Christmas Eve Sermon – “Come Let Us Adore Him”
Scripture: Luke 2:1-14
Well, it’s finally here. After a month of preparing, a month of parties and food, a month (or more) of shopping, it’s finally the night we’ve all been waiting for.
Christmas has come.
Some of you may have finally breathed a sigh of relief because you’ve got it all prepared for and you are ready. Or maybe you’ve just said, “Close enough” and resigned yourself to the fact you weren’t going to get it all done. The funny thing is, Christmas was going to come whether you were ready or not.
How has your month been? Has it been a time of great stress? Are you exhausted and just glad it’s finally here because you can stop running around so much and be thankful everything is closed for the next two days?
Things can be so hectic it’s hard to find time to rest. Which is maybe why tonight might feel special. Tonight is a night where we can just be ourselves again and relax, and maybe do it with family and friends and celebrate each others company.
But there is more to tonight than just being able to finally relax.
Tonight is a night of adoration, not just celebration. read more…
flourish
Scripture: Isaiah 61:1-11
I love reading stories of communities which have bucked the trend of decline and hopelessness and are starting to see signs of hope and prosperity. While I don’t know very much about the history of Membertou, it’s great to see them be a leading first nations community in Canada as the grow and build.
I do know some of the history of another Cape Breton community which has prospered of late. It’s great to see the people of the Waycobah first nation, outside of Whycocomagh, in the news this past week. Not that long ago this was a community which was really struggling, and just this past week we saw it reported that they are celebrating that nearly all people who are able to work actually have jobs. It’s also great to see they just opened the new business mall which houses a brand new gas station and Tim Horton’s.
I’ve been driving through that community for over 20 years, and I remember how it used to look, but now it looks so much better. New businesses, homes which have been fixed up, all of which points to a new hope for the community when people are working and are finding joy in life once again.
It just goes to show how small changes and trying new things can change a community around for the better. read more…
open
Scripture: Joel 2:12-13, 28-29
Have you ever looked at someone in some sort of challenging situation and just wished you could shake some sense into them?
You know what I mean. You see their situation from a certain point-of-view and you just know you have the answer they need to get through it, but you can’t give it to them. Or maybe you have tried, but they aren’t listening to you, and just continue to struggle. Or maybe you just don’t have that sort of influence, or are too far away, or maybe it’s just something you see in the news where the whole world is thinking just like you are, but they too are hopeless to make any changes.
There are also times, such as dealing with our children, where we need to let them struggle a little bit in order to get them to figure it out for themselves, to help them learn to make their own decisions, and to grow as a human being while they do it. There may be times when we’ll drop hints as to what their options are, or other times when we just let them know we are here for them if they need us to help.
The wisdom is to know when to meddle in other people’s business and when to know to keep our big mouths shut. read more…
race
Scripture: Hebrews 12:1-2
What a wonderful night of worship we are having. Wonderful music, a beautifully decorated church. In a few minutes we’ll light our memorial tree. What a great kick-off to the season of Advent.
I’m so happy we’re continuing this tradition from Wilson, this night where we kick off Advent with a celebration, but at the same time honouring our loved ones with this service.
As I thought about what we are doing here tonight, in the music, in the memorial tree, in starting a new season in the church, I began to think about those verses from Hebrews 12 we just read.
We are here, in this church, because of the work of people who built this place. We are here because in our communities people felt the call to build churches so people could gather with each other to learn about God and grow in their understanding of their faith. They built churches so people could come and join them in their faith journey, and because they had outgrown the living rooms where they started to meet. read more…
part of the resistance
Scripture: Daniel 6:6-27
Briton Riviere’s depiction of Daniel in the Lions Den
Sometimes I wonder what you are all thinking when we read a piece of scripture not normally read at a particular time of year. Such as reading Daniel in the lions den in Advent. It certainly isn’t the first place we would consider looking when we traditionally read passages which point clearly to the birth of the Messiah, Jesus, God with us.
For sure Daniel in the lions den is an unexpected passage for us to pick up this morning. It’s also a book we aren’t entirely familiar with. But interestingly enough, we probably remember this story from Sunday School lessons, and we may also remember the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego being thrown into the fiery furnace.
Both of these stories, for some reason, we like to make cute and teach them to children about how God cares for those who love Him. Which is true, but it’s not all that the stories are about.
Now, I’m not going to look at the fiery furnace, Daniel in the lions den has plenty for us to chew on today on its own. read more…