Christmas Eve Sermon...

Over Advent we went on a journey to the Stable...We found that the stable of Christ is the stable of hope...the stable of love...the stable of joy and the stable of peace...

This Christmas Eve I used this story to talk about how we celebrate Christmas but there is a shadow of a cross within that manger scene...

"The Tale of Three Trees"

Author unknown

Once upon a mountain top, three little trees stood and dreamed of what they wanted to become when they grew up. The first little tree looked up at the stars and said: "I want to hold treasure. I want to be covered with gold and filled with precious stones. I'll be the most beautiful treasure chest in the world!" The second little tree looked out at the small stream trickling by on its way to the ocean. "I want to be traveling mighty waters and carrying powerful kings. I'll be the strongest ship in the world!" The third little tree looked down into the valley below where busy men and women worked in a busy town. "I don't want to leave the mountain top at all. I want to grow so tall that when people stop to look at me, they'll raise their eyes to heaven and think of God. I will be the tallest tree in the world."
Years passed and the little trees grew tall. One day three woodcutters climbed the mountain. The first woodcutter looked at the first tree and said, "This tree is beautiful. It is perfect for me." With a swoop of his shining ax, the first tree fell. "Now I shall be made into a beautiful chest, I shall hold wonderful treasure!" the first tree said. The second woodcutter looked at the second tree and said, "This tree is strong. It is perfect for me." With a swoop of his shining ax, the second tree fell. "Now I shall sail mighty waters!" thought the second tree. "I shall be a strong ship for mighty kings!" The third tree felt her heart sink when the last woodcutter looked her way. She stood straight and tall and pointed bravely to heaven. But the woodcutter never even looked up. "Any kind of tree will do for me." He muttered. With a swoop of his shining ax the third tree fell.
The first tree rejoiced when the woodcutter brought her to a carpenter's shop. But the carpenter fashioned the tree into a feed box for animals. The once beautiful tree was not covered with gold, nor with treasure. She was coated with sawdust and filled with hay for hungry farm animals. The second tree smiled when the woodcutter took her to a shipyard, but no mighty ship was made that day. Instead, the once strong tree was hammered and sawed into a simple fishing boat. She was too small and too weak to sail to an ocean, or even a river. Instead she was taken to a little lake. The third tree was confused when the woodcutter cut her into strong beams and left her in a lumberyard. "What happened?" The once tall tree wondered. "All I ever wanted was to stay on the mountain top and point to God..."
Many, many days and nights passed. The three trees nearly forgot their dreams. But one night, golden starlight poured over the first tree as a young woman placed her newborn baby in the feed box. "I wish I could make a cradle for him," her husband whispered. The mother squeezed his hand and smiled as the starlight shone on the smooth and the sturdy wood. "This manger is beautiful," she said. And suddenly the first tree knew he was holding the greatest treasure in the world.
One evening a tired traveler and his friends crowded into the old fishing boat. The traveler fell asleep as the second tree quietly sailed out into the lake. Soon a thundering and thrashing storm arose. The little tree shuddered. She knew she did not have the strength to carry so many passengers safely through the wind and the rain. The tired man awakened. He stood up, stretched out his hand and said, "Peace." The storm stopped as quickly as it had begun. And suddenly the second tree knew he was carrying the King of heaven and earth.
One Friday morning, the third tree was startled when her beams were yanked from the forgotten woodpile. She flinched as she was carried through an angry jeering crowd. She shuddered when soldiers nailed a man's hands to her. She felt ugly and harsh and cruel. But on Sunday morning, when the sun rose and the earth trembled with joy beneath her, the third tree knew that God's love had changed everything. It had made the third tree strong. And every time people thought of the third tree, they would think of God.
That was better than being the tallest tree in the world.
So the next time you feel down because you didn't get what you want, just sit tight and be happy because God is thinking of something better to give you.

---

What a beautiful story. There are three passages in the Bible that tell of the three trees. You might like to read them. They are Luke 2:1-7, Matthew 8:23-27 and Matthew 27:32-38.

http://www.inver.org/ceantar/Learning_Circle/folkflorida.htm

An “Advent”ure of…Joy”

December 15, 2013

Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church

Sermon 3 of          Advent Series

“An “Advent”ure To the Stable”

1 Peter 1:8-9 GOD’S WORD Translation

Psalm 90:1-2, 14 GOD’S WORD Translation

1 Peter 1:3-7 GOD’S WORD Translation

“Kneeling in Bethlehem” by Ann Weems

I love the Holidays! Love getting together with family and spending time together. It seems that the holiday season is the only time that we get to see some of our family members. We live far away from many of our family members and it is so good to be with them . . . to catch up on what’s been going on in our lives since we last met. Now I want you to imagine with me for a moment . . . think of that family member that you miss most of all . . . how will you feel when you finally get back together with them? What a joyous occasion it is when we get to see our loved ones after being away from them for a long time . . .

