The Refiner's Fire: From Failure To Forgiveness
Children's sermon
Illustration
Preaching
Sermon
Worship
In Advent, we live with a truth that is already here and not yet here. The signs accompanying this one's coming are terrible, but they have a purpose. This purpose is to give salvation to all people by the forgiveness of their sins. Scott Suskovic is writing the main article this week. Steve McCutchan is writing the response. There are illustrations, a worship resource, and a children's sermon supplied, also.
The Refiner's Fire: From Failure to Forgiveness
By Scott Suskovic
A couple of months ago, the Pope said that Islam was a violent religion. Even though he tried to explain his comments by saying that he was merely quoting sources centuries old, the damage was done. The Islam community was deeply offended. And while the Pope offered an apology (of sorts), the fall out was felt throughout the Muslim world.
This past week, the Pope made a historic visit to Turkey to mend that relationship. He reiterated his apology, met with dignitaries, visited religious sites and promoted an ongoing dialogue between Christians and Muslims. It is yet to be seen whether or not his visit did any good. We all know that the rift between these two major world religions runs far deeper than a single comment made by the Pope.
Why? Because we have expectations. We expect people of faith to get along. We expect the Pope to be a person of reconciliation, not division. We expect that people treat others with respect and dignity. The reality is, we are often disappointed. Disappointed in ourselves. Disappointed in others. Disappointed that the world is not as it should be.
It may come from outside voices like an overbearing parent who was never satisfied. You get a 95, and he wants a 96. You run a 4:30 mile, and she demands a 4:20. No matter how much you did, no matter what hoops you jumped through, they always let you know that you were a disappointment to them. And it doesn't matter that now you are an adult. We still kill ourselves trying to please that outside voice.
Or maybe that voice comes from inside. We all know the straight A student who feels he isn't smart enough, the gifted musician who doesn't feel she is talented enough, or the homecoming queen who doesn't feel she is pretty enough. Disappointment. I'm not the perfect person I would like to be.
But sometimes disappointment goes deeper than an overbearing parent or some unrealistic expectation we have for ourselves. Sometimes, disappointment comes from my failure to be the person God had in mind when he created me.
Moral failure among God's people is nothing new; biblical history is littered with it. Adam and Eve failed. Samson failed. Saul failed. David failed. Solomon failed. Jonah failed. All twelve of the disciples of Jesus failed; Peter failed spectacularly. All committed willful, disobedient sin, abiding and abetting the enemy after having once pledged fidelity to God. In 1 Timothy, Paul wrote this, "This is a true saying, and everyone should believe it; Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--and I was the worse of them all." Paul was a disappointment to God.
No. Moral failure among God's people is nothing new. But even more overwhelming than that long list of biblical disappointments is a God who is in the business of restoration. What does that mean? God's job is more than just massaging broken hearts or bringing closure to sad chapters. It's more than telling you to forget that overbearing parent or not be so rough on yourself. Restoration is about healing the wounded, purifying the sin and pointing us in a new direction. Restoration is about reflecting the one in whose image we are created. Restoration is about becoming the person God intended us to be.
How is that done? Let me give you three steps. These are by no means the beginning and the end to restoration. They are a lifelong process of reflecting the glory of God in our lives.
Repentance. I wish I had a better word for it -- something hip and edgy, memorable and creative. But I don't. It's an old fashion word but here is where restoration begins. Repentance. When John the Baptist began his ministry in John 3, he preached a message of repentance. When Peter delivered the Pentecost sermon in Acts 2 the people were cut to the heart and asked, "What should we do?" Peter said, "Repent."
Why does restoration begin here? Restoration can not happen unless the sin is named. Sin cannot be purged unless it is identified. A clean slate cannot happen without an honest, hard look in the mirror -- no excuses, no playing the victim, to blaming others. Psalm 51 says, "Against you, O Lord, and you only have I sinned and done that which is evil in your sight. Purify me from my sin, and I will be clean; wash me and I will be whiter than snow. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence and restore to me again the joy of your salvation."
Repentance. There isn't a better word for it. If Advent is about preparing the heart for the coming of the Messiah, it must begin here with repentance.
Restitution. There are some wrongs that need to be made right. In AA, it is called the ninth step. It means to go to everyone you have ever hurt and say the words, "I'm sorry." Don't dance around it. Don't imply it. Seek them out and say the words. They may not accept it but it is part of making restitutions. It also means repaying back any money that was stolen or to repair any damage that was done. It means doing some service hours to repay back a portion of the chaos you created. It's a lot of work because saying your sorry doesn't take away the consequences.
Remember Zacchaeus, that wee little man and a wee little man was he? He climbed up in a Sycamore tree for the Lord he wanted to see? Well, Zacchaeus eventually had Jesus over that night he made his repentance before the Lord. But he didn't stop there. He made restitutions. He gave away half of his fortune to the poor and to those he cheated, he paid back four times. Did it hurt? Was it embarrasing? Probably. It's never easy to admit that you are a disappointment. But it was the right thing to do.
