Holy Hump Day (December 28) with Pastor Robert

Today’s Focus:

Special Holy Hump Day Year in Review!

Sermon (Christmas Eve) by Rev. Robert McDowell

    For the past several Sundays, we have been preparing for this holy night by singing and reflecting on the Charles Wesley Advent hymn, “Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus.” If you’ve been hanging out here at our church these past several weeks, tonight marks the 5th time you have sung this hymn. 

     And if you come back here tomorrow morning to worship, you will get to sing it a 6^th time! See what I’m doing here? Extra points if you come to church tomorrow morning!

     But after tomorrow’s worship service, we are going to retire this hymn until next Advent. It needs some well deserved rest from it’s busy schedule this year. But I sure hope that we will continue to sing this hymn in our hearts well into the New Year!

     I love this hymn. The lyrics are meant to help us receive the joy of this holy night in all of it’s fullness and glory.

     Over these past several weeks, we have been focusing on this line from verse 1. Let’s say it together in unison:

     “Come, thou long expected Jesus, born to set thy people free; from our fears and sins release us, let us find our rest in thee.”

     Tonight, we are going to conclude our focus on this hymn by looking at this last phrase in verse 1, “Joy of every longing heart.”

     So be prepared, because later in this service, after the goose bumps part of the service where we sing Silent Night and light our candles, we are going to raise this roof when we sing these wonderful words, “Joy to the world, the Lord is come!”

     “Joy to the world!” “Joy of every longing heart.” 

     Christmas is about joy.

     So as I’ve been reflecting on the Christmas story, I am struck by just how much joy was present when the shepherds were told that the Savior of the world was born. We are told that while they were tending sheep that night, an angel of the Lord appeared to them saying, 

     “Do not be afraid; for see – I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.”

     There’s the Christmas joy! “Good news of great joy,” the angel told them. This is one of my favorite phrases in the Bible. What a great way to describe our faith! “Good news of great joy!”

     I think I’ll start introducing myself to others by using this phrase. “Please say your name and what you do for a living.”

     “Hi, my name is Robert McDowell and I’m a preacher of good news of great joy for all the people!” 

     No wonder Charles Wesley included this phrase in his hymn, “Joy of every longing heart.” If you have a longing heart, the angel has an important message to give you, “I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people!”

     I mentioned this a couple of Sundays ago when we were looking at the first phrase of Wesley’s hymn. Notice the creative poetry Charles Wesley uses in how he repeats the word, “born” several times in these two verses of his hymn. 

     “Born to set thy people free,” is what we sing at the beginning of verse 1. And then he creatively uses that word three more times in verse 2. “Born thy people to deliver, born a child and yet a king, born to reign in us for forever.”

     Jesus was born a King to deliver us from our fears and sins, and to reign in us forever! The birth of Jesus is good news of great joy!

     As a pastor, I have always worked really hard in having the Season of Advent be a time for us to wait expectantly for the joy of Christmas. I’ve always looked at Advent from our perspective in how we need to patiently wait for Christmas to come.

     This year, I’ve been thinking more about what it must have been like for God to wait for Jesus to be born.  Just think what that must have been like for God to wait for the right time to send Jesus into the world. 

     The reason I say this is because this is a God who yearns for our world to be made new again. This is a God who longs for our world to be filled with peace. This is a God who desperately wants there to be justice and righteousness for all people. This is a God who wants to reconcile the world to himself. And this is a God who longs to be in a loving relationship with each and everyone of us.

     Just think what it must have been like for God to wait for Jesus to be born in this world. God knew that the gift of his Son would make all the difference in our lives and in our world. The good news of Christmas is that there is hope for our world.

     In Marilynne Robinson’s book, Lila, one of her characters says this powerful line, “If there is no Lord, then things are just as they look to us.”

     The good news of Christmas is that there is a Lord who has sent us Jesus to help us see things not just as they look to us, but in a new way and from God’s point of view. Maybe this is why Christians get up, get dressed and come to church every Sunday morning when we could just sleep in and do whatever. 

     The good news of Christmas points us to a God who isn’t just some distant deity, wishing us good luck from afar. This is a God who was willing to become one with us by sending us Jesus and who points us to a new and transformative way of looking at ourselves and the world around us.  

     I’m sure that God couldn’t wait for Mary to give birth and for this good news to be unleashed in the world. What else would you expect from a trinitarian God who speaks, who shows up, and who intervenes? This is a hands on God who is willing to do surprising things like have some shepherds out in the fields to be the first ones to hear about Christ’s birth.   

     Speaking of hymns, there is this wonderful line in the hymn, “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” that we will be singing a little later in our service.

     “How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is given! So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of his heaven. No ear may hear his coming, but in this world of sin Where meek souls will receive him still The dear Christ enters in.”

     “Where meek souls will receive him still, The dear Christ enters in.”

     We receive the joy of Christmas when we, like Mary, become Christ bearers. God invites us to give birth to Jesus Christ in our own lives. This is what changes the world as we all give birth to this good news of great joy.