Perhaps, even, most of us have had the pleasure of having such joy that it cannot be contained. Whether it is a new job, good news that you have been waiting for, or even being joyful because of someone else’s good news. I know that I have been in these types of situations and the joy just wells up inside of me so much that it can’t help but spill out on those around me. But I think I find my biggest joy in God. Just thinking about who God is…about what God has done in my life and in the lives of those around me…and what God has around the corner for me makes me want to explode…or implode, however you want to view it. And through this Joy, our belief in God is solidified.

But what would it be like if we shared that joy with even the strangers that are among us. . . what would that look like. . . with those who could use some joy in their lives? What do you think the world would be like if we shared that radical hospitality with them. . . letting them into our own lives so that they too can have joy and hope. . . inviting them into the living room of our lives? Can you imagine what that world would look like?

Let us pray. . . Loving, Gracious God, giver of all true Joy, we thank you for this day that we can celebrate the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We pray that you would be with us as we think about the sheer joy of having a relationship with you. Set afire the Spirit within us with the joy of this Advent season . . . a joy that is uncontrollable. Speak to us in ways we never imagined. Amen!

We are at the half-way stage of our Advent journey. We are at the week where the theme is “joy”! I don’t know about you abut for me . . . the Christmas season brings a lot of joy to my soul. There is so much to be joyous about. There are friends and family, there are get together, there is so much joy that it is hard to contain sometimes for me. Yes Advent is a really joyous time as we wait expectantly for the celebration of the One who became flesh as well as expectantly waiting for His return.

But my question is this… Where is your joy found? Is it in the things around you or the things above? In this world of sadness and pain, it is hard to find that real, uncontrollable joy. When we look around us we see misery and pain and we may ask ourselves, “Where is the joy . . . where is the love that should encompass all of humankind’s life?” Isn’t there something better out there than what we see around us? We see jobs being lost, wars breaking out, and people with major health issues, divorce and brokenness. Where is the joy? Where is the hope? Where can it be found? The scriptures that were read this morning are all about joy. They are all about where true joy is found.

The scripture from 1 Peter 4:8-9 talks about the love and joy that we have when we belong to Christ. Now I don’t know about you, but when I ponder on what Christ did for me…what He did for humanity…I feel the “joy of my salvation.” It is beyond my own thinking that God would love me enough to want to have a relationship with me. I mean think about it…the God who created everything…let me repeat that…the God that created e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g love you and me so much that He made a way for redemption through a babe in a manger…His only Son. It is mind boggling and humbles me right to my very soul. You can’t even put it into words how grateful it should make those who are being saved moment by moment of every day.

The Psalm from this morning…you know I love the Psalms, many talk about that joy we get from God…they talk about God’s character and about His deliverance for His people. We have joy because our great God is our refuge and strength. Our great God is never changing from generation to generation. What joy we have because of our God’s unfailing love and character. We know we have something…someone…in our lives that is the same as they were yesterday…today and for and eternity. In a world full of unknowing it is joyous to know we have a knowing that stands the test of time.

And then we have the 1 Peter that is the procurer to what was read in verses 8 and 9. It tells us that it is our faith in Christ that brings us joy. It also gives us a glimpse of why we may have troubles in our lives. You see…even if we don’t agree with this statement as we are going through it…our troubles that we go through help build our faith and character in Christ Jesus. We can sing with joy because we are given a new birth…sort of a do over…that will bring us joy and salvation. Now this new life we are given is an inheritance that we receive in our new life with Christ. Our in heritance is kept for us in heaven where nothing can destroy. We too can sing for joy as Mary did when she heard the angels greeting about being favored among men. We too are offered that same “favoritism” as children of God. We too can hear the song of the angels that was sung on that night long ago as the shepherds did on the hill side. We can hear and share that good news of the angel’s chorus.

Perhaps we, as humanity, need to hear that greeting from long ago, that greeting from the angel to Mary. “Do not be afraid for I come with good news, today unto a child is born who will save humanity through His ministry, through His death and through His resurrection.” Perhaps we need to remember the joy of our salvation in this Advent Season. Maybe, just maybe, we, as humanity, can rekindle that hope, that love, that joy, that poured down from heaven. Maybe, just maybe, we can rekindle that joy of belonging to something bigger than ourselves. Maybe, just maybe, there will come a day when there will truly be peace on earth. Perhaps if we just fan the flames of our hearts we will be able to sing with the angles “glory to God in the highest and peace to the people on earth.” Maybe, just maybe, if we would just believe. Maybe, just maybe…

We, as Christians, must wait patiently for the day to come when God will reign supreme but while we wait we have work to do to help that day come along a little sooner. Part of our work is to share that uncontrollable . . . that uncontainable joy that is within you, that is within me, which we have within us. Is there someone that you know who could use joy in their lives . . . is there someone who needs help that only you can give (something that you could do just for the sheer joy of it and therefore spreading that uncontainable joy along to someone else)? My challenge for you this week is this. . . I challenge you to sing joyously that song within you, help energize limp hand, open the eyes of the blind to God’s love, and help the lame walk and the deaf to hear. Share with someone about the saving grace of Christ which is the beginning of our song . . . the reason for the season and that uncontainable joy within us.

Amen

An “Advent”ure of…Love”

December 8, 2013

Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church

Sermon 2 of          Advent Series

“An “Advent”ure To the Stable”

1 Corinthians 13:13 New Living Translation

1 John 4:9-11 New Living Translation

Romans 8:37-39 New Living Translation

“Kneeling in Bethlehem” by Ann Weems

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/agape+love

http://christianity.about.com/od/glossary/a/Agape.htm

A reading from the Book of Romans, chapter 8, verses 37-39. Listen for a word from God to you and me…His beloved children.

37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

(Read “Christmas Comes” by Ann Weems from “Kneeling in Bethlehem”.)

Let us pray…

Gracious, Loving, God…you have called us by name and have loved us before we were born. We thank you for that love that You so richly lavish upon us each and every moment of our lives. We pray for Your loving presence here with us today. May we hear the word you have for us this day…may our Spirits stir within us as we hear about a love that surpasses all understanding. May we have eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart that is open to your still small voice. May your word be heard through me or in spite of me and may the mediations of our hearts and minds be pleasing to you our God, our Rock and our Redeemer.

Amen

There are so many songs about there that talk about love. You know…those “love ballads” that touch your heart and make you think of that certain someone. I think that most country western songs I have heard have been about love and/or love lost. Love is that fuzzy feeling we get when we see that “apple of our eye.” But love is not just a feeling…a verb…it is also a noun…as in the Love of God for us. God is love and God shares that love with all that He has created. The “free Dictionary On Line” calls this type of love a noun and states: “agape love - selfless love of one person for another without sexual implications (especially love that is spiritual in nature)”. This is that “Agape Love…it’s a thing that God has for us.

So what constitutes “Agape Love”? Well the first thing we need to realize is that there is more than one kind of love. As a matter of fact, there are four kinds of love just to make it complicated… The website Christianity About defines them like this:

1.     Agape is selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love, the highest of the four types of love in the Bible.This Greek word and variations of it are found throughout the New Testament. Agape perfectly describes the kind of love Jesus Christ has for his Father and for his followers:

2.     Storge is family love, the bond among mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers. Storge is the natural love and affection of a parent for their child.

3.     Philia means close friendship or brotherly love in Greek. Philia describes the benevolent, kindly love practiced by early Quakers.

4.     Eros is the physical, sensual love between a husband and wife.

With so many meanings for the word “love” it is a no wonder that it can be confusing. But the love we celebrate during Advent is that Agape, unmerited, undeserved, love that God poured out from heaven into  stable so long ago and continues to pour out that same love out on you…on me…on all of humanity…even though humanity itself doesn’t see it…or feel it…or even know it’s there at times…

I think the true example of love is the love our Lord and God have for us. Scripture tells us that God is love and in what He has done for creation and humanity down through the ages shows us that. John 3:16 tells us that “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son.” His only Son…how many of us love someone so much that we would give up our child for them?

         

God has loved His human creation since the beginning of time. He loved them so much that He walked in the cool of the evening with them. God even loved them so much that when they disobeyed Him He didn’t destroy them but instead made clothing for them to wear. When humanity had made God sorry for creating them and He decided to destroy what He had made, He saved a whole family of them…Noah and his family…so that they could begin a new life after the flood…a new beginning. And when He realized that humanity could not, on their own, redeem themselves from sin, He sent His son so that Humanity could have a renewed and forgiven relationship With Him. Now that’s what I call LOVE.

