New Promises for a New Day

March 22, 2015 Jeremiah 31:31-40 Promises Year B Fifth Sunday of Lent Have you ever known someone who never had anything positive to say about anything? Everything was negative, gloom and doom. Everyday they gave you some warning about life. My grandmother was like that. She had a negative story for every occasion in life. Every day she would tell me a story of woa and beware. She had a warning for everything. One day I burst out and told her to just leave me alone and let me make my own mistakes. Learning from my mistakes in life was much better than having to listen to you mouth every day. I was 13 years old when that happen. There were several times that year when I would say, Grandma you talk too much, why don’t you just shut up. Today I stand here amazed that I am still alive to tell that story. Amongst her other good qualities, grandma was amazingly kind, patient and forgiving to her favorite grandchild. She never said a word to me in my outburst, she would just quietly wait for me to finish, and go on. Jeremiah was that irritating person for the Isrealite people. He never had anything nice to say to them. Everyday he had a warning about his behavior, everyday he warned them that if they didn’t get any better that the wrath of God would be upon them. He reminded the people of their own sinfulness. They did more then tell him to shut up. They persecuted him all of his life. Jeremiah came from a family of priest of the temple. He says that he was called by God to be a prophet very early in his life. He says that God put charcoal on his tongue to cleanse his words, and touched him to speak truth to the people. The thing is, people didn’t want to hear the truth. Even his own brothers beat him up for talking too much. The king would order him to be thrown out of town if he didn’t shut up. One day the people got so mad at him that they through him into a cistern, a water tank and left him there to die, but he did not die and he did not shut up. Eventually they got so tired of hearing his warnings that they exiled him to Egypt – He spent the rest of his life there, no one knows what happened to him. But his words survived. Just as now I treasure every word that my grandma said, and I wished that I had been mature enough to listen more carefully. Jeremiah became one of the most important prophets to the Isrealite people. They learned to treasure his words, and they recognized that he was truly a prophet from God. Jeremiah is one of the second most important prophets in the bible. One day things got so bad, that he realized that there was nothing else that he could say. Instead of preaching gloom and doom, he had to give the people words of hope, a word from God that punishment will only last so long, and that things will get better. Our scripture for today is known as the hope scroll. God made a promise to each of us a long time ago – a promise that he would love us unconditionally. As we go through lent season we are always reminded of God’s promises to us. THE COVENANTS Eternal covenant, Heb 13:20—The redemptive covenant before time began, between the Father and the Son. By this covenant we have eternal redemption, an eternal peace from the ‘God of peace’, through the death and resurrection of the Son. Edenic covenant, Gen 1:26-28—The creative covenant between the Triune God, as the first party (Gen 1:26), and newly created man, as the second party, governing man’s creation and life in Edenic innocence. It regulated man’s dominion and subjugation of the earth, and presented a simple test of obedience. The penalty was death. Adamic covenant, Gen 3:14-19—The covenant conditioning fallen man’s life on the earth. Satan’s tool (the serpent) was cursed (Gen 3:14); the first promise of the Redeemer was given (3:15); women’s status was altered (3:16); the earth was cursed (3:17-19); physical and spiritual death resulted (3:19). Noahic covenant, Gen 8:20-9:6—The covenant of human government. Man is to govern his fellowmen for God, indicated by the institution of capital punishment as the supreme judicial power of the state (Gen 9:5-6). Other features included the Abrahamic covenant, Gen 12:1-3; confirmed, 13:14-17; 15:1-7; 17:1-8—The covenant of promise. Abraham’s posterity was to be made a great nation. In him (through Christ) all the families of the earth were to be blessed (Gal 3:16; Jn 8:56-58). Mosaic covenant, Ex 20:1-31:18—The legal covenant, given solely to Israel. It consisted of the commandments (Ex 20:1-26); the judgments (social) - (Ex 21:1; 24:11) and the ordinances (religious); (Ex 24:12-31:18); also called the law. It was a conditional covenant of works, a ministry of ‘condemnation’ and ‘death’ (2 Cor 3:7-9), designed to lead the transgressor (convicted thereby as a sinner) to Christ. Palestinian covenant, Deut 30:1-10—The covenant regulating Israel’s tenure of the land of Canaan. Its prophetic features include dispersion of disobedience (Deut 30:1), future repentance while in dispersion (30:2), the Lord’s return (30:3), the restoration (30:4-5), national conversion (3:6), judgment of Israel’s foes (30:7), national prosperity (30:9). Its blessings are conditioned upon obedience (30:8, 10), but fulfillment is guaranteed by the new covenant. Davidic covenant, 2 Sam 7:4-17, 1 Chr 17:4-15—The kingdom covenant regulating the temporal and eternal rule of David’s posterity. It secures in perpetuity a Davidic ‘house’ or line, a throne, and a kingdom. It was confirmed by divine oath in Ps 89:30-37 and renewed to Mary in Lk 1:31-33. It is fulfilled in Christ as the World’s Saviour and Israel’s coming King (Acts 1:6; Rev 19:16; 20:4-6). New covenant, Jer 31:31-33; Mt 26:28; Mk 14:24; Lk 22:20; Heb 8:8-12—The covenant of unconditional blessing based upon the finished redemption of Christ. It secures blessing for the church, flowing from the Abrahamic covenant (Gal 3:13-20), and secures all covenant blessings to converted Israel, including those of the Abrahamic, Palestinian, and Davidic covenants. This covenant is unconditional, final and irreversible. On first Sunday when we have communion – we repeat the words of Jesus when he says that this is the new convenant, poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Jesus Christ is the new covenant – the new promise. The Old Covenant made provision for sin to be covered, whereas the New Covenant cleanses it. It's the same difference as covering a dirty shirt with a jacket or having it totally cleansed. God does not look at us through Christ so that His blood covers our sins. Rather, Christ's blood completely removes our sin. ________________________________________ You're in the middle of dinner, about to go out to a special function where you are the guest speaker. You spill tomato sauce all down your front. You have two choices: you can either put on another shirt, or you can just wear a jacket to cover up the stain. The blood of bulls and goats that were such a prominent feature of the Old Covenant, could never do anything to the stain of sin except cover it up. But the blood of Jesus cleanses that stain completely. Now you may ask, what makes the new promise of God so different than the old promise of God. Afterall a promise is a promise. And God did indeed promise to love us. God did indeed say that he would do all of the hard work of the promise and all that we had to do is to follow along and do what he said. Accept his love and life our lives with his love in mind. God didn’t break his promise to us – we broke our promise to God. We didn’t hold up our end of the bargain. So God made a new covenant with us. The difference this time is that God gave us the ability to be faithful. He paved the way so that we could actually keep our promise and live in the new covenant of Jesus Christ. He did that by forgiving us, by evening the playing field. So that we did not have to live in the consequences of our own actions, we could know that we are forgiven and have a chance to start all over again. This time the laws of God are not things out there that we have to obey, they are things in here that keep us going and guide our actions. Jeremiah says that the laws of God will be written in our hearts. We don’t remember them we can live them. We’ve talked about the eternal and daily nature of our covenant with God. The problem is that while we can understand the reason behind the covenant, as long as we are deciding what to do in our minds, we won’t make changes to live out the covenant. That is why the prophesy explains that God will write the new covenant on our hearts. Only when we move from our brains to our hearts will we become the Christians God is calling us to be. Author Ray Bradbury says: “If we listened to our intellect, we’d never have a love affair. We’d never have a friendship. We’d never go into business because we’d be cynical. Well, that’s nonsense. You’ve got to jump off cliffs all the time and build your wings on the way down.” When we hold something in our heart – we treasure it. It affects our feelings and our being. For the ancient jews, the heart was the center of you whole being. It represented who you were as a person. You don’t fall in love with your mind, you fall in love with your heart. Last night Darnell and Gwen Brown renewed their marriage vows and celebrated their marriage of 18 years. And we are grateful that they made this service an important part of their wedding and invited so many guest to be present today. This story of marriage reminds me of them. There was a couple who had been married for some time, when the husband went away to war. When he returned, he decided that their marriage was over and that he wanted to enter in a relationship with another woman. Devasted, his wife explains that she married him because he made her a promise. And that promise made up for all of his faults. And that she too made a promise to him and that promise made up for everything that she did wrong. The husband was not convinced and still wanted to leave. And she still asked him to hold on. She told him that he had to get that promise back. They made a promise to be together for better or worse. So it was not comfort that they were looking for, they had suffered together. It was the promise that they were looking for. And it was that promise that brought them back together. And they were able to make their marriage work. Just as in marriage, the love of two people can overcome a multitude of sins. The love of God can overcome anything that we have done in life. God is saying it is okay, I forgive you. All I am asking is that you remember the promise that I wrote on your heart. Remember you first love in life. Remember that I am the center of your being and of all that you do. You don’t have to do anything just allow god to love you. God transforms our hearts from the inside out. There are some people who remember every bad thing that every happen to them. God is not one of those person, he forgets it all – so that we can have a chance to start again. Amen. Children’s Sermon What do I have here – a heart. We also have a hear inside of us – do you hear it beating. When you think of hearts like this, what does it remind you of? Love Usually we hold the things that we love in our hearts. What are some things in life that are near and dear to our hearts? Usually when we care about something we also say that we know it by heart. Many of you have learned the Lord’s prayer by heart. What are some other things in life that you know by heart? The scripture for today says that we will know the love of God by heart, because God’s rules will be written on our hearts. How many adults know the Lord’s prayer by heart? Some of us do and some of us are still learning just like some of you. But one thing that we do know is that God loves us and that God shows us his love in so many ways. So it is important for us to know God by heart. Let us pray….

Who do you trust? God or the world?