You've made your apologize. You've sought forgiveness. You've paid back those you have wronged. Now what? Redirection. Too often, people fall back into the same lifestyle and nothing changes because they haven't turned in a new direction. They haven't changed their lifestyle. This is hard because redirection means starting new. If alcohol is the problem, you need to stay away from your drinking buddies and attend AA. If porn is the problem, you need to cancel the cable or disconnect it at the hotel. If infidelity is the problem, what changes have you put into place so that you will not see that person again? Is it money? Who have you asked to look over your shoulder and keep you accountable? Is it abuse? Have you blocked off a counseling session once a week for a long time? Redirection is an intentional decision to take a different path.
In his book, The Life You've Always Wanted, John Ortberg wrote about disappointment -- not living the life that God intended for us. He wrote, "One of the most profound statements I have heard about the human condition was one I first encountered when I was only five years old. It was spoken by my hero, Popeye, the Sailor Man. When he was frustrated or wasn't sure what to do or felt inadequate, Popeye would simply say, "I yam what I yam."
In other words, don't expect too much from me. I will disappoint. And there is not much hope that anything will change. I will always fall short of expectations. Is that true? Or can God restore even the likes of me?
For this Advent Sunday, Malachi has this great phrase. He says, "The Messiah is coming. Who can endure that day? Who can stand in his presence?" It's a rhetorical question, right? What's the answer? No one. No one can stand before the presence of God. We are a disappointment. We have fallen short of God's expectations. Malachi knows this. That's why the messiah is coming. Not to rub our noses in it or add more rules. The messiah doesn't come to point out the obvious that we are a disappointment to God. The messiah will come with hope. Malachi says this, "He is coming like a refiner's fire. . .he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver -- and he will refine you." What does this mean?
The refiner of silver would take the metal and heat it up to boil off all impurities. The process would take a long time with great heat because even the slightest impurity would put a flaw in the precious metal. When one master refiner was asked by his apprentice, "How long do you heat the metal, how do you know when it is pure?" The master said, "When I can see my own reflection, then I know it is pure."
That's it. That's what Malachi wants us to take away. Am I a disappointment to God? Yes. If I am to be honest, yes. Even if we reach the height of the papacy, we will disappoint. We will fall short of expectations. But that's why Jesus came -- to restore in us the image of God. He is the refiner. We are the precious metal. He is taking away the impurities in our lives. How? With fire. Unfortunately, with fire. Not with a soft backrub or a warm embrace. I wish it would be otherwise but Malachi tells us the messiah will come with fire. It's an awful way of getting pure. It's a painful way of getting rid of the impurity. And it takes a long time because those impurities are deeply imbedded. But God is at work in your life. God will bring to perfection the good work he started in you. God is opening your heart to repentance, giving you courage to make your restitution, providing you wisdom for a new direction. God is at work in you, refining you so that one day you will stand before God and once again reflect his face -- the face in whose image you were created.
"I yam what I yam?" No. It is never too late. Never too late to be restored. Never too late to hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant." Never too late to be wrapped in his embrace with the words, "You are not a disappointment. You are my beloved child. With you I am well pleased."
ANOTHER VIEW
By Steve McCutchan See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple.
-- Malachi 3:1
As we reflect on the Pope's visit to Turkey and his efforts to both honor the minority Christian community there and not offend the majority Islamic community, we experience again the classic Christian drama. Our faith exists as a minority voice in the midst of a world that does not recognize us as the bearers of truth. As he chose his actions and words, the Pope could not ignore the fact that his past words, in a speech given in Germany, had deeply offended many within the Islamic community. If our Christian witness is to be received by our larger society, we, too, have to recognize that some of our behavior as Christians has been a source of offence to the society around us. Sometimes that offence is because we spoke the truth but sadly some of our offence is because we have failed to live the truth that we have received. We cannot ignore the fact that the sexual and financial scandals that have occurred within the church have affected the witness of all of us. That is the other side of the truth of Paul's comment about the significance of our being part of the Body of Christ. "If one member suffers, all suffer together with it..." (1 Corinthians 12:26a). Who can blame non-believers for being skeptical of a church that speaks of morality but continually falls short of their own sermons? Yet, like the Pope, we must continue to witness to the truth we have received while being mindful that we must do so with full recognition that some of our past history must be overcome if our witness is to be effective.
Advent is an appropriate season for both acknowledging our past mistakes and still being hopeful about the future. Our hope lies not in our ability but in God's ability to open up a future of promise. Again Paul reminds us of the truth that God's power is made perfect in our weakness. Advent is a season of promise. We read Scriptures that reveal the promises of God even as we prepare to recognize their fulfillment in the birth of Christ. The reason why we read eschatological Scriptures, Scriptures that speak of the end times, during Advent is that the fulfillment of God's future is still something to be looked forward to and expected in the future. Even when we grow discouraged by our own failures, we find hope in God's power to redeem.