The 1 John scripture from this morning talks about God’s love this way…we didn’t love God but He surely loved us…He sent His son for our salvation. Even though humanity was and is sinful…God loved and loves us enough to sacrifice His Son…so that we can have that relationship with Him. How awesome is that? How can we not want to share the message of Advent love to those around us?

The scripture found in 1 Corinthians 13 is a wonderful piece of scripture that talks about the true nature of love. It talks about what love does and what it doesn’t. But I love how it is all summed up in one sentence…in one verse… Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love. Love is most important…love is what everything hinges on… We are to share that Advent love…the type of love God has shown us…to those we come in contact with each day. Now don’t get me wrong…I truly do love other people but do I really have to love that person that gets on my nerves…the “Uncle Festers’” of the family? Well…the answer to that is Yes! And do I really have to love people as if I was going through the same sufferings that they are even though some may be in their sufferings because of their own doing? The answer to that is Yes! And do I really have to “always” try to do good and share with others? Again…guess what the answer is…Yes! We are to be imitators of God in Christ Jesus. We are to love with the same love of God…that Agape love that we talked about earlier.

The world is full of all kinds of love but we as Christians have our own “Brand” of love…Love of God in Christ Jesus. Our love is different than the world’s kind of love. Love is something that is hard to define but there is a way that God would have us love…Humanity’s love may change with the times, but God’s love…His type of love…remains for an eternity. This is exactly the love that the Roman’s scripture talks about. No matter what…we can count on God’s love for us. Nothing…nothing we can say or do can cause us to lose that love from God. How much hope does that give us? No matter where we are in our faith walk…no matter where we are in our sinfulness…God loves us through it.  

Beloved children of God, if we are to be God’s light of Love…the Love of Advent…in the world we need to let His love and compassion shine through us. We need to step away from ourselves and step into others lives with the light and love that breaks through the darkest night…the love that is within us. Let share the love of Advent to a world that still sits in darkens so that all can experience the of within hearts. Let us show what love really is…that radical love that kept Jesus nailed to the Cross for you, for me, for all of humanity…

Amen

Healing Touch

http://bible.com/n/1C8pm Healng Touch

Not Mine

http://bible.com/n/1C8oY Not Mine

Mirowave Answers

http://bible.com/n/1C8nQ Microwave Answers

An “Advent”ure of…Hope”

December 1, 2013

Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church

Sermon 1 of          Advent Series

“An “Advent”ure To the Stable”

Isaiah 52:7-12 New Living Translation

Isaiah 9:1-3 New Living Translation

Romans 5:1-5 New Living Translation

“Kneeling in Bethlehem” by Ann Weems

A Reading from Paul’s letter to the Roman’s, chapter 5, verses 1-5…listen for and to the word of God for you and me, the people of God. Read the scripture from Romans.

Read “In December Darkness” by Ann Weems book “Kneeling in Bethlehem”…

Good Morning. Well, winter is finally here. We now have snow on the ground…the sun is not as hot as it was and it is dark later in the morning and earlier in the evening, Winter is a hard time for me. With the cold and snow sometimes I think it will never end. But I know it will. It has happened this way for so long that even though I may not see the signs of spring, I believe it will happen. I have seen it and so in the seeing I have come to believe. This is my hope for the spring to come.

This believing is seeing thought has also got me thinking about our relationship with our Risen Lord Jesus. Like the sun, He is always there. Even when the sun doesn’t shine we believe it is still there on those cloudy days. And just like the sun, the “Son” of man, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, is there even in the dark night of our souls, even when we can’t see the light of day through our pain and sorrow, shining God’s light of compassion and love upon us. This He has promised. This is our hope for each day.

Today, we begin “An “Advent”ure To the Stable.”  It is the time when we go back to the beginning of our salvation; we go back to the manger stall where love came down from heaven. We go back to the place that God, once again, rolled up His sleeves and became involved with humanity in the form of a child. Sometimes, this seems so incredible it is hard to believe. Especially when we are going through those times of trouble and God seems absent in our lives. As we walk the road to Bethlehem, we are going hear stories from Scripture about the hope, love, joy and peace that Advent offers humanity…even in those times when God seems silent in our lives.

