Pilgrim Reformed Church

Pilgrim Reformed Church

Sunday, December 26, 2010

THIS PASTOR’S VIEWPOINT
John H. Bigelow
For the week of December 26, 2010

Both our son John and daughter Leslie were athletic competitors in high school. Leslie was in track as both a runner and hurdler and John was a hard hitting tennis player. They both learned the need, not only for endurance but also for staying focused. You can’t look around when you’re running down the track and it goes without saying you don’t take your eyes off a tennis ball in play.

Endurance is something that is gained through constant effort and willful determination. You don’t just get up one morning and announce you’re going to run 25 miles. It takes a lot of dedicated practice and building up of both body and mind to acquire the necessary endurance to “stay the course."

The writer of Hebrews really caught my attention in Chapter 12:1b-2a(NLT) with these words, “… let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish.” I can understand exactly what the author is saying and in looking at the history of God’s people it needs to be said.

This year, as I’ve have read through the entire Bible, I’ve saw, time after time, what happened when his people took their eyes off the Lord and focused, for however briefly, upon an idol. They stumbled and fell, missed the ball completely, and often suffered much more than just loosing the game.

If, as Christians, we are determined to live our lives in and through Jesus, then it is imperative that we remain focused in that endeavor and practice, determinedly, the values of Christian living that Christ demonstrated for us.

I can think of no more appropriate words with which to end this year and begin a new year of Christian service than “let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us…by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends.”



My Message for this week
Consider the Christ

Text: Luke 2:1-20

1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register. 4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. 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.” 16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. 21 On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.

They are not wealthy people, the man, some years older than the woman is a carpenter by trade and the woman, who is engaged to him, is really only a teenager…a young teen at that.

Today their faces can be seen on the evening news most any night or in a photograph on the cover of Time or Newsweek. For this journey Mary and Joseph are without a home or shelter, much like those refugees we are so accustomed to seeing in the news. It is winter, it is cold and Mary is due to give birth at any moment, but still they go for it was decreed.

They make their way to Bethlehem where they must register and find that the tiny inn is full, there is no room. Was it a cruel innkeeper who turned them away? No, it was a kindly innkeeper who offered them shelter in the stable.

So there, in a lowly stable, not much more than a cave under the inn Mary and Joseph found shelter, and there it was that God decided to reveal himself to all humankind. The question is, “If Jesus came to reveal God to us, then what do I learn about God from that first Christmas?
Four words come to mind for us to ponder. HUMBLE….. APPROACHABLE….
UNDERDOG …… and COURAGEOUS. Let’s look at them one at a time.

Before Jesus almost no pagan author used “humble” as a compliment, yet the events of Christmas point inescapably to what seems like an oxymoron: a humble God. The God who came to earth came not in a raging whirlwind nor in a devouring fire..

HUMBLE. Unimaginably the Maker of all things shrank down…down…down…so small as to become an ovum, a single fertilized egg barely visible to the naked eye, an egg that would divide and re-divide until a fetus took shape --- enlarging cell by cell inside a nervous teenager.

“Immensity cloistered in thy dear womb,” marveled the poet John Donne. “He made himself nothing, he humbled himself,” said the apostle Paul more prosaically. The God who showed up that first Christmas came in an unexpected glory, the glory of humility. “ ‘God is great,’ the cry of the Muslims, is a truth which needed a supernatural being to teach men,” writes Father Neville Figgis. “ That God is little, that is the truth which Jesus taught man.”

This is the God who emerged in Palestine as a baby who could not speak or eat solid food or control his bladder. It is a God who depended on a teenager for shelter, food, and love.

When Queen Elizabeth II visited this country some years ago the reporters delighted in spelling out the logistics involved: her 4000 pounds of luggage including two suits for every occasion … a mourning outfit in case someone died…40 pints of plasma….and white kid toilet seat covers.

She brought along her own hairdresser, two valets, and a host of other attendants. A brief visit of royalty to a foreign country can easily cost twenty million dollars…..

In meek contrast, God’s visit to earth took place in an animal shelter with no attendants present and nowhere to lay the newborn king but a feed trough.

APPROACHABLE. Those of us raised in a tradition of informal or private prayer may not appreciate the change that Jesus wrought in how human beings approach deity.

Hindus offer sacrifices at the temple. Kneeling Muslims bow down so low that their foreheads touch the ground. In most religious traditions, in fact, FEAR is the primary emotion when one approaches God.

