Advent - Preparing for the Coming

Growing up Advent was not a part of our family’s Christmas celebration. But in my family, we have found Advent to be the cornerstone to our Christmas celebration. This decision has helped us to keep Jesus as the focus of the holiday and not the commercial secular holiday that many people complain about.

Advent, if you are not familiar with it, is literally “the coming”. It begins four weeks prior to Christmas. Each week in advent is focused around one ideal: Faith, hope, love, peace, and culminates with the birth of Christ.

Our church makes Advent the focus of each Sundays’ service. One family shares their holiday traditions with the congregation and then lights the Advent candle as we all sing the Advent Song. This tradition has helped our family keep Jesus as the center of our celebration. All of our energies are spent thinking about the coming.

Actually, our Advent starts in early November when we participate in Operation Christmas Child. Operation Christmas Child teaches us to focus on other’s needs as opposed to our own. But the traditional Advent begins this year on Sunday, November 30th and is the beginning of the church calendar.

If you are interested in celebrating advent with your family, you may want to get advent candles, plan readings, or use an advent calendar. Advent candles can be as simple as votive candles and calendars can be as unique as the Advent calendar sold by Lego.





Advent can be an interesting and unique as you wish to make it as long as you keep the focus on Jesus’ birth. One family I know adds hay straws in their cresh for each good deed that their children do with the anticipation of making a comfortable bed for Jesus while at the same time doing his work on earth.

Taking Back Sundays

As a child, I remember lazy Sundays. They were lazy because there was nothing else to do – church, home, and lots of football. It wasn’t just my family, it was everyone’s. Sunday was a day apart from the rest of the week. Nothing happened on Sunday. There was nowhere to go on Sunday. Sundays were long and luxurious.

Then things changed. I think we thought it was a good idea to repeal the Blue Laws. They were annoying. You couldn’t go to the market on Sunday. The pharmacy wasn’t open on Sunday. Monday through Saturday had gotten so busy. It seemed only practical to add another day of business to get all of it done. We wondered why were adhering to some silly old Puritanical laws anyway. Some in the state weren’t even Christian, why should they “remember the Sabbath and keep it holy”. Sunday had potential. It was an unused resource.

At first it was kind of exciting, being able to transact business on Sunday. Suddenly there was more time to get things done. You didn’t have to get everything done Monday through Saturday, because now there was Sunday. Sunday soon became just another day for many of us. Sure it was part of the weekend, but you could now fill it in with kids’ sports games, grocery shopping, picking up birthday presents. . . Down time was a thing of the past.

In that change, we began and / or amplified a much larger change. Sunday family dinners became a relic of the past. Big dinners are now relegated to holidays and the occasional birthday. Sunday services at church started to become optional. If you could fit it into your busy schedule, you might go. There were now better things to do on Sunday; chores to be done or perhaps working yourself at the market, department store, or pharmacy.

Sunday no longer was a day of respite and rejuvenation. We were now fully plugged into the 24/7 society. These days, I have even found that you can bank on Sunday (What happened to good old banker’s hours?).

I ask is 24/6 ok? Can we turn back the clock and take back Sundays? We still have some vestiges of the Blue Laws i.e. no alcohol sales and no mail on Sundays, but there is even talk of changing those. Before we do, we better think not of what we are getting (the ability to get mail on Sundays or buy beer that you forgot to get the rest of the week), but what are we losing.

Sundays are days of family, fellowship, respite. For many, it is a day of prayer. Sunday should not just be another day in our hectic lives but a day to celebrate all that we have, a day to come back together with family, a day of peace in an otherwise crazy world. And if we disserve that, so to do the people working at the pharmacy, the market, and the department store. Let’s rebuild the family by giving it time to be together. Let’s regain our sanity by giving ourselves a little vacation every week. Let’s take back Sundays – for our community, for our families, for ourselves.

Perhaps we could all reply as my friend Lisa does when clients ask to meet her on Sunday, “I’m sorry. I reserve Sundays for my family.”

Dedication Sunday for Operation Christmas Child - Children's Sermon

Please join me today in praying over the 1,000's of shoeboxes that are being sent around the world in the name of Jesus Christ.




I will be giving the children's sermon today for the dedication. If you are interested, here is what I will be saying:

Welcome. I am so happy to see you all again. I want to read a story to you today based on Luke18:35-43. It is about a blind man who gets his sight back

“35As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. 36When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. 37They told him, "Jesus of Nazareth is passing by."

38He called out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"

39Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"

40Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, 41"What do you want me to do for you?"

"Lord, I want to see," he replied.

42Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has healed you." 43Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God.”

How many of you think that this was a miracle?
How many think that God has worked through you to achieve a similar miracle?

Well, today you are in the process of making a miracle. You are about to make, not one blind man see, but many people see. I believe that many of you brought in items for Operation Christmas Child and almost all of you made notes or pictures to pack with our boxes. Today we are going to bless them and send them on their way.

You are probably saying that is not a miracle. We can’t make someone see with a Christmas present. But I am here to tell you that you are part of God’s miracle and indeed you are opening eyes.

If there was a solid wood wall with a door between you and I, would you be able to see me? If then I opened the door, could you see me then? Doesn’t that mean that you couldn’t see me, but now you can? It is kind of like be blind but then having site.

These boxes that we are shipping all over the world are going to people that may know nothing about Jesus Christ or God. They can’t see him. They’ve never been introduced to Him. It is as if no one has opened the door to let him in, but now you are. You are opening the door and introducing these children to God. You are opening their eyes. You are letting them see God for the very first time. You are creating a miracle.

I want to thank all of you that brought in items, all of you that wrote notes, all of you that will help me after coffee hour wrap our boxes. Because of your efforts, we will be sending at least 20 boxes with the word of God. With your help now, I would like to add the most important ingredient to those boxes:

Before my words of prayer are said, I fold my hands and bow my head:

Dear God: Thank you for working through us to create a miracle. We pray that these boxes travel safely around the world and find just the right hands that you mean to receive each box. We pray that that child might receive the gift of your word and open their heart to all the wonders of Your love. We pray that you comfort them in their pain, support them in their troubles, and that through You they may find Everlasting Life and Love.
Amen

Amazing Grace - Il Divo

Sometimes nothing else need be said:




I think I will be stopping to pick up this CD.

Scouting Religious Awards

Do you know about the God and Me Program? PRAY publications puts out a curriculum for scouts and other youth organizations to earn their religious awards. In the Protestant faith, there are four levels: God and Me, God and Family, God and Church, and God and Community. Participants range from Kindergarten to 12th grade. Adults can particpate as councelors or can take their own faith journey as an adult mentor. The length of the programs depend on the ages.

We ran this program 4 or 5 years ago under the auspices of the Board of Christian Education and DH is running it again as part of his Wood Badge for Scouts. Ideally, children would participate at all four levels so they receive the most complete overview of their religion. Our children will be participating for the second time. DD at the God and Community level and DS, at the God and Church level.

Although this program can be time consuming, I have found it very useful in assisting children along their faith journey. Your minister has to oversee the program, but does not have to run or teach it. I encourage you all to look into it and see if it is a program that you may wish to offer at your church. There are actually religious awards in both Girl and Boy Scouts for almost every conceivable faith, PRAY only covers a portion of what is available. Check with your local councils for more information.

Be Inspired by Jesus' Ministry

Did you know that Jesus' ministry was between 2-4 years long (depending on scholarly opinions & interpretation). I have to admit that I did not. I had never really thought about it and certainly had never timed it out. I always assumed that it was much longer than that. Take a minute to think about that, Jesus' ministry - 2-4 years.

For me, this idea has huge implication: Two to four years of Jesus' life have reverberated and impacted people for more than 2,000 years around this entire earth. While clearly none of us are the Messiah, we are God's wonderous creations. What can we accomplish if we devote ourselves to a cause? What impact may we have?

This idea of micro & macro effect struck me. Jesus, one man in a very small area of our vast world, preached for a relatively short time and he changed the world. What seed did God plant in your heart? What gifts? How can your actions inspire others?

2 years, 2,000 years ago changed the world
What can you do with 1 hour a month?
a week?
a day?

Man Arrested for Stealing Communion Wafers

Last night, I saw the most disturbing news story on the news. It was reported that a man in Florida was arrested for stealing communion wafers in a church. He was actually physically held down by parishioners until the authorities came.

I guess I may have a warped view of this, as I have thought it before when I have heard about church robberies, so forgive me for spouting, but I figure that if someone has the gaul to come into a sanctuary and take something that they know is for the worship of God then perhaps they need it more than the church does. Specifically I think to several scriptures:

Matthew 12: 1-8

"1At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. 2When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, "Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath."
3He answered, "Haven't you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. 5Or haven't you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple desecrate the day and yet are innocent? 6I tell you that one greater than the temple is here. 7If you had known what these words mean, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice,'you would not have condemned the innocent. 8For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath." (NIV)