March 8, 2015 Year B 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 Who do you trust? God or the World? Third Sunday of Lent Lent is journey to cross We have to be reminded that lent is our journey to the cross and its power to change our lives. We have to be reminded that lent is our reminder that it is time for a serious change in our lives. But in order to truly change what is wrong with our lives, we have to truly face it, understand its affect on us, and come to terms with the fact that things don’t change because we want, but because of the power of the cross. Before we can live in the light, we have to face to the darkness in our lives. That is the journey of lent. We are all sinners, we are all in need of salvation, and the cross is the only thing that can transform the world. The cross is a very powerful symbol in our lives. The power of the cross There was a catholic priest who went to do some missionary work on a tropical island. He preached to them many times about the power of the Christ. One native man refused to listen to the priest and the message of the cross. When he heard the priest preach, he ran into a tree. Not to be defeated the priest followed him out of the church and started to pray for him under the tree. After the prayer, the priest looked up at the man and made the sign of the cross, as catholics are taught to do. The man immediately ran down from the tree and said that he would follow Jesus. The priest was excited and said that his prayers worked. The man said no, it was not the prayer but the sign he made. The sign of the cross, yeah said the man, as he made the sign of the cross. You told me to come down from the tree – or you would cut my head off. The cross is a powerful sign, and it brings about powerful changes in our lives. The cross is our call to action – the cross challenges us all to come down out of our trees of complacency and to step into the life of Christ. The sense of the world Lent is a time to remind us that if we are not careful, if we are not intentional about our relationship with God, that it can be easy to start to make sense of the things that we see in the world. I am amazed at how much money Mcdonald’s will spend on lent commercials. They photograph that fish filet sandwich just right, so that it looks so good, that we can be fooled into thinking that honoring lent is about going out to spend money at Mcdonald’s to buy the perfect fish sandwich. Or lent is about watching finding Jesus on CNN and not about finding Jesus in the word of God. The world knows that we as humans have an incessant need to make sense of the world. And they play on our need to make sense in order to put money in their pocket. Lent is our reminder that sometimes we have to unplug from the world in order to truly make sense of the world. Riddles Let me test your need to make sense by asking you some questions. Smith and Jones had an oyster eating contest, to see who could eat the most oysters. Smith at 90 and Jones ate 101, how many more oysters did Jones eat? Here is another one – There are16 earsof corn in a barrel. A rabbit carried 3 ears off each night, how many nights did it take him to empty the barrel. If you make sense of what I said. – when I said that jones at 101 you heard a number. You did not hear me say Jones ate 100 and won – won. And when you heard me say the rabbit carried 3 ears, you forgot that the bunny carries two ears on his head all of the time, so he would only carry one ear of corn in a night. Just like we get caught up in riddles, we get caught up in the reasoning of the world. Until we come to understand that God does not make sense, things will never change. The world we live in teaches us to make sense. The cross teaches us that the actions of God – don’t make sense. You see when Paul is talking to the Corinthians, he tells them that what is foolishness for the world, is wisdom for God. And what is wisdom in God’s – is foolishness to the world. To the world the cross was foolishness. Only a criminal who was a menace to society would be crucified on the cross. If you had a family member who died on the cross – your family lived in shame. Even the bible says that those who die on a tree are cursed. To the world, the cross does not make sense. In order to know what the cross really represents you have to know the power of God. God turns the world upside down First comes Jesus’ willingness to sacrifice his human life for eternal life. First comes the gift of weakness that overwhelms the “human” power of wisdom and strength. First comes “we” rather than “me.” This is the Christ “meta-narrative” — the BIG Christ story — the story of love and sacrifice that over-trumps the “me-only” soliloquy — the separate, solo tale that so many of us live by. The BIG Christ story, the ridiculous road that Paul offered by proclaiming a Savior who was weak enough to be crucified and yet strong enough to redeem all who follow The Way, offered strange, “nutty” directions: The way up is down The way in is out The way first is last The way of success is service The way of attainment is relinquishment. The way of strength is weakness The way of security is vulnerability The way of protection is forgiveness The way of life is the way of death. Taken from Leonard Sweet’s sermon “The Outlandishness of Lent” NUTS for God The truth is, God’s invitation for those of us, who take the cross seriously is for us to be nuts in the eyes of the world. Nuts are those who never underestimate the spirit. Corinthians reminds us that the foolishness of God is wiser them human wisdom, and that the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. The cross is a reminders that the divine was willing to take on human flesh, human problems, human sin. In order to give us a chance to a better life. Things don’t change, until we stop trying to make sense of the world, and accept God’s amazing grace for our life. Paul says that the message of the cross is foolishness for those who are perishing. But it is the power of God for those of us who are being saved. This lent, let the cross be your call to action. The Cross—A Call to Action “And they crucified him.… And sitting down they watched him there” (Matt. 27:35–36). Like those Roman soldiers, many of us merely lapse into inaction. But the cross of Christ is infinitely more than a showcase, an exhibit to arouse curiousity. It is a clarion call to action, commitment, and discipleship. Confession andPardon Amen. Children’s Sermon…… A Green Couch For God by King Duncan Passage: 1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5 • Lectionary: Lent 3 Item 10 of 28 | Back to Results Object: Two colorful socks that don't match Boys and girls,Choosing Christ at the Crossroads, #2 What do I have here? I have two socks, don't I? Notice that I did not say I have a pair of socks. These socks don't match, do they? One is green and one is red. I started to wear these two socks to church, but I was afraid someone might see them and I would feel very foolish if I people saw me with two socks that don't match. Our Bible lesson tells us that God did something that many people think is foolish. God sent Jesus to die on the cross for the sins of the world. To people who don't know God, that sounds like a very silly thing to do. But we know it is not foolish. God wanted to rescue us from the power of sin and this was the only way it could be done. So what seems like foolishness to many people is very important to us. It reminds us that God loves us enough to look silly to the world. Extra Illustrations Text Illustration: Knowledge is exploding at such a rate—more than 2000 pages a minute—that even Einstein couldn’t keep up. In fact, if you read 24 hours a day, from age 21 to 70, and retained all you read, you would be one and a half million years behind when you finished. How can it be, in a world where half the things a man knows at 20 are no longer true at 40—and half the things he knows at 40 hadn’t been discovered when he was 20? (Campus Life, Feb., 1979). "Maybe it’s time we reconsider what it means to be intelligent,” says David Brooks of the Weekly Standard. After being questioned about his experience and smarts for the job as President, George W. Bush has amazed us during these troubled times. Experts are confounded. “Why is George W. Bush, the ‘simple-minded president’ getting everything right? He’s got something the pointy-heads don’t understand. “ It’s his Faith--his faith has made the man. His faith brings confidence--"God has chosen me for this moment in time.” His faith brings humility--he can be a good judge of character because he is not absorbed with himself. His faith provides good judgment—he has a standard by which to weigh right and wrong. So if faith seems un-intellectual to you-- if you believe faith is un-necessary and obtrusive in the government of America-- think again. “For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.” SOURCE: SermonCentral Staff. Citation: 1 Corinthians 1: 25, AND David Brooks. “You Gotta Have Faith.” 3/01/2002. http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/ Priorities To know and to serve God, of course, is why we're here, a clear truth, that, like the nose on your face, is near at hand and easily discernible but can make you dizzy if you try to focus on it hard. But a little faith will see you through. What else will do except faith in such a cynical, corrupt time? When the country goes temporarily to the dogs, cats must learn to be circumspect, walk on fences, sleep in trees, and have faith that all this woofing is not the last word. What is the last word, then? Gentleness is everywhere in daily life, a sign that faith rules through ordinary things: through cooking and small talk, through storytelling, making love, fishing, tending animals and sweet corn and flowers, through sports, music and books, raising kids - all the places where the gravy soaks in and grace shines through. Garrison Keillor, We Are Still Married, New York: Viking, 1989. From the essay: The Meaning of Life. __________________________ 1996 One Thing God Can’t Do A Sunday school teacher was examining her pupils after a series of lessons on God’s omnipotence. She asked, “Is there anything God can’t do?” There was silence. Finally, one lad held up his hand. The teacher, disappointed that the lesson’s point had been missed, asked resignedly, “Well, just what is it that God can’t do?” “Well,” replied the boy, “He can’t please everybody.” —Together 1996 One Thing God Can’t Do A Sunday school teacher was examining her pupils after a series of lessons on God’s omnipotence. She asked, “Is there anything God can’t do?” There was silence. Finally, one lad held up his hand. The teacher, disappointed that the lesson’s point had been missed, asked resignedly, “Well, just what is it that God can’t do?” “Well,” replied the boy, “He can’t please everybody.” —Together The Cross—A Call to Action “And they crucified him.… And sitting down they watched him there” (Matt. 27:35–36). Like those Roman soldiers, many of us merely lapse into inaction. But the cross of Christ is infinitely more than a showcase, an exhibit to arouse curiousity. It is a clarion call to action, commitment, and discipleship.