But among the people who walled off a separate sanctum for God in the temple and shrank from pronouncing or spelling out the name, God made a surprise appearance in a manger. What can be less scary than a newborn with his limbs wrapped tight against his body? In Jesus, God found a way of relating to human beings that did not involve fear. To illustrate this the first people invited to visit Jesus were lowly shepherds from the fields. Our God is certainly approachable.

UNDERDOG. Such a crude word, probably derived from dog fighting and applied over time to predictable losers and victims of injustice. Yet as we read the birth stories about Jesus we cannot help but conclude that though the world may be tilted toward the rich and powerful, God is tilted toward the underdog.

Even the family’s mother-tongue summoned up memories of their underdog status: Jesus spoke Aramaic, a trade language closely related to Arabic, a stinging reminder of the Jews’ subjection to foreign countries. Since God arranged the circumstances in which to be born on planet earth – without power or wealth, without rights, without justice – his preferential options speak for themselves.

COURAGEOUS: It took courage to risk descent to a planet known for its clumsy violence, among a race known for rejecting its prophets. What more foolhardy thing could God have done? The first night in Bethlehem required courage as well. How did God the Father feel that night, helpless as any human father, watching his Son emerge smeared with blood to face a harsh, cold world?

Lines from two different Christmas carols come to mind. First, “The little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes,” seems to me a sanitized version of what took place in Bethlehem. I imagine Jesus cried like any other baby the night he entered the world, a world that would give him so much reason to cry as an adult.

The second, a line from “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” seems as profoundly true today as it did two thousand years ago: “The hopes and fears of all the years do rest on thee tonight.”

“Alone of all creeds, Christianity has added courage to the virtues of the Creator,” said G.K. Chesterton. The need for such courage began with Jesus’ first night on earth and did not end until his last.

Amen.

Peace and God’s blessings to you all from Pennsylvania.
Pastor John

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Worship and Happenings at Pilgrim this coming week
Sunday, Dec. 19th. @ 6:30 PM Childrens Christmas Program followed by Birthday Party for Jesus
Tuesday, Dec. 21st @ 7:00 PM Choir Practice
Friday, Dec. 24th @ 9:00 PM CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICE
Sunday, Dec. 26th ALL DAY >>> STUFF THE TRUCK <<<
Sunday, Dec. 26 @ 9:15 AM Sunday School Opening
Sunday, Dec. 26th @ 9:30 AM Sunday School
Sunday, Dec. 26, @ 10:30 Worship


BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK
Sunday, Dec. 19th ...Pat Jolly
Monday, Dec 20th ... Mackenzie Hughes
Tuesday, Dec. 21st ... Shelia Ward
Saturday, Dec. 25th ... Butch Everhart, Don Mize & Jesus Christ

THIS PASTOR’S VIEWPOINT
For the week of December 19, 2010

Have you been to the mall lately? Of course you have, you must have been because it looks like everybody has been there shopping. If I didn’t see you in the mall then it was definitely in one of the bigger department stores. Maybe I saw you in Sam’s Club, crowded in with the thousands of others, each of whom seemed to be trying to empty the shelves. Joy to the world was not in anyone’s thoughts, nor I suspect, was peace on earth, good will to men. It was all about getting what you wanted before someone else got the last one.

A couple of weeks ago, as I crossed the parking lot into Sam’s I watched a man headed for his car with two, yes, two shopping carts, each practically over-flowing with what had to have been gifts. He was pushing one and pulling the other and looked like a little choo-choo. I’m not sure, but I think it was his wife right behind him with another cart full.

I couldn’t even begin to guess how much he had spent in there and I still wonder what part of his total Christmas shopping was represented by that one stop at Sam’s. I also wonder how long those gifts will last; will all of those presents still be in service or even wanted this time next year? Will any?

What impact will those gifts have upon the recipients? Will they be returned and exchanged for something else? Will they even remember who gave it to them a few years down the road?
All these thoughts came to mind as I read 1Timothy 2:6 (NLT). Paul writes, “He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone.” Now there’s a gift that no one will ever match. God gave his Son, who inturn, gave his life that we might know the joy and freedom that comes through that gift alone.

Can we give a gift as precious and lasting as eternal life? Why then, do we try to out spend God? Indeed, is there anything that we can give that can even approach God’s gift?

Yes, we can tell others about the salvation gift. We can donate a Bible to a shelter or a nursing home. We can visit in the hospital and tell others of the wonderful gift of life that can be theirs for the asking. It doesn’t take a shopping cart to carry the most precious of all gifts; it takes only a caring heart.


