A Charlie Brown Christmas ~ A Rocky Start

So the weeks leading up to Christmas is this kind of crazy, stress filled whirlwind that culminates on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day or Boxing Day, or whenever we celebrate with family and friends, and then we settle back into a more normal routine and get ready for the New Year.  We might think this mirrors the story of Jesus and that after the crazy, stress filled whirlwind of a trip to Bethlehem, a crowded inn, a noisy stable, a smelly manger and the strange visit of the shepherds who talked about hearing the songs of angels that it got back to a more normal routine for Mary and Joseph.  But that is not what happened.  In fact, what happens next reminds me of a scene from a Charlie Brown Christmas Special, but not the one you might be thinking of.

In 1992 Charles Schultz and Bill Melendez came out with another special called, It’s Christmas Time Again, Charlie Brown and I’ll be honest, it doesn’t have the same charm and power as the first one, but the opening scene of the special looks like the first few years of life for Mary, Joseph and their baby, Jesus.

This clip hits home for me, and I do mean hit.  At my Grandmother’s house there was a steep little hill in her back yard that looked just perfect for sledding.  I couldn’t figure out why none my sisters were going down it but opting to go down much more gentle slope farther away.  So went to the top of that little hill and got read to go.  The plan was solid – and about 5 seconds into the ride I realized why no one else was sledding there.  The house was about 20 feet away and I had no way to stop.  For Linus, everything looked good too and the plan was solid.  Climb in the box and sled smoothly down the hill what could go wrong?  The same for Jesus and his family.  He arrived and all the craziness is over and everything was going fairly well, in fact, they had even been visited by some Magi who gave them gold, frankincense and myrrh – so everything looked good until the night that Joseph had a dream.  Matthew 2:13-16.

Suddenly they are off to a Rocky Start.  I’m sure Mary and Joseph’s plan had been to return home and raise their child, the Son of God, among family and friends, not flee to Egypt and live with strangers.  And think about it, the prophets said that their child was the prince of peace and yet as an innocent baby he is being threatened and attacked by one of the most ruthless rulers Judea had ever know.  Herod was the worldly king of the Jewish people and he was known as a power-hungry man who would do anything necessary to keep his hands on the throne.  When Herod first became king he assassinated most of the Sanhedrin, which was the ruling body of the Jewish people.  He murdered is wife and mother and even three of his own sons in order to make sure he maintain control and that there would never be any other heirs to his throne.  So when some Magi told him that a new king had been born, Herod thought nothing of finding this king and having him killed.  So Herod ordered the death of all the children in and around Bethlehem.  Matthew 2:16-18.

So it was a rocky start for Mary and Joseph as they fled to Egypt but what we need to remember is that even though things weren’t at all what they expected, God was still at work.  God knew what Herod was going to do which is why he didn’t send the Magi back to Herod after they visited Jesus.  By warning them to go home a different way it gave Mary and Joseph a head start in their escape.  So while Mary and Joseph couldn’t see it – God was at work during this rocky beginning.  At just the right moment an angel came to warn them to get out of Bethlehem and because God had sent the Magi to Jesus Mary and Joseph now had some gold to help them n their journey.  God is always at work and God always has a plan even when we cannot see it.

As we enter into this New Year we need to remember that there are going to be unexpected and difficult moments in life and yet there is nothing unexpected to God.  God knows what is going to take place and God is already working on a plan for us to make it through.  God was not only telling Mary and Joseph that they needed to run – but he was preparing all the places that would take them in.  That we don’t know what happened during their flight to Egypt tells me that things at this point went a little more smoothly and that’s because God had already made a way.  The end of the story is that Herod died and Joseph was told in another dream that it was now safe for him and his family to return so they went back to Nazareth.  God was at work even if Mary and Joseph didn’t see it and God is at work in us even when we don’t see it.

Another truth of this story is how God takes what we might think is insignificant and uses it for something amazing.  What was it that led the Magi to search for the new king?  A star – something we see thousands of every night.  And what told the Joseph he should flee Bethlehem and then return home?  A dream – something we do often, sometimes every night.  God takes seemingly simple and insignificant things and uses them for something amazing but only if we are willing to look and listen.  The Magi were looking at the stars which is why they saw something new and checked it out.  Joseph must have been listening to his dreams – and why not, he was also told in a dream that Jesus was going to be the son of God.  If God was going to start speaking to me in dreams like that, I would listen too.  So they were in tune with the simple ordinary aspects of life and through them God did amazing things.

This New Year we need to pay attention to the simple and ordinary things of life and look for God to use them in amazing ways.  Maybe it will come through our routines at work, or through our dedication and commitment in worship, maybe it will come during times of prayer or praise or even play – but if we know God is always working in us then we need to watch and wait for him to appear.  Too many times we look to God to give us some kind of spectacular sign when what we really need to do is pay attention to the simple things God does every day.

Next month we start a new series called 5 things God uses to grow our faith and the truth is that these 5 things are simple.  God uses teaching, relationships, our spiritual disciplines and ministry and the circumstances of our lives to lead us and grow us.  The question is will we look for God in these simple things and learn how to use them to grow daily.
So it was a rocky start for Mary, Joseph and Jesus.  They were persecuted and forced from their home.  They listened to God, trusted what He said and set off to Egypt, becoming refugees.  Who would have thought that a series on Charlie Brown would lead us to Matthew 2 and the story of Mary and Joseph facing a rocky start to their life as a family?  Who would have thought that Charlie Brown and Linus trying to sled down a hill in a box would lead us to one of the most difficult issue facing our world today and one of the most divisive issues facing our country?  While we may not have seen this coming, God did because God is always at work in our lives and God is always leading us where He wants us to go, so here we are today, face to face with the refugee crisis facing our world.

Let me share start by saying I am honored and greatly blessed to be part of a congregation that despite what we may think and believe politically we can come together to make a statement on Christmas Eve that we need to reach out to Jesus.  That we did not shy away from the desperate struggle of refugees around the world to survive because of our current political circumstances is a sign of the strength of faith and courage this church has.  When I told some of my friends and colleagues that we were giving our Christmas Eve offering to the Global Refugee Crisis through UMCOR, what I heard most often was – wow.  That’s something.   And you are something for being willing to see the real human need in the midst of the all the political talk on both sides.

This is not an easy issue for us to work through as a nation.  We need to ensure the safety and security of our communities and yet we can’t forget our call to care for those in need.  We face the same thing here in the church; while we are open to all people we also have to work to ensure the safety and security of our children.  We also cannot forget that many refugees in the world today are our brothers and sisters in Christ.  There are Christian around the world who have been forced out of their homes because of their faith and they need our support and prayers.  Even among the surge of refugees from Syria there are Christians whose families and faith communities date back to the times of the Bible.  And think about the added struggle for them, they are not only fleeing their homes but travelling among the other refugees can be dangerous for them because of their faith and so they are often in even greater danger and face greater needs.  While we struggle with the political crisis of refugees, let’s always remember that in many cases, no matter who they are, they are our brothers and sisters and we need hear the call of God to care for those in need.

And think about this, as Christians, we are all refugees living in a foreign land because this world is not our home – our home is the kingdom of God.  I don’t just mean heaven when we die, I mean we are to live in this world today as if we were citizens of God’s kingdom.  In one of Jesus final prayers he prayed for the disciples and for the church, he said, I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.  We are sent by God into the world but we are not to be of this world which means we are not to let the values and priorities of the world shape or lives.  

So we need a kind of refugee mindset as we move into the New Year and there are two things that can help with this.  First: keep your eyes, minds and hearts focused on the Kingdom of God.  The Apostle Paul tells us that we can do this by only thinking about that things that are Godly.  Philippians 4:8.  We have to look to the things of God and not the things of this world and we need to allow God’s values and priorities shape us.  Just as most refugees want to go home and so keep their eyes and hearts fixed there, we need to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus who shows us what it looks like to be a citizen of God’s kingdom.

The second thing we need to do to be refugees moving toward God’s kingdom is to be willing to leave everything behind.  One thing all refugees have in common is that they have to leave everything behind.  They not only leave homes, clothes and all their possessions, they leave behind their identity and livelihood.  While they may have had good jobs or been talented craftsmen in their home countries, they have to leave all that behind in order to find life.  Jesus said the very same thing to those that wanted to follow him.  They had to be willing to leave everything behind.  Jesus said that whoever loses their life for me will find it.  To follow Jesus means we have to leave this world and at times our own hopes and dreams behind..

