For those not familiar with an Anglican Service there are four Scriptures readings proceeding the Message. Today's assigned readings are: Isaiah 9:2-7; Psalm 96; Titus 2:11-14 and Luke 2:1-20.
A little boy wanted a watch so very badly ....for Christmas.
Each day,...... he would ask about his watch...."Dad can I please have a watch?
Mom I really need a watch", .....Every time he opened his mouth .....he was asking again .....or talking about ....a watch ...for Christmas.
Finally the father told the boy ..... if he mentioned ...."Watch" ....one more time, ....he wouldn't get one.
Now....Every night before supper,..... one member of the family ....repeated a Bible verse ....before asking the blessing.
The boy was eager to share the verse he had memorized that day,.... so just before they prayed, .....he recited Mark 13:37...."And what I say unto you,.... I say unto all....Watch." (REPEAT - Mark 13:37)
Advent is a time .....of watching .... A time ....of preparation.... a time ....of anticipation ...leading to this night...to the coming .....of our Lord.
And tonight there is a buzz in the air....... Can you hear it? ..........Maybe..... you can feel it.
As the song states, ......." In the air ....there's a feeling ....of Christmas."
It permeates... everything tonight...... Everything.
This is the time of year .....when nostalgia runs deep, .....and nobody dares act the Scrooge.
Christmas Eve ... is indeed .... a very special time.
Beloved..... Christmas Eve .... is the time ......"When the membrane between heaven and earth is so thin ..... you can almost .....see through it.
Tonight is the night .... we measure all time.... against." (Pause)
The Sanctuary,.... so beautifully decorated for the season, ....has become..... a waiting room.
We find ourselves ....pacing the floor in anticipation....until we receive the news .... The Christ has come.
That is where we are .... this night.
And that waiting, .....in itself, .....comes in many ....different forms.
Truth be told,.... There has not been a Christmas..... not even the first one.... that went off exactly... as everyone .... had planned.
But that does not .... that cannot ..... deny the heart of the story; .....namely, ... that on this one night, ....God chose to come .... in human flesh.
Heaven came down .... and glory.... filled the air. (Pause)
The renowned theologian,..... Karl Barth, .....was asked to be a guest lecturer .....at the University of Chicago Divinity School.
At the end of a captivating closing lecture, ...... .....the president of the seminary .....announced that Dr. Barth .... was not well ....and was quite tired.
Although.... he was sure that Dr. Barth would like to be open ......for questions, .....he shouldn't be expected .....to handle the strain.
He went on to say,.... "Therefore, .....I will ask just one question .....on behalf of..... all of us."
He turned to the renowned theologian .... and asked:
"Of all the theological insights you have ever had, ..... which do you consider ....to be the greatest..... of them all?
It was the perfect question .... for a man who had written literally..... tens of thousands of pages .....of some of the most sophisticated theology .....ever put into print.
The students held their pencils and pens tightly against their writing pads, ....ready to take down verbatim .... the premier insight .... of this great ....theologian.
Karl Barth ....closed his tired eyes, ....and he thought for a moment, ....and then he half smiled, ..... opened his eyes,...... and said to those young Seminarians:
"The greatest theological insight..... that I have ever had is this: ............ "Jesus loves me, ....this I know, ....for the Bible.... tells me so."
Beloved, ....I submit to you ....that the Gospel of Jesus Christ ..... is the greatest love story .... ever written!
I wish with all my heart .... that all.....would read the Gospel ....in that light.
I wish with all my heart ... that everyone would know ....and experience the unending love .....of our Lord and Savior.
"Jesus loves me, ....this I know,.... for the Bible.... tells me so."
The Birth of Christ .... Christmas ..... is the classic love story.
And .....As in all relationships of love, .....there must be that first meeting.... There must be.... that first encounter.
When I was a child, ....I remember asking.... "What if I ...had been born ....to another set of parents?
What would my life ....have been like?
Well ....if I had....I would never have known the love of the parents ....that God gave me.
I would never have known the joys .....and the frustrations ......of being ....the older brother.
Occasionally.... I find myself ....asking those curious ..."What if ".....questions.
"What if ......I had gone to another college? ......What if .....I had moved out of state?
If I had...Lee and I .... Our lives .... might have never crossed paths... never to have had ....that first meeting.
And if not.... Lee and I .....might never have known .....this wonderful love .... we share together."
Beloved...., I submit to you, ....that Christmas is .....a crossing of paths...
Christmas ....is where we find the Christ of God .... intersecting .....with humanity.
Christmas ...is our first best meeting ....with the God .... who has desired us .... from the very beginning.
I submit to you ..... If not for Christmas ....we might never have known .....the intensity.... of the love .... that God has ....for each one of us. (Pause)
Mary and Joseph,.... far from home, .....a peasant mother .....giving birth.....
They laid him in the manger.... and they watched his little face, .... and they listened ....for his breathing, ..... just as every new parent does.