SERMON

Nothing Is Impossible With God

Sermon Text: Luke 1:26 38

In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

In January of 2002, a hospital in London, England, mistakenly sent letters to over 30 unsuspecting patients informing them that they were pregnant. The hospital’s computer system, which normally is used to send form letters telling people that their operations have been postponed, was in the hands of a clerical worker who hit the wrong key.

And so, instead of informing patients about a rescheduled procedure, the computer sent identical form letters telling the recipients that they were “great with child.” Among the recipients of the letters were six elderly men.

Can you imagine the surprise of those six men? “Your doctor at Such-and-Such hospital is pleased to inform you that you are expecting a baby!” Quite a shock, to say the least. Some of the women were probably surprised as well. “How can it be?” some of them may have asked. “That’s not possible! I think I’m going to be sick!” There was possibly some high anxiety in the homes of some women patients who received this letter.

Don’t you think Mary, the mother of Jesus, experienced troubling thoughts when the angel of the Lord first appeared to her? Mary was a virgin engaged to be married. She had never been with a man even the man she was to wed.

But one day, an angel of the Lord appears to her and announces, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Having an angel appear to you is surprise enough, but his message is a stunner.

The Bible doesn’t tell us what Mary was doing when the angel appeared to her. She may have been deep in prayer at the time, but it’s doubtful. Women of that era didn’t have a lot of time to spend in spiritual contemplation. They were up at the crack of dawn baking bread and drawing water and cleaning the house and spinning yarn and mending clothes and grinding wheat and caring for children. Most likely, Mary was engaged in some boring domestic chore when the angel appeared to her.

The Lord chose to enter an ordinary life in an extraordinary way.
Luke records, “Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.’ ”(vs. 29-33, NIV).

It’s a story that never grows old. It thrills us every year with its simplicity and yet great beauty: “A virgin shall conceive . . .”

The impending birth of a child is a source of both joy and apprehension in most households. Will it be a boy or a girl? Will he or she be healthy? Who will the baby look like?

There are many superstitions and old wives’ tales that claim you can predict a child’s destiny by some physical characteristic at birth. According to a book of superstitions collected by Alvin Schwartz, here are a few indicators of your child’s destiny:

• If you have a bald-headed baby with big feet, it will get straight A’s.
• If it has a big mouth, it will be a good singer.
• If it has big ears, it will be generous.
• If it has curly hair, it will be lucky.
• If it is born on a Sunday or on New Year’s Day or during a full moon, or if it has a full set of teeth when it arrives, it also will be lucky.
• But if it has only one tooth, it will be a vampire.

Was the baby Jesus bald-headed, big-eared, or born on a Sunday? Who knows? Mary certainly wouldn’t need to use superstitions or old wives’ tales to tell what Jesus would be.

An angel told her before he was even born. “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.”

Author and Pastor Bruce Larson tells of how one mother’s prophecy shaped her child’s destiny. Don Morgan lost his mother when he was a small boy. Many years after her death, a family friend shared with Morgan the details of one of his mother’s last conversations.

The friend had asked, “Are you worried about Donny?” And the mother replied, “He’s going to be all right. He is going to serve God all the days of his life.”

Don Morgan was too young to really know his mother. No one had told him that this was her prediction for his life. How could she have known that he would become a pastor? Had God given her a special vision of his future? Morgan says he will never know the answer to that question on this side of heaven.

It is interesting to note that the angel refers to Jesus as “Son of the Most High.” There are many names for God in the Bible. There is El Olam, the God of Eternity. El Shaddai, God the Provider. Yahweh Shalom, the Lord is peace. But the angel identified Jesus, the coming Messiah, as the Son of El Elyon, the Most High God. This is a name of greatest power and glory.

It is almost as if the angel is saying to Mary, “The God of Anything-Is-Possible is speaking to you!” And the angel reinforces this message when he reminds her that her cousin Elizabeth, who was infertile and well past childbearing age, is also with child by God’s power. The conclusion to the angel’s message is: “For nothing is impossible with God.”

When you hear those words, how do you respond? Most of us nod our heads and smile. But do we really believe it?

Some of us, perhaps, have family members who are not believers. We have been praying that they will come to know God. But do we really believe that will happen? Hear the word of the Lord: “For nothing is impossible with God.”

Some of us may have loved ones who are trapped in addictions. We no longer recognize them as the people we once cared about. We pray for their restoration, but we’d be surprised if they actually kicked the habit. “For nothing is impossible with God.”