Whether the new year begins with a Rock Start or those challenges come in the weeks and months to come, what we can be sure of is that God is at work in our lives and we can find God working if we will look for him in the simple ordinary events of daily life.  As we move on toward on our home in the Kingdom of God, let us trust God to provide for us and give us the strength and faith and courage to persevere.

 
Next Steps
A Rocky Start

1. Read the story of all that Mary and Joseph faced after Jesus was born ~ Matthew 2.  Identify all the ways God was at work even though Mary and Joseph may not have seen it.

2. God worked through stars and dreams – things we might take for granted and seem insignificant.  What simple things might God use in your life during 2016 to speak to you?  What one thing can you do to help pay more attention to these things?

3. Resolve to be in worship during the month of January to learn about the 5 Things God Will Use To Grow Your Faith.
• teaching
• relationships
• spiritual disciplines
• ministry/service
• circumstances

4. How does Jesus spending His young life as a refugee shape your thinking about the current refugee crisis facing our world?  How does it shape your political thoughts as we wrestle with this as a country?

5. We are refugees living in a foreign land because our home is the Kingdom of God.  To keep a refugee mindset in the coming year we need to:
• Keep our eyes, minds and hearts focused on the Kingdom God.  Read Philippians 4:8.
• Leave everything behind.  What do you need to leave behind as you move into this new year?

A Charlie Brown Christmas ~ True Peace

What are you hoping for this Christmas?  What’s on your Christmas list?  What gift is it that you just have to have in order for your life to be complete and for you to finally be at peace?  As children we may have said something like a Red Rider BB gun or a Cabbage Patch Doll, but as adults our hopes change.  Now we hope for the best Star War’s gifts out there like the light saber BBQ Tongs

so we can BBQ like a Jedi; or maybe it is the Darth Vader Waffle Maker.

Actually, as we get older the gifts we often hope for can’t be bought from amazon.  Maybe the gift we hope for this year is for our family to be together, or for a relationship to be healed, or for our job situation to improve.  Maybe the gift that will bring peace is to see our children grow in faith and find courage and strength to make it through difficult times.  Through the years what we hope for changes, but what doesn’t change is that we still have hopes and dreams.  We still long for gifts that we think will bring us peace.  What Charlie Brown hoped for was something to help bring his life a sense of purpose and fulfillment.  He wanted something to give him peace and he turned to many different people for help, but one person turned to him, his sister Sally.  (video)

Sally had an extensive Christmas list and she had her hope set on every one of these very specific gifts.  There were so many items on her list that she decided to make it easy on Santa and just ask for money.  For Sally, her hope and heart was set on material goods.  Her expectation and desire was for cold hard cash.  That’s what she hoped for because that’s what she thought would make her life complete.  Money was not only what she deserved, it was what she thought would bring her peace.  

Today if we are looking for something that will bring us peace, we have a choice.  Like Sally, we can look to the material goods and wealth of this world and trust rising stock markets, Christmas bonuses and higher paying jobs or we can look to God.  Sally was a young girl who looked for peace in the world but Mary was a young girl who looked for peace in God.
Like all good Jewish girls, Mary had her own hopes and dreams.  She dreamed of marrying a honest God fearing man and having lots of children because these were signs of God’s blessing  Like all good mothers she dreamed that her children would grow up to have a life blessed by God and a life that would be a blessing to others.  Many Jewish girls at this time dreamed that their children might grow up to the Messiah because that was the highest honor and the greatest blessing they could know and people at this time were looking for the Messiah to come.  These were all things Mary would have hoped for and these were the things that would bring her life true and lasting peace and like most girls she would have thought these things would all come through the normal channels of life like a husband and marriage, but then Mary had a visit from an angel.  Luke 1:26-38.

Suddenly Mary is faced with a choice.  Would she place her hope for a child, and the hope she had for that child, in herself and trust in her upcoming marriage to Joseph or would she place her hope and trust in God?  To trust God was difficult because Mary was a virgin so how could she possibly become pregnant without Joseph and if she did became pregnant outside of marriage it would end her future with Joseph, end her reputation as a faithful woman and maybe even end her life.  From the world’s point of view God’s plan made no sense, was incredibly unlikely to happen and included tremendous risks, but Mary said yes.  Mary trusted God to help her find true peace.  

Sally turned to the world to find peace, but Mary turned to God.  If we are looking for peace, where will we turn and what will we trust?  Will we trust the things of this world?  Will we trust the material goods of the world to make us complete?  Will we trust the things that make sense to us and the things that don’t bring any risk or will we look for peace in God?  To find peace in God means we have to commit ourselves completely to God, and say like Mary, Here am I, the servant of the Lord, let it be with me according to your word.
Mary surrenders herself fully to God and places herself completely in God’s hands and that is the only way to find true peace.  To find peace today we have to submit ourselves to God and submission is a totally commitment.  When Mary surrendered to God it was a total commitment.  Think about what it means to become pregnant.  I have it on good authority that it affects absolutely every part of your life.  Being pregnant affects your eating and sleeping.  It affects the clothes you wear and your ability to move.  Physically, pregnancy affects everything, but it goes deeper than the physical changes and I’m not just talking about the emotions and hormones, I am talking about relationships.  Relationships change, even a woman’s identity changes as she goes from being a daughter and wife to being a mother.  For Mary, placing her trust in God meant that everything in her life would change as she now follows God’s will.  Giving up this kind of control is often why we struggle to trust God.  If we continue to trust the things of this world then we are still in control, but when we place our trust in God we are giving control to God and we set out on His course for our lives.

And surrendering to God in order to find peace doesn’t mean that everything is going to run smoothly.  Think again about Mary; engaged to be married, but now pregnant by God.  What will Joseph say?  What will the people in the community say?  From the very beginning this was going to be a struggle.  When it was time for her to give birth they had to take a journey – when they got to Bethlehem there was no place for them to stay – when the baby arrived all they had was a manger.  The only visitors were a group of shepherds.  Not exactly the situation Mary may have anticipated or hoped for – but because she was fully surrendered to God and trusted him, she was able to remain strong.  Mary wasn’t looking to things of this world to bring her peace and comfort; she was placing all of her faith and trust in God.  Placing our trust in God means giving all we have to God and then sticking with God even when things get difficult.


Mary shows us that true peace isn’t found in this world but in giving ourselves fully to God but she also shows us why we can trust God and what God’s peace looks like.  After Mary said yes to God she went to visit her cousin Elizabeth who was also pregnant in a pretty miraculous way.  Elizabeth was much older than Mary and had never been able to have a child, but now in her old age she was also pregnant and when Mary arrives, Elizabeth affirmed that God had truly blessed Mary and that her child was from the Holy Spirit.  During this visit Mary shared this song of praise: Luke 1:46-55.

It is in these words where we begin to understand where the Mary’s peace came from.  It came from Mary believing that God really did know her, and that God was doing something great in her and that God was going to lift her up.  Luke 1:48, Luke 1:49, Luke 1:52b. This is still where peace still comes from, it comes when we believe that God knows us and that God will do great things for us and that God will lift us up.

God knows us.  God knows our strengths and weakness, our hopes and dreams, our gifts and abilities.  At times, God knows us better than we know ourselves and God knows what will bring us peace.  When I first gave my life to Christ I told God that I wanted to serve him with my life’s vocation and I looked at everything except the local church.  Because I didn’t want to be a local pastor I looked at being a chaplain, I looked at being a missionary; I looked at producing Christian TV programs.  I looked at everything but refused to look at being a local pastor until God put me in a local church during seminary.  It was through a placement at Mt. Hermon UMC in Graham NC as an associate pastor that I finally faced the reality that God knew me better than I knew myself and that the local church was a good place for me and maybe the only place where I would find peace.  When we truly believe that God knows us better than we know ourselves and that God knows what is best for us and leads us in that direction that we can fully give ourselves to God and begin to find some peace.

Peace also comes in knowing that God will do great things for us, but let me be clear - God can only do great things for us if we will give ourselves to Him.  God could not have done anything in Mary if she had said no, but because she surrendered herself and said yes, God was able to do something miraculous and bring Jesus, our Savior, into this world.  It is only when we say yes to God and surrender to God our hearts and hands and lives that God is able to begin to do great things in us.  Sometimes God doing great things in us starts in very small and unseen ways.  I’m sure Mary wondered if God was doing anything in her during those first few days and weeks, but after her cousin Elizabeth affirmed God’s blessing she knew that God was doing something great.  It often takes time for us to see the great things God is doing and sometimes we may not see it at all.