A Slave or a servant to the Gospel

February 8, 2015 1 Corinthians 9:16-23 Free to Serve Year B 5th Sunday after Epiphany Slavery has had a huge effect on the psyche of African America were slaves, but it is an experience where the psychological effects on both white people and black people have been prevalent. As a matter of fact, I think that the slavery of today, is much more pervasive, careless, and cruel than anything that we have read about in ur history books. As a matter of fact, in the 1600 and 1700’s a household would have both slaves and servants. There were people in Europe who could not afford to come to America. So they would sell themselves to a family for a period of time so that they could pay for their expenses of coming to America. And they were treated no better them slaves. It was sort of like to treatment that you give to a car that you own, and a car that you rented and are about to return. You take care of the car that you own, where you could care less about a car that you are about to return. It wasn’t until slaves had been in the society for some time that slave owners became cruel and careless. They defined slaves as less than people to make sure that they did not have to basic rights as other people in society. There was such negative feelings around the concept of slavery, that it even affected the way the bible was written. There are two words for slave or servant in the greek language. Doulos means slave – a slave is owned and controlled my their master. And there is diakonos – which is considered a servant, with no concept of ownership. If you read an English bible, you will always see the word servant unless the sentence is a direct reference to a particular person. There are 22 references to servants in the new testament. The reality is that most of those references use the greek word doulous- a slave owned by his master. When Jesus talks about the word slave – his uses the word doulous. Paul also talks about being a slave – in our scripture in 1 Corinthians. Paul starts out by talking about his right to get paid for his work. He works as a tentmaker in order to earn his way. But he sort of shifts his conversation on being a slave – a slave to God and a slave to spreading the gospel. He says that he is obligated by Christ to spread the gospel. He has no choice. And that he is so obligated, that he has to give people the good news no matter what. In order to spread the gospel, he has to get into their world, not his. Ramon Lull, the great Spanish saint and mystic, tells us how he became a missionary of Christ. He had been living a careless and pleasure-loving life. Then one day, when he was alone, Christ came carrying his Cross and saying to him, “Carry this for me.” But he refused. Again, when he was in the silence of a great cathedral, Christ came and asked him to carry his Cross; and again he refused. In a lonely moment Christ came a third time, and this time, said Ramon Lull, “He took his Cross and with a look he left it lying in my hands. What could I do but take it up and carry it on?” Paul would have said, “What can I do but tell men the good news of Christ?” Jesus calls for all of us to be a slave to the gospel. Not a servant of the gospel, but a slave. Let God take complete control of your mind, body and spirit. Put God first in the midst of all of your priorities. Know that God has complete control of our actions. The bad news that a slave is considered property, you are owned by your master. Jesus Christ paid a high price for you. He bought you with his blood. The good news is that if God is your master, that is the only way to truly be free. Jesus bought you, so that you would be free. Slavery in the 1700’s and 1800’s may have been really cruel. But I think that slavery today is even crueler. People are no longer seen as tools to be used, they are commodities. The people who are running the world don’t care about people anymore. They don’t care about how people are being affected, they don’t care about the mess that they make. Today there are people who are slaves to debt, slaves to what others think, slaves to violence, slaves to drugs, even slaves to the economy. There are many broken people in the world. There are many more who think that is how life is supposed to be. They don’t know that God created them to be free to all influences of the world. Paul says that we have an obligation to let them know that they are not slave to the world, but they are heirs of the beauty of God. William Barclay is a scholar who explains scripture. Usually I don’t use his commentary when I am trying to explain scripture. He wrote early in the 1900’s, so his understanding does not always make sense for today. But today I think he got it right as he explains Paul’s motives for speaking to us in 1 Corinthians. He says that to be a slave to the gospel is a priviledge. If we love God,then we should have joy in doing his bidding. When we tell others about God and what God has done for us, we have joy and peace. But it is also a duty. If we don’t tell others the good news, then how do they know. God has no other voice but ours. It is a great reward – When people actually listen to us, and their lives are changed. We can take pride that not only have we received a gift fromGod, but we were able to pass that word on. And how do we do that? Spreading God’s word is all about getting to know people, speaking to them about things that they are interested in, and finding what you have in common with them. I was able to preach twice while I was in Thailand. I actually wrote two different sermons while I was away. I preached to students in seminary about the importance of marches around the world. They enjoyed that I taught them the words to we are Marching in the light of God. And to a congregation _I preached the comfort of Romans 8 nothing separates us from the love of God. I was a little nervous, I don’t know anything about Thai culture, I don’t know even speak the language. Someone had to translate for me, so I am assuming they were able to repeat what I said. But I realized that what we had in common was the love of Christ. If I just stuck to the bible, and told the good news that has been told to me, then I would be okay. Both groups got the message. A man tells the story about a special friend he made while just a boy. When quite young, Paul’s father had one of the first telephones in their neighbourhood. Paul was too little to reach the telephone, but used to listen with fascination when his mother talked to it. Then Paul discovered that somewhere inside the wonderful device lived an amazing person – her name was “Information, Please” and there was nothing she did not know. “Information, Please” could supply anybody’s number and the correct time. Paul’s first personal experience with this genie-in the-bottle came one day while his mother was visiting a neighbour. Amusing himself at the tool bench in the basement, Paul hacked his finger with a hammer. The pain was terrible, but there didn’t seem to be any reason in crying because there was no one home to give sympathy. He walked around the house sucking his throbbing finger, finally arriving at the stairway. The telephone! Quickly, Paul ran for the foot stool in the parlour and dragged it to the landing. Climbing up, he unhooked the receiver in the parlour and held it to his ear. “Information, Please,” he said into the mouthpiece just above his head. A click or two and a small clear voice spoke into Paul’s ear. “Information.” “I hurt my finger,” Paul wailed into the phone. “Isn’t your mother home?” came the question. “Nobody’s home but me” Paul blubbered. “Are you bleeding?” the voice asked. “No,” he replied. “I hit my finger with the hammer and it hurts.” “Can you open your icebox?” she asked. He said he could. “Then chip off a little piece of ice and hold it to your finger,” said the voice. After that, Paul called “Information, Please” for everything. He asked her for help with his geography and she told me where Philadelphia was. She helped him with his maths. She told Paul that his pet chipmunk, which he had caught in the park just the day before, would eat fruit and nuts. Then, there was the time Petey, the pet canary died. Paul called and told her the sad story. She listened, then said the usual things grown-ups say to soothe a child, but Paul was inconsolable. He asked her, “Why is it that birds should sing so beautifully and bring joy to all families, only to end up as a heap of feathers on the bottom of a cage?” She must have sensed his deep concern, for she said quietly, “Paul, always remember that there are other worlds to sing in.” Somehow he felt better. . When Paul was nine years old, his family moved across the country to Boston. Paul missed his friend very much. “Information, Please” belonged in that old wooden box back home, and he somehow never thought of trying the tall, shiny new phone that sat on the table in the hall. As he grew into my teens, the memories of those childhood conversations never really left him. Often, in moments of doubt and perplexity Paul would recall the serene sense of security he had then. He appreciated now how patient, understanding, and kind she was to have spent her time on a little boy. A few years later, on his way west to college, Paul’s plane put down in Seattle. He had about half an hour or so between planes. He spent 15 minutes on the phone with my sister, who lived there now. Then without thinking what he was doing, Paul dialled his hometown operator and said, “Information, Please.” Source: Unknown. So what does that story have to do with being a slave to Christ? What does it have to do with spreading the good news of salvation to the world? In this story an operator was able to become information please to a young boy in need. She knew how to listen to what he needed, and to relate to him in a way that was helpful. Sometimes we are so confused about spreading the gospel. We don’t want to be JehovahWitnesses, knocking on strangers doors telling them that they are going to hell if they don’t change their lives and come to church. Spreading the gospel is about developing relationships with people and accepting them for who they are, where they are. It is about making friends, and once you are friends, you introduce them to your friend. Your master. It is being information please, to a young boy who needs someone to talk to.it is listening, caring, sharing. We are slaves to the gospel, If we believe what it says. It sets us free from all of the traps of life. Trust that if God did it foryou, he will do it for others. Amen. Commentary "Servant" in our English New Testament usually represents the Greek doulos (bondslave). Sometimes it means diakonos (deacon or minister); this is strictly accurate, for doulos and diakonos are synonyms. Both words denote a man who is not at his own disposal, but is his master's purchased property. Bought to serve his master's needs, to be at his beck and call every moment, the slave's sole business is to do as he is told. Christian service therefore means, first and foremost, living out a slave relationship to one's Savior (1 Corinthians. 6:19-20). What work does Christ set his servants to do? The way that they serve him, he tells them, is by becoming the slaves of their fellow-servants and being willing to do literally anything, however costly, irksome, or undignified, in order to help them. This is what love means, as he himself showed at the Last supper when he played the slave's part and washed the disciples' feet. When the New Testament speaks of ministering to the saints, it means not primarily preaching to them but devoting time, trouble, and substance to giving them all the practical help possible. The essence of Christian service is loyalty to the king expressing itself in care for his servants (Matthew 25: 31-46). Only the Holy Spirit can create in us the kind of love toward our Savior that will overflow in imaginative sympathy and practical helpfulness towards his people. Unless the spirit is training us in love, we are not fit persons to go to college or a training class to learn the know-how or particular branches of Christian work. Gifted leaders who are self-centered and loveless are a blight to the church rather than a blessing. James Packer, Your Father Loves You, Harold Shaw Publishers, 1986. In ancient times the slave was seen as a tool much like a hammer or shovel, and there were three kinds of tools. Mute, like a shovel; it can't talk or communicate in any way. Inarticulate, like a donkey; it can make a noise but has limited communicative ability. And articulate, like a human being; it can talk. So if you hit your finger with a hammer and got angry you had a perfect right to smash that hammer to pieces. If your donkey didn't move when you wanted it to, you had every right to whip it. And if you didn't like the way your slave looked at you, you had every right to beat him or do whatever you liked to him. Children’s Sermon… JESUS SHARES HIS VICTORY Passage: 1 Corinthians 9:1-27 • Lectionary: Epiphany 5 Item 8 of 8 | Back to Results I Corinthians 9:24 "Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we are unperishable." Object: Blue ribbons (a ribbon for each child) Good morning WINNERS!!! Did you hear that? I called you WINNERS. How many of you feel as though you had won something? Do you know what you have won? Before I tell you what you have won I must give you something. When a man wins a race or a woman wins first prize at a flower show or you are first in a school art show, what do you get? (Let them guess - some will say a trophy, others money, but someone will say a ribbon). A Blue Ribbon. That's right. How many people can win a race or any contest? Most of the time only one person wins, but today all of you are winners. (Pass out the ribbons). Not one of you has lost. At least I don't think so. Do you know what you have won? I'm going to tell you. You have all received eternal life. Isn't that great? How many of you love and trust Jesus even better than your best friend? You do? That's great. Well, if you do, God says that you are on his team and that since his team has won, you are all winners. That's right. Jesus died on the Cross to make all believers winners. Now you know why you have the Blue Ribbon and while you didn't win any race all by yourself, Jesus did win it and he wants to share his win with you. That is, if you believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. And we all do, don't we? 0-89536-041-1