Some of us have lost our way in life. We’re not sure what we want, but we know it is not what we’ve currently got. We yearn to believe that there is more to life than constantly running like a hamster on a wheel. But do we believe that God has the answers for our life? “For nothing is impossible with God.”

Mary’s greatest qualification for being chosen as the Mother of God’s Son was her faith in God. When the angel told her that nothing is impossible with God, Mary believed him. It’s that simple. In spite of her poverty, in spite of her humble station in life, in spite of the Jews’ current oppression by the Roman government, in spite of the fact that Mary was a virgin she still believed that God could do exactly what God said God would do.

God works through those people who have faith in God and respond when God calls. Nothing else about them matters.

Abraham was too old, Moses lacked eloquence, Joseph was the youngest kid and he had a prison record, Ruth was a working-class widow, Rahab was a prostitute, David was a simple shepherd, Simon Peter had a temper and every last one of them experienced a transformed life when they put their faith in God. God chose them because they believed in God and they responded when God called.

Someone once said that one sign of spiritual maturity is, “the quiet confidence that God is in control, without the need to understand why He does what He does.” Mary had that kind of faith. She believed in God’s promise and she accepted God’s plan.

Think about it. “God, I’ll do anything You ask me to do, only spare my wife and children.” Could he not trust his own family to God?

He began to realize that his lack of surrender was choking off his relationship with the Lord. Once he surrendered his life entirely to God, his joy and faith returned. David Wilkerson became a successful evangelist, the founder of Teen Challenge, and the author of the best-selling book The Cross and the Switchblade.

In this Christmas season, Mary gives us the perfect example of how to say “YES” to God. Just for a moment, Mary is given a glimpse of eternity. Salvation has come, not just for the rich and powerful, but for the poor and oppressed. Salvation has come, not just through an earthly kingdom, but through an eternal kingdom. Salvation has come, not just for the Jews, but for the whole world.

Just for a moment, Mary experiences God’s vision for the redemption of humankind. How does she respond? “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” There is no more perfect way to say “yes” to God’s plan. She saw the vision, she accepted the promise, and she was included in God’s plans. That could be the story of every person who seeks to follow Jesus.

Evangelist Alan Walker once told about a girl who had a rich and lovely voice. She was singing in the choir of a church in East London. Her fame spread until one Christmas she was invited to sing one of the lead parts in “Messiah” at the Queen’s Hall.

One of her closest friends went to this girl’s teacher, asking whether he thought her friend was equal to the task.

Here was her teacher’s response: “If she tries to remember what I have tried to teach her,” he said, “and merely tries consciously to follow the rules of correct breathing and voice production, she will break down. But if she can forget everything and think only of the wonder of the message she is singing, she will be all right.”

The night came. At last she stepped forward and began singing, “I know that my Redeemer liveth.”

The music flowed in great beauty from her lips. She forgot the audience and the occasion, and sang as one who knew the meaning of it all, sang in the strength of the living Christ whom she knew and who was in power within her own life.

As she sang, the audience was strangely moved. That night was one to be remembered. Why? Because she was not trying merely to follow directions or obey a set of external rules; she had found a Spirit of power, within.

This Christmas season, you and I can experience power within our lives by saying “yes” to God’s plans and purposes. “Nothing is impossible with God.” Open your heart fully to Jesus, the Immanuel, God with us.

May Christ be born, or reborn, in you today.

Amen

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Christmas lights at Tanglewood


JUST ONE OF THE MANY MAGNIFICIANT DISPLAYS
OUR TWO GROUPS SAW THIS YEAR.
Posted by Picasa

The Happenings at Pilgrim Reformed Church for the week of December 12, 2010

Our church Calendar for the week of December 12, 2010
Tuesday, Dec, 13th

7:00 PM ... Choir practice
Thursday, Dec. 16th
7:00 PM ... Choir practice
Saturday, Dec. 18
1000 AM Fill treat bags
Sunday, Dec. 19
9:15 AM ... Sunday School opening
9:30 AM ... Sunday School
10:30 AM ... Worship Service
6:30 PM ... Children's Christmas Program followed by a Birthday Party for Jesus

BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK
Wednesday, December 15,th ,,,, Van Everhart & Richard Swing

If you would like to donate to the cost of filling the treat bags please see Johnny Sink


THIS PASTOR’S VIEWPOINT


Just the other day I was going through the toy section of a large department store where they have all the dolls one could imagine and was amazed at the tremendous variety there are. There were dolls for every occasion, or you could even purchase a doll that had an extensive wardrobe and then you could dress it for whatever occasion your doll might find itself attending and it seemed there was an endless wardrobe o from which to choose. By chance, as I was passing through the display I noticed a young girl with her mother. The child looking closely at one doll exclaimed, “Oh Mommy, I just love her! And look at all the clothes she can wear!”

