Merredin Uniting Church

Hello all, here is the fourth advent reading that was read by the Higgins family yesterday…

Last Sunday we lit the candle of joy.  We light it and the candles of hope and peace again as we remember that Christ, who was born in Bethlehem, will come again to fulfil all of God’s promises and bring us everlasting peace and joy (Light the Candles of Hope, Peace, and Joy).

The fourth candle of Advent is the Candle of Love. God’s love is a perfect love.  It holds nothing back. God, in love, gives us everything we need to live a life of hope and peace.

The bible says that “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.”  Jesus shows us God’s perfect love.

This is what love is like: Love is patient, love is kind and envies no one.  Love is never boastful or conceited, rude or selfish.  Love is not quick to take offense, it keeps no records of wrongs, it does not gloat

over other people’s troubles, but rejoices in the right, the good, and the true.   There is nothing that love cannot face, there is no limit to its faith, to its hope, to its endurance.

Love never ends. We light the candle of love to remind us that Jesus brings us God’s love and shows us how to love others. (Lights the Candle of Love)

Love is like a light shining in a dark place.  As we look at this candle we celebrate the love we find in Jesus Christ.

Let us pray: Thank you God for the love you give us. We ask that as we wait for all your promises to come true, and for Christ to come again, that you would remain present with us.  Help us today, and everyday to worship you, to hear your word, and to do your will by sharing your love with each other. We ask it in the name of the one who was born in Bethlehem. Amen.

Texts: Micah 5:2-5, Hebrews 10:5-10, Luke 1:39-55

Despair, War, Sorrow, Hate ….

The opposites of what we celebrate in Advent, and yet the picture of the world that we see today. Despair and hopelessness in people’s hearts, War and aggression everywhere.

Sorrow over our many failures in life and in managing our planet, Hate between nations and religions, people and families.

BUT, it was into this chaos that Christ came, and it is into this chaos that He will return. His mission? As always – Hope, Peace, Joy and Love.

These are all intertwined, the inescapable and indescribable intent of God towards a people, created in His image and whom He loves passionately and forever.

We don’t understand it, or at least, we should not understand it for when we catch even a glimpse of the glory of God, our cry must be that of the psalmist – “O what is man, that you are mindful of him?”

And yet, for some amazing reason, God IS mindful of us …
He watches us fumbling in the dark, and He gives us light;
He sees our failures, and He brings healing;
He sees our feeble attempts to bring meaning to life and He sends His Son …

Over the past three weeks of the Advent Season we have looked at our hope in Christ, and the peace that He brings and the joy with which He floods our hearts – Today we see His Love – a love in which God so loves the world that He sends His only Son so that whoever believes in Him will have life.

The Bible speaks of three kinds of love, (and there was a fourth kind in the Greek language, “Eros” but that’s not in the Bible). There is Storgè, which means “natural affection”; Phileo, meaning “friendship” and there is Agapé – the self-sacrificial love which God shows us in Jesus.

This last one is the love which we are addressing this morning. It goes beyond affection and friendship. It is the love which Jesus taught and to which He calls us. It is a love which is unselfish because it takes the love that we have for ourselves and transfers it to others without any bias or preference.

It is a love which commits us to love not only ourselves, not only our friends, but also our enemies. It is a love which we do not know and cannot understand until we encounter the reality of Jesus in our life. It is, sadly, a love which we lose easily even when we have walked with Jesus.

In writing to the church in Ephesus in the Revelation, Jesus holds against them the fact that they had lost their first, or primary, love. They had lost their agape love.

It is this love which Jesus came to renew in us. And for which He prayed in John 17. And for which He sent the Holy Spirit.

It is this powerful love which Jesus reveals in incarnation, in His death at Calvary, which launches the victory of resurrection on Easter morning, and which is contained in His promise to come again in order to bring us to a promised land – not just across the Jordan, but in a new heaven and a new earth in the glory of His Kingdom come.

From ancient times, says the prophet Micah; from ancient times, from the beginning, it has been ordained, that out of Bethlehem, the least among the clans of Judah would come one who would be ruler over Israel. He would stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord and in the majesty of God’s name.