Many times the great things God wants to do in our lives may not be anything that can be seen.  For example, faithful prayer may not be seen by the world as anything great, in fact many people today don’t see prayer as effective at all, but prayer is powerful and important and God can do great things in us and through us if we will surrender to him and pray.  And we may never see the results of those prayers, but again, it doesn’t mean God isn’t doing something miraculous.

Giving is also not something people see as a great thing – but when lives are changed by our gifts – it is truly great.  Through your generous giving we were able to help a couple get back together and start to heal their relationship and move forward in life and faith.  While Mary could see the great thing God was doing in her, we often do not see it but faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen and faith brings peace.  Peace comes when we surrender to God knowing that God will use us for something good even if we don’t know it or see it.

Peace also comes when we know that God will lift us up but again God can only lift up those who will first bow down to him.  This is what Mary tells us in Luke 1:52-53.
It is the hungry and the poor and the humble and the servants that God lifts up.  It is those who have surrendered to God that God honors and fills and brings peace.  James 4:10 says, humble yourselves before the Lord and he will lift you up.    So humility and surrender are necessary for us to experience the blessing of God’s peace.

For Sally, peace came from trusting the things of this world but for Mary, it came from trusting God.  Today peace still comes from God but only when we are willing and able to say, Here am I, the servant of the Lord, let it be with me according to your word.  I invite you in these days leading up to Christmas to surrender to God.  Don’t look to the world to bring you peace and don’t trust the gifts that can be purchased to make you whole.  Turn to God, trust God and surrender to God fully for this the only path that leads to peace, a true and lasting peace that passes all understanding.

 
Next Steps
A Charlie Brown Christmas ~ True Peace

1.  Growing up, what gift did you think you just had to have in order for life to be complete?  Did you receive it?  How long did the peace and fulfillment last?

2.  What gift do you want this year?  Is it something that will bring true peace?

3.  Read the story of Mary in Luke 1:26-56

4.  Mary experienced true peace because she surrendered herself to God.
• What would complete surrender look like in your life?
• What area do you struggle to give to God?
• What can you do this Christmas to draw closer to God?

5.  Peace for Mary came in knowing that:
• God knows us -  Luke 1:48
o Do you find this scary or encouraging?  Why?
o What hope and dream can you share with God?
• God will do great things in us - Luke 1:49
o What great thing has God already done in you?
o What great thing would you like God to do in you?
o What great thing can you do between now and Christmas?  Prayer, Giving, Faith Sharing
• God will lift us up - Luke 1:52
o Humble yourself before God in worship and prayer
o Think of others before yourself during the Christmas Celebration

Join us for Worship on Christmas Eve at 4:00, 7:00 or 9:30.

A Charlie Brown Christmas ~ Be Content

Charlie Brown’s search for the true meaning of Christmas leads him in many directions.  What he’s looking for is something that will make him happy, but it goes beyond happiness.  Charlie Brown is looking for joy and contentment, something that will not just fill his Christmas but his entire life.  No one that Charlie Brown encounters seems happier than his dog Snoopy.  Snoopy shows Charlie Brown, and all of us, what many people do during the Christmas season to be happy.  g

The first thing Snoopy does is decorate his doghouse.  Many people decorate their homes during the holidays to try and get that Christmas spirit.  We will set up trees, put candles in the windows and struggle to untangle lights all in an effort to make ourselves and others happy.  Not only is Snoopy decorating his house for himself, he is doing it to win a prize.  He wants the attention and approval of others.  I wonder how many people decorate their homes because they really enjoy decorating or because they are seeking the approval of their neighbors.

My first year in Lewisburg I quickly realized that everyone in my neighborhood decorated their homes for Christmas.  Since the parsonage sat on the corner at the entrance to the development, I didn’t feel like I had much choice- I had to decorate.  I put candles in all the windows (complete with extension cords and timers), strung icicle lights across the porch and put lights on all the shrubs because I didn’t want people to think I was a Grinch – after all, I was the pastor.  I didn’t enjoy doing it each year because the perfectionist in me didn’t like how the lights looked because they were never just right, but I did it because I didn’t want others to think less of me.  I did for their approval and acceptance.

So decorating doesn’t always make us happy and decorations don’t stay up forever, at some point we have to take them down, pack them away and then feel a little dark and empty when it’s all gone.  The happiness that all the tinsel and glitter brings doesn’t last, so once Snoopy’s doghouse is decorated, he turns to something else to be happy, dining.

Now this is going to hit close to home for many of us, but let’s be honest, we all turn to food this time of year to make us happy.  That’s why we make and eat so many Christmas Cookies!  For many families there are certain foods we only make this time of year and when eat them, they make us happy.  In my family it is bara brith and kuchen – 2 breads made by my Grandmothers that now my Mom makes, and then there is peppermint stick ice cream with homemade hot fudge sauce.  This week for a clergy luncheon Pete served this and all I had to do was take one spoonful and I was happy because it tasted like Christmas.  But too much of this happiness will not help us be content or happy once January rolls around and we step on the scale and realize we gained 10 pounds.  All our happiness is gone then and we will feel miserable and frustrated with ourselves and struggle to take off all those cookies.  

Food doesn’t satisfy Snoopy either and so he turns to one final means of finding happiness – dancing. We also turn to entertainment during this season to find happiness.  Some people are already in line to get into the new Star Wars movie but the force won’t stay with them for long.  Eventually there will have to be another movie, another concert, another game, another “dance” in order to stay happy.  The entertainment of the world doesn’t bring lasting happiness so the search goes on.  

Decorating, Dining and Dancing are three things which many people turn to in order to be happy in this season, but they just don’t last which is why January is often a dark and depressing month.  Now please don’t leave today and say that Andy said we shouldn’t decorate our homes, bake cookies or attend concerts, movies and parties, I am not saying that at all.  What I am saying is that if we look to these things or anything in this world to bring us lasting joy – we will be let down.  Decorations, dining and dancing and the happiness they bring don’t last.  The pleasures they provide are temporary and tied into what’s happening around us and they don’t bring abiding joy.

Snoopy offers Charlie Brown happiness, but Charlie Brown is looking for something more and something that will last, something that will endure and actually help him when times get tough.  What Charlie Brown needs and what we need, is joy.

Rejoice.  It is a command given to us over and over again in the Bible and yes it is a command.  Look at 1 Thessalonians. 5:16.  Rejoice Always.  God is commanding us to be joyful – it’s not a suggestion.  It doesn’t read try joy, or might I suggest you be joyful – it says, Rejoice - Be Joyful.  Because it is a command, joy must be possible for us at all times because God is not going to tell us to do something that can’t be done.  Certainly God is not going command us over 300 times to be joyful if joy were not a possibility for us.  If joy is possible at all times then it cannot be tied to what is happening around us, it must come from someplace else.

1 Thessalonians drives home the point that this rejoicing is a command and possible in all circumstances by saying Rejoice Always, not just when things are going well, not just when we are getting our own way, but always.  If we are only joyful when things are going well, then it’s not real joy – it’s just being happy.  Snoopy was happy when he won the contest for his doghouse but then he was not so happy when the music stopped and he had to stop dancing.  Happiness is tied to our circumstances but joy is an attitude of the heart which endures and stays with us and within us even when what is happening around us may be difficult.  James 1:2-3 says, consider it pure joy whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Joy is what carries us through those tough times because joy is the understanding, conviction and certainty that God is in control and that God is with us.

Psalm 5 shows us how we can find this kind of joy.  Psalm 5:11-12.  Let all who take refuge in God rejoice.  So what does it mean to take refuge in God so that we can find this joy?  Taking refuge in God means that we follow Jesus and abide or remain in him.  Jesus said, I am the vine and you are the branch, remain in me and I will remain in you.  When we remain in Jesus, when we give ourselves to him and strive to walk with him each and every day we are taking refuge in God and the joy will come.  Because joy is one of the fruits of God’s spirit we know it will develop and remain in us as we allow the Spirit of God to dwell in us.  So we experience joy not by turning to the things of this world, or even turning to ourselves but in daily turning to God to receive God’s love.

