Carols: Hark the Herald Angels Sing, 12/20/15

Sermon 12-20-15 carols Hark the Herald angels sing- Luke 2:8-15

⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” ¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven,  and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”  ¹⁵ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

"Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" 

The original hymn was composed as a "Hymn for Christmas-Day" by Charles Wesley, included in the 1739 John Wesley collection Hymns and Sacred Poems.^[4] The music which we adore and sense as holy today was secular at the time.  The song was originally sung to the tune of 'Christ the Lord is Risen Today'. In 1840, Felix Mendelssohn composed a cantata called 'Festgesang' (Festival Song) to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Johannes Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press

'Hark! The Herald Angels Sing' tells the story of the angel that appeared in the sky to announce Christ's birth, and shortly thereafter was joined by a huge amount of other angels singing out praises: "And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of heavenly host praising God, and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will to men'" (Luke 2:13-14).

One of my favorite moments with this hymn comes from
It's a Charlie Brown Christmas.....
Snow is falling..."Christmas time, is here, happiness and cheer, yuletide by the fireside...

Charlie Brown: I think there must be something wrong with me, Linus. Christmas is coming, but I'm not happy. I don't feel the way I'm supposed to feel.
I just don't understand Christmas, I guess. I like getting presents and sending Christmas cards and decorating trees and all that, but I'm still not happy. I always end up feeling depressed.

Linus Van Pelt: Charlie Brown, you're the only person I know who can take a wonderful season like Christmas and turn it into a problem. Maybe Lucy's right. Of all the Charlie Brown's in the world, you're the Charlie Browniest.

A number of insults... find them
He thanks Violet for a Christmas card that she did not send

Psychiatric help needed...
Do you think you have pantophobia?
Lucy Van Pelt: The fear of everything.
Charlie Brown: THAT'S IT!

Charlie Brown is going to direct our Christmas play
Lucy Van Pelt:Here he comes! Attention, everyone, here's our director. [Charlie Brown enters, while everyone applauds]
Charlie Brown: [sarcastically] Man's best friend.

There are questions about the meaning of Christmas

Charlie Brown goes out to find a tree...
Do something right charlie Brown...
Linus Van Pelt: [after Linus and Charlie Brown discover the little tree] Gee, do they still make wooden Christmas trees?
Charlie Brown: This little green one here seems to need a home.

[Charlie Brown and Linus return with the puny little tree]
Violet: Boy, are you stupid, Charlie Brown.
Patty: You were suppose to get a good tree. Can't you even tell a good tree from a poor tree?
Violet: I told you he'd goof it up. He isn't the kind you can depend on to do anything right.
Patty: You're hopeless, charlie Brown.
Frieda: Completely hopeless.
Lucy Van Pelt: You've been dumb before, Charlie Brown, but this time, you really did it.
[pause; then everyone burst out laughing]
Lucy Van Pelt: [laughing] What a tree!

My daughter chimes in at this point and indicates that I am like Charlie brown….NERD

Charlie Brown: I guess you were right, Linus. I shouldn't have picked this little tree. Everything I do turns into a disaster. I guess I really don't know what Christmas is all about?[shouting in desperation]
Charlie Brown: Isn't there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?
Linus Van Pelt: Sure, Charlie Brown, I can tell you what Christmas is all about?
Linus tells the story... "And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping over their flock by night.
Linus Van Pelt: That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown..

Then Charlie Brown, fresh with Christmas spirit, heads out to decorate his little tree

Charlie Brown: I've killed it. Of! Everything I touch gets ruined.

the kids come out, they fix up his tree...
Everyone: Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown!
Kids sing, Hark the Herald Angels Sing....

and so Christmas comes, even for Charlie Brown

In the biblical Christmas story the Charlie Brown's are the shepherds.

low social standing

regarded as untrustworthy outcasts

Shepherds were men whose vocation had become despised

men who were not regarded as members of the synagogues because their work kept them busy in the fields - blue laws [remember them??]

It's not the kind of job you dream about when you're a kid!

and to th0se people God makes an announcement-THOSE PEOPLE

What God is doing is upside down, backwards, brilliant, comforting
God comes to the least of these.
To the losers, the pathetic, depraved, spiritual zeros.

Those at the end of their rope, the bankrupt, the empty, the lepers, the lame of the world

In almost every church or religious group there are people that think that if we are going to be really good God people, we should not hang around with THOSE PEOPLE. But we should hang around with those who look like us...

not the...the unpopular, unbeautiful, immoral, odd ducks
not the...illegal immigrants

How many of you were cheerleaders, popular in high school? I was not- I was Charlie brown...are you sure that you want to hang around me?