Contemporary Christians are often more comfortable thinking of the entire season of Christmas as a past event. Once upon a time God made a promise to send a messiah and then, over two thousand years ago, God fulfilled that promise. So today we can feel good that God was faithful and we can celebrate the results of that faithfulness in the Christmas season. Sometimes it makes us uncomfortable to consider the possibility that we, too, should be anticipating the coming of God. We tend to dismiss such thinking as belonging to a more extreme version of Christianity. We live as if we were reading a mystery novel but have already peeked at the last chapter and so do not expect any surprises.
Yet there is both a past and a future dimension to the Christian faith. It is not only that God came in Jesus but also that God will come again. Our discomfort in such thinking may have a basis in an awareness that the coming of God into our presence would have its negative side as well. "But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears." Advent, as a time of preparation, may be an opportunity to reflect on what needs to be purified in each of us and in our church so that we are ready to receive God. For the Pope's visit to Turkey to be effective, it was important that he acknowledge that his previous speech had been the source of much pain. As Christians we speak not out of perfection but out of an amazement that God's love can shine through such "earthen vessels" as those of us in the church.
Advent is a time of preparation, perhaps we could say even a cleansing, so that we can be prepared to receive the full truth of the presence of God among us. If we look to the prophet Malachi as our guide, we might recognize that such purification may begin with the pastors and church leaders. "For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap; he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the Lord in righteousness." The descendents of Levi were the priests chosen by God to guide Israel. Advent is a time of tilling the soil and making ready for the possibility that the seeds of faith that God chooses to plant might find a fertile soil among us. This is not to suggest that the church leaders or even the church should proceed through Advent in some modern form of self-flagellation. Rather, we are a people who can confess our shortcomings honestly because we are a people who find our hope not in our perfection but it the faithfulness of God.
Because it is a truth that is far beyond our control, we cannot describe the new thing that God is about to create. Yet Advent is based on the faith that God is about to do a new thing. Have you grown cynical about the future or do you expect God to do something new during this season? Since we know that most of the world did not even recognize what had happened when Jesus was born, what preparation do we need to make so that we might recognize that new, redeeming act that may well occur in this world during this season?
ILLUSTRATIONS
There is a tradition in Alcoholics Anonymous that says, "God loves us just as we are. But he loves us too much to leave us just as we are."
* * *
Imagine this. A certain husband and wife who have been well loved and who love each other deeply decide that they have love to share. They decide to become foster parents and to take into their home a delinquent child and try to love him into wholeness. They take into their lives a boy in his early teens who has experienced abuse and rejection all of his life. He has learned a way of relating to life that is made up entirely of fear, anger, hatred, and againstness. He relates himself to others and to life in very destructive ways. As a matter of fact, earlier in his childhood, he has actually killed another child. The foster parents know all of that but they are determined to try to make a difference in the child's life. They give him the gift of unconditional acceptance, taking him into their home, and their lives, and their love, in spite of all they know about him. They know that will not be the end of it. They give him the promise of a love that will stay with him and work with him until he is able to become a whole and happy and productive person. That gift is given. The life shaping relationship is there for the boy as a free gift. But the boy still has to get past all that he has done and all that has been done to him, to get past all of the fear and the anger and the hate and the againstness, to enter into the love that is there for him and to let it shape his life.
It is that way with us and God. Jesus came to show us that God has given us the free gift of a liberating and enabling love. It is there for us. If we will let it, it will make us whole and free and happy and productive persons. But we have to get past all of the stuff in our lives that makes it difficult to enter into that love. For many of us, it may not be easy. God knows that. God is ready to help us. But we have to be willing to take hold of the promise and to work with God.
* * *
In an as yet unpublished novel titled "Refinery," there is a story of an old pipe fitter whom everyone called Sarge, who lost his life in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent an industrial disaster which destroyed a large part of the oil refinery where he worked and killed a number of people. Sarge was a crusty old character, not noted for his piety, but his coworkers loved him with that special kind of love with which men love each other. Several hundred of them gathered at the grave side for his simple funeral. The local pastor, Tim, preached the following sermon:
"We have gathered here to celebrate the life of William L. Anderson, the one most of you called Sarge. The family told me that Sarge would want me to keep this short and so I will. But there are some things that just need to be said. A fellow asked me, 'What in the world are you going to be able to say at a funeral about old Sarge?' I suspect some of you have been wondering about that. After all, he wasn't notorious for going to church. And I've heard rumors that Sarge drank a little beer -- and that he sometimes cussed." A little ripple of laughter spread over the congregation and people began to relax a little. Tim went on. "But in spite of all of those things, you have loved Sarge. So is it so hard to believe that God loves Sarge, too? That's what counts right now. None of us is good enough to go to meet the Lord counting on our own goodness. We all have to go counting on God's love for us. Jesus came to show us how much God loves us. And Paul said in Romans 8 that nothing in the whole creation can separate us from the love of God. With that in mind, we can, with confidence, commend our friend, Sarge to the care of God."
