December 26, 2010 - Another Christmas Story: Dreaming of the 'Perfect' Christmas

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Video Message: Dreaming of the 'Perfect' Christmas




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December 19, 2010 - Another Christmas Story: Have Yourself a 'Mary' Little Christmas

(The following is a draft of the message given at Sunrise UMC, 12/19/2010)

(Video clip from A Christmas Story where Bart wins a major award)

I love the mother’s reaction to Bart’s major award. It is so classic with how wives have to put up with their husbands so many times. Have you ever been put in a position where you love somebody so much that you will go along with their cocka-mammied ideas, even when they seems so irrational?

Our text this morning also gives an example of someone having to hear some unbelievable notion and then given the opportunity to see how she will respond. We find this in Luke 1:26-38.

Luke 1

26 In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you." 29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31 You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end." 34 "How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?" 35 The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. 37 For nothing is impossible with God." 38 "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.

The other day, I was driving through town and I heard Judy Garland’s haunting voice singing, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” And I started thinking back on a message I preached a couple of years ago that was a take-off on something like that. Instead of saying,

“Have a Merry Christmas,” I would say, “Have a ‘Mary’ Christmas.” I purposed that Mary had a very different concept of being blessed than we do today. Let’s think about that for a bit.

As we reflect on today’s scripture lesson I think that we can see three things that God did here and continues to do today.

1. God chooses the unlikely

- theme found throughout the bible

- Abraham and Sarah, an elderly couple too old to have children

- Moses - a shepherd of goats, fugitive of the law, and stutters

- Ruth – a Moabite

- David – the runt

Mary – most unlikely candidate

- How we choose our mates – looks, sex appeal, right pedigree, intelligence, wealth

- What was God looking for when he chose Mary?

- As we look to the scriptures, we can assume that she was ordinary – probably never voted Home-coming queen at Nazareth High School, uneducated, came from wrong side of the tracks (not Sepphoris, but from tiny Podunk town of Nazareth), young (~13 y/o)

- What was God looking for?

o a heart that was willing, that captures certain qualities and characteristics that God looks for and who can be used. God chooses not based on SAT scores or outward appearances, but by looking at the heart and asking, “Am I able to use you?”

- You may be saying, “I don’t have any special skills or special abilities. What do I have to offer?” If you are in that place where you are wondering that, you are in the perfect place to be used by God. God says, “If you have a willing heart, you have all I need and I’ll supply everything else.”

2. God accomplishes the inexplicable

- I tend to be rational. I expect everything to have rhyme and reason to it. God has set up some natural laws and I expect everything to happen in compliance to those laws.

- God normally operates within those boundaries that God created

- But God will not be put in a box.

- Sometimes God doesn’t operate in my preconceived notions.

- God sometimes says, “I can do things that you can’t even begin to imagine.”

- I find this to be true with Mary as well, that she had a bit of a hard time believing what she was hearing.

- When the angel Gabriel, he brings the message, “Mary, you’ve found favor with God. You’re going to have a boy, and he’ll be the Son of God, the Messiah.”

- Mary was a bit shocked. She wasn’t concerned that she was going to have the Son of God, she was hung up on the notion that she was going to have a baby. She missed the whole point that he was going to be the Promised One, the Messiah.

- She questioned the basic premise. She was smart enough to know the mechanics about having a baby and she knew that in her case, it just wasn’t possible.

- She was the first to question the virgin birth.

- If you are stuck in believing that God can’t do anything out of the ordinary, then you can’t believe this story.

- Somewhere we have to allow that God can do things outside of the ordinary.

- Sometimes God does just things that simply messes with our heads and ways of thinking. Abraham and Sarah have son, Moses and the parting of the sea, David (slaying Goliath).

3. God’s favor is sometimes hard to bear

- Mary isn’t filled with joy at first.

- Magnificat (Song of Joy) comes later, maybe months later.

- God’s favor came with a task.

- She was a young woman who was going to have to explain to other people what had happened.

- Remember that a woman caught pregnant outside of marriage could be stoned to death and the woman’s parents could call for the child to be stoned.

- Interesting thing that we find in the bible is that when God favors you or blesses you, the blessing is coupled with a calling. You’ll find that God isn’t blessing you for a life filled with bliss and happiness – instead he favors you by a calling that will be difficult and challenging

- Abraham is called to leave his home, where he lived his whole life to wander as a stranger in a foreign land in his old age.

