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
What just missed the cut for Sunday’s Sermon
Naaman’s servants may actually become one of the hidden gems of the sermon. They say, essentially: “If the prophet had told you to do something difficult, you would have done it.”
One of the Longest Benedictions I Ran Out of Time to Share
Maybe you know the story of how Joseph and Mary accidentally left Jesus at the gas station on their way home from Jerusalem. Well, not the gas station bathroom in Jesus’ case. Joe and Mary are far down the road before they realize Jesus isn’t with them...
So many quips and quotes...
So little time to preach
I wonder what Mary and Martha’s phones might look like:
* Martha = the open browser with 27 tabs
* Mary = the single window that matters
* Psalm 46 = God saying, “Close the tabs.”
Quotable Outtakes That Didn’t Make the Sermon This Week
“When you try to control everything, you don’t just exhaust yourself—you quietly replace trust in God with trust in you.” & more
There is a challenge when it comes to preaching the Word of God.
Preachers are called to open up and interpret the word—inspired and written down thousands of years ago—and make it relevant to a very different world. On top of that there’s a degree of persuasion that goes along with the process.
What Jessica Really Meant to Say in Her Sermon…
When Jessica or Rick or a guest preacher takes the pulpit it’s hard for me to write a One More Thing Blog. I can’t share with you what didn’t make it into the sermon because I have no idea, not having written or delivered it.
Jesus Keeps On Ruining Funerals!
I didn’t have anything this last week that didn’t end up in the sermon. No catchy illustrations that didn’t make the cut. No theological insights that slowed down the main point. No one can ruin a funeral like Jesus. Told as I saw it and that was it. So I did some quick research and I thought I’d share just a reminder of what Easter is all about.