"But someone might ask, what about the judgement of God? That's a good question. The Bible does talk about judgement. In fact there's a passage about the judgement that ought to ring a bell with lots of us because it talks about refining. We know about refining oil but this passage compares the judgement of God to someone refining silver and gold. Let me read it to you. It's in Malachi 3:2-4 'But who can endure the day of his coming and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire and like a fuller's soap; he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the Lord in righteousness.' The old prophet is saying that when we meet God, that will be a time for judgement and for refining of our lives. Now, I may be a little bit of a maverick in the way I think about the judgement of God. I don't think of it just as something that happens at the end of time or at the end of our lives. I think it is something that happens again and again in the middle of our lives because God meets us in each moment of our lives and asks us to live up to the best that we are capable of. In those times, I don't think God looking for a reason to send us to hell. God is trying to find a way to bring out the best in us. I think that happens in a special way when life puts us into a situation where it will cost us a lot to live up to the loving commitments we have made for our lives. You all know something like that happened among us just this week. And Sarge and his friend George Christopher, The Deacon, rose to the occasion and gave the most perfect gift anyone can give to God, a total commitment in love. Let's just pray that all of us, and all of this world we live in, can rise to the challenges that will meet us in life and experience the refining that comes from God."
* * *
Robert Lewis Stevenson, grew up in Scotland around the turn of the century and his family's house was on a hillside outside of town. Each evening, he would sit in the kitchen and look down on the town, watching the lamp lighter ignite each of the town's street lamps. He remembered one evening saying to his mother, "Look, there is a man down there who is punching holes in the darkness."
And so this Advent we proclaim the nearness of the kingdom of God. The Book of Common Prayer calls on God to "give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and to put on the armor of light." Thus may we too have grace to "punch holes in the darkness."
* * *
A woman in my congregation recently returned from a retreat at Gethsemane, the monastery in Kentucky where Thomas Merton journeyed so diligently in his pilgrimage toward God. When she returned I asked her how her time there was. She beamed and said it was "Heavenly."
So it is with those of the spirit. We journey on with all the saints here on earth and those who have gone before. Hardly do we realize with such busy and anxious lives how close heaven lies. The kingdom of heaven is indeed "at hand." Only when we stop and listen to the heart of God beating in ours do we realize that Heaven is close. Indeed it is "at hand" as both the Baptist and as Jesus said.
* * *
Tolstoy, in latching on to Luke 17:21 proclaims that the Kindom is Heaven is "within" us. That is why it is so very close at hand and why it is so near. He goes on to say that the connection between God and humanity is within the grasp of love.
"God is the infinite ALL. Man is only a finite manifestation of Him.
Or better yet:
God is that infinite All of which man knows himself to be a finite part.
God alone exists truly. Man manifests Him in time, space and matter. The more God's manifestation in man (life) unites with the manifestations (lives) of other beings, the more man exists. This union with the lives of other beings is accomplished through love. God is not love, but the more there is of love, the more man manifests God, and the more he truly exists" --Tolstoy
* * *
I can remember, when I was a child, how much I liked spending the day at my Grandma Nesbitt's, roller skating on the smooth sidewalk by her house, and playing "work-up" with neighborhood kids in the vacant lot next door.
The problem was, when I came in at noon, Grandma would hand me a bar of soap and the hand brush and make sure that I got my hands clean enough for me to sit down with her for lunch.
This involved a lot of scrubbing, because Grandma couldn't endure dirty hands at the dinner table.
I can hear echoes of all this in our Old Testament reading for today (Malachi 3:1-4):
"Who can endure the day of (the Lord's) coming?" Malachi asks. "For he is like... fuller's soap... and he will purify..."
And the Lord is purifying all of us, day by day, helping us to move beyond the impurities of our lives: beyond our selfishness, beyond our self-centeredness. Helping us grow into the mature Christian people he intends us to be.
I can also hear echoes of this when I listen again to Handel's glorious Messiah at this time of year, and hear the same words:
"Who can endure the day of his coming... and he will purify..."
* * *
When our family lived in Minot, North Dakota, we managed to live through the terrible flood in the spring of 1969. Because of a heavy snowfall to the north of us in Canada that winter, and then a late spring, all the snow melted at once and the waters suddenly came rushing down the Souris (Mouse) River, and one-third of the city of 30,000 people had to quickly flee from the lowlands.