- Moses is called to face Pharaoh and risk life and limb

- David is going to be chased by Saul who want to kill him before he ever becomes king

- God’s call and God’s favor is going to require challenge.

- One of the challenges that we face is to recognize that God’s blessing is never about our happiness. Happiness is a by-product of being obedient to God and doing what he wants us to do

- Mary didn’t understand. She didn’t understand how or why, but she summed it up with these words, "I am the Lord's servant. May it be to me as you have said."

- In pursuing that, we ultimately find happiness.

Would you like to “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas?” If so, maybe we need to be a bit more like Mary, the mother of Jesus.

We need to have a heart that is open to the inexplicable ways of God. You, by the grace of Jesus, are favored (blessed) by God. What are we going to do with it? Are we going to seek how God is going to make us happy? Or are we going to understand that with God’s blessing comes the calling to be obedient, even when it sounds ridiculous.

So friends, I say, Have yourself a ‘Mary’ little Christmas by being like Mary and using her sentiments as ours: "I am the Lord's servant. May it be to me as you have said."

December 12, 2010 - Another Christmas Story: Been Bad or Good

(The following is a draft of the message prepared for Sunrise UMC - 12/12/2010)

Over the last couple of weeks, the titles for the messages for this Advent series has been somehow related to a Christmas song. The first week was, “All I Want for Christmas” and last week was centered around, “Go, Tell It of the Mountain.” Today, we continue with this trend with a take-off on “Here Comes Santa Claus.” You remember the all important line of the song right, “He sees you when you’re sleeping, he knows when you’re awake; he knows if [what?…right] you’ve been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake.”

That’s easier said than done though, right? Can I get an amen on that? It seems that no matter how hard we try we’re gonna mess up and sometimes our mistakes can have a disastrous outcome.

Take for instance, I heard the story that one afternoon a carpet layer had just finished installing carpet for a lady. He stepped out for a smoke, only to realize that he had lost his cigarettes. After a quick, but fruitless search, he noticed that in the middle of the room, under the carpet that he had just installed, was a bump. His cigarettes!

“No sense pulling up the entire floor for one pack of smokes,” the carpet layer said to himself. So, he got out his mallet and flattened the bump.

Not long after, as he was cleaning up, the lady came in. “Here,” she said, handing him his pack of cigarettes. “I found them in the hallway. Now,” she said, “if only I could find my parakeet.”

Okay, now I don’t know that to be a true story, but you know, it’s not too hard to believe that it could happen. But there have been some disastrous consequences to some real-life mistakes made. Here are just a few:

The mistake that burned down London. On the night of September 1, 1666, the oven of the royal baker to the king of England sparked a fire. It wasn’t a spectacular conflagration, and it seemed like no big deal at first, but the fire burned for five days. In the end, it wiped out 13,000 homes and leveled 80 percent of the city.

The mistake that sobered America up. Prohibition in the United States lasted from 1920 to 1933, and during this period it was illegal to manufacture, transport and sell alcoholic beverages. It seemed like a great idea at the time — outlaw liquor, and you eliminate a whole range of alcohol-related social ills. But Americans like to have a drink or two, and Prohibition opened our eyes to the ways in which organized crime will meet this demand in profitable, violent and destructive ways.

The mistake that killed John Wayne. Much of the filming for the movie The Conqueror was done in Utah’s Snow Canyon, which is located about 150 miles downwind from a nuclear testing facility. At least 91 of the 220 people who worked on the movie contracted cancer, and more then half of them died — including John Wayne.

A spark jumps out of an oven, and a baker fails to snuff it. A well-intentioned ban is placed on alcohol. A movie is filmed downwind from a nuke facility. These are small oversights, errors and miscalculations that we do not tend to see as major mistakes.

But secret problems can hurt us and they rarely go without some consequence. In other words, though we try to project ourselves otherwise, most people know when we’ve been bad or good. For goodness sake!

That’s right for goodness sake! There is goodness in being found out or discovered when we mess up.

Take for an example, Ralphie, in the classic movie, A Christmas Story. He’s a pretty normal boy, who is good most of the time. He even was eager to help out his dad change a flat tire one evening. Now, I don’t know if it’s just his age, or being a boy, or a combination of both, he messed up and let loose a word that he shouldn’t have. And of course, there was consequences….

(Video clip from A Christmas Story shown where Ralphie has his mouth washed with soap)

For goodness sake… You know, we need to hear those words because that really gets down to the crux of what this season of Advent is all about.

