Monthly Archives: December 2018

A Word of Invitation for Christmas Eve

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I have long thought it was pointless to write a sermon for Christmas Eve. I mean, how many Christmas Eve sermons have you actually remembered afterward? Hmm? Yeah, me too. Not one.

So I’ve always operated from the viewpoint that the gospel could speak for itself this one night of the year. The story of the incarnation is enough.

But lately, I’ve begun to realize that this is only true for people who already believe. For everyone else, it’s just a nice story. It makes us feel all fuzzy and warm, and for an hour or so, we can bask in the gentle glow of candlelight. We can pretend that the cute baby in the manger sleeps in heavenly peace, and won’t bother us too much with the reality of our human existence.

And that’s where we’d be wrong. Continue reading →

Redeeming Grace – Sermon on Luke 3:1-6

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December 16, 2018

We’ve been following the hymn ‘Silent Night, Holy Night’ through this season of Advent, and today’s focus is on the third stanza, where ‘love’s pure light’ radiantly beams forth at the ‘dawn of redeeming grace.’ Love and redemption go hand in hand. We call it ‘grace.’

Here’s a great definition of grace: love we don’t deserve and can never earn.

Redeeming grace is that un-earn-able love that saves us. It saves us from our sin, our darkness, and the eternal separation from God that our brokenness deserves. This is the grace that saves us from ourselves. Continue reading →

Leaping for Joy – Sermon on Luke 1:39-45 for Advent 2C

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December 9, 2018

Here’s the back story: Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age, after the angel Gabriel tells her husband, Zechariah, that this will happen. Zechariah questions the angel’s grasp of reality – they are both long past child-bearing age, just like Abraham and Sarah, or Hannah and Elkanah in the Old Testament. Because he doubts the angel’s word, Zechariah is unable to speak for the next nine months.

Here’s another little detail about Zechariah and Elizabeth you might find interesting: they both come from priestly families. In fact, Elizabeth is a direct descendant of Aaron. But Gabriel tells Zechariah that the child they will have is to be a prophet, not a priest. Continue reading →