A look into your future

February 1, 2015 Deuteronomy 18:15-20 Year B Fourth Sunday of Epiphany We seem to have an obsession to be able to predict the future we need to know the outcome of everything. I noticed that there have been more predictions about who is going to win the superbowl than I have ever seen. I have seen all kinds of stories about how dogs, tigers, and crocodiles have been given a choice between the patriots and the seahawks. And that the animal made some choice. What Amazes me about these stories, is not so much that they were able to make a choice, but people start to brag about the record of these arbitrary events. This particular tiger has predicted the winner of the superbowl for the last 4 years…really? A tiger being able to predict the future? Tomorrow is ground hog day, where we watch to see if the ground hog will see his shadow. This arbitrary ground hog has the power to tell us what the next six weeks will be like? Really? Desperate and lonely for female company, a frog telephoned a psychic telephone service to find out what his future held. The person on the other end of the line said, "You will meet a beautiful young woman who will find you very interesting and want to know all about you." Excited and amazed, the frog asked excitedly, "That's wonderful! Where will I meet her? At work? At a party?" "No," said the psychic. "In a biology class." We are not frogs, we are children of God. So why would we leave something so sacred as our future up to tigers, and ground hogs, and arbitrary guesses of other people. Personally, I can appreciate John Wesley’s belief on the future. What we will become, or what happens to us has not been determined yet. We learned last week, that God knows our future, God knows what will become of us. But even God can change God’s mind. Prayer, faithfulness, and repentance can change things. Who I will be, and what will become with me, is not stored up for me in a book. My ultimate future is contained in my relationship with God. The bible says that eternity starts today. It starts with my ability to have a relationship with God. Our obsession with trying to predict the future stands in the way of us understanding what a prophet is and what a prophet does. When we think of prophecy, we think of it as a word about our future. It is about what is going to happen to us in the future. Deuteronomy 18 says that one way to test whether a prophet is true, is to see if what they have to say comes true or not. But Deuteronomy is not talking about the future, it is talking about today. In Hebrew belief, all there is is the here and now. Life is not so much about what it going to happen tomorrow, it is about today. All that we have any control of is what we are doing today. That is why it is called the present. We cant do anything about what happen yesterday, we cant do anything about what will happen tomorrow. All that we have is the present. A prophet is not someone who can predict the future, a prophet is someone who speaks for God about the conditions of today. In Deutoronomy, God says that he will send someone who can speak God’s word in the present situation. A prophet is someone who is able to listen to God. To have a relationship with God. And who is able to speak God’s word to the people. Deutoronomy says that the mark of a prophet is someone who God chooses, they don’t choose themselves. Someone who is a mediater between God and thepeople, and who speaks god’s words and not what comes to his own mind. Moses was the ultimate model of what a prophet should be and what a prophet should do. If we look at Numbers 12- Moses says that God speaks clearly to him face to face, and not in riddles. Moses was one of the few people who had a relationship with God, as if he was talking to a person. Moses has a relationship with god that was so intimate, that he was able to talk to God in a conversation, and to get answers, not just for his life, but for the lives of all of his people. As a matter of fact, in the story of numbers, Moses brother and sister criticize him for being so close to God. God gets mad at Miriam, and punishes her. Moses prays to God to be merciful to Miriam and she recovers. But it is her own encounter with God that changes her. She repents of her ways, and is allowed to be restored, so that she can begin a new relationship with God, with a new understanding, and a new respect. How many of us have had those encounters with God, that have challenged you, and caused you to have a new respect for the power of God in your life. I have those encounters each and everyday. The meaning of prophecy changes with each revelation of God. Moses is known as the founder of the jewish religion. Moses was known as the redeemer of his people. He was known as the one who had such a close relationship with God that he was able to bring the law of God to the people. But since then, we have a clearer example of one who has a relationship with God. We have someone who God chose, who god mediates with us, and who says and lives the words that God gave him. That person is Jesus Christ. And today, we cannot have a relationship with God without having a relationship with Christ, and a relationship with God’s word. Just as Moses sat on the mountain and had a lively conversation with God. We have to sit with our bible everyday and have a lively conversation with God’s word. How do we know what will become of our future, how well do we know that bible? How well do we do the will of Christ? How well do we live in the situations of today- according to the life of Christ? When we went to Malaysia in 2002, my son and I bought an electric shaver each. One of the good things about the shaver is that it has a rechargeable battery, meaning you can use it unplugged. But when you do, it gives off a low buzz. But if I plug it in it immediately steps up the revs and emits a high buzz. Unplugged it does a passable job. But plugged in it does a very good job - it works the way it was meant to. If you don't know Jesus, you can get along in everyday life without ever acknowledging Him. You can be an atheist, and get along fairly well. Before I knew Jesus Christ, I thought I was fine - but that's because I didn't know any better. I was like the unplugged shaver. I could never really do what I had been designed to do, fulfil my full potential, the plan of God for my life. There are lots of people who are getting by, but they don't realise they're not plugged into the power source. To plug into the power source, you have to be connected to God Himself through Jesus Christ. To be connected to Jesus, you have to be connected to the word of God, for today. Your today determines your tomorrow. Amen. Children’s Sermon: The Glue of God's Love by Thomas A. Pilgrim Passage: Mark 1:21-28 • Lectionary: Epiphany 4 Item 7 of 15 | Back to Results Object: A bottle of glue Lesson: Good morning boys and girls. I am glad you are here. Today in the Scripture lesson we will be reading about Jesus going to a town called Capernaum. Today I want you to look at this bottle of glue. They call this "School Glue." This is the same kind you use in school. As you already know this is really good glue because you can stick anything together with this glue. You can glue paper, plastic, wood, cloth, and just about anything else you can think of and it will stay together. Another good thing about it is that you cannot glue yourself to the floor. I was using some really strong glue one time and I actually glued myself to the floor. But you will not do that with this glue. Also, this glue will wash off your hands and clothes. So it will not make a mess you cannot clean up. Your mother does not have to worry when you use this glue. Now, let me ask you this question. Have you ever heard the expression, "I'm stuck on you?" Do you know what that means? It means, "I love you." It is something one of you boys might someday say to one of these girls. There is a glue in life that joins us together in the church. It helps us stick with our friends and our family members. Who knows what that is? It is God's love. God's love is like glue. It will hold you together when nothing else will. Jesus said to his disciples one time, "Children, love one another." He loved each one of them. And he wanted them to love each other. Everywhere Jesus went he called people to come follow him. And in doing that he was teaching them to have the same love and concern for other people that he had. Still today he wants us to be people who love him, love God, love each other and love other people, who more than anything, just need someone to love them. I am glad you came here today. May we pray: O God, help us to love each other and to love you. Help us to share your love with others. Amen. Extra Illustrations…….. There's a Spanish story of a father and son who had become estranged. The son ran away, and the father set off to find him. He searched for months to no avail. Finally, in a last desperate effort to find him, the father put an ad in a Madrid newspaper. The ad read: Dear Paco, meet me in front of this newspaper office at noon on Saturday. All is forgiven. I love you. Your Father. On Saturday 800 Pacos showed up, looking for forgiveness and love from their fathers. Bits & Pieces, October 15, 1992, p. 13. Asking for Help The early church asked for the Spirit. They acknowledged His power and His way. Sensitive souls have always turned to the Spirit for help. The Spirit does not add qualities of life we do not possess. Those qualities are not something poured into us from the outside. They are inside humans and respond to the Spirit, developing every potential to its fullest. John Milton asked the Spirit to aid him as he began his epic poem, Paradise Lost. But it would have been of little help had he not possessed the genius of a poet. John Wesley declared that the success of his work was due to the Spirit, but we must remember that Wesley was a born leader. The Spirit used him. There was something in Wesley that responded to the Spirit. A legend is told of how Moses once heard a shepherd praying, “O God, show me where you are that I may become your servant. I will clean your shoes, and comb your hair, and sew your clothes, and bring you food.” Moses rebuked him with the words: “God is Spirit and needs not such ministrations.” Thereupon the shepherd rent his clothes in dismay and fled to the desert. Then Moses was rebuked by God, saying: “You have driven away my servant … I regard not the words that are spoken but the heart that offers them.” —Eugene A. Hessel Dealing With Difficult People Earl Nightingale told how on one National Secretaries Day he gave his secretary some flowers. She remarked how beautiful they were, but wondered why they didn't have any scent. He informed her that the flowers came from a hothouse and explained that because these flowers were raised in an isolated environment, they didn't attract insects (bugs) to pollinate them. As a result, they lost their scent. In the same way, fruit raised in a hothouse, because it doesn't need to attract insects to scatter its seeds, doesn't taste as good as fruit grown in its natural environment. (Weekend Encounter, Oct. 28, 2010). When we withdraw and isolate ourselves from people who "bug" us, it might make us feel safe from harm, but it affects us in other ways. We lose a part of what God created us to be, like a rose loses its fragrance and fruit loses its taste. God uses those people who bug us to bring out the best in us. Rather than running away from those people, let Jesus live His life through you, and the fragrance will come out. (Kent Crockett, www.kentcrockett.com)