Christ was born into our world .... One who embodied this love ....that God has ....for us.
He Loves us....Not some of the time, .... Not when it is convenient, ..... but in every moment .... (Slow) of every .....single day.
It is the birth of that love.... into our world .... that we celebrate ....this night!
And this crossing of paths, .....this intersection of the divine and the human, .... took place in a remote,..... speck of a dust village .... called Bethlehem of Judea?
In that time .....and in that place ..... One would be born into our world .....that became.... the light.... of the world.
This is the night .... when God sent out a love letter ......of cosmic proportions.
This is the night .... when Christ entered the world fully God ......and fully man.
We find ....that those gathered in his name ....even us .... tonight.... fall within the embrace .....of that love. (Pick up Bible)
A love relationship ....that is so powerful and so deep ....that the Scriptures promise:
BIBLE "That neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." END Romans 8:38-39 (Pause)
He is Emanuel "God with us" (Matthew 1:23) and if you yield to him ...He will embrace you ...with his peace and Love. (Pause)
Tornado sirens .....had gone off at Alpine Elementary .....and the children .....were sent to the basement .....for safety
The children huddled together .....in fear.
The teachers also .....were worried.
To help ease the tension, .....the principal suggested a sing-along.
But the voices were weak ....and unenthusiastic.
Child after child began to cry .....and no one could calm them.
Then a teacher,..... whose faith seemed equal to any emergency, ....whispered to the child closest to her,..... "Aren't you forgetting something Kathie?
There is a power ...greater than the storm .....that will protect us.
Just say to yourself, .....'God is with us.' ......Then pass the words on ....to the child ....next to you."
As the words were whispered from child to child, .....a sense of peace ......settled over ....the children.
You could still hear the wind blowing .....with the same ferocity ..... but it did not seem to matter now.
(Point at Chest) Inside, ....the fear had subsided ... God's peace had come....and tears ....faded away.
Beloved.... Do you have that peace in your life?
Or.....Does it seem like.... life's answers are just out of reach, .... just over.... the next hill.
Let me share with you today.... this truth, (Slow) you can find peace... true peace......in Christ Jesus.
Jesus came into our world, ......and he has brought a Peace ....that the world ....cannot give.
A peace that passes all .....understanding.
A peace given to you ....by Emanuel.....Christ himself.
Remember our Lords words: BIBLE "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." John 14:27 END
Jesus promises ....that if you will trust Him, ....accept him as both your Savior ....and the Lord of your life......
He will give you peace.... A peace that the world cannot give. (Pause)
And the angels.... declared it on that Christmas Day ......"Glory to God in the highest, peace on earth, good will toward men..." Luke 2:14
I would like close .....by telling you a story about a nativity pageant...... that much like life itself, ......did not go...... quite as planned...
The Church youth group ....was performing the manger scene.
Joseph.....Mary ..... and all the other characters .... were ready ......and in their places.
They did their parts .....with seriousness and commitment, ..... looking as pious ....as they possibly could.
And then it came time ...for the shepherds.... to enter.
Dressed in flannel bathrobes and toweled head gear, .....
The shepherds proceeded to the altar steps .....where Mary and Joseph.... looked earnestly at the straw.
Which contained a single naked light bulb .....that played the part of .....the glowing ...newborn Jesus.
With his back to the congregation,.... one of the shepherds ...said to the little boy ....playing Joseph,
In a very loud whisper ....for all the cast to hear,
"Well, Joe, ...when you gonna pass out the cigars?"
The solemn spell... of the occasion was not simply broken by his remark,...... it exploded.
Mary and Joseph's cover .....was completely destroyed..... and it became impossible .....to hold back ....the bursts of laughter.
The chief angel, ....standing on a chair behind them shook so hard in laughter .....
That she fell off her chair .....and took the curtain back drop and all the rest of the props down .....with her.
She kept rolling around on the floor ... holding her stomach .....because she was laughing..... so hard.
The whole set was in shambles.
Amazingly.... The only thing that did not go to pieces .... was that light bulb ......in the manger... (Slow) .....it never stopped shining.
My dear friends in Christ, .....that baby in the manger .....is the light of our world, ....even when our world .....is in shambles...
For in that baby ....the Divine ...and the human ....cross paths.
Jesus ....is our living, breathing sign .....of the immeasurable love .....that He has .....for each one of us.
Beloved.....Jesus loves me ...this I know....(Pick up the Sciptures).....for the Bible tells me so.
Christmas.... is the living promise ....that we are never ever alone.
No matter where we are in life, ....No matter ....what condition we find ourselves,
No matter how far .....we might stray, .....or how unfaithful we are,.... God in all his love, .....will continue to pur-sue!
(Slow) Beloved .... It is a love .... It is a love ....and a Peace.....that never.....stops shining.
"For unto us ....is born this day ....in the city of David ...a Savior,..who is .....Christ, the Lord." (Luke 2:11)
Amen and Amen!
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