Today is the 1^st Sunday in Advent…the Sunday of Hope in our church calendar. It is the day that we celebrate the hope that was born in a stable long ago. We celebrate not only the hope that is found in Jesus’ birth but the hope we have in His returning. But…why do we hope. We live in a world that is…well…hopeless. With all the despair and chaos around us how can there be any kind of hope? Can we rekindle that hope that died long ago in the hearts of those who have seen too much in life and has lost all hope for the future?

Well…the only place to find real hope is with the babe that was born in that very same stable that where our “advent”ure is leading us…to the stable where hope came down from heaven…the stable where the Son of man was born. We find our real hope in Jesus Christ. This is the hope in the song we sing as His followers. How heartbreaking it is that humanity has forgotten where the wealth spring of hope really is. It’s not found in others…we are human and we will fail each other from time to time…it is not found in our wealth…we may find hope in what we have but that too may fail us…the only place to find it is in a lowly stable, a place that seems too insignificant to have any real meaning. None the less, that is where we find our hopes for tomorrow…

In the first scripture from Isaiah, we hear about hope. We have hope in the Good News that Jesus ushered in for all of humanity. We have hope because God has shown His power in the form of a baby born in a lowly manger stall…the power of forgiveness and redemption that was showered down from heaven for all of humanity. We have hope because no matter what is going on around us in the world, we have the protection of the God of Israel…the One true God.

The Second reading from Isaiah talks about that same hope that is found in the Messiah…in Jesus Christ. The darkness and despair around us will not last forever but the light will shine through that darkness, dispelling all fear and give hope to those who believe. This light is so bright that it lights up even the darkest corner of our lives. It will illuminate all those things that hide in the dark recesses of our souls and remove the fear it brings. As we believe and then see, we grow in our faith and our hope for the future…but not just our future but the future of those around us. Darkness cannot hide from light for very long. Soon it will shine like the noon day sun chasing away the shadows of yesterday giving us hope for a bright tomorrow.

Within that faith in the Son we find…as the Romans scripture tells us…we will have that hope that will not disappoint us. In a world full of hopelessness and desolation, we can have hope. It is within our faith in God’s word and in His Son, Jesus Christ that we can see through the darkness and haze of the world because of illumination of our minds and hearts. We will of course still have those hard times but within them we grow into who God would have us be but He doesn’t leave us to stumble in the dark. He gives us the light of hope, the light of love, the light of joy and the light of peace. We are dearly loved and not abandoned. We are able to dance in the light as we cultivate the likeness of Christ in our lives. That light we have within us will be too bright to hold within ourselves. This light will shine through us and out of us onto the world around us as we help bring that light to life into the darkness of despair. We will and can be the bearers of the Good News of this season.

Today is the 1st Sunday of Advent, the Sunday of Hope. We have a hope within us as we believe in the Son. Just as we believe that the sun is shining, even though obscured by clouds, we can believe that the Son of God, our Risen Lord Jesus Christ shines down upon our lives, even through the time of despair and confusion…this is our hope. This is our believing is seeing. And as we believe, we will see the glory of God, through His Son; shine bright in the darkness around us. Believing truly is seeing.

Advent is an Adventure and it begins with hope. The time of Advent is a time of longing for God to come . . . as we celebrate Christ’s birth so long ago. Advent is a time of waiting for Christ to return . . . ushering in the New Jerusalem, the new heaven and earth, which he will bring also. Advent is also a time of watching for Christ’s return . . .  being alert and awake, doing the Kingdoms work as we do so. Advent is not just a season but a way of life, a way to live out our journey, our sojourn on this celestial plane that we are on. If we, as Christians, keep these things in mind as we enter the season of Advent, we truly will have the best Christmas.

          My challenge for you during this Advent season and for me too, is this:

•        To deliberately try to re-think Advent in your mind and in your hearts.

•        To rethink what Advent really is.

•        To deliberately search within ourselves to find that Hope that is within us and to live out that Hope in the world around us.

•        To deliberately look for Jesus in the world around us and in those in whom we come in contact with. He’s there; we just have to look.

Let us begin to live that Advent life throughout the year and not only during the time of Advent. It begins with hope, and the scripture says, hope will not fail us!

Let us pray:

God of Advent, we await expectantly for the celebration of the birth of your Son, Lord Jesus Christ . . . Help us to also expectantly await His return. Help us to live our lives not only as Easter People but also as Advent sojourners. Stir up your Spirit within us and that may we live out our lives awake and at work for the Kingdom to come. This we pray in the name of the One who became flesh and lived among us, our Risen Lord, Jesus Christ.

Amen?!