Then the bulldozers and back hoes and front loaders and dump trucks worked around the clock to haul dirt from the big hill behind our house to build levees to try to keep the water out of the low-lying areas.
We went to bed at night, every night for a week or two, hearing the earth-moving equipment digging away at the hill above us. In time, the hill was considerably lower, and a large protective embankment had been raised up in the valley.
In our gospel lesson for today (Luke 3:1-6), and again in Handel's Messiah, we hear Luke telling us that John the Baptist came to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord, making the hills and mountains low, and filling up the valleys.
I don't think Luke was talking about John the Baptist jumping onto a bulldozer and moving piles of dirt. But rather, doing what we're all called to do, as followers of our Lord, which is to prepare the way so that our family and friends and neighbors and co-workers can experience the Lord's coming.
If they can see some of our Lord's compassion and mercy and caring for them in us, the road from him to them is made that much easier.
* * *
In our Psalm for today, which is not from the book of Psalms but rather from the book of Luke (1:68-79), we hear Zechariah, the father of John, who will later be known as John the Baptist, speaking (almost singing!) praises to the Lord on the occasion of eight-day-old baby John's being presented in the temple. (These words of Zechariah are also used in Morning Prayer [Matins] services in some congregations.)
Jesus will not be born for a few more months, but Mary has paid a visit to John's mother Elizabeth, a few months earlier, so Zechariah and Elizabeth know that the Savior of the world will be coming soon.
His son John, Zechariah says, will announce that the dawn from on high, who is Jesus, will come upon us, and that he will shine into this dark world where we live, right here where we live in the very shadow of death, and that he will guide our feet into the way of peace.
In our troubled world today, with all its wars and rumors of war, we need our Lord to guide us into this way of peace, this way of living together as his people.
Which reminds me of the "trust walks" many of us have taken. First we're blindfolded, plunging us into complete darkness, then we depend completely on someone else to lead us wherever we need to go.
Which raises a question: Do we dare to trust our Lord to lead us in the same way, day by day, through this world's darkness, to where we, as his followers, need to go with him?
WORSHIP RESOURCE
By Thom Shuman
Call To Worship
One: Welcome to this place
where we seek our hearts' true home.
All: here, we gather with God's people;
here, we hold one another in our hearts.
One: Welcome to this place
where we seek our hearts' true home.
All: Here, God looks in favor on us;
here, we discover God's intentions for us.
One: Welcome to this place
where we seek our hearts' true home.
All: Here, we find a feast prepared for us;
here, we taste God's grace and hope.
One: Welcome to this place!
All: Where we find our hearts' true home.
Prayer Of The Day
Blessed God,
Faithful Promise-Giver:
you hold us in your love
and will not let us go,
no matter how often
we may break your heart.
Jesus Christ,
Dawn from on high:
we remember your birth with joy
and await your Day,
when you complete
your work of love and grace.
Holy Spirit,
Refiner and Renewer
of God's people:
you invite us to share in the gospel,
to grow in understanding,
to live with one another,
to cope with anxiety,
to serve the world in God's name.
God in Community, Holy in One,
we lift our prayers in joy,
thanking and remembering
the One who taught us to pray, saying,
Our Father...
Call To Reconciliation
God is the witness to our lives, the One who sees all we do and fail to do, the One who hears what we say, and don't. God is also the One who cleanses us, who makes us pure, who forgives us. Join me as we pray to our God,
Unison Prayer Of Confession
Refining God, it is not easy for us to admit we are not a blameless people. We trust the promises of politicians, but have trouble believing the ones you have made. We find ourselves captive to emotions and lusts which stun us, but doubt you can save us. We prefer the shadowy streets of the world, rather than walking in your Light.
Forgive us, Faithful One. May the Light of Christ show us your way; may the Love of Christ overflow from our lives to others; may the Life of Christ be our model as we seek to be your people.
(Silence is observed.)
Assurance Of Pardon
One: Do you feel it? God's tender mercy
rests on you, heals you, transforms
you. Do you see it? God's Light
breaks into our lives, and shows us
the way.
All: Renewed and made whole, we see the
path God has prepared for us -- the
way of peace, the way of hope, the way
of grace, the way of service. Thanks be
to God. Amen.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Preparing the way
Object: a box, some wrapping paper, bows, scissors, and tape
Good morning. I brought one of the Christmas gifts I want to give with me this morning. I suppose I could just give this box, but it wouldn't seem as special. I always like to wrap my Christmas gifts in the finest wrapping paper and top each gift with a bow. Is that how you like your gifts? (let them answer)
I have to prepare for Christmas giving by purchasing my gift and then wrapping it. (Begin wrapping the box now so that by the end of the children's sermon, you have completely wrapped it.) There are many steps involved in just giving a Christmas gift. See how I have to cut the paper and tape it to the box. All this is preparation.