     Spanish, mystic, St. John of the Cross who lived during the 16^th century once said, “For each of us is the midwife of God, each of us.” 

     Christmas is a time for us to open every aspect of our lives to God’s transforming and redeeming love, which in turn leads us to seek the change that God wants to see in the world. It’s what reminds us again and again that things don’t just have to be “as they look to us,” to quote that line again.

     When we allow our longing hearts to be filled with the joy of Christ’s birth, we become a transformative force of love that changes homes, workplaces, communities, and even the world. And our work continues until Christ comes again in final victory and reigns over all creation. 

     The good news of great joy that the angel shared with the shepherds that the Savior of the world was born, led them to go to Bethlehem to experience it for themselves. And then Luke tells us that after they saw Mary and Joseph and the child lying in the manger, that they made known what had been told them about this child. And all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them.  

     The last verse is the really fun verse in the Christmas story. Luke says that these shepherds, who probably weren’t what you would call the most religious people that God could have chosen to first hear the good news of Christ’s birth… these shepherds, we are told “returned, glorying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.”

     That night, those shepherds found joy!

     Last year, one of our neighbors told Penny and me that we needed to go and see a house that was known for having a lot of Christmas decorations. They said, “You won’t believe how many Christmas lights and decorations this family has around their house. You really need to go see it.”

     Looking back on that day, this neighbor reminds me of that angel telling the shepherds to go and see this good news of great joy.

     So, one night we decided to drive around in the different neighborhoods and see Christmas lights which were nice. We were going to head back home when we remembered about this one house that our neighbor told us we needed to go and see.

     It’s a house that is kind of tucked away off a main road. We only found it because our neighbor gave us very detailed directions in how to get there. It was kind of off the beaten path. Maybe a little bit like Bethlehem, not the place you would expect to find anything special.

     And so, we followed this narrow dirt road toward this house. We kind of wondered if we were heading in the right direction. This is where he said we would find the most amazing Christmas lights? This house was tucked back in the woods.

     And that’s when we noticed the radiating and beaming glow of lights that were just ahead of us. And as we pulled up to this house, we realized that this family took Christmas decorating to a whole different level!

     Here is what greeted us upon our arrival at this house…

     The word, “Joy” with spectacularly large letters and all lit up so brightly! 

     I took a picture of it and then later posted it on Facebook with the caption, “I found joy!!!” And we did that night!

     The angels have announced to us where we can find true joy. Go to Bethlehem, down this dirt road, and you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.

     This is where you will find the joy of every longing heart.

Online Worship (Christmas Day) Athens First UMC

Welcome to our 

December 25, 10:30 AM 

(Christmas Day)

online worship service!

Athens First UMC

2 S. College St., Athens, OH 45701

[Live-Stream Begins @ 10:25 AM]

Online Worship (Christmas Eve) Athens First UMC

Welcome to our 

December 24 (7 PM Christmas Eve)

online worship service!

Athens First UMC

2 S. College St., Athens, OH 45701

[Live-Stream Begins @ 6:45 PM]

Holy Hump Day (December 21) with Pastor Robert

Today’s Focus:

The 12 Days of Christmas

@ Athens First UMC

Sermon (December 18/Advent) by Rev. Robert McDowell

   For Advent this year, we are focusing on the Charles Wesley hymn, “Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus.” In our hymnal, it’s the first hymn in our Advent section. 

     Charles Wesley wrote this hymn in 1744 and as we mentioned before, it’s a hymn that is meant not only to prepare us for Jesus’ birth. It’s also a hymn to prepare us for Jesus’ 2^nd coming.

     There are only two verses of this hymn and notice that Charles Wesley doesn’t use words describing the manger scene in these verses. You’ll find no mention of a manger or shepherds or angels. 

     And I think this is very intentional for Charles Wesley, because he doesn’t want us to only focus on the birth of Christ. He also wants this hymn to point us to that future time when God will send Jesus again, to establish God’s reign as fully on earth as it is in heaven.         

     This is the ultimate good news of our faith, that one day Jesus will come again and establish his loving and gracious kingdom of justice, mercy, and peace on earth.

     This is what Advent is all about; anticipating the coming of Jesus into the world at his birth as well as anticipating that future time when Jesus will come again and make all things new. And this is why this is such a powerful hymn for us to sing during these weeks leading up to Christmas. It reminds us of this bigger picture of our faith.

     Last Sunday, our focus was on the first phrase from verse one, the phrase, “Born to set thy people free; from our fears and sins release us.” And we talked about how the coming of Christ into the world is more than simply celebrating a miraculous birth. It’s about the good news that God sent us Jesus to set us free from our fears and our sins. 

     And this is why this four week season of Advent is so important. It gives us time to reflect on our fears, our sins, and our shortcomings so that we can take a deeper look within ourselves to see those areas of our lives that are in need of healing, wholeness, and transformation. 