Let’s look at how the entry of John the Baptist conveys this as we turn to Mark 1. If did not bring your bible with you, it will be up on the screen.

Mark 1

2 It is written in Isaiah the prophet: "I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way"-- 3 "a voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'" 4 And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.

When we look at this passage of scripture, we can see a striking similarity between Ralphie’s mom and John the Baptist – they were both preaching about cleaning off the bad and turning toward what is good.

Ralphie’s mom had him wash out his mouth with soap, so that he would remember the bad-tasting consequence of using bad words. John also had people wash off the grime of this world (sin) through repentance and begin living a new life with God.

Friends, God is still calling people to do the same thing. God called me to help you remember who you are and whose you are. Although we are some 2000 years removed from John’s words, they transcend time. They still call us to a time of repentance.

Repentance. What exactly does that word mean anyway?

- Recognize that you and I have sinned

o We all have messed up and we miss the mark.

- Remorse

o Know that we by our own actions and inactions, we fall short of being who God calls us to be.

o The blame rests on each of us.

- Turn around

o Decide that we want to walk with God

As we sing this last song, I’d like for you to pay special attention to the third verse, as it says these words:

No more let sins and sorrows grow, 

nor thorns infest the ground; 

he comes to make his blessings flow 

far as the curse is found.

Been bad or good? You are forgiven by the One who knows us best and loves us the most!

December 5, 2010 - Another Christmas Story: Do You Know What I Know?

The following is a draft of the message given on December 3, 2010

Let’s start off this morning with a little game. I am going to begin some phrases and I want you to finish them up. Alright?

1) Don’t count your chickens (before they’re hatched)

2) A bird in the hand is worth (two in the bush)

3) A stitch in time (saves nine)

4) If you keep making that face (it will freeze like that)

5) If it sounds too good to be true (it probably is)

You probably have recognized a couple of these to have been attributed to Benjamin Franklin, who was known as a pragmatic man, that is that he was sensible and a realist. He put his trust in that which he knew could be proven or what was the sure thing. Now the couple of other phrases also reflect this same type of logic and it is advice that we like to tell ourselves that we believe. But friends, we are a curious people, aren’t we? We want to try out and test that which we are told is true. And sometimes, that can get us into trouble.

(Clip from A Christmas Story where Flick sticks his tongue to the flagpole)

I love this clip from it because, you know, I can identify with it in so many ways. I can envision myself as one of those who stood by and watched as Flick stuck his tongue to the flagpole, as being the one who dared him, even to the extent double-dog daring him, and yes, I can see myself as gullible, but proud Flick. How about you?

There is a story in the Bible that can be seen as similar to this clip. I would like to invite you to read this passage along with me as we read Luke 1:6-24.

Luke1::6-24

6 Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous in God's eyes, careful to obey all of the Lord's commandments and regulations. 7 They had no children because Elizabeth was barren, and now they were both very old. 8 One day Zechariah was serving God in the Temple, for his order was on duty that week. 9 As was the custom of the priests, he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary and burn incense in the Lord's presence. 10 While the incense was being burned, a great crowd stood outside, praying. 11 Zechariah was in the sanctuary when an angel of the Lord appeared, standing to the right of the incense altar. 12 Zechariah was overwhelmed with fear. 13 But the angel said, "Don't be afraid, Zechariah! For God has heard your prayer, and your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son! And you are to name him John. 14 You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice with you at his birth, 15 for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord. He must never touch wine or hard liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth. 16 And he will persuade many Israelites to turn to the Lord their God. 17 He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah, the prophet of old. He will precede the coming of the Lord, preparing the people for his arrival. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and he will change disobedient minds to accept godly wisdom." 18 Zechariah said to the angel, "How can I know this will happen? I'm an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years." 19 Then the angel said, "I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was he who sent me to bring you this good news! 20 And now, since you didn't believe what I said, you won't be able to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly come true at the proper time." 21 Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah to come out, wondering why he was taking so long. 22 When he finally did come out, he couldn't speak to them. Then they realized from his gestures that he must have seen a vision in the Temple sanctuary. 23 He stayed at the Temple until his term of service was over, and then he returned home. 24 Soon afterward his wife, Elizabeth, became pregnant and went into seclusion for five months.