Today we hear about someone who comes to prepare. Who am I talking about? (let them answer) That's right -- John the Baptist. And what is he preparing? (let them answer) He is preparing for Jesus to come.
During this season of Advent we are all preparers like John the Baptist. We are all preparing for Jesus to come -- at Christmas and at the end of all time. Preparation is important. If I didn't take the time to prepare my gift for Christmas giving, I don't think my gift would be as special as it will be with the wrapping paper, bow, and the special things I do with the gift as I prepare to give it. In the same way, as we prepare for Jesus to come, his coming will be that much more special, too.
I'm glad we have this season of Advent for us to prepare for Jesus' coming. I'm glad and excited Jesus is coming. I look forward to Christmas. But meanwhile, I prepare. Today I want you to ask your parents, your Sunday school teacher, and others, for some good ideas on how we can all prepare for Jesus. Will you do that today? (let them answer) Good. Let's pray:
Dearest Lord Jesus: We prepare for your coming. Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, December 10, 2006, issue.
Copyright 2006 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 517 South Main Street, Lima, Ohio 45804.
The Refiner's Fire: From Failure to Forgiveness
By Scott Suskovic
A couple of months ago, the Pope said that Islam was a violent religion. Even though he tried to explain his comments by saying that he was merely quoting sources centuries old, the damage was done. The Islam community was deeply offended. And while the Pope offered an apology (of sorts), the fall out was felt throughout the Muslim world.
This past week, the Pope made a historic visit to Turkey to mend that relationship. He reiterated his apology, met with dignitaries, visited religious sites and promoted an ongoing dialogue between Christians and Muslims. It is yet to be seen whether or not his visit did any good. We all know that the rift between these two major world religions runs far deeper than a single comment made by the Pope.
Why? Because we have expectations. We expect people of faith to get along. We expect the Pope to be a person of reconciliation, not division. We expect that people treat others with respect and dignity. The reality is, we are often disappointed. Disappointed in ourselves. Disappointed in others. Disappointed that the world is not as it should be.
It may come from outside voices like an overbearing parent who was never satisfied. You get a 95, and he wants a 96. You run a 4:30 mile, and she demands a 4:20. No matter how much you did, no matter what hoops you jumped through, they always let you know that you were a disappointment to them. And it doesn't matter that now you are an adult. We still kill ourselves trying to please that outside voice.
Or maybe that voice comes from inside. We all know the straight A student who feels he isn't smart enough, the gifted musician who doesn't feel she is talented enough, or the homecoming queen who doesn't feel she is pretty enough. Disappointment. I'm not the perfect person I would like to be.
But sometimes disappointment goes deeper than an overbearing parent or some unrealistic expectation we have for ourselves. Sometimes, disappointment comes from my failure to be the person God had in mind when he created me.
Moral failure among God's people is nothing new; biblical history is littered with it. Adam and Eve failed. Samson failed. Saul failed. David failed. Solomon failed. Jonah failed. All twelve of the disciples of Jesus failed; Peter failed spectacularly. All committed willful, disobedient sin, abiding and abetting the enemy after having once pledged fidelity to God. In 1 Timothy, Paul wrote this, "This is a true saying, and everyone should believe it; Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--and I was the worse of them all." Paul was a disappointment to God.
No. Moral failure among God's people is nothing new. But even more overwhelming than that long list of biblical disappointments is a God who is in the business of restoration. What does that mean? God's job is more than just massaging broken hearts or bringing closure to sad chapters. It's more than telling you to forget that overbearing parent or not be so rough on yourself. Restoration is about healing the wounded, purifying the sin and pointing us in a new direction. Restoration is about reflecting the one in whose image we are created. Restoration is about becoming the person God intended us to be.
How is that done? Let me give you three steps. These are by no means the beginning and the end to restoration. They are a lifelong process of reflecting the glory of God in our lives.
Repentance. I wish I had a better word for it -- something hip and edgy, memorable and creative. But I don't. It's an old fashion word but here is where restoration begins. Repentance. When John the Baptist began his ministry in John 3, he preached a message of repentance. When Peter delivered the Pentecost sermon in Acts 2 the people were cut to the heart and asked, "What should we do?" Peter said, "Repent."
Why does restoration begin here? Restoration can not happen unless the sin is named. Sin cannot be purged unless it is identified. A clean slate cannot happen without an honest, hard look in the mirror -- no excuses, no playing the victim, to blaming others. Psalm 51 says, "Against you, O Lord, and you only have I sinned and done that which is evil in your sight. Purify me from my sin, and I will be clean; wash me and I will be whiter than snow. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence and restore to me again the joy of your salvation."
Repentance. There isn't a better word for it. If Advent is about preparing the heart for the coming of the Messiah, it must begin here with repentance.