I thought of this encounter this week as I was reading Paul’s letters to Ephesians and Colossians. In Ephesians 1:3 and 7 (NLT) he writes, “…we belong to Christ…He is so rich in kindness that he purchased our freedom through the blood of his Son.” My mind flashed back to that child in the store and I hoped the doll would get to belong to her just as we belong to Christ. What a shame, however, that the doll would never know its owners love as we know Christ’s love; would never be able to return love or communicate affection; would never even be able to dress itself to please its owner.

Though all the clothes were in the dolls little wardrobe it could put nothing on itself to make the child happy. Here again we differ from the doll. Colossians 3:12 (NLT) says, “Since God chose you to be the holy people whom he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”

God has told us what we must wear but we have to choose to put them on. Remember how proud we were when our mother exclaimed the first time we dressed ourselves, “Oh, how nice you look!” God is just like mom and we should feel proud to please him. But look at Colossians 3:14 (NLT) “… the most important piece of clothing you must wear is love.”

Unfortunately you can’t see these clothes on yourself in a mirror, but others will see them and God most certainly will give you a thumbs up every time you’re dressed in your Christian “outfit.”





Sermon, December 12, 2010


WOULD YOU PLEASE LISTEN TO ME?
Sermon Text: John 1:6 8, 19 28 (NIV)

There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. 9 The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. 19 Now this was John’s testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. 20 He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Christ.”
21 They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.” 22 Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”
24 Now some Pharisees who had been sent 25 questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
26 “I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. 27 He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”
28 This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

Have you ever been frustrated because you were trying to talk to someone who simply was not listening? Would you wives hold up your hand? Isn’t it frustrating to feel like no one is listening to you? --- Don’t you want to yell, “Pay attention! This is important!”
In our Bible passage today, a man named John has come to the people of Bethany, near Jerusalem, with an urgent message--a message of the utmost importance.
“There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.”

Can you imagine a message more important than that? “The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.”

Before he was even born, John was chosen for this most important job. ----- An angel came to John’s future parents, Zechariah and Elizabeth, and told them that they would have a son. ---- And this son would be an instrument of God.

In Luke 1, verses 16 and 17, the angel says, “Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous--to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

And so, from a young age, John knew his purpose in life: to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. To make them ready to receive the Messiah, the Anointed One of God, the One who would restore the throne of Israel and set the Israelites free from the oppression of the Roman government.

Actor Jimmy Cagney once gave this advice to a fellow actor, “Walk in, plant yourself, look the other fellow in the eye and tell the truth.”

That was John’s method of spreading the message. --- He didn’t use fancy language. --- He didn’t call attention to himself. He called the people to repentance and the washing away of sins; he even baptized them as a symbol of this new life they would lead when the Messiah, the Anointed One of God, came.

And the people listened! But they did not understand. Some of the leaders of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling council, became concerned when they heard of John’s claims.
Weren’t THEY the official voice of religion among the people? So who was this John, and where did he get the authority to preach that the Messiah was coming?

The exchange between John and the priests and Levites in verses 19 through 27 resemble a “yeah-well” interview. Somebody seems to be missing the point.

First, the priests and Levites want to know if John is the Messiah.
No, I’m not, John replies.

Are you Elijah? they continued. ---- Second Kings, chapter 2, records that the prophet Elijah never died, but was transported directly to heaven in a chariot of fire. For this reason, the Jewish people had always believed that Elijah may come back to announce the Messiah. Remember, this was in last Sunday’s Sunday School lesion?

But again, John said no. Was he some other Prophet? No, again. Wasn’t anybody really listening to him? He surely thought to himself. Why won’t they listen? His job was to prepare the way for the coming Messiah.

To make his point clearer, John quotes from the prophet Isaiah, who, more than 700 years before Jesus’ birth, gave us the best description of the Messiah in the whole Old Testament. Isaiah 40, verses 3-5 read, “A voice of one calling; ‘In the desert prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.’”

John drives this point home by altering the wording slightly: “I AM the voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’” Don’t they get it? ---- It’s not about me, John is saying. ----- Who cares who I am? ---- I’m telling you about the Messiah. That’s the whole point.

“I baptize with water,” John replies, “but among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”
The removing of another’s sandals was the job reserved for the most menial, least respected servant in a household. Yet this is how John views himself and his mission in relation to Jesus. “He came only as a witness.”


It is interesting to note that the word “witness,” used in both its noun and verb forms, appears more times in the Gospel of John than in any of the other three Gospels combined. This is John the Baptist’s “singular purpose” in the world.

John used a variety of images to communicate his mission.

In a discussion with his own disciples about his relationship with Jesus, John said, “You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of him.’ The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. And so this joy of mine has been made full.”

In the Middle East, it was customary for the friend of the bridegroom (today we call him the best man) to be sure that no one went into the room of the bride except the proper lover, that is, the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom stood by the door so that only the bridegroom could enter. Therefore, the bridegroom would have to identify himself, usually by speaking a few words.

Using this imagery, John says that his responsibility was merely to introduce the bride to the bridegroom, that is, to introduce Israel to Christ. John’s task was to “make straight the way for the Lord.” And that is our task today. On this third Sunday in Advent we are to prepare a straight road into our hearts. How are we to do that?

ACCORDING TO JOHN, WE ARE TO REPENT OF OUR SINS AND BE BAPTIZED INTO A NEW LIFE. Baptism is a symbol of death and re-birth, a symbol of washing away the old life. To receive Jesus into your life is not the same thing as adding on a new room to a house.

It requires instead that we demolish the old house, every part of it, and build a brand-ne
w one on a new foundation. We must give up our old way of life before we can receive the abundant life that Jesus came to give. We cannot receive the Messiah, His presence or message or mission, unless we are ready for it.

How will you prepare for this Advent season? How will you “make straight the way for the Lord?” Are there un-confessed sins, fears, prejudices, habits that are keeping you from a fruitful, committed Christian lifestyle? Is there apathy or unbelief in your life that needs to be confronted?

Advent is not meant to be a warm and fuzzy season in the life of the church. It is a time that demands soul-searching and repentance and change.

Author Patsy Clairmont wrote that one year, she decided to write “Noel,” the French word for Christmas, in bright lights on the roof of her house. Unfortunately, she ran out of lights halfway through the project, so she ended up with just the word “NO” in flashing, multicolored lights on her roof.

Some of us want to say “NO” to the Christmas season too. We are too rushed to enjoy it. We are too detached to experience it. We are too cynical to believe in it.

There is only one solution to our problem: we must prepare a road in our hearts for the Messiah to come in. We must repent and be baptized into a new life.

The Alcan Highway built as a lifeline to Alaska during World War II and was built over the roughest sections of land instead of the easier and more direct western slope because of fear of a Japanese invasion. Old-timers recounted instances of having big pieces of equipment swallowed in the soft tundra, or mile-long sections carried away by raging torrents after a rain. The work of building the road was both frustrating and dangerous.

Why did they do it? Because their country needed that road. It was as simple as that. A diesel operator named Tiny put it well. He said, “We belonged to the nation and we got sent!”
This was John’s simple answer also. “I was from the nation of Israel, and I got sent.”

Road-building is a difficult job. Society tells us that this season is a time for tinsel and bright lights and materialism. The Bible tells us that this is a time to examine our hearts and abandon our old ways.

Which road will you choose this season? I pray it will be the road to a new life in Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Pilgrim's gifts to those in need.



Jack said this was about the best load ever!
This is what loving your neighbor is all about.
Amen and Amen!
Posted by Picasa

Sunday, December 5, 2010

What's happening at Pilgrim this week

Monday, December 6th 6:00 PM Property Meeting in Library
Tuesday, December 7th 7:00 PM Children's Practice
8:00 PM Choir Practice
Wednesday, December 8th 1:00 PM The Pilgrim Circle visits Abbotts Creek Rehab with gifts for residents to give to family members.
7:00 PM Finance Meetinc in Library
Thursday, December 9th 4:00 PM Senior trip to Tangelwood
7:00 PM Choir Practice
Friday, December 10th 4:00 PM Senior Trip to Tangelwood
Sunday, December 12th 9:15 Sunday School Opening
9:30 Sunday School
10:30 Worship Service including our wonderful Cantata.
Sermon: "Would You Please Listen To Me" John 1:6-8,19-28

BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK
Monday, December 6th ..... Doris Cranford
Tuesday, December 7th .... Chip Edwards
Thursday, December 9th.... Rita Hodges




THIS PASTOR’S VIEWPOINT

“You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours” is a common saying. In many ways, perhaps, it is the very foundation of our everyday lives and if we were to stray too far from this concept society, as we know it, would most certainly crumble.

