O Come Let Us Adore Him

 

[The following is a manuscript of our 2022 Christmas Day message at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  The full service was one of music and scripture.  Our YouTube streaming channel is: 

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIz4WuP8igQstkEOq1AMTg.]

“Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.”  (Luke 2:10b-11 (KJV))

Today we rejoice in the greatest gift we’ve ever been given, the gift of salvation through our Lord Christ Jesus.  This is indeed a day for great joy and rejoicing, for God came down to earth to be among us and to take away our sin.  Let us rejoice and give thanks to our Lord!

Let us come together now with one heart and one voice to worship our Father God.  In the glorious name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

We celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus by lighting the Christ candle:

Rejoice, you people of God!  Shout Halleluiah, all you believers!  For this day the Word becomes flesh and dwells among us.  In Him is life, and the life is the Light of men.  The Light shines in our darkness, showing us the way to eternal life.

Today, the candles of hope, love, joy, and peace all blend their light together to focus our gaze upon the one true Light:  Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Today, we celebrate the birth of Him in whom we place all our hopes, who loves us more than life and calls us to love, whose arrival brings great joy to all the world, and who promises a peace that will have no end.  Today, we light the candle of Christ to celebrate and honor His birth, and to light our way as we await His return.

Let us pray...  Savior Jesus, You bring hope, love, joy, and peace into this wretched world.  We await Your return when You will gather Your church to Your side and take us home to live with You in peace forever.  As we wait, let us be Your candle of hope, love, joy, and peace that shines throughout the world.  Come, thou long-awaited Jesus, come.  Amen.

Hear the words of God spoken through His prophet Micah in chapter 5, verse 2 of the book bearing his name…

2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,

Though you are little among the thousands of Judah,

Yet out of you shall come forth to Me

The One to be Ruler in Israel,

Whose goings forth are from of old,

From everlasting.”

--Micah 5:2 (NKJV)

The Apostle Luke tells of the birth of Jesus in the first 18 verses of the 2nd chapter of his Gospel account…

1 And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. 3 So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.

4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child.

6 So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

8 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:

14 “Glory to God in the highest,

And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

15 So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. 17 Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. 18 And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

--Luke 2:1-18 (NKJV)

Hear now of a very special visit, by wise men who came from afar seeking the Messiah, from the 2nd chapter of the Apostle Matthew’s Gospel account, verses 1 & 2 and 7 through 11…

1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”

7 Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.”

9 When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. 11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

--Matthew 2:1-2, 7-11 (NKJV)

The gift of God, as told by the Apostle John in the opening chapter of his Gospel account, verses 1 through 5 and verse 14…

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

--John 1:1-5, 14 (NKJV)

Hear the words of God as spoken through His prophet Isaiah and recorded in the 9th chapter of the book bearing his name, verses 6 and 7…

6 For unto us a Child is born,

Unto us a Son is given;

And the government will be upon His shoulder.

And His name will be called

Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

7 Of the increase of His government and peace

There will be no end,

Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,

To order it and establish it with judgment and justice

From that time forward, even forever.

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

--Isaiah 9:6-7 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You so much for the greatest gift we could ever receive – the gift of everlasting life through Your Son.  Today we celebrate that birth of so long ago, when Jesus came to us as one of us, born of a woman just like us.  Even at His birth, His kingship and His sacrifice were foretold in the offerings He received from the wise men who sought Him out.  Well, Father, wise men still seek out Jesus, the Messiah, the Christ.  Thank You for choosing us to be among the wise.  Father, may the joy of this day carry on throughout the coming year.  And may the birth of the Prince of Peace bring peace to all the earth.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

And now, family, go in peace.  Let the joy of this day fill your heart and your entire being so that you glow with the beauty of Jesus for all to see.  Enjoy time with family and friends, but then let’s do as the shepherds did after they had seen the Christ Child.  Let us make widely known what we have been told about this child.  For unto all of us a Savior is born, Christ the Lord.

In the blessed name of Christ Jesus, the Son of God, our Lord and Savior.  Amen.

2022 Christmas Eve Message

 

[The following is a manuscript of our 2022 Christmas Eve message at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  The service was one of much scripture and singing, and included the lighting of the Christ candle and our celebration of Holy Communion.  Our YouTube streaming channel is: 

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIz4WuP8igQstkEOq1AMTg.]

In the name of God our Father, Jesus Christ His Son, and His most Holy Spirit, let us worship our Lord.  Let us stand at the foot of His cross, and at the side of His manger cradle.  Let us bow down in humble adoration.  Amen.

14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

--Isaiah 7:14 (KJV)

God spoke to His prophet Isaiah and gave him these words nearly 700 years before the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ…

6 For unto us a Child is born,

Unto us a Son is given;

And the government will be upon His shoulder.

And His name will be called

Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

7 Of the increase of His government and peace

There will be no end,

Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,

To order it and establish it with judgment and justice

From that time forward, even forever.

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

--Isaiah 9:6-7 (NKJV)

Tonight we celebrate the last day of Advent and the coming of our Lord Jesus by lighting the Christ candle:

Rejoice, you people of God!  Shout Halleluiah, all you believers!  For this day the Word becomes flesh and dwells among us.  In Him is life, and the life is the Light of men.  The Light shines in our darkness, showing us the way to eternal life.

Tonight, the candles of hope, love, joy, and peace all blend their light together to focus our gaze upon the one true Light:  Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Tonight, we celebrate the birth of Him in whom we place all our hopes, who loves us more than life and calls us to love, whose arrival brings great joy to all the world, and who promises a peace that will have no end.  Tonight, we light the candle of Christ to celebrate and honor His birth, and to light our way as we await His return.

Let us pray...  Savior Jesus, You bring hope, love, joy, and peace into this wretched world.  We await Your return when You will gather Your church to Your side and take us home to live with You in peace forever.  As we wait, let us be Your candle of hope, love, joy, and peace that shines throughout the world.  Come, thou long-awaited Jesus, come.  Amen.

From the 2nd verse of the 5th chapter of the prophet Micah’s book…

2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall He come forth unto Me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

--Micah 5:2 (NKJV)

The Apostle Luke tells of the birth of Jesus in the 2nd chapter of his Gospel account, verses 1 through 20…

1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.

2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)

5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.

18 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

--Luke 2:1-20 (KJV)

Is it appropriate that we observe the last supper our Lord enjoyed on this earth at the same time that we celebrate His birth?  The Gospel of Matthew tells us of wise men who traveled from the east to visit and worship the young child Jesus.  They brought Him gifts of gold, fit for a king; of frankincense, worthy of God; and of myrrh, used to prepare the body of royalty for burial.  So even at Jesus’ birth, His death was recognized and acknowledged.  Just as now, as we celebrate His birth while we remember the great sacrifice He made for us.