     Jesus was born to set us free from our fears and sins. We are released as the hymn says. And this leads us to the very next phrase from that hymn where Charles Wesley writes, “let us find our rest in thee.” When we are open to allowing Jesus to set us free from our fears and sins, we do find our rest in God. 

     The word, “rest” is an important biblical word that carries a lot of meaning. The word, “rest” reminds us of one of the Ten Commandments that tells us to honor the sabbath. We honor the sabbath by taking time out of our busy lives to rest and find renewal. Rest and renewal are the result of being being delivered from our fears and sins. 

     Our Hebrews scripture reading refers to rest and renewal when it writes about how the Israelites finally found rest when they made it to the Promised Land after that long forty year journey through the wilderness. But even then, the author of Hebrews points out that we are all to make every effort to enter that rest. 

     In other words, we are never really done entering that rest that God has in mind for us because life is a journey where we do need to rest along the way. Life isn’t meant to be a full out spring from beginning to end. We need to rest along the way. And we need to encourage each other to rest along the way.

     Last winter, I started to feel emotionally and physically tired from pastoral ministry. I think the pandemic had a lot to do with it because it constantly required new ways of doing ministry. I shared this with a couple of people and they encouraged me to take more time off and find more rest and renewal. 

     I love preparing and delivering sermons but I realized that there were some other people who could fill in for me from time to time. It’s also good for the congregation to hear a different voice instead of just one person all of the time. 

     The other blessing that came from those extra times of rest was that when I came back to preach the next Sunday, I was on fire! My energy and passion were renewed. I feel more creative and alert. Word of warning though, watch out for those Sundays when I’m back after being away. They tend to be longer sermons!

     Rest does wonders for our souls! 

     Preachers need rest and renewal! We all need rest and renewal along the way. 

     I never thought I’d use a “Leave It to Beaver” story as a sermon illustration especially in the season of Advent, but God works in mysterious ways. 

     I want to share a story about Tony Dow, the childhood actor who played the part of Beaver’s older brother, “Wally Cleaver.” You might have noticed in the news a couple of months ago that Tony Dow died from cancer at age 77. He was living in California. 

     The news of his passing took me down memory lane as I thought about that popular TV series. The series ended the year I was born but I loved watching the reruns during my childhood years and I still watch the show from time to time.

     By the way, did you know that Hugh Beaumont, the actor who played Ward Cleaver, Beaver’s father was also an ordained Methodist pastor? See what you learn when you come to church?

     Anyway, after the series ended in the early 1960s, that’s when Tony Dow started dealing with clinical depression. In an early 1990s interview, Tony said how six or seven years after the show had ended, he started to realize that he was becoming more irritable and was developing a bad attitude toward life.

     He says there were days when he couldn’t get out of bed, couldn’t go to work or do anything. He was feeling a sense of worthlessness and hopelessness and the more he thought about it, the worse he felt. He said that depression ran in his family but that being a celebrity also added to his depression because he was always expected to smile and not be sad.

     He also said that he noticed he was becoming more angry each day and he believes his anger is from his childhood acting days because he felt he didn’t have any control over his life. He also says his anger is from when people never recognized who he was as an adult, only as the character he played on “Leave It to Beaver.”

     In one of his interviews later in life he said something I won’t forget. He said that a therapist helped him to understand that, “Anger turned inward leads to depression.” For Tony, it was his anger toward himself that was causing a lot of his depression. But thanks to therapy and proper medication, he was finally able to find some healing and lead a normal life.

     I’m glad that Tony Dow was willing to be so vulnerable and share about his struggles with depression because all of us are in need of some kind of healing whether it be physical, emotional, mental, relational, or spiritual healing. All of us, including celebrities have some type of brokenness in our lives because we’re all human.

     Finding rest isn’t just for those who are feeling broken. It’s for the high achievers among us as well. It’s for those who feel like they never have enough in the bank, never have enough success, never work long enough hours, never have a busy enough schedule.

     Tony Dungy who is now a sports commentator was a very successful NFL head coach missing the playoffs only twice during his very successful 13 year head coaching career which included a Super Bowl victory when he was with the Indianapolis Colts. 

     When asked why he decided to retire when he was achieving all of this success, he said that it was one of the most difficult decisions he ever made but he knew it was time. Why? Because he said how success can be addictive and you can never get enough of it. It sounded like Tony just needed some rest.  

     This is what Advent and Christmas help us to do in our faith. It’s not about adding more holiday stress and pressure to our already way too busy lives. It’s about as Charles Wesley writes in the hymn, “Let us find our rest in thee.”

     Let us find rest by slowing down during this busy holiday season and think about what areas of our lives are in need of healing: 

     What have people been trying to tell us about taking better care of ourselves but we have ignored them? What are some of the signs of stress that we have been experiencing but haven’t taken the time to address?  

     What are those unhealthy habits or patterns in our lives that are keeping us from experiencing joy and peace? What grief are we carrying in our hearts that we have yet to name so that we can find healing? What are those unspoken feelings that we keep to ourselves because of fear, pain, shame, or even anger at ourselves and others? 