Wise People

January 4, 2015 Matthew 2:1-12 Wise People Year A Epiphany A pastor friend noted that she got a Christmas card that said that after the three wise men left, the three wiser women arrived and gave gifts that the baby could actually use – diapers, casseroles for the week and baby formula. I guess that has been the debate for years now, that if the wise men had been wise women, then the story would have been much different. I think one little girl got it right, when she came to church and asked where were the magi at in the manger. It made her Sunday school teacher realize, that the magi were not in the manger – but in the pews. That story is not so much about wise men, or even wise women. It is about the wise people of today. And we have to remember that we are the magi, the wise people coming from the east to bring Jesus gifts. After all, that is the point of the story. This was not just the messiah for the jews, this was not just an important local story. This was a momentus occasion for all kinds of people, and that following a star, they came to bear witness to what God had done for his people. Afterall, we have to realize, that the three wise men were gentiles – we are gentiles, who have become apart of the salvation story. This is the first Sunday of 2015! This is truly a day to celebrate, a new year and a new beginning. At the end of the sermon, we will pray John Wesley’s covenant prayer putting ourselves in service for another year. This is also the last Sunday of Christmas. The story of the three wise men arriving to see Jesus, is the last part of the Christmas story. So if you are like me, and you haven’t taken your Christmas tree down, the season is over – and you can begin to dismantle Christmas. Of course, for me, Christmas will be much longer, with all that I have to do this week, it looks like my tree wont be coming down until the end of January. But Christmas is not a time that ends. That is the world’s understanding of Christmas. For us, Christmas should be a time of beginning. Actually, we are in the epiphany season. A time of discovering how we can give our gifts to Christ. How can we be in service to God and help him to build his kingdom of love. There is a saying that He that knows not and knows not that he knows not; He is a fool—shun him! (2) He that knows not and knows that he knows not; He is simple—teach him! (3) He that knows and knows not that he knows; He is asleep—wake him! (4) He that knows and knows that he knows; is indeed wise person. He is a wise man—follow him! —Gospel Herald Epiphany is the time for the wise to wake up, and to realize that the time is now for us to be of service and to get to work. To be close enough to God to hear God calling you, and to know that you have all that you need to fulfill that call. Text Illustration: THE FOURTH GIFT OF THE MAGI David Dewitt states, "Though there are still many questions about the Magi that may be left unanswered, we can determine that they brought a fourth gift that is often forgotten by many. After they laid their treasures down before Mary and Joseph, they worshipped Jesus. (This is the 4th Gift – the Worship of the King of Kings) These wise men from afar came not just to court favor but to proclaim that they believed Him to be the King of kings. The greatest gift that we can offer to Jesus this Christmas is our praise and worship." The three wise men did indeed offer physical gifts, gifts that would give him his identity as a king, a priest, and a messiah. But they gave him so much more when they were willing to bow down to him and worship him. They gave him their respect. They gave him their service. They gave him honor in the midst of all that they would ever do in their lives. The wise men were gentiles, giving their lives to the service of a jewish messiah. If the wise men can take time out of their lives to give honor to God, then surely we can do the same. How can we continue to do the work of God? We have to be awake to what needs to be done? Who does God need to get across to in this day? How can we be of service to God in 2015? During the Christmas season, we gave a lot of gifts and well wishes, now we can give intentionally to build God’s church. You have heard that song – give your heart to Jesus. We can commit to give our hearts to Jesus. To care about what Jesus cares about, to care not just with our mouths, but to care with our whole selves. One familiar part of Christmas is the bell ringers and red kettles of the salvation army. William Booth is the founder of the salvation army. He was a general who lived in London. Of course today the salvation army is much more than a church, they are a social service agency which provides every imaginable service to the needs of people. They serve in places all over the world. Once, someone asked William Booth how was he able to accomplish so much in service to God. His response was that I told the Lord that he could have all that there was of William Booth. It is not just our heart, but our mind, our soul our everything. What would happen if we gave ourselves as a gift to God. That is the point of all of this gift giving stuff. To recognize that God did not keep anything from us – he gave his only begotten son so that we could have life. We have to give that life to God. There is still work to be done in 2015. The Wise men--seek Him the Wiser men--find Him the Wisest men--follow Him Let us follow him into 2015 and see where it takes us. Amen.

Bearing God

December 21, 2014 Luke 1:26-38 Bearing God Year B This is the Sunday before Christmas. This is the time when scripture comes to earth, the prophecy becomes real. This is my favorite scripture as it talks about how Mary bought the gift of salvation into the world. This is a story of how Mary and Elizabeth, two women talk about how to change the world. Just their acts of giving birth, will change politics, economics, and even the destiny of the world. There is a lot to this story – there is the promise of God, there is the discussion of Mary and Elizabeth. Today I want to focus on the message of the angel. Whenever an angel comes to deliver a message from heaven, the first thing that he says is Fear not – he is always going to tell us something that is out of our realm of understanding. In this case Mary will give birth to a son. But how is that possible, if I am a virgin. The angel says that all things are possible with God. God will not be everything that we ask, but if it is in God’s will it will happen, whether it is impossible or not. Angels always protect, guide, announce, and instruct us to fulfill Gods will. This is a good day to focus on the angel’s lesson….. The Angel's Lesson Illustration Information Title The Angel's Lesson Author Unknown Reference received from a friend on the Internet Submitted By Ellen Klinke Submitted On March 13, 2006 Last Modified March 13, 2006 Labels • Acceptance • Choice • Conversion • Grace • Love • Trusting God He placed one scoop of clay upon another until a form lay lifeless on the ground. All of the Garden's inhabitants paused to witness the event. Hawks hovered. Giraffes stretched. Trees bowed. Butterflies paused on petals and watched. "You will love me, nature," God said. "I made you that way. You will obey me, universe. For you were designed to do so. You will reflect my glory, skies, for that is how you were created. But this one will be like me. This one will be able to choose." All were silent as the Creator reached into himself and removed something yet unseen. A seed. "It's called 'choice.' The seed of choice." Creation stood in silence and gazed upon the lifeless form. An angel spoke, "But what if he..." "What if he chooses not to love?" the Creator finished. "Come, I will show you." Unbound by today, God and the angel walked into the realm of tomorrow. "There, see the fruit of the seed of choice, both the sweet and the bitter." The angel gasped at what he saw. Spontaneous love. Voluntary devotion. Chosen tenderness. Never had he seen anything like these. He felt the love of the Adams. He heard the joy of Eve and her daughters. He saw the food and the burdens shared. He absorbed the kindness and marveled at the warmth. "Heaven has never seen such beauty, my Lord. Truly, this is your greatest creation." "Ah, but you've only seen the sweet. Now witness the bitter." A stench enveloped the pair. The angel turned in horror and proclaimed, "What is it?" The Creator spoke only one word: "Selfishness." The angel stood speechless as they passed through centuries of repugnance. Never had he seen such filth. Rotten hearts. Ruptured promises. Forgotten loyalties. Children of the creation wandering blindly in lonely labyrinths. "This is the result of choice?" the angel asked. "Yes." "They will forget you?" "Yes." Yes." "They will reject you?" "Yes." "They will never come back?" "Some will. Most won't." "What will it take to make them listen?" The Creator walked on in time, further and further into the future, until he stood by a tree. A tree that would be fashioned into a cradle. Even then he could smell the hay that would surround him. With another step into the future, he paused before another tree. It stood alone, a stubborn ruler on a bald hill. The trunk was thick, and the wood was strong. Soon it would be cut. Soon it would be trimmed. Soon it would be mounted on the stony brow of another hill. And soon he would be hung on it. He felt the wood rub against a back he did not yet wear. "Will you go down there?" the angel asked. "I will." "Is there no other way?" "There is not." "Wouldn't it be easier to not plant the seed? Wouldn't it be easier to not give the choice?" "It would," the Creator spoke slowly. "But to remove the choice is to remove the love." He looked around the hill and foresaw a scene. Three figures hung on three crosses. Arms spread. Heads fallen forward. They moaned with the wind. Men clad in soldier's garb sat on the ground near the trio. They played games in the dirt and laughed. Men clad in religion stood off to one side. They smiled. Arrogant, cocky. They had protected God, they thought by killing this false one. Women clad in sorrow huddled at the foot of the hill. Speechless. Faces tear streaked. Eyes downward. One put her arm around another and tried to lead her away. She wouldn't leave. "I will stay," she said softly, "I will stay." All heaven stood to fight. All nature rose to rescue. All eternity poised to protect. But the Creator gave no command. "It must be done...," he said, and withdrew. But as he stepped in time, he heard the cry that he would someday scream: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" He wrenched at tomorrow's agony. The angel spoke again. "It would be less painful..." The Creator interrupted softly. "But it wouldn't be love." They stepped into the Garden again. The Maker looked earnestly at the clay creation. A monsoon of love swelled up within him. He had died for the creation before he had made him. God's form bent over the sculptured face and breathed. Dust stirred on the lips of the new one. The chest rose, cracking the red mud. The cheeks fleshened. A finger moved. And an eye opened. But more incredible than the moving of the flesh was the stirring of the spirit. Those who could see the unseen gasped. Perhaps it was the wind that said it first. Perhaps what the star saw that moment is what has made it blink ever since. Maybe it was left to an angel to whisper it: It looks like... it appears to so much like... it is him!" The angel wasn't speaking of the face, the features, or the body. He was looking inside--at the soul. "It's eternal!" gasped another. Within the man, God has placed a divine seed. A seed of his self (a seed of choice). The God of might had created earth's mightiest... And the One who had chosen to love had created one who could love in return. Now it's our choice. Those who give messages from heaven are angels. Those who spread the good news on earth are called evangels. Ev- good – angel message. Let us in this season be evangels that spread the good news of Christ to all those in the world! Extra illustrations…….. An Extraordinary Gift Wade Burton tells about a man who was riding a bus from Chicago to Miami. He had a stop-over in Atlanta. While he was sitting at a lunch counter, a woman came out of the ladies' rest room carrying a tiny baby. She asked the man, "Will you hold my baby for me, I left my purse in the rest room." He did. But as the woman neared the front door of the bus station, she darted out into the crowded street and was immediately lost in the crowd. The man couldn't believe his eyes. He rushed to the door to call the woman, but could not see her. What should he do? Put the baby down and run? When calmness settled in he went to the Traveler's Aid booth and they soon found the real mother. The woman who had left him holding the baby was not the baby's mother. She had taken the child, perhaps to satisfy a motherly urge to hold a child. The man breathed a sigh of relief when the real mother was found. After all, what was he to do with a baby? In a way each of us is in the same situation as this gentleman. We are left with the question, "What will we do with the baby?" Have we really come to terms with the fact that this baby is not simply extraordinarily gifted, but that he is himself a gift from the heart of God? King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.eSermons.com A Jewish comedian tells about a Jewish lady named Mrs. Rosenberg many years ago who was stranded late one night at a fashionable resort on Cape Cod - one that did not admit Jews. The desk clerk looked down at his book and said, "Sorry, no room. The hotel is full." The Jewish lady said, "But your sign says that you have vacancies." The desk clerk stammered and then said curtly, "You know that we do not admit Jews. Now if you will try the other side of town . . . " Mrs. Rosenberg stiffened noticeably and said, "I'll have you know I converted to your religion." The desk clerk said, "Oh, yeah, let me give you a little test. How was Jesus born?" Mrs. Rosenberg replied, "He was born to a virgin named Mary in a little town called Bethlehem." "Very good," replied the hotel clerk. "tell me more." Mrs. Rosenberg replied, "He was born in a manger." "That's right ," said the hotel clerk. "Why was he born in a manger?" Mrs. Rosenberg said loudly, "Because a jerk like you in the hotel wouldn't give a Jewish lady a room for the night!" King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com CHRISTMAS SURVEY What do people believe about the birth of Christ? A few days ago Newsweek Magazine conducted a poll asking some questions about Christ and His birth.* Here are some of the results: 67% - believe that the entire story of Christmas is historically accurate 24% - believe the story of Christmas is a theological invention If Jesus had never born, people believed there would be: 63% - less charity 61% - less kindness 59% - less personal happiness 58% - less tolerance 47% - more war (16% say less, 26% say the same) 38% - less religious divisions (21% say more, 26% say the same) Maybe you think "everyone in my church believes the right things". Well, maybe, but maybe not. Hopefully you are reaching people who believe the wrong things too. SOURCE: Brian Mavis, SermonCentral.com. Citation: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6653824/site/newsweek/ * For this NEWSWEEK Poll, Princeton Survey Research Associates interviewed by telephone 1,009 adults, aged 18 and older on Dec. 2 and Dec. 3. The margin of error Billy Graham says: “As an evangelist, I have often felt too far spent to minister from the pulpit to men and women who have filled stadiums to hear a message from the Lord. Yet again and again my weakness has vanished, and my strength has been renewed. I have been filled with God’s power not only in my soul but physically. On many occasions, God has become especially real, and has sent His unseen angelic visitors to touch my body to let me be His messenger for heaven, speaking as a dying man to dying men.”