1 Samuel 21

1 David went to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. Ahimelech trembled when he met him, and asked, "Why are you alone? Why is no one with you?"
2 David answered Ahimelech the priest, "The king charged me with a certain matter and said to me, 'No one is to know anything about your mission and your instructions.' As for my men, I have told them to meet me at a certain place. 3 Now then, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever you can find."
4 But the priest answered David, "I don't have any ordinary bread on hand; however, there is some consecrated bread here—provided the men have kept themselves from women."
5 David replied, "Indeed women have been kept from us, as usual whenever I set out. The men's things are holy even on missions that are not holy. How much more so today!" 6 So the priest gave him the consecrated bread, since there was no bread there except the bread of the Presence that had been removed from before the LORD and replaced by hot bread on the day it was taken away. (NIV)

Matthew 25: 31-46
31When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
33And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. 41Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. (KJV)

I am sure that I could go on and on, but you get the point. I am also sure that there is more to this story than the briefing in the news, but if a man has to steal wafers, should we not hand him the whole bowl?

Parable of the Mustard Seed and Leaven Lesson Plan

Grade: 3-5


Pray: Dear God, Thank you for bringing us all together today to study Your Word. As we read, let our mind and hearts be open to hear. Amen

Activity: Create dough for bread using yeast. Leave some yeast in warm water with sugar aside to view shortly. Put some prepared dough in the oven to cook and enjoy later in the lesson.

Find: Matthew 13:31

Read: Matthew 13:31-33 (NIV version below)

The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast
"31He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches."
33He told them still another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough."

Discuss: Show the students a mustard seed & a picture of a mustard plant.
Discuss what this comparison might imply?

Look at yeast mixture and the dough that you put aside. What has happened? What might Jesus be saying about heaven?

Explain and Create: Review the idea of a simile (comparisons using the words like or as). Have students make a few silly similes. Then reorder and brainstorm a list of similes about heaven. Record on large sheet or chalkboard.

(Extra activity if time: Have students illustrate one simile and post around room)

Discuss -why do you think Jesus spoke in parables. (Fulfilling prophecy, illustrative ideas to help people understand difficult concepts, intrigue people into asking more questions)

Enjoy fresh baked bread.

Close with Prayer: Dear God, Thank you for feeding us today both in Your word and with substance. Watch over each of us this week as we return to our daily lives. AMEN

Homework: Have students look through New Testament to find another parable that they can share with class next time.

Having Faith to Walk Across Water

“Time Warp”on discovery Channel reviewd the physical elements of oobleck, technically a non-newtonian liquid. It was cool to watch as they made an entire cement mixer of the substance. They batted it with a bat, rolled a blowling ball on it, and then walked on water. As I watched I thought of Jesus and Peter. Jesus walked across the water with ease and then Peter sunk. “O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?” (Matthew 14:31KJV)

Here too on the oobleck, if you did not keep the faith and the action, you would sink into the muck. Maybe the lake was a large non-Newtonian material to which Jesus knew the secret. Others could have followed if they believed with their heart and not their head. But even one moment of hesitation would cause you to sink.

Obviously I don’t believe that Jesus walked across a sea of oobleck, but even if they found a scientific explination would it lessen the impact of the lesson. Would the need for faith be any less?

This video is not the Time Warp version, I could not find it to share with you, but it is the same idea. You can also find a similar version from Mythbusters.



If you are interested in making oobleck with your children and studying its properties, check out this

Be Careful Where You Sit in Church

If you are not careful where you sit in church, you may get drafted into doing things that you don’t expect. Of course, I’m sure that most people will not sit less than 4 ft from their minister during a service, but in our church that is where the choir sits. I sit in the closest seat toward him as I am the tallest soprano. As we are taking communion this morning, suddenly I am being handed the tops to the bread baskets. He whispers, “Please put these somewhere” and then as the offertory comes in, I can see that there is no where to put that either. Communion is spread across the table. I again help out. However, trying to take the plates from him is easier said than done, as his fingers were getting caught between the plates. We did manage though.

Last week, we had a comical go round within the choir about when we should begin our recess. Usually we recess on the last verse of the last hymn, but one of the tenors always signals the number at the beginning of the hymn. The particular hymn last week was short and only had three verses. Murray coded two to which one of the other sopranos coded back three. He coded back three in confirmation / realization of the error to which the minister caught funny, coded “5”. This led to a flurry of hidden finger signals which ended with a very stern three signal. Then all I could think of was 3.1459 . . . which I thought would be a unique place to stop. Of course, I’m not sure how I would have signaled this, but it had me giggling inside all the way through the recession.

So as you choose your seat next week, you better choose wisely ; ) You never know what may be in store.