This kind of reciprocal arrangement, however, is not something that humankind invented although many seem to think they came up with the idea. Economists use the “law” of supply and demand as the basic tenet of commerce. Nor did scientists invent the idea or “law” that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Expressed in our everyday lives I am willing to give $2.77 cents for a gallon of gas or $24.95 for a shirt simply because I have need of what I am purchasing and feel the exchange is fair. When this equation becomes too one sided commerce stops. Either we refuse to buy or the other refuses to sell. In business both sides must be satisfied.

A successful marriage has this same concept as its foundation. There must be at least reasonably equal giving for a relationship to last. This, of course, also has the benefit on the flip side, there is equal receiving.

But how does this work in our daily religious life? Are we givers as well as receivers? The apostle Paul addresses this idea in the very beginning of his letter to the Romans. He writes in Romans 1:12 (NLT) I’m eager to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours. In this way, each of us will be blessed.

This powerful Christian knew that faith had to be shared to be successful. Even as strong a believer as Paul was he needed the encouragement of others. He knew that the church could only survive where people were willing to be blessings to each other and in equal measure.

So, how do we measure up? Do we bless others only as we are blessed by them? Do we pray for others as we would have them pray for us? Do we love others as we would have them love us? If not, we had better “get with the program” because the future of the church depends on it.



Sermon,December 5, 2010

EXPECTANT LIVING
Sermon Text: 2 Peter 3:8 15a

The Advent season is a season, a time of preparation for the coming of Christ. Unfortunately, most see it as a time of getting ready for….Christmas.

At this time of year, many children have already written, or are just sitting down to write, their letters to Santa. It’s exciting trying to fit all your wishes into one well-worded little note. Maybe it would sound something like these letters:

Dear Santa, Please give me a doll this year. I would like her to eat, walk, do my homework, and help me clean my room. Thank you, Jennie

Dear Santa, Thanks for the race car last year. Can I have another one, only this time one that is faster than my best friend’s race car? Roger

Dear Santa, I wish you could leave a puzzle under the tree for me. And a toy for my sister. Then she won’t want to play with mine and I can have it to myself. Merry Christmas, Cassie.

Dear Santa, You can send me one of everything from the boys’ section of the Sears catalog. But nothing from the girls’ section. I can’t wait for Christmas to come. Kent

Dear Santa, Could you come early this year? I’ve been really super good, but I don’t know if I can last much longer. Please hurry. Love, Jordan.

Doesn’t that sound familiar? To children, Christmas seems to take forever to arrive. And it is so hard trying to be good while you wait for Santa to come. Like little Jordan, we are tempted to ask Santa to hurry up and get here earlier, before we break under the strain of all that unnaturally good behavior.

Children can relate to today’s Bible passage. The Christians in the early church are waiting for Jesus to return. They are excited. They are ready. But days pass, and then months, and then years. They are still waiting. People around them begin to mock their faith. False teachers infiltrate the church and fill their minds with doubt.

“So, where’s this Jesus you’re waiting for? Do you think he forgot about you?” They go so far as to suggest that God no longer works in human history. Maybe God just set this world in motion and then went out to lunch. And never came back.

And sadly, many Christians start to believe them. Maybe Jesus isn’t returning. Like little children at Christmas time who get tired of being good, some of these early believers go back to their old ways of life.

So Simon Peter, a follower of Jesus, writes this letter to reassure the believers in the early church.

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.
11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.
14 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. 15 Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation.

So, waiting for Christ’s return became an important element in Christian life. The final chapter in God’s love affair with humanity has not yet been written. Christ is coming again to take us unto himself.

Some of you may remember writer James Thurber’s story of a thin and lanky prophet who went around Thurber’s boyhood hometown crying, “Get ready! Get ready! The world is coming to an end!” The community called him the Get-Ready Man. Many citizens ignored him; most thought he was a kook.

Simon Peter knew what that was like. The society of his day didn’t want to believe him either. But the Bible tells us very clearly that someday, the Get-Ready Man and Simon Peter will be proved right. And will any of us be ready for that day?

Phillips Brooks, the 19th century Christian leader who composed the beautiful Christmas carol, “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” once wrote: “The coming of the Lord has been the inspiration of the Christian world. The power of any life lies in its expectancy.”

“The power of any life lies in its expectancy.” What are you expecting this Christmas season? Are you expecting crowds of people, jam-packed schedules, family tensions, stress-filled shopping expeditions?