Let us pray…  Father God, we come before the table of our Lord Jesus to commemorate His last supper on this earth with His friends.  Not all of us are able to join together physically, yet we are together in Your Spirit.  So Father, in the name of Your Son Jesus, I pray that You bless the elements that Your children have before them, no matter what physical content they might hold.  Bless them to be the body and blood of our Lord when we eat and drink.  Bless them to His remembrance so that we never forget His sacrifice.  And bless us to better service to our Lord.  This we pray in the glorious name of Jesus our Christ.  Amen.

The Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”

Father in heaven, we thank You for this bread, not so much for the nourishment it might provide but for what it represents: our Savior’s body broken for us.  May we always remember Him when we eat.  In the name of Jesus we pray.  Amen.

The body of Christ, broken for you.  Take and eat, in remembrance of Him.

In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

Father, as we did for the bread, we thank You also for this juice for what it means to us: the blood of our Lord shed for us.  May we always remember Him when we drink.  In the name of Jesus we pray.  Amen.

The blood of Christ, shed for you.  Take and drink, in remembrance of Him.

Father, we stand in awe of the remarkable sacrifice Jesus made for us, just so we might be saved.  Sometimes we just can’t understand how You could love us so much that You would give us eternal life if we just believe in Your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Father, for as often as we eat this bread and drink this cup, may we proclaim our Lord’s death till He comes.  In the glorious name of Jesus we pray.  Amen.

Just as the light from the Christ candle spreads throughout our sanctuary, the light that is Christ Jesus spreads from one person to the next, one follower to another, and someday, it will encompass the world.  Have no fear - the true Light that is Jesus can never be extinguished.

This is a holy night – the  night of our Savior’s birth.  As we prepare to return to our homes to spend time with our loved ones, let us keep the silence of the night and the peace of our heavenly Father in our hearts.

Go now in peace.  Amen.

His Name Is John

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on the fourth Sunday in Advent, the 18th of December, 2022, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  Our YouTube streaming channel is: 

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIz4WuP8igQstkEOq1AMTg.]

Today is the fourth and final Sunday in Advent, when joy fills our hearts as we await the birth of our Savior.  For we believers, it is indeed a time of great joy, and rejoicing, for we know what Jesus brings to the world.  Yet it is important that we remember to not only look back at His birth, but also to look ahead to His return.  After all, much more of our bible, from both Old and New Testaments, concerns the return of our Lord than His birth as a mortal man.

You would have needed to be out in the fields with the sheep to have heard the announcement and the angelic chorus welcoming Jesus into the world.  Very few actually witnessed the Christ child at His birth, just a few shepherds and wise men along with some farm animals, plus Mary and Joseph, of course.  Hardly anyone knew much about Him for 30 years.

When He returns, everyone will know, everyone will see; there will be no mistake of what is happening.  The entire world will know the King of kings and Lord of lords has come to set things right.

For now, though, we’re still looking at the time leading up to the birth of Jesus.  Last week we watched as the angel Gabriel announced to the young virgin Mary that she had been favored by God to give birth to His Son.  We joined Mary as she visited her relative Elizabeth and heard her sing the beautiful Magnificat.

Today we continue the Christmas story with the birth of John to Zacharias and Elizabeth and the prophecy Zacharias made once his speech was restored at his son’s birth.  As we proceed onward, remember that, with God, nothing is impossible.

Please listen and follow along to the continuation of our Christmas story as presented by the Apostle Luke in the 1st chapter of his Gospel account, verses 57 through 80, and I’ll be reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible this morning…

57 Now Elizabeth’s full time came for her to be delivered, and she brought forth a son. 58 When her neighbors and relatives heard how the Lord had shown great mercy to her, they rejoiced with her.

59 So it was, on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him by the name of his father, Zacharias. 60 His mother answered and said, “No; he shall be called John.”

61 But they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.” 62 So they made signs to his father — what he would have him called.

63 And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, “His name is John.” So they all marveled. 64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, praising God. 65 Then fear came on all who dwelt around them; and all these sayings were discussed throughout all the hill country of Judea. 66 And all those who heard them kept them in their hearts, saying, “What kind of child will this be?” And the hand of the Lord was with him.

67 Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:

68 “Blessed is the Lord God of Israel,

For He has visited and redeemed His people,

69 And has raised up a horn of salvation for us

In the house of His servant David,

70 As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets,

Who have been since the world began,

71 That we should be saved from our enemies

And from the hand of all who hate us,

72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers

And to remember His holy covenant,

73 The oath which He swore to our father Abraham:

74 To grant us that we,

Being delivered from the hand of our enemies,

Might serve Him without fear,

75 In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.

76 “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest;

For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways,

77 To give knowledge of salvation to His people

By the remission of their sins,

78 Through the tender mercy of our God,

With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us;

79 To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,

To guide our feet into the way of peace.”

80 So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.

--Luke 1:57-80 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for all the signs You gave the world announcing the coming of Your Messiah.  You gave a son to Zacharias and Elizabeth who would prepare the way for Jesus to begin His Ministry.  Thank You, Father, for sending Your Son to redeem us of our sin and offer us salvation.  Forgive us, please Father, when we lose sight of the real meaning of this holiday season.  Please help us keep our focus on what truly matters in this life.  Help us serve You and Jesus in all we do.  And Father, please protect us from Satan and from those who are so willing to carry out his evil works.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and one purpose in our love, worship, and service, and healthy and safe through these trying times.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand the message You have for us this day.  Help us understand that all the things prophesied about John can apply to us as well.  Help us shine the light that is Jesus into this dark world, preparing the way for His return.  This we pray in the wonderful name of Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

I may have used this before, but it bears repeating.  As a third-century man was anticipating death, he penned these last words to a friend:  “It's a bad world, an incredibly bad world.  But I have discovered in the midst of it a quiet and holy people who have learned a great secret.  They have found a joy which is a thousand times better than any pleasure of our sinful life.  They are despised and persecuted, but they care not.  They are masters of their souls.  They have overcome the world.  These people are the Christians -- and I am one of them.”

To me, this little story speaks volumes about true Christianity.  When we fully believe in all our bible tells us, in all that Jesus promised, we cannot help but be joyful in knowing what is in store for us.  Anything this world offers - any joys, any pleasures – it is all just temporary, fleeting, here one minute and gone the next.  But what Jesus offers is eternal.  So when we find ourselves being despised or persecuted, we can take quiet joy in knowing that our future is secure.