Our brains think - God does not bless people like this
God blesses those who work hard and keep their noses clean.
God blesses those who can earn it.
and when our brains think that way...it is too easy to be full of ourselves. We become the Pharisees.

This is how religion functions...what good thing must I do to be worthy of God's blessing?

But spirituality is different than religion

Think about who gathers with Jesus later in his ministry?

Prostitutes and tax collectors and sinners. People that did not fit in, the sick, the poor, the lame.
So much so that he is accused of...hanging with the undesirables
Luke 7:3 John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He hath the devil. The son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners!

How about the story of the banquet from Luke 14:15-23
Man throws a feast. Invites his friends
They all have excuses...bought a cow, got married
21The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.' 22Sir, the servant said, what you ordered has been done, but there is still room. 23Then the master told his servant, Go out tothe roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full.

the cool people back out….Who ends up attending? Those who most of us would never invite to a great banquet.

Imagine the Hilton Garden Banquet Room filled with the homeless, the poor, the sick, those who have nothing. and they are feasting, they are dancing.

And God is throwing the party.

sometimes a group might throw a spaghetti dinner to raise money, what if we raised the money for the ministry and let the homeless come to eat. they would never forget it.

But this is what God says in the announcement to the shepherds:
You are blessed for no reason of your own deserving.
You are blessed because I have something to say, and what I want to say is that I love the little people.
Those who need me.
Those who have no other hope in this world then to put their trust in me.
I will entrust them with the message of love and they will spread it.

There is no test of their righteousness.

No proof that they are good God followers
That angels show up and God makes a statement to the world - an announcement
he is drawing a very wide circle

Peace on earth good will to men on whom my favor rests
On whom my favor rests
Those who did not think they were something
Those who are not full of themselves
Those who are not so busy running all over, keeping up with the Jones's
Those who are open, and have time, and maybe that is all that they have
Those who are ripe for the message

Wesleyan revival took place among the least of these

There is something about the message of God's grace that just rushes out to the poor in spirit..

Everyone in this section who has done the unthinkable. God is with you.
Everyone in this section who has really goofed up their like, God is with you.

God is on the side of everyone who there is no reason that God should be on their side.
This is counter intuitive
No wonder they call it good news.

Now maybe you are sitting here and you drive a great car, own a great home, and have never messed up your life..   you might be thinking, is the kingdom not for me?  I am not saying that…. Even with a great car, and a great house, the kingdom is for you the moment that you recognize that you need a savior, and that joy is found not in houses or cars, but in the savior

I have an idea---for Christmas
Find the weakest person in your world, the one that no one wants to hang with and buy their lunch. Give them a gift card to Panera. Ask how they are doing. If you are in high school, go sit at their lunch table.

reach into your world and make an announcement.

So lets end this sermon
If this announcement happened today, where would it take place
Not Lee's Summit, not WCC, probably under a bridge somewhere

but we are sill the partakers when we come to understand that we can't earn it. We can't deserve it. It is a gift to the lowly of heart.
good news. God loves you.

And to those who are particularly broken inside
If you are there and you are tired of pretending...
you may have a nice house and a nice car,
but inside you relate to the shepherds, the broken, the sick, the fed up
Peace on earth. God is with you. God's favor rests on you. Good news to you.

Lets Pray- God help us to see your blessing.
Deliver us from the religion that makes us think we can earn it. Let us rejoice in your announcement. Let us rejoice in your love

Inquiring Minds - Questions about life after death Romans 8:35-39 04/14/2013

Sermon series – inquiring minds.  Questions about life death and everything in between part 2g

Romans 8:35-39  ³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶ As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;
                   we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”^{[j] psalm 44:22}

³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,^[k] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

From a child……..Angels

Children have a right to ask questions.  We should engage them.

But remember that they usually don’t want paragraphs.

Don’t take them to seminary, answer their questions and let them play.

Children will take cues from you on how to act in times of pain…..

From a 7 year old……

How big are angels?   Can you see angels?
Can spirits fly?   Can you see them?
Can you feel them? Can they be bad?
Can demons be scared away by the spirits?
How are demons bad?   Can we turn them good?

I am concerned for our society that our kids ask questions about demons.

When I was a child we did not ask such questions.