(Prayer)

Believe it or not, I think that Flick and Zechariah have a lot in common. As we look both their stories, there are four distinct parts that share a common thread:

The Darer (that is the one who makes the dare), The Dare itself, The Dare-Taker (or the one who accepts the dare), and The Dare Witnesses. Now, let’s look at each element.

A. The Darer (Shwartz/Angel)

- Messengers

- not exactly the same, but share a common task

- Each implore Don’t be afraid

- Both knew some type of info

- each was a messenger, telling what the Father proclaims

B. The Dare (Tongue to Flagpole/You will have a Son)

- each is expected to believe

- Flick to believe that the tongue will freeze to the flagpole

- Zechariah to believe in God’s promise to give him a Son

C. The Dare Taker (Flick/Zechariah)

- each is filled with a certain amount of fear

- each has questions about the validity of the claim, but their response and consequence are different

- Flick takes up the challenge – leads to him being unable to speak

- Zechariah tries to dissuade with logic – leads up to him being unable to speak

D. The Dare Witnesses

- both sets witness the outcome

- Flicks are astonished and run away

- Zechariah’s are astonished and see that he has been given a vision

What is it that you and I can take away from the reading of this story?

- Should we not put our tongues to a frozen flagpole?

- What is our response to God’s vision?

- Vision came from Zechariah’s prayer

- Evidently, Zechariah and Elizabeth had prayed for a child a long time before, but had given up hope.

- God is diligent

Be careful with what you pray for - God hears prayers

There is a story about a bar that was built right next to an old church. The people of the church were mortified to have this den of iniquity built right beside their place of refuge. So the church people began to pray – pray that somehow the bar would go out of business. For months and years they prayed their fervent prayer, to no avail – until one night a horrendous storm came up. If by miracle, lightning struck the bar and it quickly burnt to the ground. The church folk were overjoyed until they were called into court – they were being sued by the bar owner. He was claiming that it was the church’s fault that his bar burnt down. The church folk were flabbergasted and said they were not at fault. After listening to each side, the judge made his decision for the bar owner, citing that of the two parties, the bar owner believed in prayer and the church did not.

Sometimes, I think we, the Church forget the power that has been entrusted to us. I think we forget the good news we have been given. I think we I think we forget that we have are given this message of hope to share with the world. We know this message of God’s saving grace and it is screaming to be shared

Let’s put this back into this formula we spoke of a few moments ago and see if we can figure out what to do with it.

The Dare – Tell what Christmas is about

Dare Witnesses – Many have their own concept (gifts, children, family,…)

Darer – Today, that's me. I’m issuing a dare for you to tell what you know about Christmas.

What do you know? (Allow response)

Dare Takers – You? Are you up for it?

How will you do this? (Allow for some Interaction Time)

So, Sunrise, are you up for the dare?

Let’s do it!

I triple dog-dare you!

November 28, 2010 Another Christmas Story: All I Want for Christmas

Do you remember singing the song, All I Want for Christmas, when you were younger? My sister and I used to change the words in order to drop hints to our parents about what we wanted for Christmas (sing “All I want for Christmas is a new stereo, a new stereo…” No, no, that was my sister. I sang, “All I want for Christmas is Farrah Fawcett, Farrah Fawcett…)

Think back for just a minute to what it was like when you were younger – the anticipation of that wonderful day…maybe you had that one special gift you really wanted but you weren’t sure you were going to get…so you had to wait and dream…maybe it looked something like this…

(Video clip shown)

That was a clip from my favorite Christmas movie of all time, A Christmas Story…the story of Ralphie who is consumed in his anticipation of the one gift he desires above all else – an Official Red Ryder, Carbine-Action, Two-hundred Shot, Range Model Air Rifle. Ralphie is sure that this one gift has the potential to change his life – from an ordinary ten year-old boy who often feels at the mercy of his family, friends, and school bullies…into a savior who can defend his family from all the bad things in the world. And so, Ralphie waits for that special day that has the potential to change his world.

We can watch this movie and laugh at Ralphie’s innocent little boy dreams but lets be honest…we are not all that different than Ralphie. Even as adults we often anticipate gifts that we believe will change our lives and make them more perfect. Our prayers are full of such dreams – fix our economy God, find me a job God, give me a spouse who understands me better God, make it so I have more time to spend with my kids God, grant me a bigger house, fewer bills, less stress, a healthier body…give me this one gift and I won’t ask for anything else because things will be ok then…just one present from you is all I need.

But will one present really fix everything?