So now in our Christmas story we are witnesses to the birth of John, who will grow to become the man we know as John the Baptist.  John is born to an older couple, Zacharias and Elizabeth.  Up to this point, Zacharias has been unable to speak because he doubted the word of the angel Gabriel due to his age and Elizabeth’s infertility.

One other thing Gabriel told Zacharias was that the child would be named John.  When the women attending the birth asked Elizabeth if the child would be named Zacharias after his father, she replied, “No; he shall be called John.”  The women thought she must have been mistaken for there was no one in either family named John, so they asked Zacharias, just to be sure.  Since he couldn’t speak, he motioned for a writing tablet, on which he clearly wrote, “His name is John.”  And suddenly, he was able to speak again.  Just as Gabriel had said, Zacharias was able to speak again and the child was named John.

Now let’s pause for just a moment to recall what we learned last week in our examination of this full Christmas story.  When Mary was conceived of the Holy Spirit, she went to visit her relative Elizabeth.  At that time, Elizabeth was in the sixth month of her pregnancy with John, and we are told that Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months.  So it is possible that Mary was among the women attending to Elizabeth at the birth of John.  Isn’t that neat to think about?

At any rate, getting back to today’s part of the story, I think we can only imagine the joy that Zacharias and Elizabeth felt at the birth of their son John.  Originally, they didn’t believe they would ever have children.  But then God made it happen for them.  And not only did they have a child, but one who was destined for great things, one who would serve God in His great plan.

Zacharias, filled with the Holy Spirit, expressed his joy in his prophecy, speaking for God about his newborn son and the man he would become.  This is the kind of joy we should feel, not just at Christmas time, but every day we draw breath.  This is the joy that comes from knowing our Lord, the joy of being loved by our Lord.

Listen as Jesus assures us in His own words, as recorded by the Apostle John in the 15th chapter of his Gospel account, verses 9 through 11…

9 “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. 10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.

11 “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.”

--John 15:9-11 (NKJV)

Just as God the Father loves Jesus, Jesus loves us.  And He tells us this so that our joy may be full!  Jesus wants us to be joyful, to be filled with joy!  We abide in His love by keeping His commandments to love one another, to spread the Gospel message, and to bring more souls to Him as followers, as disciples.  We can face anything tomorrow brings because of our joy, because of His love.

Prophecy was fulfilled with the birth of a child and giving to him the name John.  Prophecy was fulfilled with the birth of a divine Child and giving to Him the name Jesus.  John fulfilled his prophecy by preparing the way for Jesus to come, by giving to the people the knowledge of salvation that Jesus offers.

John promised that Jesus would bring light to all those who sit in darkness and sin, who would guide our feet into the way of peace.  And Jesus does that and more for those who believe and accept Him as Lord.  He shines the light of truth, lighting our path through this life and into the next.  He redeems us of our sin so that when we stand before God, He will see us as washed clean and righteous, our sins forgiven and forgotten.  And He gives us peace, peace and joy in the knowledge of our salvation.

May that peace and joy be yours this Christmas time and on into the New Year.  And may you have great joy in Jesus.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, You are great and glorious and we owe You all thanks and praise!  In Your tender mercy, You sent Your Son to us to offer us salvation.  And You sent one before Him to prepare the way.  Thank You, Father, for having such mercy and love for us poor sinners.  Thank You for sending Your Light to show us the path to righteousness while we stumbled in the darkness of our sins.  Forgive us, please Father, when we take so much of what You have blessed us with for granted.  We get too wrapped up in what the world has made of this “holiday” and lose sight of the greatest gift ever given.  Forgive us when we let the sorrows of the world overwhelm us, when we are distracted from our mission of helping the lost.  Please help us be more attentive to the needs of others and our service to You.  And Father, please help us remain strong, faithful, and true through all that we face in this age.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your commands, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, You have done all that was promised and we know You will fulfill all You promised us.  Thank You, Jesus, for coming to redeem our sin and offer us eternal life in heaven.  Lord, Your relative John was chosen by God to prepare the way for You as You began Your ministry.  He was to prepare the people for Your coming by baptizing them and telling them to repent of their sinful ways.  And this is the mission You have given us, to prepare the people for Your return.  Thank You, Jesus, for entrusting us with so great a responsibility: to help save the lost from eternal damnation.  Thank You for loving us.  Please help us remember that to abide in Your love, we will follow You and do as You command, carrying out our task of bringing others to You as Your disciples.  Help us show non-believers what this holiday season really means to us and to them.  And Jesus, please heal the hurts that separate and divide us one from another.  Help us remain trusting and obedient no matter what we go through.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this life might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.

With God, Nothing Is Impossible

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on the third Sunday in Advent, the 11th of December, 2022, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  Our YouTube streaming channel is: 

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIz4WuP8igQstkEOq1AMTg.]

Today is the third Sunday in Advent, when we anxiously await the coming of our Lord into this world.  Yet our anxiousness is not one of anxiety, for we are filled with a sense of peace that only Jesus can give.  We are at peace in our waiting for we know what He brings to all who would believe.  But in the months before Jesus was born, unbelievable events occurred that may indeed have caused some level of anxiety.

Last week we heard that an older married couple, who were childless because of infertility, had miraculously conceived a son.  And now, something even more incredible is about to happen.  Something that never happened before, and will never happen again.  Something that all of our human wisdom would say is absolutely impossible.  But we’re about to see that with God, nothing is impossible.

Please listen and follow along to the continuation of our Christmas story as presented by the Apostle Luke in the 1st chapter of his Gospel account, verses 26 through 56, and I’ll be reading this from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible…

26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”

29 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. 30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”

34 Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”

35 And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing will be impossible.”

38 Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

39 Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, 40 and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. 45 Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”

46 And Mary said:

“My soul declares the greatness of the Lord,

47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.

48 For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;

For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.

49 For He who is mighty has done great things for me,

And holy is His name.

50 And His mercy is on those who fear Him

From generation to generation.

51 He has shown strength with His arm;

He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

52 He has put down the mighty from their thrones,

And exalted the lowly.

53 He has filled the hungry with good things,

And the rich He has sent away empty.

54 He has helped His servant Israel,

In remembrance of His mercy,

55 As He spoke to our fathers,

To Abraham and to his seed forever.”