These thoughts have been introduced to the world by dungeons and dragons, harry potter, etc.

I want to encourage you to create a world where your children know they are loved.  Where Gods love is bigger than all of the scary things.

What is the meaning of the pictures in the stain glass windows?
Adam and Eve in the Garden - Genesis 1,2
Noah and the flood - Genesis 6
Abraham and Issac - Genesis 22
Moses before the pharaoh - Exodus 5
Rahab and the prostitute - Joshua 2
Elijah ascends to Heaven in the chariot of fire – 2 kings 2

Birth of Jesus - Luke 2
Jesus presented in the temple - Luke 2
Jesus teaching the the temple - Luke 2
Baptism of Jesus - Luke 3
Jesus-sermons on the mount - Matthew 5,6,7
Jesus on the cross - Matthew 27
Jesus resurrected-ascending - Matthew 28

Holy Spirit-the day of the Pentecost - Acts 2

What about Anointing w oil in Methodist church

Practice reserved for two situations

Old testament kings are anointed……Saul and David anointed by Samuel

New Testament to anoint the sick

I have anointed people who were sick- usually at their request. 

I have never have anointed a king.

if someone commits suicide do they go to hell?

Suicide is the most painful thing.  If you are considering it, let me reach into you.

Permanent solution to a temporary problem

The most painful moments I have ever witnessed in life were helping families after a suicide.

Do they go to hell?  Nothing in scripture would indicate this.

If you are considering this, please get help.  Please reconsider.

Is there an unforgiveable sin

Jesus mentions this in mt 12, but he is talking to the Pharisees.

Sometimes we take things in the bible that were meant for the moment and try to make them universal.

·        Women should not speak in church.

·        Slaves obey your masters.

Jesus is talking to people that have witnessed his miracles.  They have attributed them to Satan.  Long as they are stuck there, they are probably in trouble.

Hell is a place that God has created for those who willfully reject him.

The mystics say that God did this in his love.  Allows a place for them to go.

If you are worried about the unpardonable sin, your worry in and of itself is sure proof that the spirit is alive and well in your heart.

1 John 1:9 (NIV) ⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Sibling Rivalry

How come my brother and I fight so much?  We try not too.  Like when mom just comes home from work then we tattle tell on each other. then she gets mad at us and I dont like it.  We dont fight when we play outside. We drive our mom crazy when we do this. Even when my brother pesters me and i try to ignore him we still start fighting then everybody gets in a bad mood.  How come we have to fight each other.

I love my brother too, but the fighting makes me and my mom sad. or if I am fighting it makes Isaac and my mom sad or grumpy.

We are upset by things that we let bother us.

If they make fun of us because we have green hair, we are not bothered.

“Rivalry” is natural.  It is about getting attention.  Feeling loved. 

Cain and Abel.  Jacob and Esau.  James and John (Mark 10:37).

As we grow older, we find our connections.  We are not striving to be recognized.  Rivalries move to that of someone in the office that gets the attention or the promotion.

The greatest rivals can become the greatest allies. (Britain and America)

Methodist Connections

I don't necessarily detect the presence of a UMW or UMM. Women's Ministries is not the same as UMW. Since the Discipline is pretty firm in stating that these organizations should exist, why don't they?

The discipline is less firm than it used to be.   Many shalls are now mays and we have an over riding paragraph that indicates that churches can organize in what ever way they find efficient for effective ministry.

So while we don’t have a formalized and institutionalized expression of UMW or UMM, we do uphold their mission.  To bring together men and women respectively for prayer, fellowship and service.

Not only do we achieve these aims, we do so through a permission-giving model that deemphasizes rules about committee make-up and structure while promoting and enhancing opportunities to connect people to Jesus and transform the world.

I haven't seen the complete list of missions that Woods Chapel participates in, but I haven't heard mention of Della Lamb or Spofford which are "owned" by the UMC. a. does Woods Chapel support those missions? b. if not, why?

          I don’t think that Della Lamb or spofford are owned, I believe they are in an affiliate relationship with the UMC.  Some years ago, ministries like this were removed from the must give, to may give categories.

          mission were decentralized, giving local churches the power to support agencies           and organizations they are passionate about that align with their mission/gifts/unique callings.

We are heavily involved with spofford.  I don’t know that we are involved with della lamb. The way we get involved in ministries is a three step process.  A person must be able to demonstrate

Does the thing fit the mission

Who will do it?  Do I have a team that is interested?

How will it be funded?