Israel was once conquered by the Babylonians and forced to leave their land and go into exile in Babylon. While in exile, the people grieved for their loss and their greatest desire was to return to their own land – to get back to Jerusalem. If God would just get them back home, everything would be ok again…their broken nation would be healed. But Israel was eventually surprised, when the gift they had most desired was granted and they returned to Jerusalem and found that life was not all fixed and healed like they thought it would be…they quickly realized that what they wanted most, was not really what they needed most. Hear what the prophet Isaiah had to say as Israel discovered this astounding truth…

Isaiah 64.1-9

O that you would tear open the heavens and come down, so that the mountains would quake at your presence— as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil— to make your name known to your adversaries, so that the nations might tremble at your presence! When you did awesome deeds that we did not expect, you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence. From ages past no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who works for those who wait for him. You meet those who gladly do right, those who remember you in your ways. But you were angry, and we sinned; because you hid yourself we transgressed.

We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. There is no one who calls on your name, or attempts to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have delivered us into the hand of our iniquity. Yet, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. Do not be exceedingly angry, O Lord, and do not remember iniquity forever. Now consider, we are all your people.

While in exile, Israel wanted only one present from God – that was to go home again…but once they got home they realized that it was not a present from God that they really desired – instead it was God’s presence that should have been at the top of their wish list.

You know, we can make all the wish lists we want, anticipate all the presents we desire but until we understand that our lives only have purpose and joy in the presence of God – we will always feel the world is not right.

Ralphie believed that the bb gun will help him gain control and take on the role of saving his family…but his mother has quite a different take on the matter.

(Video clip shown)

She doesn’t say this to be cruel and shatter his dreams, she says it because she is his mother and she understands that he needs maturity and wisdom to appreciate such a present. She knows that Ralphie isn’t ready – he doesn’t understand what such gift would mean.

God could certainly give us immeasurable presents…things we want/desire to make life better…things we are sure will make us happy…but would they?

Let’s think for a moment about the origin of the one who embodies our way of thinking about Christmas presents - St. Nicholas. Born into a wealthy family in the 3^rd century, Nicholas grew into a devout young man…when his parents died, leaving him a small fortune, he took seriously the biblical call to sell all you have and give it to the poor and he did just that.

Throughout his lifetime, Nicholas was known to have used his money and resources to provide for the needs of people, especially children. Notice I said, provide for the needs…not wants…nothing frivolous…just money and food so that they could survive. Over time, or understanding of St. Nicholas sure has changed…

Soon he became large, a sign of great wealth and prosperity…then he became jolly, no longer appearing sad and burdened by a world in which children die and go hungry…now St. Nick is more about video games and Barbie dolls than feeding the poor and saving the lost.

C.S. Lewis once wrote, “You can’t get to joy without first journeying through despair.” We don’t always understand the consequences of the things we ask God for. We dream big and we think it’s the perfect gift, yet God, our father, knows that we are not always mature enough or wise enough to appreciate the gifts we desire. Sometimes, God must simply shake his head and say, “Sorry, but you’ll shoot your eye out.”

We want a lot from God, we expect a lot from him, but what we really need is to mature enough to realize, like Isaiah, that we need a parent who knows us, who wants to do what is best for us. What we need is not presents from God but God’s presence in our lives.

And this is really what Advent is about – anticipating God’s presence among us...waiting on God. At times we may feel like Isaiah…we may get frustrated with the state of our lives and think that God has simply left the building…he’s not here anymore. The truth though is that God is never far from us. God is always present and even though there may be times when he is silent – it does not mean that he is not working.

Look with me for just a moment at the third verse of O Little Town of Bethlehem…

How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is given!

So God imparts to human hearts

the blessings of His heaven.

No ear may hear his coming, but in this world of sin,

Where meek souls will receive him still,

the dear Christ enters in.

In the silence of a dark night…when many felt God had abandoned them…he came into the world amidst the barn animals. While the world demanded of God a king to overthrow nations and a powerhouse to rule over others…a silent teen girl held the son of God and wondered in her heart what it all meant.

How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is given…the blessing of God’s heaven.

It is so easy in our world today to get caught up in the presents of Christmas, the things we want and the things we give…but let us take seriously the anticipation of Advent, which reminds us that it is the Presence of God that is our most treasured of all gifts.

All I want for Christmas is for Christ’s church to yearn for and share God’s presence with the world…it is the greatest gift we have received and the greatest gift we can offer to others.

Pray with me.