56 And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her house.

--Luke 1:26-56 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for loving us so much that You would give Your own Son to the world.  And thank You for such an amazing story of His birth.  In this You showed once again that nothing is impossible for You.  Forgive us, please Father, when we put more trust in human wisdom than in You and what our Bible tells us about You.  Father, please help us share the true reason for this season with the doubters and non-believers.  And Father, please protect us from Satan and from those who so willingly do his bidding.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and one purpose in our love, worship, and service, and healthy and safe through these trying times.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand the message You have for us this day.  As we open our hearts to You, reassure us that nothing is impossible for You, that You can do anything, and that everything You do is for our good.  This we pray in the glorious name of Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

Charles F. Kettering once noted that, “When I was research head of General Motors and wanted a problem solved, I'd place a table outside the meeting room with a sign: ‘Leave slide rules here’.  If I didn't do that, I'd find someone reaching for his slide rule.  Then he'd be on his feet saying, 'Boss, you can’t do it.’”

How many times do we question God?  How often do we think He can't do something, or won't do it for us?

Slide rules are definitely an artifact of the past, but we simply replaced them with scientific calculators and computers.  And we have the internet we can turn to for answers to all our questions.  These are all man-made tools and human knowledge, human wisdom, all of which is fallible, subject to fail.

As late as 1934, science made the claim that it is aerodynamically impossible for a bumblebee to fly.  Their wings are too small, their bodies too hefty, to sustain flight.  I guess the scientists forgot to tell the bumblebees - and God - for bumblebees can indeed fly.

Man quite often has to go, “Oops”.  Not God.  With Him, nothing is impossible, and nothing fails.

Family, our Holy Bible is filled with beautiful scripture, and our reading this morning is among the best. For in it we not only receive the announcement of the upcoming birth of our Lord, but also what many consider to be the most beautiful song in the Bible: the song of Mary, also called the Magnificat.

“My soul magnifies the Lord”, is the usual form of the opening of the song.  I chose to use an alternate meaning from the Greek where “magnify” becomes “declare the greatness”, for that is what magnifying God really is: declaring His greatness.  And this is what Mary was trying to do, in human words and human terms.  Because God was doing the impossible.

Backing up just a little, the angel Gabriel paid a visit to Mary and made her a promise.  If you remember from last week, this is the same angel who came to Zacharias and made him a promise.  In both cases, the promise involved the birth of a child, a seemingly impossible event in each.

Like Zacharias, Mary had her doubts that she could conceive and give birth at this time, not because she was too old but because she was still a virgin.  She had not “known” a man, in the biblical sense.  Gabriel assured her that she had found favor with God, and that with Him, nothing can or will be impossible.  She would conceive, just like her relative Elizabeth, but for her it would be of the Holy Spirit and not of man.  To her credit, Mary accepted this, saying “Let it be so”.

And then, when Mary went to visit Elizabeth, the baby in Elizabeth’s womb leapt for joy.  Elizabeth, too, was filled with the Holy Spirit and recognized that Mary was the mother of our Lord.  So Mary sang.  Filled with God’s Holy Spirit and overcome with Joy, Mary sang and declared the greatness of the Lord and the great things He has done.

When Gabriel first appeared to Mary and told her what was about to happen, she had to have experienced some level of fear and anxiety, along with a hefty dose of disbelief.  “This is impossible!  I can’t be pregnant – I’ve never even been with a man in that way!  What is going to happen to me?!!?”

But then a calming peace came over her, a miraculous peace in an impossible situation.  One might even say it was a peace that surpassed all understanding.  Even though the times would soon be anything but peaceful, for now, Mary was at peace.  And if we think about it, we’d have to say, “Why not?”.  After all, she was now carrying the Prince of Peace within her, next to her heart.

Much later on, the Apostle John quoted the adult Jesus in the 14th chapter of his Gospel account, saying in verse 27…

27 "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."

--John 14:27 (NKJV)

The situation that Mary was thrust into would be nerve-racking for any of us, and yet she found peace, a peace not of this world, but of the Child forming within her.

Someone now unknown once said, "Peace that Jesus gives is not the absence of trouble, but is rather the confidence that He is there with you always."  Even after His human existence ended and He returned to heaven, Jesus has never left us alone.  Yet there was a time when we left Him.

In verses 32 and 33 of the 16th chapter of his Gospel account, John recorded Jesus as the end of His time on this earth approached…

32 "But the time is coming — indeed it is here now — when you will be scattered, each one going his own way, leaving Me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with Me. 33 I have told you all this so that you may have peace in Me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

--John 32-33 (NLT)

During the worst stretch of His human life, Jesus’ closest friends abandoned Him, denied Him, ran away fearing for their own lives.  And yet, He was never alone, for His Father God was always with Him, just as Jesus is always with us.

If we truly believe this and hold onto it, then we too will be at peace as was Mary.  Yes, it’s going to be tough.  Jesus told us so right there.  While we walk this earth we will have many trials and sorrows.  Not that we might have or may have some, but that we will have many.  But He has overcome this world.  And He is still with us.  He will always be with us, giving us His divine peace, the same peace He gave His mother while still in her womb.  For with God - with Jesus - nothing is impossible.

Peace be with you.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, how great You are!  For You, nothing is impossible - there is nothing that You cannot do.  You gave the gift of a son to a couple advanced in their years, and to a young woman while still a virgin.  And all this to accomplish Your will, Your great plan for the salvation of man.  Thank You, Father, for loving us this much.  Thank You for giving us this beautiful story of our Lord’s birth on this earth.  Forgive us, please Father, when we are numbed by the busyness and blinded by the hype of the holiday season and forget the true meaning of Christmas.  It’s all about the gift of Your Son Jesus coming to save us from our sin.  Forgive us when we are too timid or fearful to spread the Gospel.  Please help us share the Good News with others as we all await our Lord’s return.  And Father, please help us remain strong, faithful, and true through all that we face in this age.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your commands, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, just as the wise men of old brought gifts to honor You, we exchange gifts with one another to show our love.  Thank You, Jesus, for the greatest gift of all, the gift of salvation You offer.  Lord, You also give us the peace to accept and endure whatever comes our way, because You promise to never leave us alone.  Thank You, Jesus, for coming to us and then sacrificing Yourself so that we might live.  Please help us remember that if we truly believe in You, we will follow You and do as You command, carrying out our mission of bringing others to You as Your disciples.  Help us show non-believers what this holiday season really means to us and to them.  And Jesus, please heal the hurts that separate and divide us one from another.  Help us remain trusting and obedient no matter what we go through.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this life might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.

Our Story Begins

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on the second Sunday in Advent, the 4th of December, 2022, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  Our YouTube streaming channel is: 

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIz4WuP8igQstkEOq1AMTg.]