For many of us, this is where the problem comes; it is hard for us to trust that God really loves us.  It is hard for us to place our lives fully in God’s hands when we keep wondering how God can love a sinner like me.  We can see God’s love for others.  We can see God reaching out and caring for those around us, but many of us still question whether or not God can love me with all my doubts and problems and sin.  I’m not sure what we can do to increase our understanding of God’s love for us because the word of God can’t be any clearer.  God says to us over and over again how much he loves us so I’m not sure we can do anything to make that clearer, maybe what we need is to just hear that message more often.

There was little girl who every month went out on date with Daddy.  One month their date was to go out for breakfast.  After they ordered their meal, the Father started to tell his little girl how special she was and how much love and joy she had brought into his life and how proud he was of her and how much he loved her.   When their food came, the father picked up his fork and started to eat, but the little girl reached over and touched her Dad’s hand and said, longer Daddy, longer.  So he put his fork down and kept telling her how special she was and how talented she was and how much she and her Mommy loved her.  He again picked up his fork to start eating when the little girl reached out her hand a second time and said, longer Daddy, longer.  So again this father put down his fork and told his daughter how much he loved her.  And every time he went to pick up his fork the little girl said, longer Daddy, longer.  They didn’t eat much that day, but the little girl got what she needed.  She knew how much her Daddy loved her.

There are times when we need to say to God, longer Daddy longer and then sit and listen to God say over and over again how much he loves us.  From the beginning to the end of the Bible we hear the story of God’s love for us and how God reaches out to us again and again to say, I love you.  When the little girl heard her Daddy talk about how much he loved her, she knew she could trust him and she grew to trust him more.  The more we hear about God’s love for us, the more we will be able to trust God and find refuge in God which helps us experience the joy God has to offer.

God’s unconditional love was also seen on the night of Jesus’ birth.  The first people who heard about the birth of Jesus were a group of shepherds on the hillsides of Bethlehem.  The angel told them, Fear not for behold I bring you good news of great joy.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a savior, who is Christ the Lord.  Now shepherds were not the most respected group of people.  They weren’t the most religious, faithful, or trustworthy but they were the first to hear this good news of great joy.  And the angels didn’t tell them they had to clean up their act before they could go and find the babe lying in a manger.  This means that we can all come to God just the way we are.  God doesn’t require us to change before He will love us, He loves us first and then allows His love to change us and fill us with joy.  

God’s love for us is unconditional which means that we can rejoice always or as the Psalmist says it, we can ever sing for joy.  Because of God’s love for us we can experience joy at all times and in all places.  God’s love doesn’t depend on things going well or on us doing well, it is always available which means joy can be experienced in all circumstances.  Even when we are in trouble and in danger, God is there to bring us joy, look at Psalm 5:11b.  Spread your protection over them that those who love your name may rejoice in you.  God doesn’t keep us from experiencing pain in lives – we will all go through hardships and suffering, but when we do, God’s protection, or presence, is there so that even during those times we can experience joy.  The joy in these moments comes from knowing that God is with us and that his strength and power and the power of his love will see us through.

So what’s holding you back from experience the joy God has to offer?  What’s keeping you from being content and causing you to keep searching for something to make you happy?  During this hectic season of the year, don’t look for joy in decorations, dining and dancing, don’t look for joy in any of the things of this world, look for it in God’s unconditional love and take refuge in him.


 
Next Steps
A Charlie Brown Christmas ~ Be Content

Snoopy found happiness in decorating, dining and dancing.  Where do you look for happiness during the Christmas season?  What things destroy this happiness?

1.  Read 1 Thessalonians 5:16
God commands us to rejoice which means joy is not based in our circumstances or situations.  Where can you find joy?

2.  Read Psalm 5

• What does it mean for you to take “refuge” in God?
• In what areas of life do you need to follow Jesus more closely?  
• Jesus said he is the vine and we are the branches.  How can you stay connected to Jesus this week and draw your life from him?  

3.  Joy also comes in knowing that we are unconditionally loved by God.  Read the following Scriptures that talk about God’s love for us.

• Isaiah 49:15-16  
• Isaiah 54:10,
• Jeremiah 31:3-6
• Zephaniah 3:16-17
• John 3:16-17
• Romans 5:1-8
• Romans 8:28-30

4.  In what areas of your life do you need God’s love and protection to spread over you?  Ask God for that help today.

5. Joy is also found in giving ourselves away.  What act of service or sacrificial gift can you make during this season?

• Helping with the Christmas Dinner
• Helping those in need through the Christmas Offering
• Supporting Toys for Tots or another gift giving program

A Charlie Brown Christmas ~ Give It Up

Charlie Brown’s search for the true meaning of Christmas took him to several friends who all had different ideas about how to turn his attitude around and get the most out of the holiday.  The first person Charlie Brown talks to is the one who believes she has all the answers, Lucy.  Lucy is at her psychiatric booth when Charlie Brown comes up to discuss his problem.

What Lucy decides Charlie Brown needs is involvement, better yet, he needs the ability to direct, which means he is the one to tell others what to do.  He gets to be in control.  The reason this makes sense for Lucy is because for her, life is all about being in control.  Lucy loves to be in control, in fact, while Lucy tells Charlie Brown he is going to direct the play, she is the one who decides what part everyone gets.  For Lucy it is all about being in control and having things her way and if she doesn’t get her way, she is willing to force the issue.

For Lucy, life is all about being in control.  For many of us, life feels healthy, balanced and good when we are in control and when we get our way.  Do any of you struggle with this need to be in control?  Most of us really like to get things our way and our need for control may be seen in little things like who gets to hold the remote control or who set’s the thermostat at night, or maybe our need for control is seen in larger issues like how money is spent in the family.

This time of year the fight for control can be big, especially for newlyweds.  Newly married couples have an entire list of decisions they have to work through in order to celebrate their first Christmas.  What kind of tree do you put up, artificial or real?  What about lights – white or colored?  Blinking or non-blinking?  When do you open gifts, Christmas Eve or Christmas day?  What about the food on the table, will it be turkey?  Ham?  Roast Beef?  (solve that problem by coming to eat here!)  Whether it is Christmas or any other season of the year, most of us like getting our own way – we like to be in control.  It is the human condition and in many ways it is the original sin.

Think back to Adam and Eve in the Garden.  God told them they could eat of any tree they wanted, just not the tree of knowledge of good and evil.  Genesis 2:16-17.  God gave them control over everything in the garden except eating from one tree and what do Adam and Eve immediately want to do, they want to eat from that tree.  They want total control of their lives.  They want to be the ones making all the decisions.  They want things their way so they disobey God and do the one thing they were told not to do.  It was this decision to take control that broke their relationship with God.  Their need to be in control not only broke that relationship it broke the relationship they had with each other.  Look what happens when God asks them what is going on, Genesis 3:11b-13.

When questioned by God about what they had done, Adam and Eve aren’t honest but they also don’t support each other.  Adam throws Eve under the bus by saying, she made me do it and then Eve places the blame on the serpent.  Not only is their relationship with God broken but their relationship with each other is broken.  Our need to be in control leads to sin which destroys our relationship with God and one another which leads to all kinds of evil in our world.

But God does not leave us in our sin and God does not leave us in our broken relationships.  God offers forgiveness and God restores relationships but only when we are willing to give it up – give up control.  Giving up control was the message of John the Baptist who came to prepare the way for Jesus.  Mark 1:1-5.  John prepared people for Jesus by calling them to give up control of their lives and turn back to God and they did this through repentance.

The process of repentance requires two things and the first one is confession.  We first need to confess that we are sinners.  We need to confess that like Adam and Eve we like to control everything and we like to get our own way and that all too often we disregard others in order to get it.  We are like Lucy giving people 5 good reasons we should be in control, but this way of life is killing us.  Confession our control issues isn’t easy because while we can see the issues of control in other people’s lives, it is not easy to see it in our own.

Why is it that we can see how our spouses, children, parents and coworkers are all control freaks but if someone points it out in our own lives we get defensive?  We just don’t see those issues in our own lives and if our eyes are ever opened so we do see it, just like Adam and Eve, we make excuses or blame others.  If we want to experience the fullness of life God has for us then we need to repent and the first step of repentance is to acknowledge our own sin and our own issues of control.  So confession is the first step, but it is not the final step.

