God So Loved the World

Pastor Brad Shannon begand by greeting us with his usual warmth, "Good morning. I’m grateful you’re here today." He then noted this this is the  first Sunday in advent, which speaks of the time of longing, preparing for the coming of the Messiah. Today, first advent candle would be lit, representing hope. Jesus Christ is the hope of the world. Our hope is not in government or material possessions but in Jesus Christ.

Announcements included the following...
1. Next Sunday, December 9, the group Men as Peacemakers will be with us for a dininer and time of learning about domestic abuse.
2. Bring your Covenant World Relief cans next week
3. This year we are again adopting a family through a Salvation Army to help make Christmas special for a needy family. The family we are sharing with is a Mom with two three-and a half year olds. The boy is size 5T. Jeans, slippers, Spiderman, buzz cars and sleds are on his list. The little girl has Tinker Belle, Disney Princess and sleds on her list. See Dawn Walsh for details. Bring your gifts by the 16th.
4. The 16th will also be our Christmas Children’s Program, the 16th, the theme being Christmas Around the World.

Chuck and Darlene were away for the weekend. Ed Newman filled in on the piano for our introit and music during the offering and communion.

The Borndal family lit the first Advent candle and shared the meaning of this first candle: Hope… awaiting for the hope of Christ to come into our lives in a new way.

The offering was taken after which Ed shared a few thoughts on the theme of “What is God doing in my life?”

Today's Scripture reading was from Luke 21:25-36.

There were many requests for the church family and needs in our world today during our time of prayer.

God So Loved the World

Brad began by sharing memories of Christmas growing up. He remembered the pressure to make each Christmas the “best Christmas ever” though also in the aftermath they would say, “We’ll have to cut back next year.”

Our Christmas rituals included shopping, getting gifts, Mom baking cookies, etc. But for many of us Christmas memories include family times with grouchy relatives, unspoken issues in the midst of everything else, Christmas parties on top of other parties, economic uncertainties… What would it take for this Christmas to be the best Christmas ever?

To answer this question Pastor Shannon had us look at what made the first Christmas great and so we can make this Christmas great again. He had us turn to John 3:16, the first words that expressed what launched Christmas."For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

What made the first Christmas great is that God gave…. Giving is what God is into.

God is so generous, and has been so right from the beginning. James rights that we shouldn't be deceived about God… “Every good and perfect gift is from above…”

Brad shared an anecdote about a famous surfboarding location called Half Moon Bay. Surfers come from all over to surf here. One stated, “We are the luckiest organisms in the history of the world to be able to enjoy this.” Once again, God’s generosity is lavish and continual.

As expressed in the Book of Lamentations, “Your mercies are new every morning. Great is Your faithfulness.” God is constantly giving. Every day. It's as if He greets us each day like this: “You liked yesterday’s sunrise? Here’s another…”

But when God gave us Jesus He outgave Himself. God gave the gift of a savior to people who needed it most…

What makes Christmas great is not the Christmas tree It's not the music or food. It's not the moments we create, or feelings we experience. It's our giving.

What if we expressed record levels of compassion in sometimes costly ways? What if we so loved the world that we gave to others in ways that blessed more?

Instead of a "see more, shop more, stress more, frenzied more Christmas, let’s make it a Christmas of compassion.

Giving is not something good only for others. Jesus said, "It is more blessed to give than receive." In other words, you will be enriched and enhanced when you give. Jesus did not say, “You should give more” or “It is better to give.” He said you will be blessed.

Brad shared the results of a study of two groups of youth, those who did volunteer work with younger kids and those who did not. The first group was much more well adjusted, less likely to end up with teen pregnancies, drug addicitions, etc. But at all ages, people who volunteer with school children have more satisfaction. It is more life-giving to give.

Bringing it down to practical applications, Brad invited us to bring extra food to church with us for area food shelves. And to bring something for the family we’ve adopted. "Go on an adventure of giving."  

I know God gave His only son… What can I give?

To illustrate what it is like to be on the Taker road, Brad explained how to catch a monkey. Get a jar with a narrow mouth. Put some bait inside the jar. The monkey reaches in, grasps the banana or orange. And because he only wants to grasp, he won’t let it go, even though grasping keeps him from being able to pull out his hand.

The story of the Rich Young Ruler comes readily to mind. "Good teacher? What must I do to inherit eternal life?" It's the right question, but the young man didn't like the answer. "Sell all you have, give it to the poor, and follow Me." The rich young ruler walked away sad.

On the other hand the Gospels tell another story of a man with wealth who encountered Jesus, Zachias. Zachias has a different response, giving lavishly. This is the path toward making this the best Christmas ever.

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Today we concluded the service by celebrating the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper.

Generosity

Our Breakfast Roundtable meetings continue to produce thought provoking conversations. The first question we explored today was this one: What are the normal and natural ways people come to Christ, grow in Christ, indentify & deploy their spiritual gifts.

