November
25, 2018 – Advent 1 (Bah Humbug) -- Hope
Sermon
Title: Marley or Lazarus
Scripture:
Galatians 6:7, Luke 16:19-31
1.
It is time to prepare, time to get ready.
2.
Ready for what?
1.
Well somebody special is a month away from being born.
2.
You mean it is only a month to Christmas?
1.
Yep. You know what the Christmas story always brings me?
2.
The urge to sing carols?
1.
Well yes. But more than that it brings me hope. The fact that God
keeps caring for the world, that God loves the world so much to
become part of it makes me hopeful for the future. And so I always
light a candle to remind me of that hope. (light one candle)
2.
Let us pray...
God
we need some hope in our lives. Help us trust in your promise this
Christmas.
Remind
us that things can get better, that the world can change, that we can
change.
Even
when things seem terrible help us see the light at the end of the
tunnel.
Help
us live as people of hope. Amen.
December
2, 2018 – Advent 12 (The Remembrance of Christmas Past) --
Peace
Sermon
Title: Carry Forward the Past
Scripture:
Isaiah 40:1-2, Revelation 21:3-5, Luke 4:17-19
1.
The day is coming, it is getting closer
2.
It’s almost Christmas!
1.
Christmas always make me hope for good things (light one candle)
2.
Do you know what I am really hoping for this year?
1.
A new phone?
2.
Well maybe. But I hope that we can learn from our past mistakes. I
hope that God will help us find a way to live together in peace and
justice. It has to happen some year right? (light a 2nd
candle)
1.
I hope so, some year, maybe next year?. Let us pray...
God
you promise us that some day there will be peace throughout the
world.
Peace
between countries, peace within families, peace in our troubled
hearts.
We
haven’t learned how to do that yet. Help all of us be people who
bring peace into our lives.
Help
us change the world around us as we wait for Jesus, the Prince of
Peace. Amen.
December
9, 2018 – Advent 3 (The Life of Christmas Present) --Joy
Sermon
Title: See the World Today
Scripture:
Deuteronomy 15:1-11, Luke 1:46-55
1.
Don’t you love how joyful everyone is at Christmas?
2.
Joyful? How can people be joyful? Have you watched the news lately?
1.
I know, there is lots of trouble out there. But still I always find a
sense of joy in the air.
Maybe it is the carols, or the
bright lights of the decorations. Something just makes the world seem
better.
2.
If you say so. Some days I find it hard to have hope (light one
candle) that there will be peace
(light 2nd candle)
and Joy seems far away.
1.
I try to remind myself that there is more happening than the news
tells us about. There are people giving to The Salvation Army, there
are people collecting gifts for their neighbours, there are people
planning to serve meals to the community. And that lights up my life
and brings Joy to my heart (light 3rd
candle)
2.
I hadn’t thought of it that way. I guess maybe there is some good
news out there. God is at work after all. Let’s pray about that...
God
of joy, sometimes it is hard to be joyful.
Sometimes
all the bad news piles up and we have trouble seeing that you are at
work around us.
But
then we find out that some people with difficult lives still find a
way to celebrate,
and
we start to see the world differently.
Help
us see where you are at work changing the world. Help us find the joy
that lies waiting to be discovered, even if only for a moment. Amen.
December
16, 2018 – Advent 3a (Practise Christmas) -- ???
Sermon
Title: Pageant Sunday
Scripture:
(blow
a coach whistle) Ok. Are we all ready for Christmas?
Maybe?
Is maybe good enough? Only 9
days to go people! Got your Joy to the Worlds tuned up? Everyone know
the story? Got your Silent Nights quieted down? We have to practise
these things folks, especially that last one!
We’re
good to go coach!
Good to hear. But lets run
through it just in case. Start with the candles...
(candles are lit as they are
called out) Hope...we
have hope light
Peace...we
have peace light
Joy...we
have joy light
Love...we
have love light
Christ
...we have... hey should
we light this one yet?
Good call. Normally we
wouldn’t. But this is our practise run.
Christ
...we have Christ’s
light.
Now let’s pray:
God
we are almost ready. We
are excited and hopeful. Jesus
is almost born!
As
we remember the story, as we practise for the big birthday that is
coming, remind us what it is all about. Help us be as excited as the
shepherds, to sing Glory in
excelsis with the
angels, to trust you like Mary did. Amen.
December
23, 2018 – Advent 4 (The Hope of Christmas Future) -- Love
Sermon
Title: Shadows That Can Be Changed
Scripture:
Isaiah 2:2-5, Isaiah 7:10-16
1.
Christmas is here! Well almost.
2.
Isn’t it great?
1.
So far we have talked about hope (light one candle)
and peace (light 2nd candle)
and joy (light 3rd candle)
but there is one candle left.
2.
That’s the candle of love. I think it is the most important one.
1.
Why?
2.
Christmas is all about love. God loves the world so much God gives us
Jesus. God challenges us to love all of our neighbours. With love God
gives us another chance to change our lives. Love is a source of heat
and light in life (light 4th
candle)
1.
Let us pray for more love in the world.
God
we remember the song “what the world needs now is love sweet love”
and we know it is true.
Sometimes
we find it hard to love the people around us. Sometimes we are hard
to love.
But
you love all of us. All of the time. And then you give us a chance to
change the future by changing the present. Thank you for that.
Help
us to be like Scrooge and promise to do better, to love better, in
the future. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment