First Sunday in Advent
Sunday, 28, November 2004
Isaiah 2:1-5
Romans 13:11-14
Matthew 24:37-44
Psalm 50:1-2,7-15
(Baptism of Ava Rose, daughter of Ivy Anderson)
"Meaning of baptism-you have forgiveness of sins, filled with holy spirit, going through death and resurrection, puts on Jesus Christ as righteousness. Make disciples of all nations, teach them of all I command. Teach them to be children of God, baptism is not a magic rite. You have to teach them. It is a process of growing, process. Pray for her every day. Celebrate her baptismal birthday. Jesus blesses the little children."
Childrens Sermon: Heidi says that Advent is like the star that pointed to Jesus. Our hearts can be ready for Jesus and point to him like that.
Sermon: (Frank Eberhardtl)
A mother and a girl from a church were driving home. They had heard a sermon about how Jesus is coming back. The girl asked, "When? Can you look it up on the internet?" Frank tried that, but he couldn't find anything on the internet about when Jesus was coming.
Don't be deceived by people who say that every day is the time when Jesus will return, that their location is where he will land. Every day we live, we are a step closer to heaven. Christ will come again. At Advent, it is easy to keep Christ a secret. But God tugs at us with a lttle hand poking out of a bale of straw. We have waited for 2000 years for the second coming, but he hasn't shown up with his glory yet. In the first century in the New Testament, people were asking the same question. "Where is he?" The Lord isn't slow. Jesus loves us. He gives all people a chance to repent before he comes to judge us. Some of us will be embarassed about it. We live in an age of computer and technological wizardry. Science has proven what the church teaches. We know that the earth isn't flat, and other things. If we are embarassed by the scientific community, we might not know that 45% of them are actively religious. 55% of biologists go to church. Scientists have the same needs as the rest of us. Jesus will return in his glory some day. The question is what kind of people should we be before Christ comes. We buy skin patches for our health. They made pain patches 25 years ago. They make heart patches, alcohol patches, pregnancy patches, why not an attitude patch? Doctors say that patches are hard to use. A certain man became dizzy because he put 50 patches all over his body. He had overdosed because he misunderstood the instructions that told him to "change every couple hours."
At the Boston Institute of Technology, they had an alcohol patch. The patch monitors blood alcohol, and the aroma of alcohol. If it becomes too much, it sends a message back to the receiver. If a pilot is above the alcohol level, the plane won't start. It could possibly stop truck drivers and surgeons, or take children away from child care workers before they get hurt. That was the theory.
Maybe one day they will make a sin patch, to see if we are sinning. Maybe it could measure body language.
What kind of people should we be? God's love is our patch. God knows what's wrong. We have the patch of Jesus, by which we can put off the old sinful man and become the new man of righteousness.
A member of a certain congregation dropped by and gave a survey. "What is the biggest problem in the church?" the person asked. The practical answer was "people." People wanted to quit the church due to warm communion wine. The problem happens when we forget who we are. Come, let us go to the mountain of the Lord, and walk in the light of Christ.
With the patch of Christ, people can see the love of Christ in us. What kind of people should we be? Jesus began as a baby. What kind of people should we be with Christ? Christ doesn't differentiate between thought and deed. So we must behave accordingly.