We explored the role of preaching in developing faith, the role of community, the role of children's ministies. Brad shared the difference between the Believe-->Behave-->Belong model of church as opposed to creating a sense of Belonging first. This concept intrigued us and led to further discussion on what a church is and can be. As regards our own church family, we were asked the question, "Do I feel confident inviting my friends to church?"

Brad noted that there's a characteristic of our church that he has noticed... our resistance to being formulaic. A perceptive observation.

The Service
Our weather this past week has been unusually hot, but what a change in the weather since last night. The autumn breezes blew in with a vengeance, disrupting plans for an outdoor gathering at Cresman's after the service. The announcements began, then, with a reminder to this effect, that our potluck would be here in the fellowship area downstairs. Alas.

Other announcements after the opening greeting by Pastor Brad included:
1. The Harvest Festival at Twig Town Hall is coming soon. September 12 we will be meeting and sharing ourselves with the local community.
2. There will be a council meeting Tuesday.
3. Volunteers are still needed for the rummage sale.
4. Sue Deloach is seeking volunteers who can serve as judges and helpers this coming weekend for the National Bible Bee. Judging involves listening to children relate Scripture to life. The event is Sept. 28.
5. Joanne mentioned the need for Sunday School teachers, as the Fall season is coming soon.
6. There will be an open house this Thursday from 5:00-8:00 p.m. at the Hallfrish's new home on Orange Street, courtesy Modest Home Makeover. Check out the new digs and enjoy a meal to boot.

Today's introit and worship was followed up with special music by Dan Moore who contributed a number of short God-honoring songs, during the offering and preceding the sermon. The Scripture reading today was from Hebrews 11:29-12:2.

Generosity

"I think one of the most amazing moments in the development of a human being is when he or she utters that first words. Parents wait for the those words with baited breath." Mothers hope to hear "mama" and fathers "dada". The next word, though, is not so thrilling. "No!"

Many psychologists will say this is a necessary stage in a child's development, though most who say this have never had a small child of their own. But it happens, around this time, that kids pick up another word that they use a lot. "Mine!" Some people say this to their graves. My room, my toys, my games, my food, my time. It's on their checkbooks and their house and car and on their time.

Ultimately the day will come when each of us will come face to face with God and say one of two words, mine or yours. God will accept either but the choice is ours. The consequences are eternal.

Today's message focused on the champion of saying "Yours" to God. A close inspection of the record shows that on many occasions David indeed messed up royally. But one thing he got right, David had a generous heart. David loved to give, loved to share.

What does a generous heart look like? Today's message explored this theme by citing several in David's later life.

1) Moved more by needs of others than by one's own discontent.
I Samuel 30 deals with the story we heard last week about how the Amalekites came and destroyed their village while David and his army were away on a raiding mission. David and his men are led to pursue the Amalekites, but having already fought a long day's work the hard march proves too demanding for about 200 of the men who are utterly fatigued. David has them watch the supplies while they continue the chase, ultimately wiping out the Amalekites and retrieving their wives and children along with the other goods that had been absconded.

When David's army is reunited, many of those who had gone the extra mile were annoyed with those who had pooped out and claimed the plunder as theirs. David, however, reveals his generous heart by having everything shared with everyone. David's gratitude to God is central to David's generosity. His automatic response when it came to finances was to call to mind how gracious and generous God had been to him, and to be the same toward others.

The world we live in works differently. Accumulation, keeping up with the Joneses is the order of the day. "Don't play this game," Brad said. In God's economy the winner is not the one who collects the most goods, rather it is the one who gives the most.

2) Generous hearts look for opportunities to give.

II Samuel 24 has the lesson here. David wants to make a sacrifice to God after a devastating plague that has ravaged Israel. He has been instructed to go to the threshing floor of Araunah to make this sacrifice and Araunah offers to provide the oxen for the sacrifice. David, however, instead of allowing this insists that he pay for the oxen. His response is a model for all of us. "I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing."

Giving sets in motion a spiritual dynamic, Brad said. It not only impacts the giver, but also the recipient, as well as those who see it. Giving is a powerful act, because it is so contrary to human nature.

3) Generous hearts increasingly experience joy in giving

It was David who brought the ark back to Israel and brought about peace for Israel in the midst of her enemies. His earnest desire was to build a temple for the ark in Jerusalem. But God scratched this plan because David had too much blood on his hands. He had been a great warrior, but it would be his son Solomon who would build the temple. For David, the next best thing was to generously contribute to this end, and I Chronicles 29 tells the story.

With a joyful heart he declares the extent of what he desires to give from his personal coffers to build the temple. In verse 5 he asks, "Who of you will follow my example?" The leaders of the people responded not grudgingly but willingly. In verse 8 the people rejoiced in the generosity of their leaders.

"It's not my stuff," Brad said emphatically. All we have is from God, for God, and will return to God. What God is looking for in us is a willing spirit. God loves a cheerful giver, Paul wrote in the New Testament.

God has given His all for us. Now it is our turn.

What if.... What if we got so fired up that others saw it. We want a church that is stronger for the future so that our children will see what even we do not see.

After the service we shared a potluck meal with fresh brats, burgers and generous portions for everyone.