Restitution. There are some wrongs that need to be made right. In AA, it is called the ninth step. It means to go to everyone you have ever hurt and say the words, "I'm sorry." Don't dance around it. Don't imply it. Seek them out and say the words. They may not accept it but it is part of making restitutions. It also means repaying back any money that was stolen or to repair any damage that was done. It means doing some service hours to repay back a portion of the chaos you created. It's a lot of work because saying your sorry doesn't take away the consequences.
Remember Zacchaeus, that wee little man and a wee little man was he? He climbed up in a Sycamore tree for the Lord he wanted to see? Well, Zacchaeus eventually had Jesus over that night he made his repentance before the Lord. But he didn't stop there. He made restitutions. He gave away half of his fortune to the poor and to those he cheated, he paid back four times. Did it hurt? Was it embarrasing? Probably. It's never easy to admit that you are a disappointment. But it was the right thing to do.
You've made your apologize. You've sought forgiveness. You've paid back those you have wronged. Now what? Redirection. Too often, people fall back into the same lifestyle and nothing changes because they haven't turned in a new direction. They haven't changed their lifestyle. This is hard because redirection means starting new. If alcohol is the problem, you need to stay away from your drinking buddies and attend AA. If porn is the problem, you need to cancel the cable or disconnect it at the hotel. If infidelity is the problem, what changes have you put into place so that you will not see that person again? Is it money? Who have you asked to look over your shoulder and keep you accountable? Is it abuse? Have you blocked off a counseling session once a week for a long time? Redirection is an intentional decision to take a different path.
In his book, The Life You've Always Wanted, John Ortberg wrote about disappointment -- not living the life that God intended for us. He wrote, "One of the most profound statements I have heard about the human condition was one I first encountered when I was only five years old. It was spoken by my hero, Popeye, the Sailor Man. When he was frustrated or wasn't sure what to do or felt inadequate, Popeye would simply say, "I yam what I yam."
In other words, don't expect too much from me. I will disappoint. And there is not much hope that anything will change. I will always fall short of expectations. Is that true? Or can God restore even the likes of me?
For this Advent Sunday, Malachi has this great phrase. He says, "The Messiah is coming. Who can endure that day? Who can stand in his presence?" It's a rhetorical question, right? What's the answer? No one. No one can stand before the presence of God. We are a disappointment. We have fallen short of God's expectations. Malachi knows this. That's why the messiah is coming. Not to rub our noses in it or add more rules. The messiah doesn't come to point out the obvious that we are a disappointment to God. The messiah will come with hope. Malachi says this, "He is coming like a refiner's fire. . .he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver -- and he will refine you." What does this mean?
The refiner of silver would take the metal and heat it up to boil off all impurities. The process would take a long time with great heat because even the slightest impurity would put a flaw in the precious metal. When one master refiner was asked by his apprentice, "How long do you heat the metal, how do you know when it is pure?" The master said, "When I can see my own reflection, then I know it is pure."
That's it. That's what Malachi wants us to take away. Am I a disappointment to God? Yes. If I am to be honest, yes. Even if we reach the height of the papacy, we will disappoint. We will fall short of expectations. But that's why Jesus came -- to restore in us the image of God. He is the refiner. We are the precious metal. He is taking away the impurities in our lives. How? With fire. Unfortunately, with fire. Not with a soft backrub or a warm embrace. I wish it would be otherwise but Malachi tells us the messiah will come with fire. It's an awful way of getting pure. It's a painful way of getting rid of the impurity. And it takes a long time because those impurities are deeply imbedded. But God is at work in your life. God will bring to perfection the good work he started in you. God is opening your heart to repentance, giving you courage to make your restitution, providing you wisdom for a new direction. God is at work in you, refining you so that one day you will stand before God and once again reflect his face -- the face in whose image you were created.
"I yam what I yam?" No. It is never too late. Never too late to be restored. Never too late to hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant." Never too late to be wrapped in his embrace with the words, "You are not a disappointment. You are my beloved child. With you I am well pleased."
ANOTHER VIEW
By Steve McCutchan See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple.
-- Malachi 3:1
As we reflect on the Pope's visit to Turkey and his efforts to both honor the minority Christian community there and not offend the majority Islamic community, we experience again the classic Christian drama. Our faith exists as a minority voice in the midst of a world that does not recognize us as the bearers of truth. As he chose his actions and words, the Pope could not ignore the fact that his past words, in a speech given in Germany, had deeply offended many within the Islamic community. If our Christian witness is to be received by our larger society, we, too, have to recognize that some of our behavior as Christians has been a source of offence to the society around us. Sometimes that offence is because we spoke the truth but sadly some of our offence is because we have failed to live the truth that we have received. We cannot ignore the fact that the sexual and financial scandals that have occurred within the church have affected the witness of all of us. That is the other side of the truth of Paul's comment about the significance of our being part of the Body of Christ. "If one member suffers, all suffer together with it..." (1 Corinthians 12:26a). Who can blame non-believers for being skeptical of a church that speaks of morality but continually falls short of their own sermons? Yet, like the Pope, we must continue to witness to the truth we have received while being mindful that we must do so with full recognition that some of our past history must be overcome if our witness is to be effective.
