Redeem the Holiday

 

This is the first Sunday of Advent.  This is the first in the sermon series "Christmas at the Movies."

The harried and hurried lives we live is illustrated by a clip from the movie, "Christmas with the Kranks."

A lot of what we do at Christmas time leaves Jesus out of the picture.

REDEEM THE HOLIDAYS.

     The real reason for celebrating Advent is lost in the wrappings all the wrong things.

Boycott the spirit of Christmas and exchange it for the Spirit of Christ.

     The Spirit of Christ says ":Less is more."  Less stuff, less hurry, more joy!

The simplest things bring the most joy, the most peace, the most satisfaction.

What it means to cultivate the Spirit of Christ

     Less spending, more giving.  In Acts 29 we read "It is more blessed to give than to receive."  

Buying is often more about how it makes us feel.  True giving is not about the amount of money but about the thought behind the gift.

  

The spirit of Christmas is about spending; the Spirit of Christ is about giving.

LESS HURRY, MORE PEACE

     " See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,
 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil."  --Ephesians 5:15,16

REDEEM THE TIME
   The temptation to hurry is one of the greatest evils of our time.

     MEMORIES ARE NEVER MADE IN A HURRY.
     SLOW DOWN.
 Hurry robs us of time with those in need; hurry robs us of time for prayer.

GOD CAN GIVE YOU PEACE
     Hurry is the spirit of Christmas; Peace is the Spirit of Christ.
What would it look like for you to redeem the time?

THERE NEEDS TO BE LESS ME AND MORE JESUS.
    Let Christ be the center of your life all year-round.  Let your life revolve around Him.

John the Baptist said, He must increase; I must decrease.
     And so it must be with us.

FOCUS ON THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST WHO WRAPPED HIMSELF IN HUMAN FLESH AND DWELT AMONG US FOR OUR SAKE.
     In His heart of giving He gave everything He had.

>Advent is not just about looking back on His coming as a baby, it is about looking forward to His coming again!<

IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT WE ARE NOT WRAPPED UP IN THE WRONG THINGS WHEN HE DOES.

     

Notes on the message by

Pastor Johnnie Blair

Sunday morning
 

     

 

Thanksgiving dinner

I avoid most of the click bait when scrolling down a facebook page but occasionally one is just too tempting and I bite, usually to my regret or at least to my dismay.

Yesterday the bait was something on the order of "ten things that should never appear on the Thanksgiving dinner table."

Just about every traditional item served on Thanksgiving was listed along with snide commentary on each.  What an ingrate.  It is Thanksgiving and some spoiled "Me-only" is whining because his cheeseburger and lollipop is not on the table?

Such an attitude of ingratitude is a direct result of people believing that nothing and no one beyond the self matters.

At the least, be grateful for the air you breathe.  I'm trying real hard to be thankful that I can share it with you.

The Prayer of "Send Me"

The scripture lesson is Isaiah 6:1-9 in which is revealed to Isaiah the holiness of the Lord.  He
recognizes his own unworthiness, is cleansed and then accepts the mission God has for him.


The prayer of "send me" is a dangerous prayer; it is more scary than it is glamorous.  The prayer implies that the "I" no longer cares about its wants, but about what God wants.

1. One response to the message of service is "Here am I, I'm not going."  Jonah is a scriptural example of this response.  His response was rejection of the assignment by way of going in the opposite direction from God's purpose.  The Book of Jonah details the story and the travails of the man and how he finally turned to God's purpose.

2. A second response to God's calling is "Here am I, send someone else."  Moses gives us an example of this response.  In Exodus 4:13 we hear Moses literally tell the Lord to "send someone else."  Seeking something that suits us better than what God wants is a sign that we prefer being served to providing service.  If you are more concerned about being served  than being sent, go to a restaurant.

Everyone has a call of God on his life. There is something special that He wants you to do.

3.  The third response to God's call is "Here am I, send me."  (Isaiah 6:8) This happens out of true conviction.  Like Isaiah, we must experience the presence of God in all his glory and holiness. (Rev.4)

To pray this dangerously
We must experience the presence of God in all his holiness.

The magnificence of God determines the magnitude of your mission.

We must realize the depth of our own sinfulness. (6:5)  We are unclean; God is holy and we are not.

We must have a real experience with the grace of God. (6:7) The coals represent cleansing, sins atoned for.

Something should happen that we must cry out, "Send me!"

Come to the end of self, learn to live in the shadow of Grace.

Grace:  When your sinfulness and God's holiness come together

 Terrifyingly beautiful

 Pastor Johnnie Blair

Sunday morning

Is there hope?

It seems we have become an unruly mob of riff-raff who will assemble and shout down the President as he attempts to express a valid idea.  I mean, he is the President.  What is the matter with us?

Too many years of "If you want it you should have it; if you don't have it someone should give it to you." ?
Too much self-absorption, undisciplined living?
 Or just plain disrespectful of self and everyone else?

Perspective

Good morning!  How's your day?

The entomologist:  Everything bugs me.

The ornithologist:  It's for the birds.

The cosmologist:  Deep, very deep.  And dark.

The cosmetologist: Hairy.

The criminologist:  I haven't a clue.

The psychologist:  How do you feel about that? 

The old man on the corner who shines shoes and sells newspapers: The bees are buzzing, the birds are singing, the sun is shining in a clear, blue sky.  Not a worry in the world, and it is going to be a wonderful day today!

 The moral:  <write your own tagline>

ib

Last night a certain solid centrist city hastily instituted a sensible emergency ordinance prohibiting either Donald or Hillary costumes for Halloween.  After all, the council reasoned, Halloween is merely for scaring people in good fun, not scaring them to death.

BOO !

Rambling

The container complements the contents.

The problem in the instant is that the container for the thing contained has sprung too many leaks. 

The holey container may continue its existence but it will soon be empty.

Bar's to the rescue!

Alas, some things are irremediable.

Contents lost and the container is lost as well.

39 and Holding

More dollars than sense.

Outdoor temperature 55^o F.

Don't know price of a new car, but have seen four-year-olds advertised in the 85k - 90k range.

Time Over Time

Scripture readings:  Ecclesiastes 3:1-8; Psalm 90:12; James 4:14.

1. The family matters.
2. The key to changing the culture, society, is the spiritual development of the family.
3. Spiritual development for the most part happens in the home.

The lesson develops to show that raising children is time intensive and must be intentional.

    Are you playing for fun, or are you playing for keeps?
For keeps matters over the long haul.  To become more intentional as a parent, must give time over time.

    Stop trying to make every second count and start making history.
You are making history with your kids.  Always work the time.

    There is no room for shortcuts when it comes to raising kids.

    It will always be worth the time put in.
The clock will run out; take advantage of the moment while you have it.

    The church can equip us for the time we have but the church can never put in the time needed to play for keeps.

SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT IS CRITICAL TO THE CHILD, TO SOCIETY.  SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT FOR THE MOST PART OCCURS IN THE HOME.

Tag team:

Pastors Johnnie and Amanda Blair

Sunday morning

All right, then

A certain sort of smart begets a special sort of stupid. --Church Curmudgeon