There are many other ways that we are connected to the district and conference

Missions

Missions bld

Trailer in Joplin

Use of building

Pastors luncheon

Open welcome to our district and conf friends.

Can you be a good Christian if you don't take the Old Testament stories literally?
What is a good Christian? Loves God, loves neighbor, gives self away in the name of Jesus.
He answered: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind," and, "Love your neighbor as yourself." Lk 10:27
Can you be a good Christian? Sure, if you want to be.

You can be a bad Christian and believe every Old Testament story too. We need to draw fewer lines of separation and more circles that take people in.

What about cremation?
So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 1Cor 15:42-44

Ecclesiastes 3:20  (NIV)

²⁰ All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return.

Tithing, before or after taxes?
10% gross or net. Dave Ramsey says adjusted gross income.

Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there many be food in my house. Test me in this, says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of Heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it..Mal 3:10

How do we teach our children to stand against Atheism?
How do we combat atheism that is all around us? Idolatry?

You don't stand against something, you stand for something
You teach by word and deed

Set the example
Be ready to give answer

1Peter 3:15 But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.

Having spent Easter with my sister who is probably agnostic at best, what's the best reply for someone who is looking for ways to connect to God but hasn't found that way yet? She reads all sorts of "spiritual" books, but finds the Bible stories from when she was growing up as myths only - good for kids and teaching morality, but beyond that... I doubt she'd read the Bible. she thinks that as long as she's a good person, belief in God and Jesus are unnecesary. What would you tell her?

I would tell her that God is love. 1 jn 4

Most of these folks don’t believe in the god of the church, the jesus of the church.

The church has been so heavy, it has created many of these folks by its heavy handed ways

If they could ever get a picture of the amazing loving creator God, they might be more willing to listen.

You can show them.

I would like to know some suggestions on how you can "bring someone's faith back" after they have strayed.

Find some books, not heavy  books that they might read that would help them move along.

When you talk to them, don’t hurt them.

Let them see the love and joy of your life.

What are two more of your favorite scriptures?

My second question is, How does one love himself?   All throughout the bible we are taught this very important 2nd commandment from Jesus.  To love others as we love ourselves.  The Bible gives us all kinds of stories and ways to love others.  I know how to love my wife, son, daughter-in-law, family and friends.  However, no one has ever taught me how to love myself!

Prodigal son – radical forgiveness.

          Jesus was not known for running with former sinners

Romans 8

There is a difference between loving yourself and how you feel about yourself.

I am very grateful for my life.  I love the gift of life.  The chance that I have to do these things.

Sometimes I feel funny about myself.  Low self esteem.

I want to separate these two things out.

The healthiest love for God and others does not come from a broken, crushed, terrible outlook about myself.  The healthiest love for God and others comes from a sense that I am valued by God.

The little voice in the back of my head does not want to give up

But we need the voice of God to get louder.

God made me and God doesn’t make junk.

Nothing can separate me from God’s love.

 ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,^[k] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Angels 12-15-02

Angels are clean. Angels are beautiful. They seem almost otherworldly, since girl angels always seem to know their parts better than do boy shepherds. The angelic satin stuff goes pretty well in most Christmas pageants. The problems come with the burlap part. Do you know what real-life shepherds were like? Townspeople looked down on them. "Herdsmen!" they'd huff derisively. Shepherds would work with sheep all day, sleep outside with the animals at night and then come into town dirty, sweaty and smelly. Like boys. Tradesmen in the marketplace would be polite enough. Shopkeepers would wait on them, but everybody was happy when they moved along. Burlap fits the part. It really does.Angels get clouds and the Hallelujah Chorus for props. Shepherds get a stable. Maybe cattle lowing has a bit of romance. But conjure up the smells and the filth. No stainless steel dairy palace this, but a crude barn, with good reason for straw on the floor. Not exactly the setting you'd choose for a birth if you had the luxury of planning ahead. ...Angels seem appropriate to the birth of God's son. But straw and sweat and burlap do not. Why, I ask, would the Son of God Most High enter life amidst the rubble of human existence, at the lowest rung of society, in obscurity and at the stable-edge of rejection even before he is born?And as hard as I think about it, I come back to one truth. God wanted to make it explicitly clear that He came to save each of us. He comes to the slimy, dark corners of our existence, the desperateness, the loneliness, the rejection, the pain. He comes to unswept barns and cold nights of despair. He comes because he understands them. He knows them intimately and came for the very purpose of delivering us from those raw stables to real Life.