     These are the questions of Advent because God wants us to find rest for our souls. God wants us to be released from our fears and sins. God wants us to be real so that we can receive the healing and renewal that will help us to be the people God has called us to be.

     Our Hebrews scripture reading reminds us that Jesus is not a High Priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses but that we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are yet without sin.

     This Savior who was born in a manger and who will come again not only sets us free from our fears and sins, but is also the one in whom we find our rest.

      And this is why we sing, “Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus.”

Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus! Let Us Find Our Rest in Thee

Sermon Discussion Question

Hebrews 4:1-16 & Matthew 1:18-25

December 18, 2022

Today is the 4th part of a 5-week series in which are preparing for the coming of Christ into the world. These four Sundays are meant to help us anticipate what it means to be God’s faithful people. To help us prepare for Christmas, we are focusing on the 1744 Charles Wesley hymn, “Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus.” This hymn is meant to help us prepare for the birth of Jesus as well as his 2nd coming when all of God’s creation will be renewed and transformed. 

Why do you think it is important to no only anticipate Christmas but also that time in the future when Jesus will come again and set up God’s kingdom of love, justice, and goodness?

Last week’s focus was on the phrase, “from our fears and sins release us.”

What are some fears and sins that God is calling you/us to release during this holy time of year? What do you think the hymn means when it says that we can be “released” from our fears and sins?

For this week’s focus, we look at the phrase in the hymn, “let us find our rest in thee.”

Do you feel at rest spiritually? How can this time of Advent provide needed rest?

The word, “rest” is an important word in the Bible. We are reminded of how the Sabbath is meant to be a day of rest. Our Hebrews scripture reading refers to “rest” in relation to how God rescued the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and led them to the Promised Land where they were able to find rest. Rest is something that we continually need along our faith journey.

What helps you to be spiritually rested? What are some specific ways that you can include times of rest along your faith journey? Spending a day with God? Going on a spiritual retreat? Setting aside some time each day with God? Other?

Pastor Robert shared two examples of people who were in need of rest. 1) Tony Dow from the 1960s TV series, “Leave it to Beaver” when he realized he was in need of rest from his long battle with clinical depression. 2) Tony Dungy who during a very successful head coaching career in the NFL knew he needed rest from being addicted to success because it was becoming unhealthy and unsustainable. 

What are the signs that help you to know that you are in need of rest? In what ways can we help others know that they may be in need of rest in their lives?

Our Hebrews scripture reading also mentions that Jesus as our High Priest can sympathize with our weaknesses because he became one with us. Jesus needed to rest as well during his life and ministry.

What difference can it make in our lives to know that Jesus sympathizes with us and understands our need for rest? 

Close your time by offering this prayer from Sunday’s worship service:

O God of Love, come. On this the last Sunday of Advent and as the new day dawns, may we remember how your birth lit the darkness of night with the hope of freedom, the joy of a promise fulfilled. Be with us. Shine your light in our hearts so that we might know your wisdom, see your faithfulness, and believe in your creative, seemingly impossible ways. We ask this through Christ, our Savior and our love. Amen.

Online Worship (December 18/Advent) Athens First UMC

Welcome to our 

December 18 (Advent)

online worship service!

Athens First UMC

2 S. College St., Athens, OH 45701

[Live-Stream Begins @ 10:25 AM]

Holy Hump Day (December 14) with Pastor Robert

Today’s Focus:

Christmas or Easter?

Sermon (December 11/Advent) by Rev. Robert McDowell

    This is the 3^rd week of our Advent and Christmas series based on the Charles Wesley hymn, “Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus.”

     We are looking at different phrases from that hymn during this series. We can learn a lot about our faith through these great hymns. I don’t know about you, but sometimes it can be easy to sleep-walk when we sing hymns, forgetting to appreciate their lyrics.

     Brothers, John and Charles Wesley were 18^th century Anglican Priests in the Church of England and they were the ones who founded the Methodist movement within the Anglican Church. John and Charles Wesley were seeking to reform the Church of England by encouraging people inside and outside the church to grow in their faith through small groups or classes as they called them.

     John was more of the preacher and organizer of the Methodist movement in helping to get these classes started and Charles was the musician and hymn writer. Together, they were able to offer powerful leadership for this new spiritual movement. 

     Charles contribution was to write new hymns for those early Methodists that would help them to sing their faith. In fact, Charles Wesley ended up writing a staggering 6,000 hymns in his lifetime.

     Our worship hymnal is filled with several of Charles Wesley hymns. I looked up how many Charles Wesley hymns we have in our hymnal because I’m such a Christian nerd. Of the 677 hymns in our hymnal, 59 of them are by Charles Wesley. That’s almost 9% of the hymns in our hymnal.

      I believe the person who has written the most hymns overall is Fanny Crosby. She lived about a hundred years after Charles Wesley and she wrote 9,000 hymns during her lifetime, about 3,000 more hymns than Charles. But we only have 7 of her hymns in our hymnal. The reason we have more Charles Wesley hymns is because the lyrics of his hymns are rooted in Methodist theology. 

