Sermon Sampler (December 6th) - Cleaning out the JUNK!

Several years ago, our church (in Owego) got a new pastor. This particular pastor wanted to visit every family, and our family was somehow chosen early on. For some this might have been viewed as a nice gesture and even a welcome opportunity to get to know the new pastor better. For my family this practically constituted as a state of emergency! To understand how such a thing could be this way, you must realize that our home was in the midst of a renovation process that had been going on for years (and still continues to this day). Furthermore both of my parents worked full-time jobs, there were two kids (my sister and myself) and we had 5 pets (3 dogs and 2 cats)!

All of this combined to keep our house in a perpetual state of disarray. What made it even worse was that this pastor wanted to visit us on a Thursday! That meant that no matter how clean the house was on Sunday, after a weekend of cleaning, it would still be a wreck by Thursday. So my mother did the only sensible thing and took Wednesday off to clean. She also demanded that the moment my sister and I got home from school we too would clean the house. By the time we were done the house was cleaner than it had ever been, and no one was allowed to do anything but sit quietly and not touch anything!

The next day came and our pastor showed up for his visit. He came into our dining room, sat down and visited with us. After only 30 minutes the visit was over and he had left. My mother was clearly disappointed that she had cleaned the entire house (including the back yard...just in case) only to have our pastor only take about 3 steps in our house! But as we looked around at our still clean home, we realized that in the process of cleaning we had gotten rid of a lot of JUNK that we really didn't need. We also decided that the house looked much better this way.

Today's gospel lesson Luke 3:1-6 has John the Baptist proclaiming that people prepare the way for the coming Messiah (Jesus). He uses images of paving a road, making the high places low and the low places high, smoothing out the rough patches and straightening out the crooked sections. The image is fitting for the season of Advent, as we prepare for the celebration of Christmas and we are caught up in the busyness of the season. We too could stand to prepare the way for the coming Messiah.

It has been suggested to me that our hearts can sometimes be like our homes in that they can accumulate a bunch of JUNK and if we don't clean them out things can get quite cluttered! What is cluttering up your heart this Holiday season? Maybe it's all the chaos of shopping, parties, special services, and work deadlines. Maybe you're heart is filled with stress and anxiety surrounding holiday family gatherings. Maybe there's something else that's weighing you down. Whatever that stuff might be, take this opportunity to prepare the way for the Lord, and clean out your heart.

Grace & Peace,
Pastor John

Sermon Sampler (November 29th) - Just Breathe

Have you ever made a New Year's resolution? If you have, were you able to keep it? I've found that most people (myself included) who make new year's resolutions aren't able to keep them. This in part has something to do with the difficult resolutions we make for ourselves (think no junk food, caffeine, parties, sweets, etc.) as well as our natural tendency as humans to want something more once we can't have it!

Well this year I've decided to make a New Year's resolution that I WILL be able to keep. As a matter of fact, I'm committed to getting a jump start on this resolution. You may not know but Advent actually marks the beginning of the Christian year! Therefore, instead of waiting until January 1st, I'm going to make and start my New Year's resolution today! And now for the resolution...this year...I resolve to...JUST BREATHE!

Advent is not only the beginning of the Christian year, the word "advent" means "coming" and for Christians Advent marks the season when we look back and remember Jesus' first coming (as a baby) as well as look forward and anticipate Jesus' second coming. It's that second coming that our Gospel Lesson Luke 21:25-36 is speaking of. In this passage Jesus speaks of the signs (many of which are confussing and frightening) that will preceed his return. Not only does Jesus talk about the signs, but he also warns us not to let our hearts get weighed down with the stresses of life!

Unfortunately too many of us not only let our hearts get weighed down, but we get so caught up in all that goes along with this time of year that we forget why we are so busy. More often than not, by the time Christmas itself rolls around we are sooooo frazzled that we need to be reminded to "just breathe"! That's why I'm resolving to breathe this year, starting today. I would encourage you to join me in this simple (and completely doable) New Year's resolution.

Take the next few moments to just breathe, and possibly ponder what this season is all about.

Grace & Peace,
Pastor John