He would bring peace and security into strife and travail – His greatness will reach to the ends of the earth.

And it is in the fulfillment of this promise that the Father sends the Son. A promise of God’s love, radically declared, and powerfully revealed.

Mary, the one chosen to bear the Christ Child into creation said that His mercy will extend to those who fear Him; That He will lift up the humble, That He will fill the hungry with good things ….

This is the promised love of our Christ and God. Can you imagine what deep passion God has for us, that He would not only leave the realms of glory, to enter into His creation, but He would come to die at the very hands of those He came to save.

And don’t dismiss Christ’s death as the result of Roman soldiers and jealous Jews – it was us, you and I, who brought about His death. The Bible tells us that “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”. Romans 5:8

It was for sin that Christ died. It was to pay the penalty of every trespass that He lay down His life.

He did not come to make a sacrifice…

The laying down of His life at the hands of soldiers, the giving up of His last breath as He hung on the Cross, was not simply an offering to buy life for us.

This was obedience to the Father’s Will.

When Christ came into the world, he said: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me. Here I am, I have come to do your will.”

I have come to lay down that body for the remission of sin. It’s this love, you see. A love that looks not to self, but to others. The Father’s love meant a desire to be obedient to His will, the love for His creation lead to death on a Cross.

Neither obedience, nor love, was withheld. And by that loving sacrifice, we are made holy. Set apart. Powerful love was given, and powerful love is expected. Christ came in love, in order that we might be made holy.

He will come again to take us to be with Him forever and the only criteria will be whether we have loved one another. For at the last judgment the King shall say, “Whatsoever you did for the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” Matthew 25:40

The call from the Cross is for you and I to share cups of water, and crusts of bread with the thirsty and hungry, and our loving heart must be such that we don’t even know that we are doing it – for this is love: not that I seek favour or reward, but only to do the will of Him who came in love and who died that I might have life.

Now you may not know that love, and that life. Or perhaps you have grown cold. Or perhaps you have never known that love at all. You have come here this morning and this is all that we can offer you.

In Christ Jesus, there is a gift for all who seek it. It is the gift of new life and it is wrapped up in His love. If this is what you seek, then I ask that you bow your heads with me this morning as we pray for this life and love to be real in our lives.

Lord Jesus Christ,

You stretched out your arms of love on the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come within the reach of your saving embrace. Today we stand in that place to seek your mercy. Lord, we have tried on our own, and we have struggled. We have time and again, made resolve but have not been able to find that which we have strived. We come to you now, confessing our failure and our need of your amazing love. We affirm that you alone are God, revealed in Christ Jesus come to save sinners. We commit ourselves to walk boldly in your grace. Send forth your Holy Spirit into our hearts that we would be whom you want us to be, that we would love as you want us to love and that we would live as you want us to live.

To the glory of Your Name.

Amen

This is the story that Rev David de Kock shared with the folk at the Moorditj Mia nursing home at the afternoon service. It is titled, “The missing Jesus” and the author is unknown…

About a week before Christmas the family bought a new nativity scene. When they unpacked it they found 2 figures of the Baby Jesus. “Someone must have packed this wrong,” the mother said, counting out the figures. “We have one Joseph, one Mary, three wise men, three shepherds, two lambs, a donkey, a cow, an angel and two babies. Oh, dear! I suppose some set down at the store is missing a Baby Jesus because we have 2.”

“You two run back down to the store and tell the manager that we have an extra Jesus. Tell him to put a sign on the remaining boxes saying that if a set is missing a Baby Jesus, call 7126. “Put on your warm coats, it’s freezing cold out there.”

The manager of the store copied down mother’s message and the next time they were in the store they saw the cardboard sign that read, “If you’re missing Baby Jesus, call 7126.”

All week long they waited for someone to call. Surely, they thought, someone was missing that important figurine. Each time the phone rang mother would say, “I’ll bet that’s about Jesus,” but it never was. Father tried to explain there are thousands of these scattered over the country and the figurine could be missing from a set in Florida or Texas or California. Those packing mistakes happen all the time. He suggested just put the extra Jesus back in the box and forget about it. “Put Baby Jesus back in the box! What a terrible thing to do said the children.” “Surely someone will call,” mother said. “We’ll just keep the two of them together in the manger until someone calls.”