     Hymns are wonderful ways for us to know and live out our faith. In most hymns, each verse builds upon the previous verse in describing the theological meaning that it is seeking to convey. And this is certainly true of “Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus.”

     As we mentioned a couple of weeks ago when we first began this series, this hymn by Charles Wesley is an Advent hymn which means that it is preparing us not only to celebrate the birth of Jesus, but it is also anticipating Jesus’ second coming when God will make all things new and where heaven and earth will be as one.

     Listen again to the beginning of this wonderful Advent hymn: 

     “Come, thou long expected Jesus, born to set thy people free.” “Born to set thy people free” is the phrase that we are invited to focus on this week.

     Notice Charles Wesley’s creative poetry that repeats the word, “born” several times in these two verses. “Born to set thy people free,” is what we sing at the beginning of verse 1. And then he creatively uses that word three more times in verse 2. Listen to verse 2. “Born thy people to deliver, born a child and yet a king,born to reign in us for forever.”

      Charles Wesley is taking a word that is closely associated with Christmas, the birth of Christ, and then using it to show what this good news means for us. Jesus’ birth is meant to set thy people free.

     Free from what? He goes on to write in verse 1, “Free from our fears and sins release us.”

     Let’s first focus on our fears. What fears might keep us from being set free? 

     When Penny and I hosted the McDowell family reunion this past summer, I put together a video documentary on the history of our last name. The last name, “McDowell” which is derived from the name, “Dougal” was originated during the 14^thcentury in southwest Scotland.

     The McDowell family crest is a lion symbolizing deathless courage which is kind of ironic since I’m afraid of spiders, snakes, heights, sounds during the night, and even my own shadow. But I know I’m not alone. We all have our share of fears regardless of our last names.

      Notice in this hymn, Charles Wesley refers to Israel in the Old Testament and their longing for that time in the future when God would come to set them free. One of the major story lines in the Old Testament is this longing of Israel to be set free from foreign oppression. 

     Early in the Old Testament we read how the people of Israel had been slaves in Egypt and then Moses rescued them and brought them to the Promised Land. God had set them free. 

     Even though they did experience some years of peace and prosperity during the monarchy, they ended up dividing as a nation following King Solomon’s death. This made both of those divided nations, Israel in the north and Judah in the south very vulnerable to the invasion of the surrounding empires. 

     The northern kingdom of Israel was eventually taken over by the Assyrian Empire and the southern kingdom suffered the same fate by the Babylonian Empire. Around 600 years before the time of Christ’s birth, the Babylonian Empire destroyed the city of Jerusalem and their Temple and forced the people of God into exile for the next several decades.

     That was a very fearful time for God’s people. Even when the people were finally able to return to Israel and rebuild the Temple, they were still fearful of their future. And then at the time of Jesus’ birth, the Roman Empire was now in control of Israel. Jesus was born during another time of great fear and anxiety.

     This is what makes this first part of Charle’s Wesley hymn so powerful because it boldly says, “Come, thou long expected Jesus, born to set thy people free; from our fears and sins release us.”   

     Fears and sins are why we often feel like we are in bondage. Our fears can rob us of the freedom God intends for us.

     This makes me think of when the angels came to visit the shepherds on that first Christmas Eve to announce to them that a Savior has been born in Bethlehem. When the angels told them this, we are told that the shepherds were terrified. They were filled with fear. 

     And then the angels told them, “Do not be afraid; for see – I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people; to you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.”

     And after the shepherds went and saw that what the angels had told them was true, that Mary gave birth to Jesus, the Savior of the world, we are told that they returned to their fields praising God. Their fear turned into praise. This is what Jesus does for us. Jesus sets us free from our fears!

     There is so much fear in this world. We are afraid of so many things, but the good news of Christmas is that God is more than able to set us free from our fears.

     Maybe you have discovered this as well. Whenever I am anxious and fearful about facing a difficult situation or the unknown, more times than not, it rarely turns out as bad as I was fearing it could have been. My own fears can make things worse.

     One of the ways that we can live out this line in the hymn in being set free from our fears is by remembering that Christmas is about God becoming one with us. I think of Mary and Joseph and the fears they had leading up to Jesus’ birth. 

     Mary had to face the fear of what other people would say about her as a young girl who was pregnant and her husband who wasn’t the biological father. 

     Joseph had to face the fear of what people would say about him by not leaving Mary because she was pregnant. And they both had to face the fear of not being able to find a suitable place for Mary to give birth since they were in Bethlehem and a long way from home. 

     So many fears. So many anxieties. But during that very fearful time, Mary and Joseph also were clinging to the hope and good news that the baby they were about to have would become the Savior of the world. This is what helped them to overcome their fears.

     Think about all the fears that God is wanting us to hand over so that we can experience the freedom and the joy that God wants us to have. There are times in our lives where we have every reason to be fearful but we also have every reason to remember that God is with us through anything we face. 