What did you get for Christmas?

Rev. Harriette Cross Englewood-Rust United Methodist Church December 28, 2014 What did you Get for Christmas? Matthew 1-11 Year B Sermon Opener –Surprise, It's Christmas! The greatest thing about Christmas morning is the surprises. When else in life do you get to pile 10, 20, 30, 40 sometimes 50 surprises all together and sit for an hour enjoying each of them? One after another, surprise after surprise. Christmas Morning is wonderful in that way. I can remember still today the way I felt as a child, the amazement, the astonishment of Christmas morning. ( Leonard Sweet – Christmas Surpise) Every year I am always blessed with some very special gifts. And this year was not different, I received some gifts that I really appreciated. I think that the one that will stick out the most, will be the ticket that I got from the Brookfield police department for running a stop light. It took not one, but two police cars with flashing lights to pull me over, in the end the officer gave me a warning, but even the warning ticket was $35. I was also blessed to spend Christmas day here at church, and to see more than 100 people come here for good food and fellowship. We had to have at least 25 other people who volunteered in the community. I hope that we continue to this as a tradition, because there is a definite need in the community. Christmas is all about giving and receiving gifts. It is not about the physical things that we receive. It is about what they represent to us. Gift for Nicolas Cage When the actor Nicolas Cage was a young boy, his father gave him a little Pinocchio for Christmas. Being a boy, he was a little rough with it, and broke its head off. So his father suggested they bury Pinocchio. The next morning, on the very place where they had buried Pinocchio, was a large wooden sculpture of Pinocchio. The next day he went about burying his matchbox cars, toy planes, a castle, even his GI Joe doll hoping, they too would transform into something larger. Although they didn't, to this day Nicolas Cage says that his little Pinocchio gift was one of the best gifts he had received, because it gave him the gifts of imagination, hope and inspiration. And these continue to help him through life and in his career as an actor. As I told the children, the best gift that we received for Christmas is the gift of Jesus Christ. In our two texts Paul comments on the real Christmas gift by saying "the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal "life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23). Then after writing to the church in Corinth (2 Corinthians 9:15) about their generosity in response to God's generosity to them in Christ he simply concludes with, "Thanks be to God his indescribable gift!" The art of gift giving and gift receiving is an important theological issue in the Bible and in real life. The Apostle Paul uses for the word "gift", "charisma." The "charisma" was a totally free and unearned gift which the army sometimes received. On special occasions, for instance on his birthday, or on his accession to the throne, or the anniversary of it, an emperor handed out a free gift of money to the army. It had not been earned; it was a present; it was simply a gift of the emperor's kindness and grace. So Paul says, "Our sin has earned us death. If we got the pay we had earned it would be death. It is death that is due to us as a right." Then Paul goes on to say, "But what we have received (from God) is a free gift, a "charisma"; we did not earn it; We did not deserve it. What we have earned is eternal death, but out of his grace God has given us the gift of eternal life, a really indescribable gift." Jesus in our New Testament reading (Matthew 7:7-29) asks his hearers, "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Would you? I wouldn't. "Or if he asks for a fish, will you give him a snake?" Would you? I don't think so. "If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in Heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" The point is, if we who are evil, know how to give good gifts to loved ones, which we do at Christmas and at other times, then God, who defines Himself as love, certainly knows how to and will give us good gifts also. The Psalmist in our Old Testament reading (Psalms 84:11) says in the Living Bible Translation, "No good thing will the Lord withhold from those who do what is right." God's nature is to give us good gifts. (taken from C Thomas Hilton – real Christmas gifts) We know how to give good gifts, we also know how to receive good gifts. God loves us, God knows us from the inside out, God knows what it is that we need. Jesus is a gift to each of us, -but that gift comes alive and becomes something greater in the world. Let this be a season of putting our gifts to use and making them a part of the world. Think about your spiritual gifts, be thankful, and use them. Amen. Extra illustration…… Chuck Swindoll writes, "surprises come in many forms and guises: some good, some borderline amazing, some awful, some tragic, some hilarious. But there's one thing we can usually say -- surprises aren't boring." Surprises are woven through the very fabric of all our lives. They await each one of us at unexpected and unpredictable junctures. I like the story about a professor who sat at his desk one evening working on the next day's lectures. His housekeeper had laid that days mail and papers at his desk and he began to shuffle through them discarding most to the wastebasket. He then noticed a magazine, which was not even addressed to him but delivered to his office by mistake. It fell open to an article titled "The Needs of the Congo Mission". Casually he began to read when he was suddenly consumed by these words: "The need is great here. We have no one to work the northern province of Gabon in the central Congo. And it is my prayer as I write this article that God will lay His hand on one - one on whom, already, the Master's eyes have been cast - that he or she shall be called to this place to help us." Professor Albert Schweitzer closed the magazine and wrote in his diary: "My search is over." He gave himself to the Congo. That little article, hidden in a periodical intended for someone else, was placed by accident in Schweitzer's mailbox. By chance he noticed the title. It leaped out at him. Chance? Nope. It was one of God's surprises. This morning we focus on one of the greatest surprises that ever there was placed by accident in Schweitzer's mailbox. By chance he noticed the title. It leaped out at him. Chance? Nope. It was one of God's surprises. This morning we focus on one of the greatest surprises that ever there was, the surprise that took place when an angel by the name of Gabriel appeared to a young teenager by the name of Mary…

