-
From 'bah! Humbug! To "God Bless Everyone'
Contributed by Gordon Pike on Nov 29, 2020 (message contributor)
-
1. And The Blind Shall See
Contributed on Nov 29, 2020
“A Christmas Carol” is a beautiful story for the Advent season because it is a tale in which the past, the present, and the future all come together in one transformative night
Bah! Humbug! These words … and the person who spoke them are so iconoclastic … so famous and well-known … I’ll bet that every one of you can tell me who said them. [Pause.] That’s right … Ebenezer Scrooge from Charles Dickens’ famous and beloved story “A Christmas Carol.” Dicken’s “A ...read more
-
2. A Chance And A Hope
Contributed on Dec 6, 2020
Hell is real. Hell is bad. Hell is eternal. But Hell is avoidable. The good news is that through Christ our sins have been paid for. In Christ there is hope.
How many of you believe in Heaven? [Pause.] Dumb question? Well, bear with me. How many of you believe in Hell? [Pause.] How many of you believe that Hell is a real place and not just some concept or metaphor? [Pause.] You would think that the concept or belief in a real Heaven and a ...read more
-
3. Thanks For The Memories
Contributed on Dec 15, 2020
Without God’s Light, without the promise of God’s love, Scrooge was doomed … and so are we! It is God’s love and judgment that are bringing Scrooge into the light so that he can repent and get on track to a better life … the life that God intended for him and not the one that he made for himself.
Ah … remember good Ol’ Jacob Marley from last week? How he appeared in his pigtails, usual waist-coat, tights, and boots? He also sported a huge chain “clasped about his middle … and wound about him like a tail … made of cash-boxes, keys, padlocks, ledgers, deeds, and heavy purses wrought in ...read more
-
4. No Time Like The Present
Contributed on Dec 20, 2020
Every time we hear the story of God’s gift of the Christ child we should should always treasure this in our hearts and ponder the mystery of God being with us in the flesh every day. Maybe then Tiny Tim’s precious prayer will ring true: “God bless us every one,”
As far back as I can remember, I’ve known about Jesus. Everyone one of us here probably grew up hearing about Jesus, am I right? We heard about Him in church, in Sunday School. We listened to sermons about Him. We read about Him in the Bible when we got older. But here’s the thing … even if ...read more
-
5. Empty Graves And Second Chances
Contributed on Dec 27, 2020
Jesus can to show the way to the Father and He changed our future on the cross. Honor Christmas in our hearts. Try to keep it all year. Let the Spirt of God abide in our hearts and strive to do its work within you.
When we think of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” we automatically think of the three ghosts. What were their names, again? [Pause.] Actually, there were four ghosts, not three. The first ghost to appear was the ghost of Scrooge’s former business partner, Jacob Marley. Weighed down by ...read more