The repentance John talked of was twofold, there was confession of sin and then baptism.  John took people down into the Jordan River and plunged them under the water and then lifted them up again in a symbol of new life.  They were dying to their sin and rising up to live life differently.  After the death and resurrection of Jesus, baptism wasn’t just a symbol of death and new life there was a real connection we had to the death and new life of Jesus.  In Romans 6 it says we were baptized into his death and raised with him to new life.  Romans 6:6 says, for we know that our old self was crucified with Christ so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.  So through Jesus’ death our sin has been destroyed so that like Jesus we can be raised up to live a new life.

So repentance isn’t just acknowledging our faults and saying that we are sorry, it is turning away from that sin to live life differently.  The word repent means to turn and so there has to be this desire to turn away from sin, or in this case to turn away from being in control, so that God can be in control and fill us with the life he has to give us.   God has always wanted to have this kind of presence and control in our lives.  While God gave us free will, God always wanted us to live in a relationship with him where we allowed God to lead us.

God created us and so God knows what is best for us and if we will allow God to lead us and in healthy ways control us we will experience the fullness of life God has for us.  When we give control back to God we become connected to God through the Holy Spirit and it is the Holy Spirit that helps us live life differently.  It is the Holy Spirit living in us that helps us experience love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  This is what we will experience when we give control back to God.

We see that one of the fruits of God’s spirit is peace and this is not an absence of violence or conflict as much as it is a deep connection we experience with God and others.  Peace is what opens the door to forgiveness and helps us reconcile and build relationships.  So it is in giving control back to God that we experience stronger relationships with one another.  This was true for one man in the Bible who struggled with his own need to be in control of a situation that was quickly getting out of control.

Joseph was engaged to a woman named Mary and everything looked ideal for them, until Mary came and told him that she was pregnant.  How quickly life can get out of control.  Joseph knew that he was not the father and he struggled to believe what Mary said about God being the Father so he took control of the situation and decided to dismiss Mary quietly.  He cared for Mary and didn’t want her held up to disgrace and maybe even death, so he controlled the fallout and was going to simply divorce her.  That was Joseph’s plan until one night when Joseph had a dream.  Matthew 1:20-21.

God’s plan was for Joseph to take Mary as his wife because the child she carried was God’s and was going to be the Messiah.  Joseph had his part to play in God’s plan but the choice was his.  Joseph could maintain control of his life and follow his plans or he could give up or give back control to God and follow God’s plan.  Joseph followed God’s plan and while things weren’t easy – Joseph was able to experience the blessing of God.  Joseph giving control of his life back to God also helped Mary and the world experience the blessing of God that came through Jesus.

For Lucy, finding meaning in life came from being in control and that’s what she offered to Charlie Brown.  To find meaning in Christmas, Charlie Brown, get involved and take control, but it didn’t work and it never will.  Meaning and purpose and fulfillment in life aren’t found in keeping control but in giving it up or giving it back to God.  The best gift we can give ourselves this year is the gift of repentance.  If we can acknowledge our need to be in control and confess the ways that this is killing us, then we can begin to let it go and allow God to lead us to life.

Communion provides us the opportunity to do just that.  By coming to the table and sharing in this meal we are saying that all our attempts to feed ourselves and find life in all that we can do has failed and so today we are going to stop trying to do it all on our own and allow God to feed us and nourish us and guide is in the way of life.  So let us give it up and come to Jesus at the table so we can gain it all.


Next Steps
A Charlie Brown Christmas ~ Give It Up!


1.  In what areas of the Christmas Season do you like to get your way and be in control?  In what areas of life do you like to get your way and be in control?


2.  Giving control back to God comes through repentance and repentance calls for confession and new life (baptism).

• Confession: What issues of control that are negative and destructive to your life and relationships can you identify?  Acknowledge these and confess them to God.

• New Life:  What one area of this holiday celebration can you give over control to someone else?


3.  Christmas is often a time of making “to do” lists, this year make some “to be” lists.  I will be…
• in the moment,
• spending more time with my family,
• focused on joy, etc…


4.  John the Baptist helped prepare people for Jesus.
• Who helped prepare you to hear and receive the grace of God through Jesus?
• Name and pray for one person you can help prepare to hear and receive the grace of God through Jesus.
• What one thing can you do this week to help prepare this person to accept Jesus as their Savior?

A Charlie Brown Christmas ~ The Search

50 years ago Charles Schultz and Bill Melendez teamed up to give us the classic story of Charlie Brown’s search for the true meaning of Christmas.  Beyond the iconic images of doghouses and Charlie Brown trees and the familiar music by Vince Guarlidi, what makes this story so powerful is that it speaks to all of us.  How many of us, during the holiday season, will say, I know I should be happy, but I’m not.  I don’t feel what I’m supposed to feel.  I feel let down.  We all feel let down at times.  We think we should be feeling something different or something more during the Christmas season and when we don’t, we search to find it.

In so many ways the season of Advent is a season of searching.  We search for the right gift.  We search for the perfect tree and the best sales.  We search for that old box of ornaments we put away for safe keeping.  We search for a new recipe for cookies or a new theme for the Christmas party.  We will search for ways to make our homes and dinner tables look like what we find on pintrest and see on facebook and after hours of searching and work in all of these areas, we will often end up feeling empty and unfulfilled.  The gifts we want are sold out, the tree isn’t straight, the cookies get burned and our homes never look like the pictures we see on line.  In so many ways Charlie Brown’s Christmas looks just like ours. But the real power of this story is that it is not just the story of our holidays, it is the story of life.

Many of us go through life thinking we should be feeling something more and experiencing something different and even though so many things in our lives are so good and we know we should be happy, we aren’t, we feel let down and so the search begins.  So whether it is to find meaning in Christmas or in life, we need to make this Advent about searching, but the key is to know what we are searching for and where to look.  Advent is not about searching for the perfect gift or tree, it’s not even about searching for the birth of a Savior because that took place more than 2000 years ago in the town of Bethlehem.  Advent is a time to search for the presence of God in our lives and the place to look isn’t in the world but in the God who created us and the Savior who came to be with us.
About 1,000 years before the birth of Jesus there was another man who could relate to Charlie Brown’s feeling of un-fulfillment.  After defeating 450 false prophets in a spectacular display of God’s power and might, this prophet ran away and sat alone in a cave feeling rejected and alone.  From the darkness of the cave I can just hear him say, I know I should be happy, but I am not.  I don’t feel what I’m supposed to feel.  I feel let down.  After one of the biggest success of his life, Elijah is feeling empty.  He feels like he is the only one left in the entire world who loves God.  1 Kings 19:9-10

Charlie Brown shared his dilemma with his closest friends, Linus and Lucy who sent him on a search for the meaning of Christmas.  Elijah shared his dilemma with God who sent him on his own search, not to find the meaning of Christmas but to experience God.
1 Kings 19:11.  So Elijah went out and sat so that he could see God.

What happened first was that a huge wind blew through the mountains and Elijah looked for and listened for God in the wind  It makes sense that God, a spirit, might be present in a mighty rushing wind, but God was not there.  Then the ground shook and the rocks shattered and a great earthquake shook the mountain and Elijah searched for God in the earthquake, but once again, God was not there.  Then a fire swept over the hillside and Elijah searched for God in the fire because several times before God had been seen and heard in the presence of a fire, but God was not there.

After the wind and earthquake and fire came what the bible describes as the sound of a gentle whisper or sheer silence.  It was a sound and a silence so deafening that it caught Elijah by surprise and he searched for God in the silence and in the silence he found Him.  Elijah pulled his cloak up over his face and went out to stand in the presence of God.  What’s interesting about this story is that God didn’t come in the ways that Elijah might have expected.  God didn’t come with power and force and fire, God came in silence.  God didn’t come in ways that would rock the world, God came in the stillness and quiet.

A century after Elijah, the world was again searching for the presence of God, this time in the Messiah, but God didn’t enter the world the way people expected.  There was no wind or earthquake or fire, God simply came to the silence of a small town and into the stillness of an unknown couple.  God didn’t send Jesus to Jerusalem or to a well-known power couple of the day; he came to the little town of Bethlehem and a poor unknown couple named Mary and Joseph.