     It doesn’t mean that with Jesus in our lives, our lives will be easy. It does mean that with God, our fears can be released as this hymns says so beautifully.

     This hymn also mentions being set free from our sins. In addition to our fears, our sins and brokenness can keep us from being free as well.

     One of the best things that we do every Sunday during worship is when we pray the prayer of confession together and then hear those priceless words at the end of that prayer. “In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven.” And then we all say together, “Thanks be to God!”

     I can’t think of a more important line to hear each week than this one! “In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven!” Now, in my mind, I know that if I confess my sins, God forgives me, but it also really helps when I hear all of us say those words together.  

     These prayers of confession that we say each week are written in such a way that we can each find ourselves somewhere in that prayer where we acknowledge that we have sinned against God and are in need of God’s grace and forgiveness. After we hear those words of forgiveness, I always feel a sigh of relief, knowing that God’s grace is greater than my sin.

     When God sent Jesus to be born and then to live among us and die on a cross for the sins of the world, and rise to new life, he did for us what we were unable to do for ourselves, free us from our sins. As we sing in another one of Charles Wesley’s hymns, “He breaks the power of canceled sin and sets the prisoner free!”

     A pastor friend of mine shared that he was talking one day with a guy who spent fifteen years in prison. For the first few years in jail, he denied any wrong doing. Be he found Christ while in prison and he became a changed man.

     This guy said to my friend, “I finally got honest with myself and God that I had a problem and had done wrong and that was a major factor in helping me to be a new person.”

    Christ can set us free from our sins. We don’t need to pretend that we are something we’re not. We are all broken people. We all fall short. Confessing our sins opens up the opportunity for us to receive God’s mercy and grace anew. What a wonderful thing about our faith! God wants to deliver us from our sins.

     In one of the churches I served, a man came to our church during the week and asked if I would pray with him. He said that he wanted to know if his sins could be forgiven. I can tell that he was very troubled by whatever he had done. 

     He said that to the best of his ability he had been trying to make up for the bad things that he had done and to be a better human being, but he still didn’t feel forgiven by God. We then talked a lot about how Jesus died on the cross for all of our sins and brokenness and that nobody is perfect.

     And then I invited him to close our time together by going into the sanctuary with me to pray and receive God’s forgiveness and grace. I’ll never forget his response. He said, “I can’t go in the sanctuary, can I? I’m not wearing nice enough clothes.”

     I assured him that God sees beyond what we are wearing and focuses only on what is in our hearts. So he agreed and we went into the empty sanctuary and prayed together and I made sure to conclude that prayer with the words, “Your sins are forgiven. Thanks be to God!”

     I sometimes wonder if that man was ever able to receive the good news of this Charles Wesley hymn, “Come, thou long-expected Jesus, born to set thy people free, from our fears and sins release us.”

     I sure hope that he has found his rest in thee which is the next line in the hymn, but we’ll save that for next Sunday.

Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus! Born to Set Thy People Free

Sermon Discussion Question

Ephesians 2:1-10 & Matthew 11:2-11

December 11, 2022

Today is the 3rd part of a 4-week series in which are preparing for the coming of Christ into the world. These four Sundays are meant to help us anticipate what it means to be God’s faithful people. To help us prepare for Christmas, we are focusing on the 1744 Charles Wesley hymn, “Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus.”

What do you think that Charles Wesley meant by including the phrase “long-expected” in the title of this hymn?

For this 3rd Sunday of Advent, we are focusing on the phrase, “Born to set thy people free” and specifically the next part that says, “from our sins and fears release us.”

What are some fears that keep people from being set free? In what ways does the good news of Christ’s birth release us from our fears?

Pastor Robert shared the story of someone who was in prison and turned to God to receive forgiveness for what they had done. He said, “I finally got honest with myself and God that I had a problem and had done wrong and that was a major factor in helping me to be a new person.”

Why do you think that it often takes time before we finally become honest with ourselves and God about the wrongs we have done? How does this season of Advent help you to become more honest with God and yourself about who you are and who God is calling you to be?

Pastor Robert also shared the story of someone who came to the church in the middle of the week because they wanted to know if God would forgive him for something he had done. When this person was invited to go into the sanctuary to offer a prayer of confession and receive God’s forgiveness, he hesitated because he didn’t feel like he was wearing nice enough clothes to enter the sanctuary.

Have you ever hesitated to ask for forgiveness because you felt that you were too unworthy? How can the good news of Christ’s birth break down any barriers that people feel keep them separated from receiving God’s forgiveness and acceptance?

Close your time by sharing this prayer of confession and words of assurance from Sunday’s worship service:

O God of Peace, come. Form us into your peace-makers. Enable us to look within ourselves, to make straight our crooked hearts, to patiently and lovingly await changes in ourselves and others. As you gather us tenderly and hold us close, may we also show that same compassion to the world. Fill our hearts with your peace and our lives with your love, that these may flow from our lives and into our world. We ask this through Christ, our Savior and our peace, Amen.