When no call had come by 5:00 on Christmas Eve, mother insisted that father “just run down to the store” to see if there were any sets left. “You can see them right through the window, over on the counter,” she said. “If they are all gone, I’ll know someone is bound to call tonight.” “Run down to the store?” father thundered. “It’s 15 below zero out there!”

“Oh, Daddy, we’ll go with you,” Tommy and Mary began to put on their coats. Father gave a long sigh and headed for the front closet. “I can’t believe I’m doing this,” he muttered.

Tommy and Mary ran ahead as father reluctantly walked out in the cold. Mary got to the store first and pressed her nose up to the store window. “They’re all gone, Daddy,” she shouted. “Every set must be sold.”

“Hooray,” Tommy said “The mystery will now be solved tonight!” Father heard the news still a half block away and immediately turned on his heel and headed back home. When they got back into the house they noticed that mother was gone and so was the extra Baby Jesus figurine. “Someone must have called and she went out to deliver the figurine,” my father reasoned, pulling off his boots. “You kids get ready for bed while I wrap mother’s present.”

Then the phone rang. Father yelled “answer the phone and tell’em we found a home for Jesus.” But it was mother calling with instructions for us to come to 205 Chestnut Street immediately, and bring three blankets, a box of cookies and some milk.

“Now what has she gotten us into?” my father groaned as we bundled up again. “205 Chestnut. Why that’s across town. Wrap that milk up good in the blankets or it will turn to ice before we get there. Why can’t we all just get on with Christmas? It’s probably 20 below out there now. The wind is picking up. Of all the crazy things to do on a night like this.”

When they got to the house at 205 Chestnut Street it was the darkest one on the block. Only one tiny light burned in the living room and, the moment we set foot on the porch steps, my mother opened the door and shouted, “They’re here, Oh thank God you got here, Ray! You kids take those blankets into the living room and wrap up the little ones on the couch. I’ll take the milk and cookies.”

“Would you mind telling me what is going on, Ethel?” my father asked. “We have just walked through below zero weather with the wind in our faces all the way.” “Never mind all that now,” my mother interrupted. “There is no heat in this house and this young mother is so upset she doesn’t know what to do. Her husband walked out on her and those poor little children will have a very bleak Christmas, so don’t you complain. I told her you could fix that oil furnace in a jiffy.
My mother strode off to the kitchen to warm the milk while my brother and I wrapped up the five little children who were huddled together on the couch. The children’s mother explained to my father that her husband had run off, taking bedding, clothing, and almost every piece of furniture, but she had been doing all right until the furnace broke down.

“I been doing washing and ironing for people and cleaning the five and dime,” she said. “I saw your number every day there, on those boxes on the counter. “When the furnace went out, that number kept going through my mind, 7162 7162, that is what it said on the box.” If a person is missing Jesus, they should call 7162 7162. That’s how I knew you were good Christian people, willing to help folks. I figured that maybe you would help me, too. So stopped at the grocery store tonight and I called your miss’s. I’m not missing Jesus, mister, because I sure love the Lord. But I am missing heat. I have no money to fix that furnace.

“Okay, Okay!” said father. “You’ve come to the right place. Now lets see. You’ve got a little oil burner over there in the dining room. Shouldn’t be too hard to fix. Probably just a clogged flue. I’ll look it over, see what it needs.”

Mother came into the living room carrying a plate of cookies and warm milk. As she set the cups down on the coffee table, I noticed the figure of Baby Jesus lying in the center of the table. It was the only sign of Christmas in the house. The children stared wide-eyed with wonder at the plate of cookies my mother set before them.

Father finally got the oil burner working but said you need more oil. I’ll make a few calls tonight and get some oil. Yes, sir, you came to the right place, father grinned.

On the way home father did not complain about the cold weather and had barely set foot inside the door when he was on the phone.

Ed, hey, how are ya, Ed?” “Yes, Merry Christmas to you, too. Say Ed, we have kind of an unusual situation here I know you’ve got that pickup truck. Do you still have some oil in that barrel on your truck? You do?

