals at getting captured: The sparkling tree that holds its viewers Silently enraptured. The same beloved ornaments, The candles and the bells; The same old Christmas stories That Grandpa always tells The same old battered angel Once again adds to the joy — It’s stood atop the tree each year Since Grandpa was a boy. The merry family gatherings — The old, the very young: The strangely lovely way they Harmonize in carols sung. For Christmas is tradition time — Traditions that recall The precious memories down the years, The sameness of them all. Helen Lowrie Marshall (1904-1975) So which is it? Sameness or Newness? The Christmas spirit tells us that we need to stick to tradition, but the bible reminds us that Christmas is not about staying the same, it is about doing things differently. It is not about putting out the same old Christmas decorations, it is about the world being shaken upside down and us having to put it back together again. Perhaps Donald Trump’s winning is a part of God’s plan to shake the whole world apart, and for the faithful people to put it back together again. But I don’t want to talk about politics this morning, I want to talk about out faith. About our faith. About our preparations for the Christmas to come. In the midst of tradition, what will we do next. Usually on the second Sunday of Advent, I always stick to the gospel lesson of John the Baptist telling us that that kingdom of heaven is near, or the old testament lesson of Isaiah telling us of a new world with Emmanuel – God present. But this year I want to reflect on Romans. It has a powerful lesson for us today. An Advent message. A message guaranteed to shake up our Christmas preparation. Paul encourages us to have hope. But not just any hope, but hope through endurance and encouragement. And that encouragement can only come through reading the scriptures. Not just reading them, but thinking about them and applying them to our lives. More importantly applying the bible to the way we treat one another. Paul says to welcome one another the way Christ welcomed you. Imagine hope like one artist does, as a woman sitting on a rock, battered a nd bruised holding a harp and all of the strings are broken except one. The strings represent the elements of our lives, like our family, our job, our friends, our resources. Even though all of the strings are broken, there is one that is not, and that is the one that she plays constantly. That one string represents Jesus Christ. When everything else in life is meant to be broken, Jesus is our hope, our strength, our endurance, our encouragement. The message of Romans however, is that hope is not just the foundation of our individual lives, but it is the foundation of our fellowship as Christians. And it is our fellowship that draws and attracts others to Christ. That is why he reminds us to welcome one another, the way Christ welcomed us. Our strength relies on the way we treat one another. Paul spells out the marks of fellowship what should be present in the way we treat one another. The marks of fellowship are consideration of one another, a place where scripture is studied and we are able to draw our encouragement from what we read, We should have fortitude, hope, harmony and praise. Where do we stand in the marks of fellowship? What do we do well, what do we need to work on, what needs to change? Christmas and advent is a time for us to examine ourselves and to walk a better way to Jesus. But in order for us to change, we have to be able to have hope. I think it was Winston Churchill who said that there are no hopeless situations, on hopeless people in those situations. Anything can change, if we just trust in God. If we remember that is why Christ came into the world, to remind us that anything can change in the presence of God. A miracle is just around the corner. We just have to believe, and live in that belief. I want to share with you stories about the power of hope and living hopeful life. SERMON ILLUSTRATION Trapped Ice Climber Remembers His Father's Words In June of 1992, Jim Davidson and Mike Price climbed Mt. Ranier. On the way down from the summit, the two climbers fell 80 feet through a snow bridge into a glacial crevasse, a pitch-black, ice-walled crack in the massive glaciers that cover Mt. Ranier. Mike Price died. In his book The Ledge, Jim Davidson tells the story of his miraculous survival and courageous climb out of the crevasse. Throughout the book, Jim reflects back to his childhood and young adult years, describing his relationship with his father. As early as Jim can remember, his father had shown what some considered an almost reckless confidence in his son. Jim worked for his father painting high, steep-pitched roofs and electrical towers as early as age 12. The work terrified his mother, but Jim's father kept communicating his belief that Jim could accomplish great things if he pressed through adversity and kept going. As Jim stood, bloodied and bruised, on the two-foot wide snow ledge next to the body of his climbing partner, he heard the voice of his father. The years of inspiration that Jim's father had invested in him flooded back into his mind and washed over him with encouragement. With minimal gear and no experience in ice climbing at that level, Jim spent the next five hours climbing out, battling fatigue and the crumbling ice and snow that threatened to bury him. Throughout his ordeal, Jim kept recalling the words of his father. Five grueling hours later, thanks to his father's words, Jim climbed out of the crevasse to safety. What words of encouragement has the living Christ offered in your life? How has your heavenly father encouraged you in your life. What obstacles do you need to overcome with Hope, endurance and encouragement. Another story… SERMON ILLUSTRATION Cook Offers Encouragement and Prayer at Children's Hospital A 2009 article in the Chicago Tribune told the story of Bettye Tucker, a Christian cook who works the night shift at Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. She has been doing her job for 43 years—28 of them on the night shift. She sees a steady stream of parents in her job, many of them frightened and weary. On one particular night around the time the article was written, Miss Bettye (as she is referred to by all who know her) served food to a mother whose three-year-old fell out of a second story window that morning, another mother whose seventeen-year-old was battling a rare form of leukemia, and a third mother whose eighteen-year-old had endured seven hours of brain surgery. Their stories break the heart of Miss Bettye, and—as one coworker interviewed for the article says—"that's why she feeds every last one of them as if they had walked right into the 'too-small' kitchen of [the] South Side brick bungalow [where she lives]." A member of the hospital's housekeeping crew adds this about Miss Bettye: "You need someone to bring you life, and she brings it in the middle of the night." A picture of Miss Bettye that accompanied the article shows a woman with a beautiful smile. It's hard to imagine how much that smile would mean to a suffering parent or child. She says, "When I ask, 'How you doin' today?' and they say it's not a good day, I say, 'Don't lose hope.' When the nurses tell me it's a bad night, I say, 'I understand it's a bad night. But guess what? I am here for you. I'm going to get you through the night.'" Another picture shows Bettye sitting down, head bowed, over a meal. "I'm a praying lady," she says in the article. "I pray every night, for every room and every person in the hospital. I start with the basement, and I go up, floor by floor, room by room. I pray for the children, I pray for the families, I pray for the nurses and the doctors. … I say, every night while I'm driving in on the expressway, 'Oh, Lord, I don't know what I'll face tonight, but I pray you'll guide me through.'" The reporter behind the article, Barbara Mahany, offers these words about Miss Bettye: "Just might be, that divine helping on the side is the most essential item on Miss Bettye's menu. The one she stirs in every broth, and every whisper. The ingredient that makes her the perpetual light shining in the all-night kitchen." (5 reviews) This is the Christmas where everything will change. Because this is the Christmas where hope will be apart of everything that you do and every interaction that you do. Amen. Other illustrations…… SERMON ILLUSTRATION Trapped Ice Climber Remembers His Father's Words In June of 1992, Jim Davidson and Mike Price climbed Mt. Ranier. On the way down from the summit, the two climbers fell 80 feet through a snow bridge into a glacial crevasse, a pitch-black, ice-walled crack in the massive glaciers that cover Mt. Ranier. Mike Price died. In his book The Ledge, Jim Davidson tells the story of his miraculous survival and courageous climb out of the crevasse. Throughout the book, Jim reflects back to his childhood and young adult years, describing his relationship with his father. As early as Jim can remember, his father had shown what some considered an almost reckless confidence in his son. Jim worked for his father painting high, steep-pitched roofs and electrical towers as early as age 12. The work terrified his mother, but Jim's father kept communicating his belief that Jim could accomplish great things if he pressed through adversity and kept going. As Jim stood, bloodied and bruised, on the two-foot wide snow ledge next to the body of his climbing partner, he heard the voice of his father. The years of inspiration that Jim's father had invested in him flooded back into his mind and washed over him with encouragement. With minimal gear and no experience in ice climbing at that level, Jim spent the next five hours climbing out, battling fatigue and the crumbling ice and snow that threatened to bury him. Throughout his ordeal, Jim kept recalling the words of his father. Five grueling hours later, thanks to his father's words, Jim climbed out of the crevasse to safety. Children’s Sermon…… Object: the heartbeat of each child. Good morning, children. This is the first Sunday of the most exciting month. How many of you know what month this is? That's right, December. It seems that all of the other months, like January and July and October, are in the calendar so that they will get us to December. I know that you like December because of a very special day. What day do you like so much that comes in the month of December? That's right, Christmas. There is something else that gets us to December every year that is even more important than the dates or months on a calendar. I want you all to choose a partner and be very quiet so that you can listen for a steady sound. [Let them all select some partner.] Now, I want you to take turns and listen for a sound that you can hear in each other's chest. [Show them by letting someone listen to your chest and vice versa.] Do you hear that beat? What is that sound that you hear? The heart, that's right, and your heart sounds exactly like your partner's heart. Did you notice how steady it is? Thump, thump, thump, over and over again your heart beats out the same rhythm. We could call your heart "steadfast." Can you say that word with me? "Steadfast." We must be steadfast, too. Day after day, year after year, the Bible tells the same story of the wonderful things that God did and still continues to do. When we are sad, joyful, afraid, excited, or however we feel, we should read the Bible and listen to God's teaching. Even now while we are waiting for Jesus to come and be born in our world again, the place that we go to look for him is the Bible. The Bible gives us hope. So remember this: The Bible teaches us to be as steady and dependable as our heart is. God wants us to be in rhythm with him. The next time you listen to a heart beat, remember how good it is for us to be steadfast in God.