L: In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven.

P: In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven.

All: Thanks be to God!

 

Online Worship (December 11/Advent) Athens First UMC

Welcome to our 

December 11 (Advent)

online worship service!

Athens First UMC

2 S. College St., Athens, OH 45701

[Live-Stream Begins @ 10:25 AM]

Holy Hump Day (December 7) with Pastor Robert

Today’s Focus:

Who is the Real Santa Claus???

Online Worship (December 4/Advent) Athens First UMC

Welcome to our 

December 4 (Advent)

online worship service!

Athens First UMC

2 S. College St., Athens, OH 45701

[Live-Stream Begins @ 10:25 AM]

Holy Hump Day (November 30) with Pastor Robert

Today’s Focus:

2023 Confirmation Preview

Sermon (Nov. 27/Advent) by Rev. Robert McDowell

     I love to hear how people prepare for Christmas. When I was a a child, it was around this time just after Thanksgiving, that our dad would climb up our tall windmill which stood just outside of the front of our house.

     We had a two story farmhouse and that windmill was almost twice as tall as our house. Every year around this time, dad would go up to our attic and bring down our giant Christmas star. He would then make the long climb up those little metal rungs and he would tie that Christmas star at the very top of that windmill for everybody to see during the weeks leading up to Christmas.

     The McDowell family was known as that family on Plank Road that had the large Christmas star. 

     Someone shared with me that his little Christmas tradition is when after his family puts up the Christmas tree and they decorate it with ornaments and the string of lights, he always sticks his head under that tree. And with his head under that tree, he loves to look up at the lights and the ornaments from that angle. 

     Family Christmas decorating traditions are significant because they they serve as familiar landmarks along the journey of life. These traditions connect us to the past and bring back important memories and help us to prepare for this special time of year.

ADVENT = Preparing for the arrival of a significant event

     Today is the first Sunday of Advent. The word “advent” means to prepare for the arrival of a significant event. We join Christians from all around the world in a journey toward the celebration of a very significant event, the coming of Jesus into the world. This is the meaning of the season of Advent. It’s not just a season of waiting. It’s also a season of preparing. 

     On the Christian calendar, Advent reminds us to prepare for two very important events, actually. The first event is the celebration of Christ’s birth and the second event is anticipating the second coming of Jesus into the world that still awaits us.

[Charles Wesley, 18th Century Methodist Hymn Writer]

     Our Advent and Christmas theme this year is inspired by the Advent hymn, “Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus.” In 1744, Charles Wesley, the brother of John Wesley who founded what we know today as the United Methodist Church, wrote this hymn to help those early Methodists prepare for the coming of Christ into the world.

     Many of you are probably familiar with this hymn. I always have us sing this hymn on one of the Advent Sundays. For this year, we are going to sing this short hymn every Sunday, including when we gather for our Christmas Eve service. This hymn will serve as a framework to help us remember and anticipate the coming of Christ into the world. 

     This Advent hymn, “Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus” helps us to anticipate not only Jesus first coming into the world when he was born at Christmas, but also his future 2^nd coming when God’s kingdom here on earth will be established fully and completely. Think of Christmas as the first part of a two-part drama, the first part is Jesus’ birth and the second part is when Jesus will return and make all things new.

     To help us prepare for the 1^st part of this two-part drama which is Christmas, our New Testament reading from Galatians, chapter 4 offers us these words that point us to the birth of Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul writes, 

     “But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to son ship. Because you are his children, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father.’ So you are no longer enslaved, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.”

     The Apostle Paul is offering us this summary of the first part of the drama which is Christmas when Jesus was born to Mary and Joseph. God sent Jesus to be our redeemer and savior, to set us free from the bondage of sin and brokenness. 

      This is why Charles Wesley begins his Advent hymn with these words, “Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus.” The coming of Jesus into the world is the beginning of how God is seeking to make us and the world new again. No wonder, during this time of year, we sing, “Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus.”

     Notice that Paul included in that Galatians passage the words, “But when the set time had fully come.” Christmas and the birth of Jesus marks the beginning of the good news of our faith. It’s why we put up with pine needles getting caught in the carpet and it’s why my dad was willing to climb up a tall windmill during cold temperatures to hang a Christmas star.

     Christmas is a time for us to prepare for the celebration of the good news of Jesus birth. I often think of how the people of Israel had to wait centuries for this holy moment when God sent his only Son to be born in our world. 

     When I think of all of the centuries that the people of Israel had to wait, it puts these four weeks of Advent into perspective. “But when the set time had fully come.”

     Have you ever noticed that on this first Sunday of Advent, I never feel the need to announce to you, “Hey, spoiler alert.  Jesus will be born on December 25.” 

     We already know this because we prepare for Christmas every year. That’s why these four weeks of Advent are so important because they help us to prepare ourselves to receive the good news of Jesus’s birth in a new and fresh way. 

     Christmas is a time for us to celebrate the good news that Jesus is alive and with us today. Jesus is someone who wants to walk alongside us when we are facing a difficult decision or situation. Jesus is someone who carries us when life knocks us to our knees. 

     And when we mess up and do something for which we feel shame and remorse, Jesus is there to forgive and cleanse us so that we can keep moving forward in life. No wonder, Charles Wesley wrote this hymn. “Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus.” 

     Our prayer during this Advent season is for us to receive once again the incredible gift of Jesus who is the embodiment of God; the embodiment of a loving, gracious, merciful, compassionate, understanding, forgiving, guiding, and giving God who wants to be in a personal relationship with each and every one of us.

      Advent is a time for us to anticipate this incredible good news not just for ourselves but to share with those around us. I’m so glad that Christmas is rooted in history when God sent Jesus to be born in a specific time and place. 

     I love that our faith isn’t simply a philosophy. It’s rooted in a historical time when God risked everything on our behalf by becoming one with us. 

     Jesus identifies with our hopes and dreams and with our longings and heartache because he was one with us, fully divine, but also fully human. 

     Having a God who can identify with our weakness and our struggles is one of the reasons Christmas is so meaningful because God knows the pain of feeling alone, in being rejected, in experiencing hunger and grieving the loss of a loved one. God knows because Jesus was one with us when he was born into this world.

     A pastor shared with me that one day after worship, a young woman came up to him and shared her struggle with anorexia. The pastor then offered a brief prayer for this young person. This pastor knew another person in the church who was struggling with anorexia and with her permission, he was able to have them connect with each other.

     When they met, he said how moving it was to see them share their struggle and pain with each other, shed some tears, and then hug each other. Just to know that someone can relate to us is such a powerful human need that we all have.

     This is what Jesus does for us because he became one with us, and this is why we sing, “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus.” Jesus is someone we can always turn to for healing, encouragement, forgiveness, and redemption.

     But remember, there is also a 2^nd part of this two-part drama. The 1^st part is when God sent Jesus to be born into this world and identify with our brokenness, our shortcomings, and our need for a Savior. 

     The 2^nd part of the divine drama is that God also has plans to send Jesus again and this time, God will make make this world new again. This is our ultimate hope as Christians, that God will renew the face of this earth.

     Just like the people of Israel didn’t know when God would send them a Savior, we also don’t know when Jesus will come again and when heaven and earth will finally be as one. Advent is what helps us to keep waiting and keep anticipating this future promise.

     I know it’s hard to wait for that time. It was only a little more than a month after we blew our our Christmas Eve candles that a nation invaded another nation causing horrific pain and suffering which continues to this day. 

     Even after Christmas comes and goes, we still yearn for that time when there will be no more suffering, no more homelessness, no more hunger, no more injustice, no more oppression, no more hate speech, no more mass shootings, and no more pain and grief. 

     When we sing, “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus” we are anticipating that time when God will transform this world where there will be nothing but peace, joy, goodness, and love.

     During these four weeks, allow this hymn to be your prayer. “Come, thou long expected Jesus. Born to set thy people free; From our fears and sins release us, let us find our rest in Thee. Israel’s strength and consolation, hope of all the earth thou art; Dear desire of every nation, Joy of every loving heart.”

Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus!

Sermon Discussion Questions

Galatians 4:1-7 & Matthew 21:36-44

November 27, 2022

Today marks the beginning of the 4-week season of Advent which is a time for us to prepare for the coming of Christ into the world. These four Sundays are meant to help us anticipate what it means to be God’s faithful people.

What are some family traditions that you typically do during this time of year to help you prepare for Christmas?

To help us prepare for Christmas, we are focusing on the 1744 Charles Wesley hymn, “Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus.” In particular, we will be focusing on three important theological phrases from this hymn: 

December 11 - “Born to Set Thy People Free”

December 18 - “Let Us Find our Rest in Thee”

December 24 - “Joy of Every Longing Heart”

Which of these phrases stands out the most to you? What are some other songs/hymns that help you prepare for Christmas?

The Season of Advent helps us to prepare not only for Christmas (Jesus 1st Coming) but also for Jesus 2nd coming when God will renew the face of the earth and where heaven and earth will be as one. We tend to focus more on Jesus 1st coming when he was born in a manger (Christmas.)

Why do you think it is important to also anticipate the 2nd coming of Jesus when God will make this world new again? Describe your personal thoughts about what this world will look like when heaven and earth will be as one. Use your imagination!

One of the major theological  themes of Christmas is that God sent Jesus to be one with us, someone who would experience pain, suffering, joy, love, betrayal, heartache, etc. This is what we refer to as the incarnation, God becoming one with us.

How does this understanding of the incarnation help you in your faith journey?

Close by praying this prayer from our 1st Sunday of Advent worship service:

O God, as we begin this Advent journey, restore us to faithfulness, and shepherd us through these weeks. Soften us and open us to trust in your love, your goodness, your guiding presence. May we take in your word and bring it to life, giving hope to the hopeless through our words and actions. We ask this through Christ, our Savior and our hope. Amen