As an adult, Jesus didn’t act like the Messiah people expected.  Jesus didn’t amass a political force to overthrow a government, he gathered the least and the last and the lost of this world and created an extended family whose power was seen in love and grace.  While the people of Israel had been searching since the days of Elijah for the Messiah, many didn’t see him because He wasn’t what they expected.  Today as we search for meaning and purpose and the presence of God in our lives, we need to make sure we are looking in the right places.  God often comes in unexpected times and places and if we are not paying attention, we will miss God completely.

It’s Elijah who helps us understand how and where to search and the first he thing teaches us is that we have to be willing to start the serach.  Elijah knew he was empty and needed God.  He knew his life was missing something and so he started a search.  Charlie Brown also knew something was missing in his life, or at least in his Christmas, and so he set out to find it.  Sometimes the most important step in any process of growth and discovery is the first one.  Are we willing to start the search?

This Advent, are we willing to start the search for God and for the meaning and purpose God brings to our lives?  Have we gotten to the place where our holiday and our lives just aren’t filling us up so we are willing to start searching for something more?  It’s not easy to say that we are empty or that we need help or that we need God – but confessing our need and desire for more is the first step.  While it’s not easy, it is simple to begin, we just need to ask God to show us His presence.  In the next steps we have included a simple prayer.  if you don’t know where to start but know you need to search, then we invite you to start there.

The second thing Elijah shows us is that we can’t give up the search when God doesn’t appear in the times and places we expected.  God wasn’t in the wind or the earthquake or the fire – but Elijah didn’t give up.  Elijah didn’t leave the mountain and call it quits, he waited it out until he heard and experienced God in the stillness and quiet.  Charlie Brown also didn’t give up.  He tried to find meaning by directing a play and he tried to find it in his care for a little tree.  That’s one of the classic character traits we see in Charlie Brown, he never quits.

Whether it’s in baseball,

 kicking that football 

or searching for Christmas,

he never gives up 

and neither can we!

When God doesn’t appear the way we thought he would or reveal himself at the time and place that makes sense for us it is easy to give up on ourselves and God – but we can’t.  We have to keep going.  We need to keep looking for God and if we don’t see or hear him the first time out we need to keep going because God has promised that when we search for Him with our whole heart – we will find him.  It might not be where, when or how we expected it, but we will find him.

So we need to start the search and then keep on our searching but then we need to know where to search and we can’t look for God in the things of this world.  Just as we won’t find the true meaning of Christmas in tinsel, packages and cookies, neither will we find God in the power, popularity and possessions of the world.  Our search needs to take us in a different direction.  In Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount he said, seek first God’s kingdom and God’s righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.  The meaning and fulfillment that will satisfy our holiday as well as our hearts doesn’t come from the kingdoms of this world but from the kingdom of God and the best place to see what that kingdom is like is from the life and teaching of Jesus.

Through his Sermon on the Mount Jesus shows us the values of God’s kingdom and where we can experience God.   We will see God when we are willing to forgive and not hold a grudge, when we will pray for our enemies and give to those in need – not an easy thing when our enemies are Islamic terrorists and those in need are Syrian refugees.  Jesus also tells us that we will experience the fullness of God when we turn to the spiritual disciples of prayer, fasting and tithing and store up treasure in heaven instead of treasure on earth.  The more we can live out this sermon, the more we will be living in God’s kingdom and placing ourselves in God’s presence giving us the opportunity to see and experience God.

As we heard last week, one of the things that is needed if we want to experience the fullness of God and the fullness of life is some quiet time to reflect.  In this busy season we need to quiet our hearts and lives and continue to linger with God.  This isn’t easy with all that we have on our schedules, but it is important.  God isn’t found in the bustle of activities and the craziness of gift giving, God is found in the love and grace and peace we are able to share with one another.  God is found in the silence and stillness that we can create in the middle of the whirlwind of the season.

When Charlie Brown was able to grab hold of the true meaning of Christmas, it didn’t come in the Christmas play or music or tree, it come from the word of God spoken in a silent auditorium.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  And when Charlie Brown left the auditorium clutching his little tree he walked out into the stillness of the night where he heard once more the voice of God.    It is still the word of God and the voice of God heard in the stillness and silence of the world that can turn us around and point us in the right direction.  The weeks leading up to Christmas will always be a season of searching and as we search for that perfect gift, perfect tree and perfect cookie, we can’t neglect the greater search, the search for the One who brings purpose to our lives and fills us with perfect peace – Jesus Christ.  Let us search for God in the stillness and silence and let us never give up.


Next Steps
A Charlie Brown Christmas
Charlie Brown ~ The Search

What physical things will you search for this holiday season?
Where will you go to find them?

What spiritual things will you search for this holiday season?
Where will you go to find them?

Read 1 Kings 19:11-18. Elijah was willing to:
• start his search for God and
• continue searching when things didn’t go as expected.

1. Start your search.  Ask God to reveal Himself to you..
Loving God, in this Advent season I find myself empty and unfulfilled so today I begin to search for true meaning and Your presence.  Lead me in this journey and open my eyes and the eyes of my heart so that I may see You and be filled.  AMEN.

2. Continue searching.  It takes time and a quieting of our lives to see God.  Create that time and space and then don’t give up the search.

3. Seek first God’s Kingdom.
• Read Jesus Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7
• Read the Parables of God’s Kingdom in Matthew 13
• Linger and seek God in silence a few minutes each day

Join us this coming weekend for
A Charlie Brown Christmas
Friday ~ 7:00 PM
Saturday ~ 2:30 PM
Sunday ~ 7:00 PM

Living the Life of Gratitude ~ Lingering With God

Three times a year the people of Israel traveled to Jerusalem to worship God and on their way they would use the Psalms of Ascent as a tool to prepare their hearts and lives to give thanks once they got there.  These Psalms reminded them that it was important to listen to others, learn from history and laugh at themselves if they were going to arrive at the Temple with a heart filled with gratitude.  We have also seen the importance of listening, learning and laughing to our own lives of gratitude and today as we come to the end of our journey, we are going learn the most important lesson of all because without this we will not be able to give thanks.  Gratitude requires time and space to reflect and so today we learn from these Psalms the importance of lingering with God.

The word linger means to stay in a certain place longer than is usual or expected.  It means being slow to act and slow to move on from what we are doing.  To really thank God the people of Israel needed to linger in the presence of God.  They needed to spend a few more moments in the Temple, a few more moments in prayer, a few more moments with God’s people singing God’s praise.  If we are going to learn how to give thanks then we also need to learn how to linger in God’s presence because living lives of gratitude requires this kind of unhurried time and space.  Being thankful requires us to reflect on what we have and who we are and how God is working in our lives and this not only takes time but it takes some quiet space so we can focus our minds and center our hearts on God and not us.

Whether it is our worship together on Sundays or time we spend together in small groups and bible studies or just our own personal worship, prayer and study of scripture, we need to learn how to linger.  We need to learn how to be slow to speak, slow to act and slow to move on so that we don’t miss what God has for us.  If we neglect time with God or rush through that time we will miss hearing and seeing what God has done for us which means not seeing all those things that make us thankful.  So gratitude requires time and space to linger but the theologian Thomas Merton said, remaining quietly in the presence of God, listening to Him and being attentive to Him requires a lot of courage and know how.

 It really does take courage to linger because slowing down goes against the pattern of our world.  We are told to go faster and get more accomplished every day which is why we learn to multi-task and create unsustainable schedules for ourselves and our families.  Many people are afraid to say no because we have been told that the only way to get ahead and the only way to get the most out of life is to do it all.  Too many times we buy into the lie that our children need to be involved in some kind of sport and activity in every season of the year.  We teach them to take part in everything which leaves no time and space for reflection and thanksgiving.  Since we are defined by what we do we tell ourselves that the more we do the better we will feel about ourselves, but the more we do the more our focus in life is on us and when we are no longer able to keep it all together we don’t feel good or grateful, just discouraged.  So it takes courage to say no to the pace of our world and to say no to ourselves and linger with God.

It also takes some know-how.  We need to learn how to linger with God and here the Psalms of Ascent have something to teach us.  To learn how to linger we need to learn just one world – SLOW.  To linger means that we go S.L.O.W. - we STAY, we LISTEN, we OBSERVE, we WAIT.