Today is the second Sunday in Advent, that special time in our Christian calendar when we anxiously await the coming of our Lord into this world.  This is a time for love, and for introspection.  It’s a time to take an honest look deep within ourselves to see if we are truly ready for our Lord’s coming.

For He is coming – He came to us once and He will come again, just as He promised.  We celebrate His first coming as a little baby, pure and innocent and vulnerable.  When He returns, He will come as an invincible Judge who will set the world aright.

For now, though, over the course of Advent and then on to Christmas morning, I’d like to revisit the full story of our Christ’s birth, beginning this morning with an announcement to Zacharias.  We usually think of Christ’s birth starting with Mary and Joseph on the way to Bethlehem for the census.  But to get the full picture, we need to go back a bit further than that.  We need to prepare a little for the coming of our Lord.

The “good physician” Luke wrote two books that he dedicated to a gentleman by the name of Theophilus but that were definitely intended for Gentiles to read and understand.  We don’t know exactly who Theophilus was, but his name was Greek and we know Luke was Greek, so I like to think they were friends.

The second of these texts is what we call the Book of the Acts of the Apostles, and tells about the life of the early church after the death and resurrection of Jesus.  And the first became what we know as the Gospel according to the Apostle Luke.  This relates the life of Jesus as a mortal man.  And it is this account that contains the Christmas story.

Please listen and follow along to how Luke opened this beautiful story in his Gospel account, verses 1 through 25 of chapter 1, and I’ll be reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible this morning…

1 Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us, 2 just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, 3 it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, 4 that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed.

5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. 7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years.

8 So it was, that while he was serving as priest before God in the order of his division, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood, his lot fell to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. 10 And the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense. 11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.

13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. 15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

18 And Zacharias said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.”

19 And the angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings. 20 But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time.”

21 And the people waited for Zacharias, and marveled that he lingered so long in the temple. 22 But when he came out, he could not speak to them; and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple, for he beckoned to them and remained speechless.

23 So it was, as soon as the days of his service were completed, that he departed to his own house. 24 Now after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived; and she hid herself five months, saying, 25 “Thus the Lord has dealt with me, in the days when He looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”

--Luke 1:1-25 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for putting the arrival of Your Messiah into an order and a perspective that we mortals can understand and relate to.  You could have just sent Jesus as an adult, a conquering hero, a commanding figure surrounded by an angelic army.  But instead You brought Him to this world just as we come - as a small, innocent baby.  And even before that, You set the stage for His miraculous birth by seeing that another would come before Him, to prepare the way.  Thank You, loving God, for giving us Your Son, and such a wondrous story of His coming to us.  Forgive us, please Father, when we spend more time during this holiday season focused on gift giving and receiving rather than on the greatest gift we will ever receive: Your Son and the salvation He offers.  Father, please help us remember the true reason for the season.  And Father, please protect us from Satan and from those who so willingly do his bidding.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and one purpose in our love, worship, and service, and healthy and safe through these trying times.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand the message You have for us this day.  Help us put our hearts, our thoughts, and our lives in proper order so that we too might better prepare ourselves and the world for the coming of our Lord.  This we pray in the glorious name of Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

We are told that when John Huss was arrested and informed that he would be burned to death for his faith, he purposely practiced holding his hand over fire to prepare for his final test.  He burned himself in preparation.  He wanted to be faithful to the end.

Every ending had a beginning, and every beginning has an end.  A new beginning follows every ending.

Jan (or John) Huss was a Czech theologian who became a Church reformer, mostly influenced by Martin Luther and John Wesley.  In 1415, he was condemned as a heretic against the doctrines of the Catholic Church and burned at the stake.  Huss prepared himself for the new beginning that would follow the end of his mortal life on earth.  During his life, he had helped prepare the world for the coming of the Lord, just as another John had done, many years before.

Family, God is good all the time, and all the time, God is good.  God is also always faithful.

Luke tells us of an older couple named Zacharias and Elizabeth; “well advanced in years”, as Luke puts it.  He is a priest of the Temple, and she is a direct descendent of Aaron, the brother of Moses and arguably the best known priest.  So it follows that Zacharias and Elizabeth were both very religious and righteous in God’s eyes.

But they were also childless, with Elizabeth unable to conceive.  I’m sure they prayed for a child, but God had not answered their prayers and quite frankly they were getting too old for it to happen.  Well, I should say that God had not answered their prayers yet, for that was about to change.

The time had come for Zacharias to enter into the innermost chamber of the Temple to burn incense as a sweet aroma offering to God.  While there, the angel Gabriel appeared before him and announced that he and Elizabeth would give birth to a child.  And not just any child, but one who would grow to serve a great purpose for God.  He shall be named John and he will turn a great many people to God.  And even more, he will prepare the way for the Lord to come.

Now of course, Zacharias doubted all of this.  He was an old man, Elizabeth was an old woman, they were both too old to conceive, bear, and give birth to a child!  So to prove that what Gabriel announced would indeed come to pass, God took away Zacharias’ ability to speak, leaving him mute until the son was actually born unto him and Elizabeth.  And indeed, Elizabeth conceived, just as promised.  Our God is ever faithful.

The Apostle Mark also wrote about the life of Jesus, but his account relates to a much later time, when the babe had grown into a man.  It does tie in very nicely to our backstory of Zacharias and Elizabeth, though, and more specifically to their son.  Please listen to how Mark opened his Gospel account, in chapter 1 verses 1 through 8…

1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2 As it is written in the Prophets:

“Behold, I send My messenger before Your face,

Who will prepare Your way before You.”

3 “The voice of one crying in the wilderness:

‘Prepare the way of the Lord;

Make His paths straight.’ ”

4 John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. 5 Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.

6 Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And he preached, saying, “There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose. 8 I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

--Mark 1:1-8 (NKJV)

Mark quotes from the great Jewish prophets Malachi and Isaiah to show how God’s words are fulfilled in John, the son of Zacharias and Elizabeth.  The Apostle claims that John not only physically baptized people in the waters of the Jordan River, but that he also preached a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.  We don’t normally think of preaching as a means of baptizing, but one of the definitions of baptism is “a purifying experience”.

So John baptized both by words and by water those who repented and confessed their sins.  And he proclaimed to all who would listen that One is coming, One who is far greater than he, One who would baptize them with God’s own Holy Spirit.  And Jesus came, and baptized those of us who believed in Him as God’s Messiah, who accepted Him as Lord, giving us God’s Holy Spirit to dwell within us.