The Spirit of the Lord is Upon Us

Rev. Harriette Cross Englewood-Rust United Methodist Church December 14, 2014 Isaiah 61:1-11 Year B The Spirit of the Lord is upon us The debate continues – do we say Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays? People continue to say that we have strayed away from the true meaning of Christmas. They say that we have taken Jesus out of Christmas. And then there is the endless discussion of how xmas is the world’s way of x-ing Christ out of Christmas. You do know that the x is the greek letter chi- the first letter of Christos. And as far as taking Christ our of Christmas. I don’t know if Jesus was ever in Christmas. The historical Christ was born in the spring. Cultures all over the world celebrate December as a turning point . December 25th is an old Roman holiday. It is not a matter of taking Christ out of Christmas, but it is a way of putting Christ in Christmas. The point is for us to remember God’s promise to bring change. We have to put flesh on the prophecy in Isaiah 61 – the spirit of the lord is upon me to feed the hungry, to free the captives and to preach good news. That is God’s promise to the righteous victims. God recognizes that we live in an unjust system – there are those who suffer just because of where they are. God promises to raise up a righteous leader to change the system. Today is solidarity day – many people are marching to say that #blacklives matter I think that we have to remember the prophecy that God is going to send a person to act on behalf of God. I am still listening for he voice of God in this situation. I think that the prophecy of Isaiah still applies for today. Who is speaking in this situation and who is leading with God’s authority. This whole story is unfolding and yet to emerge. God is in the season of advent and Christ himself must be our leader. Once again it is not a matter of God being taken out of the movement, but God must be put in it. I went to see the new movie – Exodus – God and King. And of course it did not go exactly as the book says it was. It was a strange movie. But I have found that every movie has at least one good line. In this movie – Moses has led the Hebrews across the red sea and they are in the desert. One of them says to Moses – We are not slaves any more. And Moses responds, you may not be a slave anymore, but you are still not free. That is us today. Freedom is a process. We have to discover there God is in the process, where the world is,and where we are. It is a process to go from Hebrews to Isrealites – those who struggle with God and prove victorious. This particular issue is not an us and them matter, the police are part of our families and our community. There are many people right here in this community that profit from injustice. We mourn the loss of Demario Baily, who was a student across the street at Johnson Prep. The principal said that there should be marshal law all throughout the south side. What does that mean? And where is God in that solution? What does God want us to do in this situation. We have to put Christ in the situation. Once again we have to put Christ in Christmas. We have to be Christ for the world. THE GIFT OF THE SKATES So how do we recognize His authority in our lives? How do we express our faith and our love to Him? By committing ourselves to His mission. Jesus doesn’t say anything about saving sinners and getting them into heaven. The primary priority of his mission is to preach good news to the poor, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.” So why do we do what we do? Not just because it’s a good thing but because Jesus is the mashach, the Messiah. The way we recognize His Messiahship is that we give ourselves to him and his mission. Elizabeth English tells the story of Christmas 1949 when she and her husband Herman locked the doors to their small town appliance store at 11 PM. They were dead tired and had sold out of everything including record players, bicycles, dollhouses and games. They had only one lay away package left and the person never came for it. The next morning, Elizabeth, Herman and their 12 year old son Tom woke up and opened their gifts. But it just wasn’t the same. Tom was growing up and all he asked for was clothes and a few games. His childish exuberance of past years was gone. As soon as breakfast was over, Tom went next door to play, Herman mumbled that he was going back to sleep and Elizabeth found herself cleaning up the aftermath of breakfast and the opened gifts. And the holiday doldrums set in. It began to sleet with snow mixed in and the wind rattled the windows. Suddenly, she had a feeling hit her that she should go on a walk. "That's crazy," she thought, looking out the window and she fought it for an hour but finally gave in. She told her husband she was going to walk to the store. "That was crazy," he said, but she put on her coat, gloves and scarf and went anyway. She shivered as she tucked her hands in her pocket. When she got to the store, she was surprised to see two small boys, exclaiming, "There she is. See, I told you she would come." They were half-frozen and one of the boy’s face was wet with tears. "What are you children doing here? You should be home on a day like this!" They were poorly dressed with no hats or gloves and shoes that barely fit. "We’ve been waiting for you. My little brother Jimmy didn’t get any Christmas gifts and we want to buy skates. We have $3, see." It broke Elizabeth’s heart to tell them that they had sold out of everything. But then the layaway package came to mind. "Wait a minute" as she went to the shelf praying that they would be the right size. And miracle upon miracle, they were. They were a perfect fit. When they handed the money over, Elizabeth refused to take it, and she was rewarded with awe and wonder and joy in the boy’s eyes when they realized she was giving them the skates. "Now take that money and get some gloves!" she said. Then she said to the boys, "How lucky you were that I came." "I knew you would come," the older boy said. "How?" "I asked Jesus to send you." And upon hearing that tingles went down Elizabeth’s spine. God had planned this. As they waved goodbye, she turned home to a brighter Christmas than she had left. Family and friends soon arrived, and we had a delicious diner and a wonderful time. But the one thng that made that Christmas really joyous was the one thing which makes every Christmas wonderful--Jesus was there. (From a sermon by Tim Smith, Good News to the Poor, 10/19/2009) Christ is in the world when Christians are present in the world.when Jesus said that spirit of the Lord is upon me – he was empowered to be the messiah, and he did the work of the messiah. The spirit is upon us to preach good news, the feed the hungry and to free the captives. If you want to put Christ in Christmas we have to reach the oppressed, brokenhearted, captives, prisoners, and the mourners – the righteous victims. This is the 3rd week of advent – we light the pink candle – the candle of joy. the documentary on recent studies in happiness, called "Happy" and available on Netflix Canada -- probably also Netflix America) says recent studies indicate that all of us have our own baseline of happiness (that is pretty constant throughout our life, and is the happiness quotient we normally return to after spikes of ecstasy or drops of sorrow), and that this personal baseline or happiness quotient is determined 50 % by genetics, only 10 % by circumstance or situation (like money, status, job, possessions, health, etc -- in other words, all the things we strive for, to make ourselves happy), and 40 % by activities we choose that help create contentment and happiness (like exercise, walking, healthy living, charity, meditation, etc) we put Christ in the world by what we do. Where can joy be found? What does justice look like in this world? 2832 Where Is Happiness? Not in Unbelief—Voltaire was an infidel of the most pronounced type. He wrote: “I wish I had never been born.” Not in Pleasure—Lord Byron lived a life of pleasure if anyone did. He wrote: “The worm, the canker, and grief are mine alone.” Not in Money—Jay Gould, the American millionaire, had plenty of that. When dying, he said: “I suppose I am the most miserable man on earth.” Not in Position and Fame—Lord Beaconsfield enjoyed more than his share of both. He wrote: “Youth is a mistake; manhood a struggle; old age a regret.” Not in Military Glory—Alexander the Great conquered the known world in his day. Having done so, he wept in his tent, because he said, “There are no more worlds to conquer.” Where then is happiness found?—the answer is simple, in Christ alone. —The Bible Friend Our joy is in Christ, and in Christ alone. Putting Christ in Christmas is not in lights, baby Jesus, singing or putting money in the red kettle. The true spirit of Jesus, the messiah came forth to serve the righteous victims. To feed the hungry, to free the captives, to preach good news to the poor. The Spirit of the Lord is upon us this year – we have to work to put Christ in Christmas! Amen. Extra illustrations…… Merry Xmas For years folks have complained about that "XMAS" abbreviation. They shout, "Keep Christ in Christmas," decrying the commercialization of the whole season as much as the use of "X." Half of the complaint is valid. No one would deny that the season has been taken over by the wizards of mass marketing in their quest to be the first-est with the most-est. Most of us remember the not too distant past when Christmas advertising began on the day after Thanksgiving. Now we get it in late September. I am told that buyers for the major retail chains begin their search for Christmas merchandise in February and March. There is no question as to the over-commercialization of Christmas. As to the other part of the complaint...the X...there is less validity. To the English-speaking world, X is simply the twenty-fourth letter of the alphabet. But to the Greeks, the ones in whose language the New Testament was written, those diagonally-crossed lines are the letter "Chi," the first letter in the name "Christos," the Messiah. Through the years it has been an acceptable abbreviation for Christ. If you look at the lecture notes I took years ago in seminary, you will see it all over the place. To backtrack a moment, I am less than accurate when I say that "X" to us is only a letter of the alphabet. Any math student would happily correct me. In algebra, it represents an unknown: 2+3=X...3x3=X. But in Christianity X represents someone you do know. David E. Leininger, Adapted from “Merry Xmas” _________________________ Principal Rainy, of whom a child once remarked that she believed he went to Heaven every night because he was so happy every day, once used a fine metaphor about a Christian’s joy. “Joy,” he said, “is the flag which is flown from the castle of the heart when the King is in residence there.” These words have been made into a popular chorus. Our attention is often directed to the two shortest verses in the Bible noting that “Jesus wept” is the shorter of the two. But in the Greek we find this “shortest” verse has three words whereas the verse from 1 Thessalonians 5:16 (“Rejoice evermore”) has only two. However, one surely can see the lovely connection between the two verses. The Christian’s joy flows from the sympathy and grace of their Saviour. Jesus wept—we rejoice evermore. —Daily Readings God’s Daring Plan Once upon a time – or before time, actually before there were clocks or calendars or Christmas trees – God was all there was. No one knows anything about that time because no one was there to know it, but somewhere in the middle of that time before time, God decided to make a world. So God made a world – this world – and filled it with the most astonishing things: with humpback whales that sing and white-striped skunks that stink and birds with more colour on them than a box of Crayola crayons! The list is way too long to go into here, but let’s just say that at the end when God stood back and looked at it all - God was pleased. Only something was missing. Everything he had made was interesting and it all fitted together really well, only there was nothing in the world that looked exactly like him. So he got busy making his signature piece, something made in his own image, so that anyone who looked at it would know who the artist was. So God decided to make two things, which were alike but different, and both reflections of him – a man and a woman who could keep him and each other company. Flesh was what he made them out of – flesh and blood – extremely flexible and warm to touch. God watched his two creatures stretch and yawn, laugh and run. And he liked nothing more than walking with them in the Garden of Eden in the cool of the evening. It almost broke God’s heart when they got together behind his back, did the one thing he had asked them not to do and then hid from him – from him! Things were different after that. God still loved the human creatures best of all, but the attraction was not mutual. Human beings had other things on their minds. It was not long before most human beings forgot all about him. Without God, they got into so much trouble that it almost killed him to see what they were doing to each other. God shouted to them from the sidelines, using every means he could think of, including floods, famines, and messengers. But they didn’t seem to hear. Babies were the exception to this sad state of affairs. Babies did not go to war. They never made horrible speeches, or littered, or refused to play with each other. They depended on other people for everything necessary to their lives. Almost everyone seemed to love them and that gave God an idea. Why not create himself as a baby and come to earth to sort everything out? He tried the idea out on his angels in heaven and at first they were all quiet. Finally the senior archangel stepped forward to speak for all of them. He told God how much they would worry about him. People could do anything they wanted to him, and there would be no escape for him if things went wrong. Could he at least create himself as a magical baby with special powers? It would not take much – just the power to become invisible, maybe, or the power to hurl bolts of lightning if the need arose. The baby idea was a stroke of genius, the angel said, it really was, but it lacked adequate safety features. God thanked the angels for their concern but said ‘no’, he thought he would like to be a regular baby. How else could he gain the trust of his creatures? How else could he persuade them that he knew their lives inside and out, unless he lived a life like theirs? It was indeed a daring plan, but once the angels saw that God was dead set on it, they broke into spontaneous applause. At this, God turned around and left the room, shedding his robes as he went. The angels watched as his midnight blue robes fell to the floor, so that all the stars on it collapsed in a heap. Then a strange thing happened. Where the robes had fallen, the floor melted and opened up to reveal a scrubby brown pasture speckled with sheep and – right in the middle of them – a bunch of shepherds sitting round a camp fire. It was hard to say who was more startled, the shepherds or the angels, but as the shepherds looked up at them, the angels pushed their senior member to the edge of the hole. Looking down at the human beings who were all trying to hide behind each other, the angel said in as gentle a voice as he could muster, ‘do no be afraid; for see – I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a saviour who is Messiah, the Lord.’ And away up the hill from the direction of town came the sound of a newborn baby’s cry. As I look at the scriptures for Sunday, I am thinking about the gift of joy. What does that mean in, to, for our time? What does joy taste like? What does joy look like? What does joy feel like? Can we touch joy? HOw does it touch us, transform us, heal us? Any thoughts would be welcome.