Are you expecting a big Christmas bonus, or a Martha Stewart-inspired party? Or are you expecting to meet Jesus?

THE POWER OF EXPECTANCY STARTS WITH SEEING LIFE THROUGH GOD’S ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE. If you and I are discouraged, downhearted, dispirited it is because we are looking at the world through human eyes and not Divine eyes.

Pastor Ron Mehl counseled a young woman who was deeply disillusioned with her life. This woman had bought society’s concept of who she should be. She had done all the things that her friends were doing.

And she was miserable. She cried, “I’ve lost my virginity. I’ve lost my sense of values, I’m twenty-one years old, and I’m just tired. I don’t want to live like this anymore. I thought it was going to be so good.”

Here is a young woman who made the mistake of living with an earthly perspective. She bought the lie of the “good life” that is promoted so successfully in our movies and magazines and commercials. She thought that the purpose of her life was to “grab all the gusto” she could get. And at just twenty-one, she is already tired and hurt and disillusioned. She is not alone.

There are many people in this world, especially young adults, who have given up on achieving a fulfilling life. They are afraid of relationships. They live as virtual loners. They’ve done it all and have nothing left to show for their experience, except a bad case of disillusionment.

These are exactly the people that Peter is talking to in this letter. They started out as Christ-followers. But the ways of the world looked so attractive to them.

“Come on, everybody’s doing it.” “If it feels good, do it.” “Life is short. Play hard.” “All the beautiful people do it.” Looking at the world through human eyes.

But how do we take on an eternal perspective? How do we see the world as God sees the world?
WE DO IT, FIRST OF ALL, BY ACKNOWLEDGING THAT EVERYTHING IN THIS WORLD WILL EVENTUALLY PERISH, EXCEPT GOD.

Nothing in this world is permanent. Our favorite car will rust out. Our nice house will decay. Our best pair of jeans will fray and fade. Our money will be passed on to our heirs and the IRS. And when Jesus returns to claim his kingdom, everything we strive for and hold dear will be destroyed. ---- Everything. ----- Only the soul is eternal.

As Peter says in this letter, “Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be?”

Journalists Bill and Judith Moyers did a documentary on death and dying in the U.S. They discovered that many of the terminal patients they interviewed found peace in the face of death. In fact, many of them found greater meaning and beauty in life after learning that they would die. One man lived four years past his doctor’s prognosis. In that time, he learned to cherish every moment of life. As he said, “If you are told you will never see spring again, and you live to see spring, spring takes on a whole new life.”

Nothing focuses our priorities quite like the knowledge of our own mortality. Advent is not a season for focusing on a morbid subject like death. But it is a season for looking beyond the present moment to the eternal, and then evaluating our life in the perspective of eternity.
So the question for this Second Sunday in Advent is, what do you want to do with your life?
For the Christian, there is only one answer: to live in a loving relationship with God and with everyone else with whom we share this planet.

THAT’S WHAT ADVENT AND CHRISTMAS ARE ABOUT--CLAIMING THE MOMENT--TAKING TIME TO NURTURE THOSE RELATIONSHIPS THAT MATTER MOST.

The Qiché Indians of Guatemala take the concept of purposeful living very seriously. Each Qiché tribe has a person who serves as a “day keeper.” The day keeper’s job is to show the other members of his tribe how to use each day well, making every moment count.

To the day keepers, living each day well is an art form, and it requires concentration and guidance. The day keepers remind the people to do every job, no matter how mundane, with a sense of purpose.

Let’s take this message from the apostle Peter and use it as our “day keeper,” to remind us of how we should live holy and fruitful lives. The Christmas season, as most of us experience it, seems almost designed to distract us from God-centered living. There is so much pressure to shop, - shop, - shop and rush, - rush, - rush and spend, - spend, spend.

And all for what? How many of us remember the Christmas presents we got last year? The gifts of Christmas are temporary; the message of Christmas is eternal. The Almighty God came to earth in the form of a man.

Christ lived among us and shared our suffering and pain. He died a horrible death in order to save us from our sins. He opened up the way to eternal life for us. And someday, he will come again to establish his perfect and eternal kingdom here on earth.

Until that day, our job is to share the love of Jesus Christ with everyone we know.
Our greatest legacy will be the lives of those who know God’s love because of our efforts. Whose life will be transformed because you shared with them the love of Jesus?

Claim this moment for God. Let that be the true present you give this Christmas. The present of a life lived out in service to God and service to others

Amen