Merry Christmas! 

Well, it’s here! As the song says, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year.” I hope you, your family and your friends make the most of every moment — and remember, this is just Day 1 . . . you have 11 more to go! 

“Scrooge was better than his word. He did it all, and infinitely more; and to Tiny Tim, who did NOT die, he was a second father. He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man as the good old City knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough in the good old world.”

Many of you met my friends from Texas this past weekend, Boyce and Melodie. When Boyce walked into Christ Church he said, “Well, this is obviously a sanctuary!” 

Yes, it is. 

When my folks got married, my mom didn’t know how to cook. She bought a Better Homes and Gardens cookbook and a Good Housekeeping cookbook and became a terrific cook! Especially her desserts. No one could touch either her coconut cake or her pecan pie (although my sister-in-law comes mighty close!). 

I love Psalm 145.  We read it last Friday in our daily Bible reading, and I quoted it on Sunday. It is pure praise from start to finish! And why? The entire psalm is a celebration of Who God is: “The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.” (145:8).

I’ve put together a series of Advent readings running from December 1 and ending on Christmas Day (copies are available at church and there’s a link down below). I started off writing a line that might be a little controversial . . . so I thought I’d better clarify it a bit before you revolt on me! 

I was praying with someone recently about an urgent need, and I asked them, “What specifically do you want me to pray?” The needs were complex and there were various ways to pray. I wanted to hear from the person dealing with the situation, living with it on a daily basis, what they wanted and expected from God. 

This year the  little “I Voted” sticker they give you means “I patiently endured to the end!” 

I know someone who spent 97 minutes voting yesterday. It only took me 20 minutes, but that was after two attempts! The first time I couldn’t even get into the parking lot and the second time the line, in the rain, snaked far down the block. 

But we voted . . . and now it’s over! 

Henry David Thoreau, the American writer/philosopher, wrote, “There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root."

October is “spooky season,” and I love spooky season! When I was a little kid, I loved dressing up for Halloween. But more than that . . . I loved watching all the scary movies they would show on TV – not the gross, gory things they make now, but the classic, black and white movies where good clearly wins out at the end.

I went on a quest for colorful leaves . . . and saw a lot of leaves . . . green ones! It’s apparently a late Fall for everyone this year. I was in the Smokies and saw . . . well, too many tourists for one thing. But besides that, I drove up into the mountains and could see brilliant color at the very top, but for the most part, everything was still green. Too green.

I saw a great quote the other day: “I want to be so anchored in Christ that chaos around me doesn’t produce chaos within me.” 

Speaking of chaos, with all the extreme weather over the last several weeks I thought it’d be good to take a look at a story of Jesus and his disciples from Mark 4:35-41. 

I saw a recent “smackdown” of comedian and news commentator, Bill Maher, by Canadian psychologist and author, Jordan Peterson, in which Maher said to Jordan (and I’m paraphrasing): “You see the answer to our nation’s woes as family and faith. I have no family and I have no faith,” to which Jordan answered, “Then you don’t have the answer.” 

I’m hoping by now you’re looking at faith a little differently. But you may be asking, “Why? Isn’t the way I’ve always thought about faith good enough?” 

It begins and ends with God’s grace.

Grace is the “unmerited favor” that God extends to his fallen creation. In our Wesleyan way of thinking we would say it is God’s grace that reaches out to us, leading us to salvation (prevenient grace); it is God’s grace that actually saves us (saving grace); it is God’s grace that transforms us into the image of His Son (sanctifying grace). 

When I was a student at the University of Alabama, I took part in a “soul-winning” class that taught us how to go door to door and witness to others about our faith. My best friend at the time, David, and I would go to the freshman guys’ dorm, Paty Hall, on Friday nights and go from room to room sharing the gospel. We prayed with several guys – and some of them were actually sober!

There's lots of  good to be said for this; being prepared to share our faith is important, and I’ll be writing more about that soon. However, one of my issues with the class was there was no follow-up. It was as if we were getting notches on our gun; we would get someone to pray a prayer of faith with us, encourage them to find a local church, and that was that! When I was a student at the University of Alabama, I took part in a “soul-winning” class that taught us how to go door to door and witness to others about our faith. My best friend at the time, David, and I would go to the freshman guys’ dorm, Paty Hall, on Friday nights and go from room to room sharing the gospel. We prayed with several guys – and some of them were actually sober!

“Loving God . . . Loving Others . . .” 

We’ve embraced this as our mission from the very beginning, and it’s a good one because it comes straight out of the Bible. One of the scribes asked Jesus what was the first or the greatest commandment of all, and Jesus replied: “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:29-31).

Sometimes I find myself preaching to myself, and that happened this past Sunday. Something I said at the end of the sermon has stuck with me, and I’m still thinking about the implications. I finished the sermon by saying that what we do on Monday is just as important as what we do on Sunday. 

It did my heart good when, a couple of Sundays ago, I asked what repentance was, and several of you said shuv, the Hebrew word that means to repent or to turn around. I was surprised you remembered it! 

You made me so happy! Now I can die in peace! Sooner or later. Hopefully later! 

In the meantime, let’s learn some more! Here are three Hebrew words, a little phrase that you can use for all sorts of situations. It could be a short prayer on its own; it could be a word of hope for someone who’s having a difficult time; it could be an expression of gratitude to God woven into any prayer. However you use it, it’s a good little phrase to keep in your heart. 

I sincerely believe that those who attend Christ Church do so because God called them here. 

Called. 

Last week I wrote about the Greek word we translate as “Church” meaning the “gathering of those summoned,” or the “called-out ones.” In Greek politics, these were citizens of a city who were called out to gather for a civic meeting. The translators of the Old Testament used that word, ekklesia, for the assembly of God’s people, and the believers in the New Testament used to describe the people (not the building) who made up the body of Christ. 

I read a “tweet” the other day that said the Church of England, which split from the Roman Catholic Church during the reign of King Henry VIII, is finally agreeing with the Catholic Church that it’s not a church after all.

What? I had to do some digging . . . 

It seems the Church of England is moving away from using the term, “church”! As they start new . . . whachamacallits (I guess I shouldn’t call them “churches” since they don’t) the Whatsit’s leaders refer to these new . . . whatevers not as “churches” but congregations or communities in an attempt to “sound relevant or modern sounding.” 

I’ve had several questions about one of the crosses we use in worship. I can see how, at first glance, you might ask what on earth is going on with it! Contrary to some, that is not Buddha in the middle! 
 
It is actually the Celtic Cross of Muiredach at Monasterboice.  And what is that? 

Up the coast from Dublin, Ireland,  is Drogheda, where you can see the historic ruins of the monastery, Monasterboice. The monastery itself dates to the 5th century and was a center for intellectual learning. Today, it is most famous for its stone Celtic crosses. The crosses are decorated with scenes from the Bible and, like stained glass windows, were used to teach Christ’s teachings to those unable to read. It may also have been a devotional aid, helping the monks or maybe the pilgrims who visited the monastery to reflect and think more deeply about their faith.