Words of Welcome

Titus 2:11-14 The other day I was asked why we’re reading from Titus 2 on Christmas Eve.   My conversation partner wanted to know what this passage has to do with Christmas.  I have to admit that on the surface it doesn’t seem to fit very well.  It doesn’t say anything about the birth of Jesus, and as far as I know it hasn’t inspired any Christmas carols, but sometimes what we see on the surface is deceiving.  When we look more closely at this passage,  we hear the announcement of “the glorious appearing of our great God and savior Jesus Christ.”   And as the letter writer declares, this is the blessed hope for which we have been waiting.  With Christ comes the grace of God that inspires and empowers us to live into the message of Christmas.  I imagine that most of us have come here tonight expecting to be drawn into the presence of the God who Scripture says appeared to the world in the babe born in Bethlehem.  Most of us come with hearts full of joy, though some come wi

Luke 1:26-38 Do you feel the tug of Christmas, both it’s sacred and it’s secular elements, pulling at you?  Do you feel like Advent has gone on long enough, and you’re ready to move on and celebrate Christmas?  After all, the presents have been purchased and wrapped.  The Christmas dinner menu is planned  – though I should remind you that we will be meeting for worship on Christmas morning at 11:00 A.M., so plan accordingly!  If you’re traveling, all the necessary arrangements have been made, except maybe filling up the gas tank one more time.   Perhaps you’re like that child who has been poking at the presents under the tree, maybe even picking them up, trying to figure out what’s inside.  There comes a point when you just want to pick it up and rip open the wrapping paper and see what’s inside.   Yes, the excitement of the season, which has been building for some time now, has a tendency to overwhelm all this Advent talk of preparation and waiting that we’ve been hearing

Mark 1:1-8 According to Proverbs you should keep an eye on nature, because you can learn important life lessons.  So if you can learn from the ants, what about the squirrels that are always running around my backyard? Our family enjoys watching the ever-fatter squirrels scurrying across our deck and yard carrying nuts and seeds in their mouths.  While I’m not thrilled with their attempts to  plant trees in the lawn, I understand why they do this, and the show does keep us entertained.  As enjoyable as the show is, what lesson might we learn from their behavior? Is it the fact that they seem to know instinctively how to prepare for the winter long before the first snow begins to fall?  It’s just built into their systems.  They don’t seem to need any training to know that they need to fatten up in the good times and to store up supplies for the winter.   After all, they can’t drive to the grocery store if the fridge gets empty. We humans are different.  We’re not nearl

Ephesians 1:11-23 You may have seen a very large RV traveling down the highway.  In the driver’s seat is a senior citizen, and emblazoned on the back of that RV is a bumper sticker declaring that this now retired couple is spending their children’s inheritance.  Now, they have every right to spend their money any way they please, and the kids have no legal means of stopping them from doing this, but this declaration seems rather bold, maybe even brazen!    They have decided to spend the inheritance before it gets passed on to the next generation.    Warren Buffett, as you may have heard, has decided that the bulk of his fortune won’t go to his children, but rather to charity.  It’s not that the kids won’t get anything, but  most of the inheritance is going to be shared by a much broader group of people.  Jesus once told a parable about inheritances.  In this parable a son demands his share of the inheritance now.  Why wait until Dad is dead to enjoy the benefits of

Matthew 25:14-30 Have you ever watched Jim Cramer’s CNBC show Mad Money?  If you don’t know who Jim Cramer is, he’s a wild-eyed stock picking guru who wants to help you make money in the stock market!   The motto of the show is that “there is always a bull market somewhere, and he wants to help you find it.”   Jim Cramer, it appears, believes in the principle of abundance over scarcity.  In his mind, somewhere there is an investment that will make you a profit, you just have to look for it, and he’s willing to help you make that discovery.   Now, I don’t spend much time watching his show, since  a little goes a long way, but I’m intrigued by his ability to pick good places to invest.  He seems to know his stuff!   But money isn’t the only thing we have to invest.  We also have our lives to invest, but the question – where will you invest?       We’re nearing the end of the liturgical year, and the lectionary texts are featuring passages that lift up the Day of Judgment.

1 Corinthians 16:1-4 Although many churches are observing All Saints Day today, we’re going to observe it next Sunday with a special litany of remembrance of “all the saints, who from their labors rest.”   Even though we’re launching our annual stewardship campaign instead, it’s not too early to start remembering the people who have influenced our lives and have shown themselves worthy of being imitated.  These people could  be parents or teachers, preachers or friends, long time church members or the other saints of history, whose stories continue to inspire.  As the hymn “For All the Saints” declares, this is a “blest communion, company divine!”  And together, we form the one body in Christ and the communion of saints.   Although there are saints who have rested from their labors, there are also living saints. In fact, according to Paul, we all could be among the hagious or saints of God.  So, do you feel like you’re one of God’s saints?  And what does it me

1 Thessalonians 2:1-8 On more than one occasion Rial has said that “Words Matter.”   I think that what he means is that a word has a definition and we should pay attention to it.  I agree, but words also have nuances, and context often determines meaning, especially in the English language.   Now, I realize that you didn’t come to church today to get a lesson in English grammar, but I believe that Paul has something important to say about words in our text.  It’s not an issue of grammar or definitions, but whether our lives match our words.   Because Paul was a traveling preacher, he was something of a talker, but unlike many other contemporary preachers of his day and ours as well, Paul was a straight-talker.  He said what he meant and meant what he said, and so people could have confidence in his message.  Paul’s own confidence in God’s calling on his life gave him confidence in his message as well.  Therefore, he had the courage to proclaim the good news of Jesus, even in

Philippians 4:1-13 Many of us, when we were children, learned stories about what we might call the heroes of the Bible.   If you’re like me, a male who grew up with Superman and Batman, you may have liked the ones about Samson, Gideon and David.  These guys are like super heroes who do great and wondrous things, often with seemingly superhuman strength, only they do it with divine power and not superpowers.   Samson does great things in the name of God, but he’s also morally challenged.  He does bring down a temple with his bare hands, though he died in the incident.  As to the secret of his success, he apparently was the Fabio of his day, because his secret had something to do with his hair! As for Gideon, he doesn’t have superhuman strength, but somehow he’s able to defeat the Amalekites whose troops numbered in the thousands with a small team of just 300 fighters.   Apparently God wanted Gideon’s enemies to understand that God was in the fight. Then there’s