The Nativity of Our Lord (Christmas Eve)
Luke 2:7
They say, “It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.” And these days, there is certainly a lot of darkness! Ooh, but how we love to curse!
“Curse this darkness!” “Curse this economy!” “Curse those who mess with Christmas!” “Curse you for what you did to me!” “Curse this president!” “Curse this governor!” “Curse those politicians!” “Curse Wall Street!” “Curse the protestors!” “Curse the world!” “Curse God!”
Oh yeah, we love it! And if we can muster just the right amount …

So tonight the One who committed Himself into His mother’s hands at birth, who committed Himself into His Father’s hands at death, tonight He commits Himself into your hands—“Take, eat, My Body; Take, drink, My Blood”—into your hands He commits Himself. And the gentle peace of the manger wedded with the eternal peace of the cross, becomes your peace tonight.

January 2012 Newsletter
Start the new year off on a good footing by taking a look at the January newsletter.  Each month the newsletters offer a variety of information, devotion, scheduled events, and more.

While King David dreams of building God a kingly house like his own, the Lord tells David by the prophet, on the contrary, God will build you a house like His own…eternal.
While young Mary dreams of a marriage and life with Joseph, doubtless, as a devote Jew, inviting the God of Abraham to share her life and her house, the Lord tells her by the angel, on the contrary, God will build in a her a life like His own…holy.
And to us in this last moment of quiet before the final week into Christmas, in this waning Advent season where prophets have called us to prepare a place within our hearts for Christ to come and enter there…today the Lord God says to us, on the contrary, it is not you who build Him a place in your life. He is building a place for you in His life.

Sermon 2011-12-18 [ 6:54 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

And yet where there are broken-hearted, wherever human lives live captive to many masters, where the poor hear lots of news but none of it good…where the ruins testify only to what is past…there…there the Lord’s favor is to be heard from prophets and preachers through the ages.
And there, in the place where the Word of the Lord’s favor is heard…there faith will sprout anew to grow into one of Isaiah’s mighty oaks of righteousness. There, where the favor of the Lord goes forth from the lips of the preacher to the ears of the hearers…there, no matter what the ruins of that place, they shall be raised up again…they shall be raised up.

Sermon 2011-12-11 [ 16:06 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Thus the anonymous voice in Isaiah’s song, so filled with tidings of comfort and joy, becomes the specific voice of John the Baptist preparing the way for Him who lifts up those valleys and brings down those mountains by His cross, whose crucifixion cry announces that our warfare is accomplished, our iniquity is pardoned. And this transformation from Isaiah to John to the Word made flesh, Jesus, who stands for us forever in the resurrection…this line of singers carries the comfort and joy of this old, old song right into our own Advent season and into our lives.

Sermon 2011-12-04 [ 14:16 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download