12/06/2023
In Sunday’s sermon, I closed by thinking through what a real worst-case scenario might look for us leading up to Christmas. I offered the following:
What would Our Worst Case Scenario be this holiday season
if we had to imagine it?
- That when we could not get to God—God did not come to us.
- That we cannot become anything more than what we already are.
- That despite all the directions we’ve been given, we are destined to remain hopelessly lost.
Our worst case scenario would be waiting for a Savior that never comes, or worse still—to go through the next few weeks without realizing how badly we need the Savior who will come, has come, and who will come again.
Advent is not meant to be a season of parties and songs about reindeer and snowmen. Advent is a sacred pilgrimage back into our desperate need for what only God can provide. It is a remembrance of being lost in the darkness and falling prey to our worst and most self-destructive desires. It is to wait upon the One who has been promised, knowing that God has been and will be faithful to God’s promises. It is know that there is no gift so great as the gift of presence: God’s presence among us, and our presence offered to one another.
May that be the gift you focus on this holiday season.
Archived Posts
Prayer Changes Things
Here is a transcript of the prayer I prayed at the end of yesterday’s sermon.
Optimism, Faith, and Hope:
Practical Steps For Increasing All Three
Here are some practical, spiritual, and relational ways to grow faith, hope and optimism:
Listening Heart
It’s kind of crazy when you think about it. Wisdom in the Bible is all about listening. Of course it makes sense that wisdom would start with listening to God, to God’s law and commandments, as well as the promptings and leadings of the Holy Spirit.
Here are some quotes that
didn’t make it into Sunday’s sermon.
(But it doesn’t mean that they don’t offer real insight into the power of risk over the fear of failure...)
Such A Rich Passage (Luke 19:1-10)
I reflected a lot on the passage about Zacchaeus because it has been written off as “been there, read that, little guy in a tree.” But it is so rich in getting to the heart of what it means to be saved by grace through faith—to live our lives out of gratitude rather than obligation.
The Power of Presence
This last Sunday I had so much more to share than time to share it. The last Emotional Management Technique was to stay present in the process. Just as Jesus stayed with the woman who was judged and found guilty by the angry crowd, we stay by our children and our friends, especially when they need us the most. Here a couple of examples...
What’s In A Benediction?
Last Sunday I used one of my favorite benedictions.
It was inspired by a saying from about ten years ago: