Sunday Scriptures Commentary (December 15)

December 15 Sermon - “Joy...To Get Me through the Tough Days”

Isaiah 35:1-10

Following a word of judgment against the surrounding nations, the Prophet Isaiah promises restoration of the Promised Land and the joyful return of the Jewish exiles to Jerusalem. The promises in this passage:

• Fertile Land
• End of Human Suffering & Sickness
• Restoration & Hope
• The Joyful Return of Exiles

Verses 9-10 - The blind receiving their sight is a sign of the coming of the Messiah. This ties in with our Gospel reading for this Sunday (See Jesus’ response to John the Baptist’s question while John the Baptist was in prison - Matthew 11)

Matthew 11:2-11

John the Baptist has been arrested and imprisoned. Discouraged and in doubt, he sends messengers to ask Jesus: “Are you the one?

This passage shows that people, including John the Baptist who was now in prison, were questioning when God’s kingdom would be revealed. John the Baptist needed reassurance that Jesus was the promised Messiah.

The expectation was that the Messiah would confront the political powers that were dominating Israel and usher in freedom and God’s kingdom. Jesus is the promised Messiah but his mission was very different from the expectations of the people. 

Jesus’ mission was one of mercy and love and not of military uprisings. The signs  of God’s kingdom were already happening. Jesus lists these as people receiving sight, lame people walking, the deaf being able to hear again, and the poor hearing good news. This list reminds us of our Isaiah passage for this Sunday. The answer to the question of John the Baptist if he is truly the Messiah is for him to look at these signs.

Signposts - The list of good things that Jesus was doing are like signposts that the Kingdom of God was drawing near. What signposts of the kingdom do you see happening in the course of your daily living? List them.

[Note: The resources used for these scripture reading commentaries are based on the Everyone series by NT Wright, The Wesley Study Bible, and the “Montreal-Anglican” lectionary commentaries.]

A Message to Lancaster First UMC from Bishop Gregory Palmer

Dear  Rev. Robert McDowell,

In January of this year, I began a breakthrough prayer journey.  Part of that journey is a pledge to pray daily for a few of our West Ohio churches so that by the end of the year, I will have prayed specifically for each and every one of our churches. In addition my weekly prayers will include our extension ministers, retired clergy, clergy spouses and the conference as a whole.

 

Today I will be in prayer specifically for your church, your congregation and leaders, your ministries.  Please know that you are all in my thoughts as well as in my prayers today. I invite you to join me in daily prayer and celebration of all that God has provided us.  I am so thankful for your ministry.

I hope that this day finds you well and encouraged by the excitement of our shared ministry of making disciples for Jesus Christ.

Yours in ministry,

Gregory V. Palmer, Bishop

Sermon (December 22) by Rev. Robert McDowell - "Love…Gotta Have It"

     

     One of my favorite ice cream shops uses the phrase “Got to Have It” when you want their largest ice cream cone size.  The name for a medium size cone is “Love It.” And the small size is, “Like It.”

     Christmas is definitely a “Gotta Have It” type of holiday. The Christmas story reminds us of a God who was willing to go to all of the trouble of sending his only Son into the world to be our Savior.

     And if we really want to appreciate the true meaning of the Christmas story, we also need to keep in mind the bigger story of what God did for us by sending his only Son. Through his life, death, and resurrection, Jesus offers us four eternal gifts that we have been exploring during this Season of Advent. Jesus offers us hope, peace, joy, and love. God went to great lengths to offer us these eternal gifts.

     Ron Lavin, a pastor shares the story of a mother who was living in a tenement house and went shopping for groceries. While she was in the store, a fire engine raced by. She wondered, "Is the fire engine going to my home?" She had left her baby asleep at home. Forgetting about the groceries, she ran toward home. Her building had fire hoses aimed at it. It was burning like a matchbox. Rushing to the chief, she cried out, "My baby is up there." He shouted back to her, "It would be suicide for anyone to go up there now; it's too late." 

     A young fireman standing by volunteered, "Chief, I have a little baby at home, and if my house were on fire, I'd want someone to go up to save my baby. I'll go." The young fireman climbed the stairs; he got the baby, threw her into the rescue net, and just as he did, the house collapsed and he was burned to death. 

     The scene is 20 years later at a graveside. A 20-year-old woman is sobbing softly. Before her, at the head of this grave, is the statue of a fireman. A man stopping by asks respectfully, "Was that your father?" She replies, "No." "Was that your brother?" "No," she says. "That's the man who died for me." 

     During this holy season, it’s important for us to pause and consider the costly love that God poured out for us by sending us Jesus. In our Gospel reading for today, Joseph is visited by an angel who explains to him that he is to name Mary’s son, “Jesus” for he will save his people from their sins. This costly love led Jesus to go so far as to die on a cross so that we might have the hope, peace, joy, and love, that God intends for us to have.

     God’s love is a “Got to Have It” kind of love. It’s a love that accepts us just as we are. It’s a love that assures us that death is not the end. It’s a love that reminds us that with God, new life can begin. It’s a love that reassures us, especially during the dark times of life.  It’s a love that reminds us that we are never alone for God is our Emmanuel, our God who is always with us.

     Christmas is about love. The word that the bible uses to describe God’s love is the Greek word, “agape.” Agape love is an unconditional love. It’s a love that is offered with no strings attached. It’s a love that is offered to us regardless of who we are or what we have done.

     When we receive the love of Christmas, we can’t help but to want to share this love with the people around us. This love is so wonderful that we just can’t keep it to ourselves.

     In our Romans scripture this morning, the Apostle Paul explains that he has been called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel, the good news of God, concerning his Son, Jesus. Why would a small group of people located on a tiny sliver of land in the Middle East even think about risking their lives to share the good news of Jesus with the wider world?

     It was because this news was too good to keep to themselves. This news was so good that they just had to share it with everyone around them. God’s love becomes more special to us when we share it with others. God’s love becomes even more meaningful to us when we share it with others.

     In a world that would have us believe that the true meaning of this season is “What’s in it for me?” our scripture readings remind us that the true gift of Christmas is when we share the gift of God’s son with others. That’s what brings us the most joy and happiness.

     Let’s watch this video about a ministry in Fort Worth, Texas and how a church is sharing Christmas love with the homeless. Let’s watch.

(Video)

     I love this ministry because not only is this church sharing the love of Christmas with people who are homeless, but they are providing opportunities for those who are homeless to share this same love with their friends and family. A “Gotta Have It” kind of Christmas love is a love that is always meant to be shared with others.

     It’s hard to believe but tomorrow will be Christmas “Eve-Eve.” Our Worship Team decided to add this new Christmas “Eve-Eve” candlelight service this year so that we can reach even more people with our regular Christmas Eve services that will be held two days from now.

     As many of you already know, Christmas Eve is the highest attended worship time for our church. More people come to church on Christmas Eve than any other time during the year. Even if people might not attend church at any other time during the year, there is something about Christmas Eve with the singing of “Silent Night” and the lighting of candles that makes it really special.

     I wonder if there’s some way that each of us can share some Christmas love especially with people who will be new to our church for our services over the next two days. This might mean attending the service tomorrow night to help free up more seating when the larger crowds come on Tuesday evening. Or it might mean helping to serve as a greeter at one or more of the services to welcome people as they come through our doors and help them find a seat.

     Some of our church members are intending to come to tomorrow night’s candlelight service and then serve as a greeter the next night. Or sharing Christmas love might be as simple as making room in your pew for that couple who has arrived late for the service.

     Christmas love is meant to be shared. It’s just too wonderful to keep to ourselves. Just think what Christmas will be like if we intentionally offer hospitality to those around us.

     Many of you know that we have a new District Superintendent, Rev. Kathy Brown of our Capitol Area South District which consists of about 125 churches. Each year, the pastors in the district have one to one meetings with their Superintendent to discuss how things are going in our churches.  And one of the first things Kathy said to me during my one on one time with her  this past August was, “My husband and I visited your church for worship not too long ago.”

     Now, when pastors hear that, we panic and we just hope and pray that it was one of our better Sundays.”  And then she told me which Sunday it was.

      She came during one of our low attendance Sundays because we just had the Lancaster Festival and then there were a lot of people who were on vacation including myself and only one person from our praise band was there. The air conditioner had broken down earlier that week. It was also a Sunday where a couple of people became ill during the services that Sunday which brought in the emergency squads during worship.

     And so I said to her with a bit of a shaky voice, “Oh, you came on that Sunday.” I braced myself for what she was going to say next.

     And here is what she said about her experience at our church that Sunday morning. She said, “We weren’t really that familiar with the church but when we got to the door, someone was there to greet us and welcome us with a smile. The person introduced himself to us and asked if we were new to the church. When we said that we were visiting, he invited us to pick up a gift at the information desk in the parlor and said that they would be able to answer any questions about our church.”

     “When the person fainted during the service, one of your members immediately jumped out of the pew to be of assistance and helped care for this situation in a loving way. And during this whole time, Pastor Cheryl was calm and invited the congregation to be in prayer for this person. It was all handled very well. I just want you to know that we were really impressed with your congregation.”

     Inside, I was saying, “Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus!” Friends, thank you for being a church that welcomes people even though things might not go as planned on Sunday morning. Thank you for being a church of hospitality. And thank you for being a congregation that doesn’t want to just keep the love of Christ to yourself, but you also want to share it with others. Thank you for being that kind of congregation especially during one of our more challenging Sundays.

     Christmas is a “Gotta Have It” kind of love. It’s a love that led God to send us his only Son to free us from our sins and offer us the wonderful gifts of hope, peace, joy, and love.

     And when we share these gifts with others, it keeps Christmas real.

  

2013 Christmas Eve (& "Eve Eve") Candlelight Worship Schedule

Monday, December 23 - (7:30 pm)

Tuesday, December 24 - (5:30 pm, 8:00 pm, & 11:00 pm)

Sermon - "Keeping It Real"

Features - Candlelight Services

Scripture - Isaiah 9:2-7; Titus 2:11-14: & Luke 2:1-20

Theme - During the month of December, we have been focusing on what it means to keep Christmas real this year. It includes the gifts of hope, peace, joy, and love. When we receive these gifts and share them with others, we experience a Christmas that is more real than we had ever imagined!

A Child's Welcome to First United Methodist Church

One of our children's Sunday School classes made cards to give to people who visit our church for the first time. They were asked to write something positive about our church. All of the cards were great but this one really got my attention. Evidently, the child who wrote this really thinks we have an awesome Fellowship Time in between our two worship services.

Do you want to know what makes your church special? Just ask a child!

Sunday Worship Preview - December 22

Sunday, December 22 - (9:00 & 10:30 Services); [Please Note: We will not have the Wednesday, December 25 Gathering Worship]  (6:30 pm Casual Service @ Crossroads, 2095 Fair Avenue)

Sermon - "Love…Gotta Have It!"

Features - 4th Sunday of Advent

Scripture - Romans 1:1-7 & Matthew 1:18-25

Theme - As we focus on love, it's important to recognize the different forms of love. God through Christ has loved and accepted humanity and assured us with life that does not end.

Dave's Deep Thoughts - Beyond Heated Rivalries

Here's Pastor Dave McDowell's weekly devotional that he sends out to members of his church. Dave is my brother and serves as the Music Minister at Stewartstown UMC in PA.

It's easy to  love the pumpkin pie,

but what about the sauerkraut?

She was to be the newest member of the family.

She met my nephew while he was on the west coast.

After a year, they were engaged,

and the family was going to meet her at Thanksgiving a couple of years ago.

I had seen photos....

very attractive.

From brief conversations on the phone....

very personable.

Her accomplishments in post grad school,

obviously very intelligent.

My nephew had chosen well,

except for one tiny thing.

She had graduated from THAT school,

you now which school I mean....

the school from the other side of the city,

our arch rivals.

I immediately had a choice.....

either play nice at the Thanksgiving table

or engage in an all out food fight for the honor of my alma matre.

I chose the higher road,

very unusual for me, especially when the subject was football.

Now I was on precarious ground.

My school's football team had recently been sanctioned with penalties.

It was all over the news.

She she had motive, had ammunition, and now she had opportunity.

When we gathered, everyone was delighted with her.

Our nephew was beaming.

I think it was at the passing of the gravy that the first shot was fired.

"So, didn't you go to the school where the football players cheat?"

Bullet #1   lodged somewhere between my eyes.

"Uh yeah, there was one small issue," I muttered quickly.

Diverting attention I asked for the green bean casserole.

If you are going to divert, green bean casserole isn't a bad way to go.

Things quieted down......

that is until the dinners rolls came by.

"Doesn't that affect the integrity of the entire school?

She had just fired shot #2

just as the roll was headed for my mouth.

"Uh, not really" I stammered

as I asked for more jam.

Things seemed to calm down

as we entered the second servings of our gluttony.

Conversations shifted to less volatile subjects like

capital punishment, abortion, and politics.

I should have known she would fire the fatal shot at the passing of the cranberry sauce.....

after all, it's our school colors.

"So, how does that make you feel about your education?"

So much for playing nice.

With one swallow of my mashed potatoes,

I stood up, ripped off my shirt

to reveal my school t-shirt.

"We've beaten you nine out of the last ten years!" I retorted.

Silence enveloped the table like a fog rolling in off a New England shoreline.

All eyes were on us.

School pride, family honor, and likely, the fate of our country

were on the line in that pivotal moment.

With that,

she took another bite of turkey, looked at me and winked.

I sat down. took a drink of water,

and winked back.

Welcome to the family.

Families certainly don't agree on everthing.....

Conservative or Liberal,

Catholic, Protestant, or Non-Denominatinal

This team or That team......

Likemindedness is not a family pre-requisite.

It isn't true of biological families,

and it isn't true of faith falilies.

The early history of the church

included incident after incident of doctrinal disagreements........

Should a Christian eat meat that was sacrificed to idols?

Does a Christian need to be circumcised or keep the religious ceremonies of the Torah?

What was the role of women to be in the life of the church?

to name a few

Likemindedness had never been a family pre-requisite.

But love is.

Where love flourishes,

families flourish.

Rick Warren, in his book "The Purpose Driven Life"

details nine characteristics of loving faith families.

Authenticity  I John 1:7-8

Mutuality     I Cor 12:25

Sympathy  Gal. 6:2

Mercy   Col 3:13

Honesty   Eph 4:15

Humility  1 Peter 5:5

Courtesy  Romans 12:10

Confidentiality  Proverbs 6

Frequency of Gathering  Heb 10:25

Families that love each other work at developing these qualities.

Whether it is something as trivial as rooting for different sports teams

or something far more serious

such as disagreements on societal issues,

one thing is clear:

We are to love one another,

and that takes courage, patience, and determination.

Paul made it clear in I Cor 13,

 without love we are nothing but a noisy gong.

Peter expressed  it in 1 Peter 4,

love covers a multitude of sins.

And Jesus showed love to the extreme throughout the gospels,

love your enemies, as well as those with whom you agree.

Families, whether biological, faith related, or otherwise,

will always be measured by one thing,

how they love one another.

As we move from Thanksgiving towards Christmas,

may I suggest that deepening our ability to love one another

be the first and foremost gift on our list.

Who knows what will happen?

You might just get to the pumpkin pie without any shots fired.

Walk in love, just as Christ also loved you.

                                                 Ephesians 5:2