By this time the rest of the family were pulling clothes out of their closets and toys off of their shelves. It was long after their bedtime when they were wrapping gifts. The pickup came. On it were chairs, three lamps, blankets and gifts. Even though it was 30 below, father let them ride along in the back of the truck.

No one ever did call about the missing figure in the nativity set, but as I grow older I realize that it wasn’t a packing mistake at all. Jesus saves, that’s what HE DOES.

Well, we’re into Christmas week now. I trust that you have done all your preparations for the celebration of the birth of the Christ Child.

I was reflecting this week on how Christmas has changed for me over the years. As a child – and in my pre-Christ following days – it was about the gifts and the festivities. We had Santa Claus and tinsel everywhere – a huge and real tree with piles of gifts stacked underneath. The festivities began as soon as the school term ended early in December. Because we lived out in the country, all the Christmas shopping was done when my parents came to fetch us from boarding school. My brother and I would go with my parents to the wholesalers to buy the gifts for all the children at the mine where we lived – I think that I most remember the smell of dust and cardboard. Sometime before Christmas, Santa would arrive on a truck or a bulldozer at the Recreation Club, and all the white kids would get the gifts which their parents had paid for. Most of the parents were in the pub and Santa smelled like sweat and stale beer.

On Christmas Day we were up early with Bing Crosby singing about a white Christmas while we sweltered in the African heat. After we had opened our gifts, it was off with Dad to the village where all the black   miners and their families lived. There we would help to dish out scoops of lollies for the children, bags of tobacco for the men and sacks of flour for the women. Back home Mom was preparing Christmas dinner with turkey, ham and suet pudding.

On Boxing Day we all went down to the African village again where Dad was judge of the Tribal Dancing. After a whole day of foot stomping and ululating the cow was awarded to the first placed team, and a couple of goats and sheep to the various runners up.  Hot and sunburned we would return home to eat watermelon and spray ourselves down with water from the hosepipe while the adults cooled themselves down with beer and gin & tonic.

From then, until I became a Christ Follower, Christmas was mostly about family get-togethers and the exchanging of gifts, but once I had decided to follow Jesus, Christmas took on a whole new meaning. The gifts and celebration was still there but the emphasis was different and going to church became a priority. Carol music which focused on the birth of Christ became the order of the day in the special season.

More recently, since being in the ministry, Christmas has been about service. The Advent season of preparation, Carol-singing at the Aged Care Homes, a special service of song and celebration on Christmas Eve and a packed out service on Christmas Day. Because it was hot and most of the congregation was standing, the service would start early and was short and celebratory. The little children would bring their gifts to church and the older ones couldn’t wait to get home to open theirs.

Our family, then helped with a Christmas Day lunch at the church for about a hundred people who would otherwise have been alone. We cooked, carved, served, entertained and washed up – finishing late in the afternoon and the workers would then sit down to eat left-overs before we stumbled home, pretty well exhausted. On Boxing Day, we would have our own family Christmas Celebration with gifts, turkey, ham and suet pudding.

At the heart of it all was the reminder of what it must have been like in Bethlehem and Jerusalem, on the night Christ was born (factually probably closer to April than December). Crowds bustling and meeting as they gathered in their ancestral towns for the census taking – greeting old mates and getting together as families. And there was a mother who had travelled in the late stage of her pregnancy to Bethlehem and who found no place to stay and had no time to chat with old friends. In the last stages of her labour a kindly innkeeper took pity on her and gave the family some space in the animal shelter. And there the Christ Child was born – the Lord of Heaven and Earth enters the world in a most human way in a most humble place to begin a process which will bring the whole world back into its forgotten place in the Presence of the Father. How amazing is that?

This is the time to celebrate and to be joyful, to throw all worries to the wind and to savour the amazing wonder of God’s great love for us.  Hosanna in the highest and on earth, peace to all.

Hello all,

Attached is a copy of the first quarter roster for 2010. You can find it on the “duties” page or you can download it by clicking on this link – First Quarter Roster for 2010 (PDF 300kb).

God Bless,

Dave Q