The first thing we have to do is STAY.  We need to stay in the presence of God and stay committed to our connection with God.  Psalm 130:5 begins, I wait for the Lord, my soul waits.  The psalmist has placed himself in the presence of God and now waits.  He is staying in place until he receives all that God has for him.  Now staying in God’s presence assumes that we are already connected to God and that we have some kind of worship and prayer life on which to build.  The good news is that we all have this.  You may not think you are connected to God but I am here to tell you that you have a spiritual life on which to build because you are here. You have been courageous and left the world behind for a few moments to listen, learn and even laugh at yourself, or humble yourself before God.  You are here to connect with God so the foundation for all of us has been established.
The people of Israel used the Psalms of Ascents on their yearly trips to Jerusalem and they took those trips to stay connected to God.   Three times a year the people would be courageous and leave their homes to set out on a long and sometimes dangerous journey so that they could stay connected to God through worship and the giving of their offerings.  Staying connected to God was so important to them that they even collected and used these psalms as a way of staying connected to God along the way.   Their commitment to worship teaches us the importance of staying connected to God through worship.

Each week we need to set aside this time to leave the world behind and refocus our hearts and lives on God.  This time is important because it reminds us that life isn’t all about us and what we can do and who we can become, it is about what God can do and who God helps us become.  Each week we need to stay connected to God through worship and as life get’s more hectic and our schedules get full we need to protect this time more and more.  Over the next four weeks the temptation might be to pull away from worship so that we can get everything done that needs to get done – but the truth is that as we get busier we need to work harder at staying connected to God.  The busier we get the more we need to guard this time and commit ourselves to worship and prayer.  So we need to stay with God so that we can see God’s goodness and grace which lead to gratitude.

As we stay we also need to LISTEN.  Look at the end Psalm 130:5, and in his word I put my hope.  As we stay with God we need to place our hope in his word and that only happens if we are willing to listen to God’s word.  The more we listen, the more hope we have and the more we have to be thankful for become because God’s word tells us about everything that God has done for us.  Look at Psalm 130:7-8.  With God there is unfailing love.  With God there is forgiveness of sin and full redemption which means that God’s grace brings us back into a relationship with God.  God’s word is full of messages of love and power and redemption and strength which are given to us by God.  Look at Psalm 121:5-8.
God watches over us which means God is present with us and cares for us no matter what we are going through.  So the more we listen to God’s word the more involved we see God is in our lives and the more gratitude we feel towards God.

Not only do we need to listen but we also need to OBSERVE.  We need to be alert and attentive to what God is doing in our lives and in our world, or as the psalmist says we need to watch, Psalm 130:6.  A night watchman has one job and that is to watch.  They watch for danger and they watch for the morning.  As the people travelled to Jerusalem they went through wilderness areas and the watchman would keep an eye out for any wild animals or attacking armies.  They would also keep watch for the first signs of dawn so they could get the people up and ready so they could travel through the cool of the morning and not the heat of the afternoon.

A night watchman could watch during the night but they really didn’t have much power.  They might be able to drive the animals away once they arrived, but they couldn’t keep them from coming.  They could look for the dawn, but they couldn’t do anything to bring the dawn earlier.  In many ways a watchman doesn’t have a lot of control; they just observe what is going on and then respond to it.  To be truly grateful we need to understand that while we often don’t have a lot of control in our lives, God does and we need to observe all that God is doing.  

How is God at work in our lives?  How is God at work in our hearts and in our minds?  Where can we see God’s grace and mercy working in us?  Where do we see forgiveness at work?  Where do we see healing at work?  Where do we see God giving us strength in relationships and in our families and at work?  In those areas where we don’t feel like we have any control, can we observe ways where God is in control?  And where do we see God at work in our world?    Today it is especially important to see God working in our world because there is so much beyond our control and so many problems that seem to have no answers and so we need to observe how God is at work so that we don’t lose hope and grow bitter.  
The world may be tearing apart around us, but look at what God has done through us this morning.  More than 500 children will have a better life, maybe a life changing experience because of what God is doing.  300 families in our community will have food for Christmas because God has moved in us to help feed them.  If we look around, while the world is at war we also see that families have found peace, people have grown in their faith and children were born and baptized and it’s their lives that give us hope.  The world might be increasingly negative but God’s grace is still giving and forgiving.  And for all of this we can’t do much except say thank you God.  The more we observe the more gratitude we experience.

So as we stay connected to God we listen and observe and then there is one more thing we need to do, once again we need to WAIT.  We need to wait in God’s presence a little longer because there is always more God wants to give us.  We are too quick and too eager to leave God’s presence and when we don’t linger we miss out on what God has for us.  Too often we come here and then can’t wait for worship to be over, we can’t wait for Sunday school to end, we can’t wait to get home.  When we are in such a hurry, we fail to experience the fullness of God.  So after spending time in God’s presence, when we are ready to get up and go let’s try to wait another few moments so that we don’t miss out on anything God has for us.  It takes courage to wait, but we will be rewarded and grateful if we do

I wonder if that is how the people of Israel felt after they arrived in Jerusalem.  After all the worship had taken place, did they want to wait a little longer, stay another day in this holy city to give thanks.  Is this how we will feel this coming week?  Will we want to linger with family and friends to listen and observe?  Will we take a few extra minutes at the table to simply share love and faith?  This week we have the opportunity to go slow and linger.   Can we slow down on Thursday and before we gobble down the turkey take a moment to stay connected to God through prayer?  Can we linger and listen to one another and observe the hand of God that is working in us?  Can we go slow and stay connected to God, listen and observe and then once again simply wait in God’s presence?
This morning we are going to practice this last step of waiting.  You think the sermon is over, but before we go to the final hymn and run out into the busy day and our busy world, we are going to take a few minutes to linger in God’s presence and wait with God and listen for God to speak to us one more time.


Next Steps
Living the life of Gratitude ~ Lingering with God

To give thanks this week of Thanksgiving – Go S.L.O.W.

STAY connected to God.
• Thank God for one thing every day this week.
• Commit to being in worship each Sunday from now through Christmas.
• Thank God before dinner on Thanksgiving Day.

LISTEN to God.
• Listen to God during 5 minutes of quiet each day
• Listen to God by finishing the Psalms of Ascent.  Read  Psalm 121, 130, 134, and then read Psalm 135 & 136.
• Thanksgiving Day take time to listen to family and friends give thanks.

OBSERVE all God is doing.
• Identify 5 things in your life for which you are grateful.
• Identify one way God is at work in your life.
• Identify one way God is at work in the world.
• Identify one way you want God to use you in the world.

WAIT for God to speak and act and love.
• Wait one more minute in prayer and listen for God.
• Wait a few minutes after reading the Bible to listen for God’s personal voice and direction.
• Wait a few moments before leaving worship to feel God’s presence and power.
• Wait at the table on Thanksgiving Day for a few more moments to simply thank God for family and friends.

Give thanks to the LORD for He is good,
His love endures forever.  Psalm 136:1

Living the Life of Gratitude ~ Laughing at Ourselves

About 9:00 Friday night as the events in Paris continued to unfold I began to realize that the message I had for today, laughing at ourselves, might seem inappropriate to the seriousness of the context we see in our world.  While laughter can be healing and helpful in so many difficult situations, understanding when and where to use humor is important, so I went back to Psalm 126 and Psalm 131 to see if there was something else or something more in those psalms that God wanted us to hear today.  So let’s hear what God has to say to us today in light of all that is taking place around us.
Psalm 126:5-6.

Today France and much of the world is going out to sow in tears.  We are going out to live our lives in a world filled with sorrow, fear, doubt, confusion and pain.  Sowing seed was what many in Israel did with their lives – it was their job, their livelihood in an agrarian society.  Sowing here is just people living their lives from day to day and for whatever reason they are weeping.  Now as the people of Israel heard these words they would have know full well what it was causing their tears because many times in their history they had reason to weep.  The people of Israel understood terrorist attacks and battles and I don’t mean Israel today, I mean Israel in the days of the Old Testament.  They knew what it was like to have their fields burned, their homes destroyed, their livestock either slaughtered or stolen and their family, friends and neighbors cut down in the prime of life.  The tragedy we see around us today is nothing knew and the people then didn’t have the luxury of a 3 day period of mourning; every day they had to go out and sow seed and bring in a harvest.  Life had to go on and so they often had to sow in tears and go out weeping.