The Christmas story ends with a new beginning for us.  Jesus gave of His mortal life that we might live forever with God in paradise.  And it all began with God laying the groundwork for His Son to come to the world by giving an elderly couple a son who would prepare the way.

But really, we’re not quite yet at the end of the story.  There is more yet to come, and we must be prepared.  For Jesus is coming again someday, and it may be soon.  To be ready for His return, we need to be righteous in God’s eyes, as were Zacharias and Elizabeth.  God is faithful, and just as He fulfilled his promise to them, He will fulfill the promise He made to us, through His Son Jesus, to forgive and forget our sins and give us life everlasting with Him in heaven.  And that will be the beginning of a story that will never end.

So let us prepare the way of the Lord, both within our own hearts and among our fellow man.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, You know what is best for us and everything You do is for our good.  You could have suddenly appeared among us in all Your glory, exacting justice according to Your law.  But instead You came into the world in the person of Your Son, born of a woman just like us.  Thank You, Father, for coming to us as one of us, in a form familiar to us.  Thank You for giving us this beautiful story we can relate to.  Forgive us, please Father, when we get caught up in the busyness and hype of the holiday season and forget that it’s all about You.  It’s all about Your Son Jesus coming to the world to save us from our sin.  Forgive us when we don’t recognize this greatest gift of all.  Please help us share the Good News with others and help prepare the way of our Lord’s return.  And Father, please help us remain strong, faithful, and true through all that we face in this age.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your commands, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, thank You for the wonderful gift You offer, the gift of salvation.  Lord, You came to us in the most humble and vulnerable form, as a tiny baby.  Thank You, Jesus, for coming in a way that we can relate to.  Please help us remember that if we truly believe in You and follow You, then we will do as You command and carry out our mission of bringing others to You as Your disciples.  Help us show non-believers what this holiday season really means to us and to them.  And Jesus, please heal the hurts that separate and divide us one from another.  Help us remain trusting and obedient no matter what we go through.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this life might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.

In Everything with Thanksgiving

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on the Sunday before Thanksgiving Day, the 20th of November, 2022, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  Our YouTube streaming channel is: 

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIz4WuP8igQstkEOq1AMTg.]

The psalmist tells us to give thanks to the Lord, for He is good.  Last week we heard where the Apostle Paul added that we should give thanks in everything for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for us.  But just what does it mean to “give thanks”?  Can we just say, “Thank You, God!” and that’s good enough?

Many times when we receive a gift, we show our appreciation by giving something in return, especially at Christmas time.  But what could we possibly wrap up in bright, shiny paper and a pretty bow to give to God that He doesn’t already have, or that He couldn’t make for Himself?

The Apostle Paul founded a number of churches in the region around the Mediterranean Sea, and he tried to stay in contact with them by sending them letters.  Paul even wrote to a few churches that he didn’t establish but that he had served at and loved.  These letters, though perhaps addressed to a specific church, were usually passed around and read by all the churches in the region.  In this way, Paul kept ties with the people he had grown to know and love.  

They also allowed him to extend the Gospel message throughout the area.  And as we’ve seen, that message included encouragement to be thankful to God for all His many blessings, along with reasons why we should be thankful and ways to show our thankfulness.  Please listen and follow along to the instructions Paul gave to us and to the church in Philippi in the 4th chapter of his letter to the Philippians, verses 4 through 9, and I’ll be reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible this morning…

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!

5 Let your graciousness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.

6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy — meditate on these things. 9 The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.

--Philippians 4:4-9 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for being in control.  Because You are Sovereign, we need not be anxious or worry over anything.  Thank You, loving God, for watching over us and listening to our prayers.  Forgive us, please Father, when we spend more time in our prayers asking for what we want to happen rather than praising You and thanking You for all You already do for us.  Forgive us when we don’t stop long enough to realize just how truly blessed we are, when we fail to show our thankfulness in our daily lives.  Please help us tangibly express to You just how much we love You and how we appreciate all You’ve done and continue to do for us.  And Father, please protect us from Satan and from those who do his work.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and one purpose in our love, worship, and service, and healthy and safe through these trying times.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand the message You have for us this day.  Let Your graciousness be known to all men through us and the love we share.  May our thankfulness show in all we do.  This we pray in the glorious name of Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

The first American Thanksgiving didn't occur in 1621 when a group of Pilgrims shared a feast with a local tribe of friendly Native Americans.  The first recorded thanksgiving took place in Virginia more than 11 years earlier, and it was not a feast.  The winter of 1610 at Jamestown had reduced the colony of 409 settlers down to only 60.  The survivors prayed for help, without knowing when or how it might come.  When help did arrive, in the form of a ship filled with food and supplies from England, a prayer meeting was held to give thanks to God.

The colony had suffered food shortages ever since its establishment due to a long drought.  The harsh winter only made matters worse.  So the people that were left prayed to God for help.  When relief finally arrived, they gathered together and offered prayers of thanksgiving.

We may never ourselves experience the kind of struggle those colonists endured, because God is our ever present and constant help.  Even in our toughest times, we can always find something, some little thing, to be thankful for, if we only pause long enough to look around and think.  As Paul says, “whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy — meditate on these things”, and give thanks to God.

How many of you remember Alfred E. Neuman?  Alfred was the mascot, the face, of “Mad” magazine.  His catchphrase was, “What, me worry?”  He was kind of a goofy-looking yet average guy.  You’d think he would have plenty to feel anxious about, but he said he wasn’t worried about anything.

We should try to be more like Alfred.  If we truly trust in God, if we believe in everything He has told us, then we have nothing to worry about.  I’m not saying that we won’t have difficulties in this life, and neither did Jesus; He actually promised that we would have trials and tribulations.  But this life is short, especially when compared to eternity, and God has promised us an eternity of happiness and bliss - no crying or pain, no troubles or turmoil, no illness or suffering.  And all we have to do is to believe in Jesus as His Son and our Lord, repent of our sinful ways, and follow His commands to love and to serve.  So why worry?

Well, it seems to be pretty much common human nature to worry.  We worry about big things, we worry about little things, and those little things probably consume the most of our worry time.  But Paul tells us to just pray; pray and rejoice in the Lord always.  If we just give our worries over to God, offering to Him our humble thanks in everything, then He will cover us with His peace, a peace only He can give.  Pray with thankfulness in our hearts, and the God of peace will be with us.

I mentioned last week that we can always just say, “Thank You, Father”.  It’s easy to say, “Thanks”, even when we don’t really mean it.  Like when we receive a gift from a relative or close friend that we fully intend to re-gift to someone else just as soon as possible.  We don’t want it, but we still smile and say, “Thanks”.