God will make all things Right

December 7, 2014 God will take care of everything Second Sunday of Advent Year B Isaiah 40:1-11 We start out this morning with one of the most inspirational verses from the bible. 5843 “Comfort Ye” Possibly no Bible chapter has exerted a greater influence on the world’s leaders than Isaiah 40. Handel begins his Messiah with “Comfort ye”; Luther pored over it in the castle at Salzburg; John Brown read it in prison at Harper’s Ferry; Oliver Cromwell went to it for help in time of storm; Daniel Webster read it again and again when he was crushed and broken in spirit; Tennyson called it one of the five great classics in the Old Testament record. —J. H. Bomberger The words of this verse are “Comfort, Comfort you my people. What makes these words more amazing is that God himself is speaking, and God is speaking to all of his angels and to all of us. God is saying that the people have suffered long enough, and it is time for them to know that things will get better. The scholars note that God does not say comfort once, but he says comfort twice. That means that God has spoken comfort for the people, but that God is also saying that anyone who speaks thus forth on God’s behalf must repeat God’s message of comfort. There must be absolute peace from all of the madness, this is a time of comfort. God guarantees comfort through his presence, his word, his people, and as we will see unfold – though his appointed leader with the power to bring this comfort to the people. Now what I find interesting, God’s word is timeless and applies to all situations. The Hebrew word used in Isaiah for comfort is nahum. Nahum also means to repent. But the underlying meaning of nahum is to take a deep breath. What happens when you have been tense for so long – you tend to tense up your muscles and you hold your breath. When you are finally comforted and feel as if things are okay – you take a deep breath. You let the air in. so God could be saying take a deep breath and think about what has been going on, and how you can repent and make things different. Or he is saying make a point to go to someone who is tense, and tell them that it is okay to breathe now – because your pain and suffering will be relieved. Ironically, what has become the slogan of our latest protest sweeping the nation – I can’t breathe. Eric Gardner’s last words as he was choked to death by the New York Police – I cant breathe. There was no relief for him. He never got the chance to live in the promise of God – comfort. And thus we march and protest all over the nation and in many other places in the world. There are those who are protesting even today in church to say that black lives matter. That the justice system does not serve and protect our black men, and the lesser knows stories of our black women. I celebrate that this is a new generation that has gotten involved in the protest. One of my biggest fights with my son growing up was around racism. I would point out how racism was still a part of life in America, and he would argue that we live in a different age, where everyone is treated equal. He and other youth that I would talk to would say that the protest of the 60’s were no longer relevant because the world has changed. And now that they are coming of age and seeing the world as it is, they too realize that the world has not changed. Racism is alive and well. And that we still have reason to protest and demonstrate. Every week, it seems that the plot thickens, and we are reminded of just how insidious injustice for black people really is in America. And as the story unfolds – I have more and more questions. Where is the comfort in this situation? What will it take to bring comfort to the hearts and souls of our people? I cant help but to think about the example that Isaiah brings to this situation. We have lived in a world where there is pain, and discomfort for generations. The hearts and souls of the people even in Isaiah’s time was uneasy. So uneasy that God himself spoke up and said give them comfort. As I said, God promises comfort in several different ways. God’s presence, his word, his people. But the whole point of Isaiah is that God’s promises that a leader will rise up with the power to fix the situation. That God has sent comfort in the form of a leader. God says comfort twice, because he knows that not only will his presence make a difference, but that all those who speak on God’s behalf will do God’s work. As I look at the protest, that is my question, where is our leader – who is speaking and doing the work of God. and I wonder, who will take responsibility for the change? Who will repent? I think that in time we have become weary of leadership, and putting our trust in people. Isaiah says that people are like grass, in time we fade away. God is hesed – constant – steadfast- but people are not. But the good news, the comfort for is that God, God’s word, God’s promise can never be taken away. God’s promise is that there will be comfort – in God’s presence, God’s word and the faith of God’s people. A colleague – Rev. Larry Hilkeman would always remind us that God is here, God’s is always present in our pain and suffering. Often it is God who sheds the first tear, before we are even fully aware of what is going on. God is there at the beginning of the situation, and God will be present in the end. As we approach this advent season, we are in the dark. We are not for sure of what the future holds. But we know who holds the future. We are getting our homes, and our community and our church ready to welcome the King of Glory. Last week we said that the best way to prepare was to acknowledge the awesomeness of God. This week we focus on one of God’s primary characteristics. In today’s world it is also God’s most overlooked characteristic. That is God’s righteousness. King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com In our protest, in our lifting up the lives of black people, in those who stand in solidarity – the people of the world are not asking for change, they are announcing that a change has come, they have loosed change in the world, and with that loosing – we will all have to change with it. Justice will prevail, because justice is a basic trait of an unchangeable God. When we see the face of God – the only response there is to be like God, and to live in justice. In shalom. When there is justice, there will be peace, and when there is peace for the people, there will be justice amongst the people, and when I live in a world of justice, I have no choice but to have peace. Comfort. I can breathe easy again. Justice starts with the presence of God. God's Treasure Tom Long asks the question in his book Shepherds and Bathrobes: "Have you ever noticed where God placed his treasure on this earth?" The treasure is not gold, but gospel. Not silver, but good news. Not hard, cold cash, but grace, love, and peace. He points out that God could have left it with the politicians, those who are responsible for collecting taxes, building schools, and passing laws, but God didn't. God could have left this treasure with Zechariah, the high priest, but his unbelief took him out of the picture. Tom Long states that God left the treasure in the least likely of places: in the love, care, and nurture of a first century peasant woman chosen as the "handmaiden of the Lord." God's treasure was left with the most powerless figure in the ancient world. Doesn't that tell you something about God's grace in today's world? John A. Stroman, God's Downward Mobility, CSS Publishing Company. This advent we are reminded that God’s appointed leader has already come. Christ is the messiah who comes to change the world. Christ is coming to bring comfort. And as we wait in the world, we have a mission – not to bring comfort – but to speak God’s words of comfort to the people as they move forward. God command us to speak compassionately to the pain. To cry out in the streets, to raise your voice and to shout. Here is the Lord God, coming with strength, with a triumphant art, bringing his reward with him and his payment before him! As the people continue to cry out I cant breathe – God says take a deep breath – you will receive comfort. Let us pray……… God's Special Mission for You Passage: Isaiah 40:1-31 • Lectionary: Advent 2 Item 1 of 2 | Back to Results "... for [God] has regarded the low estate of His handmaiden." (Luke 1:48) You've all heard us speak of Mary in church this Christmas season: do you know what is really so amazing about Mary? (Let them answer) It's not just that she was the mother of Jesus, which is pretty amazing in itself. No, I think the most amazing thing about Mary is that she was such an ordinary person. Mary was just a young teenager when God chose her to be Jesus' mother; in fact, she wasn't much older than some of you. She lived in a small town in a small house with her parents and the rest of her family. Everything about her life was ordinary. The Bible doesn't give any particular reason to explain why Mary was chosen by God. It doesn't say she was especially smart or unusually pretty. It doesn't say she was the bestknown or most popular girl in town. We know she wasn't from a rich or important family; in fact, Mary came from a rather poor and simple family. In other words, Mary was just an average, everyday child ... the kind you play with or go to school with ... a lot like any of us ... a lot like any one of you. Sometimes, we get the wrong idea about the Bible stories we learn in Sunday school. We learn about people like Moses, Samson, Ruth, or Deborah. We hear exciting stories like Daniel in the lion's den or David and Goliath and we think that everyone who does something special for God must be exceptionally strong or brave or bright, and then we think that God couldn't possibly have any use for us since we are all quite ordinary people. Well, the truth is that most of the people in the Bible are not superheroes; most of them are average people like us, with their own strengths and weaknesses. But, it's also true that God had a special mission for every one of them just the same. God's special mission for Mary was to give birth to His only Son, Jesus. He picked an ordinary girl for the job, but Mary had one quality that was very important. She had a spirit which said "yes" when God asked her to do something. What do you think God's special mission is for you? If you imagine that you are God's secret agent, what might your assignment be?