Today people all over France go out to sow with tears.  With them, many of us will continue to live our lives with weeping and pain because of the violence and evil we see in the world.  Whether it is in the city of Paris, our own schools and streets, or in the ruined cities and countryside of Syria and Iraq, we live in a world that can be dominated by fear and sorrow.  If it isn’t the attacks we see in the world around us, it can be the attacks we see in us that fill our eyes with tears.  The breakup of a marriage, the concern over the decisions of our children and grandchildren, the battle of cancer and heart disease claiming those we love, the problems of mental health in our families and community that seem to have no answers, there are many things in our own lives that cause confusion, doubt, fear and pain and just like Israel we have to go out and sow with tears.  Life goes on and so we go out each day with tears in our eyes to sow and seek a harvest.  

And if this were the end of the story – it would be a pretty sad and dark world, but God is clear here in the Psalms that this is not the end of the story.  As hard as it is for us to see the light in the darkness – the sorrow we feel in the morning does not last forever because those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy.  Those who go out weeping will return laughing and singing.  These words reflect another psalm, Psalm 30:5 - weeping may remain for a night but rejoicing comes in the morning.

What we need to do is figure out where this joy comes from because it is this source of this joy that will give us hope.  Now this probably won’t surprise you but the answer to where we find joy is found in the 2nd Psalm of Ascent we were going to look at today, Psalm 131.

Joy comes when we put our hope in the Lord.  Hope and rejoicing comes when we realize that we don’t have the answers and we don’t have the power to change this world but God does.  This is what the psalm is trying to tell us when it says, my heart is not proud and I do not concern myself with great matters or things that are too wonderful for me.  We don’t have the answers and we don’t have the ability to change the world or even at times our own lives but God does so if we can be still and trust God we will find joy.

The psalmist compares this kind of trust to a weaned child and I have to be honest, not being a parent and especially not being a mother, I really didn’t know what this was talking about.  Let me share some of what the theologian Charles Spugeon has said about this:
The weaned babe has given up what it loved. By nature we hang on to this world, and only God’s grace can wean us from it, but when we give up self-righteousness, self-confidence, the love of the world, the desire of self-aggrandizement, when we give up trusting in man, trusting in ceremonies, [trusting in ourselves] and trusting in anything but God, then has our soul become like a weaned child.  A weaned child has given up what nature feeds upon, that it may feed upon the bread of heaven.

So it’s when we stop trusting in ourselves and the world and all its wisdom, authority and governments to have all the answers and start trusting in God alone that we are like a weaned child who can be still and confident that God will change those things that we cannot.  It is when we stop trying to figure it all out and rest in God’s love and power and grace that we find hope and begin to see a light in the darkness.  Part of what this means is that we have to stop thinking too highly of ourselves.  Father Tim Schenck, an Episcopal Priest, said, when we take ourselves too seriously we commit perhaps humanity’s greatest sin; trusting ourselves rather than God.   This is not only the greatest sin it’s the first sin.

When Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate from the tree of knowledge it was because they wanted to be like God.  They didn’t want to trust God to care for them, they wanted to do it all for themselves.  Just thinking that they could somehow be like God is absurd, but they took themselves that seriously and chose to follow their own path and the end result was a disaster.

One of the ongoing messages of the Bible and of human history is that when we take ourselves too seriously and follow our own way and not God’s way it is a disaster, but when we are willing to humble ourselves and trust God, God will lift us up.  It is only when God lifts us up that we are then able to see all that God has done for us in the past and when we see this it gives us the ability to trust God to be at work in our lives and in the world and into the future.  It is this trust and humility that leads to gratitude and giving thanks.    
This call to humble ourselves and trust God is an ongoing message in the Psalms of the Ascent.

Psalm 123:1 I lift up my eyes to you, to you sits enthroned in heaven.

Psalm 125:1-2  Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever.  As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people, both now and forever.

Psalm 128:1-2  Blessed are all who fear the Lord, who walk in obedience to him.  You will eat the fruit of your labor, blessings and prosperity will be yours.

Humility and the ability to laugh at ourselves lead us to a life of gratitude because it reminds us that we are not the ones who will change the world.  On our own we cannot stop the violence we see around us or the fear and confusion we feel within us.  We do not have the ability to lift the fear, solve the problems and answer the questions that confront us today, but we don’t have to because ultimately that is not our job – it is God’s.  God is the one who wants to provide the world with hope and fill our lives with joy and all this can and will happen if we will stop taking ourselves so seriously and stop trusting in ourselves and start trusting more fully in God.  

This is what Psalm 126 is trying to tell us, Psalm 126:1-3.  What filled their mouths with laughter and their hearts with joy wasn’t looking back and realizing all that they had done to provide for themselves, it was looking back to see all that God had done for them.  They could even laugh because some of the ways God moved among his people were pretty amazing and absurd and yes even filled with humor.  Think about it, when all hope seemed lost and God’s people had the army of Egypt behind them and the water of the Red Sea in front of them, God parted the waters.  Pretty amazing.
When there was no food in the wilderness and no water to drink, God placed bread on the ground every morning and brought water out of a rock.  Pretty absurd when you think about it and once God even used a talking donkey to get his message out to a prophet and as we all know, talking donkeys are just funny.

Donkey's are funny!

So it was all God and the stories the people shared on the way to Jerusalem each year reminded them that it was always God who provided for them and it would always be God who would care for them.  The Psalms of Ascent told the people that they had to stop trusting in themselves and taking themselves too seriously.  The psalms told them they needed to humble themselves and even laugh at themselves and if they could do this, they would be able to see what God had done on their behalf and be filled with hope and joy at what God would do in their future.  When all of this happened, they would be able to stop and give thanks.  

Humility and humor, this ability to not take ourselves too seriously and laugh at ourselves, leads to gratitude and we can never forget that it was Jesus who played the biggest joke on the world.  When Jesus died on the cross the forces of evil believed they had won.  The Son of God was dead and evil believed they had the upper hand in all the world.  Hope seemed to disappear when Jesus was laid in the tomb and three days later the women went out to sow in tears.  They went to the tomb to do the normal work of preparing Jesus body for an eternal grave in tears but instead of death they found life and returned to the disciples with songs of joy.  Satan thought he had won but the joke was on him because God won and Jesus was alive which tells us that in this world the power of evil will never reign supreme.

The power of ISIS and the forces of evil we see in the world today will never ultimately succeed as long as we as the body of Christ can continue to laugh at ourselves and trust God.  We don’t have the answers to the world’s problems and we can’t lift up humanity to see the power of love and grace given to us in Jesus – but God can and if we will let go and trust God, we can even laugh at the days to come.

So now for some laughter, 10 or 12 years ago I was asked to preach at the opening of the West End Fair in Harleton and since County Fairs are supposed to be fun events I decided to preach on the power of laughter and the importance of not taking ourselves too seriously.  Our worship team and I went out early to set up and as we arrived it started to rain.  Instead of setting us up on the main stage where people would have to sit in the rain, they sent us to the largest shelter they had that could accommodate lots of chairs and people – the Sheep Barn.  Everything was going along just fine until I started to speak, it was then that a little lamb came over to the fence to listen and every time I spoke – he spoke.

All through my sermon on how we can’t take ourselves too seriously this cute little lamb stood there and chimed in.  Forget my words, nothing I said that day was remembered.  The message I thought was going to be so good was completely forgotten and God said to me, Andy don’t take yourself so seriously, I have this covered, and God did.  God provided the perfect message and example of what I was trying to say and all we could do was laugh.  And all I could do was give thanks to God.

Today and in the days to come we may be sowing with tears and sorrow, but joy comes in the morning and laughter comes with the harvest because the power of evil and the forces of darkness and destruction will not win because God has won this battle and God has given us the victory through Jesus Christ and for this we give thanks.


Next Steps
Living the Life of Gratitude ~ Laughing at Ourselves


1. Read Psalm 126 and Psalm 131.


2. Identify 3 or 4 funny moments from your own history.  Share those moments with friends and enjoy a good laugh.


3. Read comics, watch funny TV shows or movies, or find some old comedy sketches online that simply make you laugh.


4. Identify 3 or 4 ways you take yourself too seriously.  Why do you find it so hard to let go and trust God in these situations?


5. Humility will lift us up so we can see what God has done and is doing in our lives.  Where have you seen God work in your life in spite of your own pride and need to be in control?


6. How has God moved in your life in amazing, absurd and astounding ways?   Give thanks to God.


7. Share a joke, story or video that will help someone else laugh this week.


8. To read through all the Psalms of Ascent during this series read Psalm 132 this week.