But we can do so much more than utter a few words to show God how thankful we truly are.  And as usual, Paul gives us a few examples we can try.  Please listen to what the Apostle wrote to the church in Rome, in the 12th chapter of his letter to the Romans, verses 9 through 21…

9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. 10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; 11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12 rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; 13 distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. 16 Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.

17 Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. 18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. 19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 Therefore

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;

If he is thirsty, give him a drink;

For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”

21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

--Romans 12:9-21 (NKJV)

We can best show our thankfulness by our love.  This is what God commands; this is what Jesus orders us to do, to love our God and to love others as we love ourselves.  We show our thankfulness to God by showing Him our love, and we show Him our love by loving others.  And while it is true that some people seem downright impossible to love, we need to remember that we don’t have to like them to love them.  One way to think of this is that if we love them as we love ourselves, then we would want them to be spared eternal pain and suffering, to be saved, just as we are saved.

Paul tells us to love without hypocrisy, to be honest in our love, with no expectation of any reward or personal gain.  This is the start of showing thankfulness, and then he goes on with so much more.  Hate what is evil but cling to what is good.  Be kind, putting others first in our life.  Be patient during hard times, praying continuously, and rejoicing in our hope, our promise.

Bless those who hate us, who persecute us, who would do harm to us, and do not repay evil with evil, but instead with love.  Do not let evil overcome us, but overcome evil itself with good, with love.  For this, too, is the will of God in Christ Jesus for us.

I pray that all of us will be able to enjoy at least part of Thanksgiving this coming Thursday with family and friends, sharing a meal, staying warm.  Sadly, there are many in our community that won’t have the chance, the blessing, to do so.  There are some who have no family nearby.  There are others who are homeless.  There are many with food insecurities.  Each one of these less fortunate among us represent an opportunity to show God how thankful we are for the blessings we receive.

We may not know someone personally who is struggling right now, but there are organizations that do, and we can help support them, either through a donation of food or money, or by volunteering some of our time.  Putting our love into action is how we overcome evil with good.  And it’s the best way to say, “Thanks, God, for all You do for me.”

In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, the Founding Fathers of this great nation were very aware of Your hand at work in securing our freedom from tyranny and the right to govern ourselves.  Our first president even called for a nation day of prayer on November the 26th in 1789.  Around 80 years later, the third Thursday in November was set aside as a national day of giving thanks for Your many blessings over our land and our peoples.  Thank You, Father, for helping us survive, from our very beginnings.  Thank You for seeing us through harsh winters and devastating droughts.  Thank You for friends and complete strangers who freely offer aid and assistance in our times of trouble and need.  Forgive us, please Father, when we fail to see all that You give us, when we don’t pause long enough to notice.  Forgive us when we focus our time and energies on the wrong things.  Please help us show our thankfulness, in all things, by showing our love to the world, by helping others who are in need, by loving them as we love ourselves.  And Father, please help us remain strong, faithful, and true through all that we face in this age.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your commands, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, thank You for showing us what love looks like through the example of Your own life.  You came to this world that all might be saved, to show just how much God loves us all.  Thank You, Jesus, for showing Your love through Your words and Your works.  Please help us do the same with our lives.  Help us show the world our love, and in doing so, show God how thankful we are for the blessings He pours out on us each and every day.  And Jesus, please heal the hurts that separate and divide us one from another.  Help us remain trusting and obedient no matter what we go through.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this life might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.

Setting a Thankful Mood

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday, the 13th of November, 2022, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  Our YouTube streaming channel is: 

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIz4WuP8igQstkEOq1AMTg.]

In our Invocation, Ezra told us to give thanks to the Lord, for He is good and His faithful love for us lasts forever.  God gave of His own Son to offer us eternal life in paradise if we would only accept Jesus as our Lord and follow His voice.  We are truly blessed.  God is good, all the time.  And all the time, God is good.

Our Bible is filled with scripture that tells us to be thankful to our loving God, and there are also passages that explain why we should be thankful.  The Apostle Paul often does both, and even gives us examples of how to show our thankfulness.  Please listen and follow along to what Paul wrote to the Colossians in chapter 3 of his letter to that church in Colossae, verses 12 through 17, and I’ll be reading this from the New Life Version of our Holy Bible…

12 God has chosen you. You are holy and loved by Him. Because of this, your new life should be full of loving-pity. You should be kind to others and have no pride. Be gentle and be willing to wait for others. 13 Try to understand other people. Forgive each other. If you have something against someone, forgive him. That is the way the Lord forgave you. 14 And to all these things, you must add love. Love holds everything and everybody together and makes all these good things perfect. 15 Let the peace of Christ have power over your hearts. You were chosen as a part of His body. Always be thankful.

16 Let the teaching of Christ and His words keep on living in you. These make your lives rich and full of wisdom. Keep on teaching and helping each other. Sing the Songs of David and the church songs and the songs of heaven with hearts full of thanks to God. 17 Whatever you say or do, do it in the name of the Lord Jesus. Give thanks to God the Father through the Lord Jesus.

--Colossians 3:12-17 (NLV)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for choosing us to be Your children, to be holy and loved by You.  Without Your steadfast love and faithfulness, we would be forever lost in our sin.  Thank You, loving God, for having mercy upon us and sending Your own Son to redeem us of our sin.  Forgive us, please Father, when we are disobedient, when we stray from the path Jesus set before us.  Forgive us when we don’t stop long enough to realize just how truly blessed we are, when we fail to show our thankfulness.  Please help us show a greater appreciation for all You have done and continue to do for us.  May the teachings and words of our Christ remain fresh and alive within us.  And Father, please protect us from Satan and from those who do his work.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and one purpose in our love, worship, and service, and healthy and safe through these trying times.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand the message You have for us this day.  Please continue to smile upon us and bless us with Your tender mercies.  And guide us with Your firm hand.  This we pray in the glorious name of Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

Do you remember the movie about a “bubble boy” that was based on a true story?  Well, there was a 12 year old boy named David who was born without an immune system.  He underwent a bone marrow transplant in order to correct the deficiency.  Up to that point he had spent his entire life in a plastic bubble in order to prevent exposure to common germs, bacteria, and viruses that could kill him.  He lived without ever knowing human contact.  When asked what he'd like to do if and when released from his protective bubble, he replied, "I want to walk barefoot on grass, and touch my mother's hand." 

How many blessings do we simply take for granted?  How many of us would rejoice to touch a loved-one’s hand again?  Here was a little boy who had never even touched his mother’s hand, never felt her loving embrace, never run barefoot through the grass.  Can you imagine how he would feel if the whole world were finally opened up to him?

Well, we should be able to image it, because this is what we have every day!  Sure, we may not all be able to touch our mother’s hand any longer, but we have memories of doing so.  And yes, we each have our challenges and stumbling blocks to overcome, or at least live with.  But we are able to overcome them, we can live with them, because our loving Father in heaven helps us.  Without His help, without His love, we would be far, far worse off than that boy in the bubble.  We would be forever lost, forever doomed with no hope for a better life for all eternity.  So let us remember just how blessed we are, and let us give thanks to our Lord God.

Family, our national day of Thanksgiving is a little over a week away, so this morning I wanted to set the mood for being thankful.  Because really, we should give thanks every day, and in everything, in every situation, in the good times and the bad.

I don’t think we have very far to look to find something to give thanks for.  We just enjoyed another successful fundraiser.  We remain financially stable as a church when so many others are struggling.  And yes, we worked hard to prepare for and run that fundraiser, yes we have good people watching over our finances and keeping our spending down.  But let us not think for even one moment that any of this is of our own making.  For without God’s blessings, no matter how hard we work or how diligently we perform, anything we try will fail.

Look at our 5K Run for Grace.  We’re a small church.  We knew nothing about hosting a charity run.  And yet every single year, God has smiled on our efforts and blessed us so we could be a blessing to the Workshop.  These are just a few examples of how God has blessed us, in ways both large and small.

Like I said earlier, our Bible provides us with a great deal of information regarding God’s blessings.  The invocation and our church reading both came from the Old Testament, from Ezra and King David.  Let’s look at a few from the New Testament, beginning with James, the brother of Jesus, who tells us why we should be forever thankful in the 1st chapter of his letter to the early church, verses 17 and 18…

17 Whatever is good and perfect comes to us from God. He is the One Who made all light. He does not change. No shadow is made by His turning. 18 He gave us our new lives through the truth of His Word only because He wanted to. We are the first children in His family.

--James 1:17-18 (NLV)

God created everything there is, and since God is perfect, everything that comes from Him is perfect.  And because He is good, everything that comes from Him is good.  Anything that is not so good or that is imperfect comes from man’s own efforts, or from Satan.

God does not change; there isn’t even a trace of the slightest change.  And He gave us new life through Jesus because He wanted to, He wanted us to be His children.  Aren’t those pretty good reasons to be thankful?

In case we need more, let’s turn to Jesus Himself.  Jesus always gave thanks to His Father God even for what we might consider the simple things: for reveling the truth to those who will listen (Matthew 11:25, Luke 10:21), before feeding the 5000 and the 4000 (John 6:11, Matthew 15:36, Mark 8:6), when He raised Lazarus from the dead (John 11:41), after His resurrection with two disciples headed to Emmaus (Luke 24:30).  Jesus also gave thanks when He instituted what we call the Lord’s Supper, at the last supper that He shared with His disciples on this earth.  Please listen to how the Apostle Luke described that Passover meal, from the 22nd chapter of his Gospel account, verses 14 through 20…

14 When the time came, Jesus and the apostles sat down together at the table. 15 Jesus said, “I have been very eager to eat this Passover meal with you before My suffering begins. 16 For I tell you now that I won’t eat this meal again until its meaning is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God.”

17 Then He took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. Then He said, “Take this and share it among yourselves. 18 For I will not drink wine again until the Kingdom of God has come.”

19 He took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then He broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “This is My body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.”

20 After supper He took another cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and His people — an agreement confirmed with My blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you."

--Luke 22:14-20 (NLT)

The next three days would be tough on our Lord, and He knew it.  This would be the last time He would share bread and wine with His closest disciples, with the men who had walked alongside Him the last three years.  It was a bittersweet time, for even though the coming hours would be painful, they would offer redemption for man’s sin.

So Jesus paused and gave thanks to God, for the bread and the wine, sure, but also for the role that He would play in the salvation of mankind.  And He reminds us that His blood seals the promise God made with us, this new covenant we now live under.  Our Lord’s blood, poured out as a sacrifice for us.

For my last example, I’d like to return to the writings of Paul, and this time to a letter he wrote to the church in Thessalonica.  Please listen to the instructions Paul left us in the 5th chapter of his 1st letter to the Thessalonians, verses 16 through 18…

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

--1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NKJV)

It really is that simple.  We’ve been given a bunch of reasons why we should be thankful to God, and then Paul boils it down to this: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for us.

We should rejoice always in God’s loving mercy.  We should pray without ceasing - for ourselves, for our loved ones, for folks we don’t know but who we know need help, for the persecuted, for the lost, even for our enemies.  And we should give thanks in all things, in every situation, under any circumstance.  No matter what we are going through or about to face, we can find much to give thanks for.  For we are a blessed people.

I think Thanksgiving Day has lost a little of its original purpose.  Instead of being a day for all of America to stop and give thanks to God for His many blessings, for some it has become nothing more than a day or two off from work, an excuse to overeat, a chance to sit back and watch football on TV or play a game in the front yard.

I pray that at least for us, it is more than that.  I also pray that we are truly thankful for all God’s blessing more than just one day a year.  No, instead, let us rejoice always and pray without ceasing.  And let us give thanks in everything, for this is the will of God, in Christ Jesus, for us.

In the blessed name of our Lord Jesus.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Father God,  You created everything that exists and it is good and perfect because You are good and perfect.  You chose us to be Your children and we are loved by You.  Thank You, Father, for pouring out so many blessings upon us.  Thank You for loving us.  Sadly, Father, we too often take Your blessings for granted, or we don’t actually see them as the blessings they truly are.  Forgive us, please Father, these times of our blindness.  Forgive us when we fail to see all that You give us, when we don’t pause long enough to notice.  Forgive us when we focus our time on the wrong things.  Please continue to smile upon us.  Remind us of all that our Bible says about how blessed we are.  Help us to show our appreciation in righteous ways.  And Father, please help us remain strong, faithful, and true through all that we face in this age.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your commands, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, thank You for setting so many example of how to live a life that is right in God’s eyes.  You came to save us from our sin and give us life everlasting in heaven, and to instruct us on the proper path to follow.  We are a blessed people, and You are our biggest blessing of all.  Thank You, Jesus, for saving us from drowning in our sin.  Please, Lord, strengthen us in our walk through this tumultuous life.  Please give us the courage and the right words to say when we approach others to do as You command us.  Help us be a blessing to them so that they too might live forever.  And Jesus, please heal the hurts that separate and divide us one from another.  Help us remain trusting and obedient no matter what we go through.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this life might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.