Advent is an appropriate season for both acknowledging our past mistakes and still being hopeful about the future. Our hope lies not in our ability but in God's ability to open up a future of promise. Again Paul reminds us of the truth that God's power is made perfect in our weakness. Advent is a season of promise. We read Scriptures that reveal the promises of God even as we prepare to recognize their fulfillment in the birth of Christ. The reason why we read eschatological Scriptures, Scriptures that speak of the end times, during Advent is that the fulfillment of God's future is still something to be looked forward to and expected in the future. Even when we grow discouraged by our own failures, we find hope in God's power to redeem.
Contemporary Christians are often more comfortable thinking of the entire season of Christmas as a past event. Once upon a time God made a promise to send a messiah and then, over two thousand years ago, God fulfilled that promise. So today we can feel good that God was faithful and we can celebrate the results of that faithfulness in the Christmas season. Sometimes it makes us uncomfortable to consider the possibility that we, too, should be anticipating the coming of God. We tend to dismiss such thinking as belonging to a more extreme version of Christianity. We live as if we were reading a mystery novel but have already peeked at the last chapter and so do not expect any surprises.
Yet there is both a past and a future dimension to the Christian faith. It is not only that God came in Jesus but also that God will come again. Our discomfort in such thinking may have a basis in an awareness that the coming of God into our presence would have its negative side as well. "But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears." Advent, as a time of preparation, may be an opportunity to reflect on what needs to be purified in each of us and in our church so that we are ready to receive God. For the Pope's visit to Turkey to be effective, it was important that he acknowledge that his previous speech had been the source of much pain. As Christians we speak not out of perfection but out of an amazement that God's love can shine through such "earthen vessels" as those of us in the church.
Advent is a time of preparation, perhaps we could say even a cleansing, so that we can be prepared to receive the full truth of the presence of God among us. If we look to the prophet Malachi as our guide, we might recognize that such purification may begin with the pastors and church leaders. "For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap; he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the Lord in righteousness." The descendents of Levi were the priests chosen by God to guide Israel. Advent is a time of tilling the soil and making ready for the possibility that the seeds of faith that God chooses to plant might find a fertile soil among us. This is not to suggest that the church leaders or even the church should proceed through Advent in some modern form of self-flagellation. Rather, we are a people who can confess our shortcomings honestly because we are a people who find our hope not in our perfection but it the faithfulness of God.
Because it is a truth that is far beyond our control, we cannot describe the new thing that God is about to create. Yet Advent is based on the faith that God is about to do a new thing. Have you grown cynical about the future or do you expect God to do something new during this season? Since we know that most of the world did not even recognize what had happened when Jesus was born, what preparation do we need to make so that we might recognize that new, redeeming act that may well occur in this world during this season?
ILLUSTRATIONS
There is a tradition in Alcoholics Anonymous that says, "God loves us just as we are. But he loves us too much to leave us just as we are."
* * *
Imagine this. A certain husband and wife who have been well loved and who love each other deeply decide that they have love to share. They decide to become foster parents and to take into their home a delinquent child and try to love him into wholeness. They take into their lives a boy in his early teens who has experienced abuse and rejection all of his life. He has learned a way of relating to life that is made up entirely of fear, anger, hatred, and againstness. He relates himself to others and to life in very destructive ways. As a matter of fact, earlier in his childhood, he has actually killed another child. The foster parents know all of that but they are determined to try to make a difference in the child's life. They give him the gift of unconditional acceptance, taking him into their home, and their lives, and their love, in spite of all they know about him. They know that will not be the end of it. They give him the promise of a love that will stay with him and work with him until he is able to become a whole and happy and productive person. That gift is given. The life shaping relationship is there for the boy as a free gift. But the boy still has to get past all that he has done and all that has been done to him, to get past all of the fear and the anger and the hate and the againstness, to enter into the love that is there for him and to let it shape his life.
It is that way with us and God. Jesus came to show us that God has given us the free gift of a liberating and enabling love. It is there for us. If we will let it, it will make us whole and free and happy and productive persons. But we have to get past all of the stuff in our lives that makes it difficult to enter into that love. For many of us, it may not be easy. God knows that. God is ready to help us. But we have to be willing to take hold of the promise and to work with God.
* * *
In an as yet unpublished novel titled "Refinery," there is a story of an old pipe fitter whom everyone called Sarge, who lost his life in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent an industrial disaster which destroyed a large part of the oil refinery where he worked and killed a number of people. Sarge was a crusty old character, not noted for his piety, but his coworkers loved him with that special kind of love with which men love each other. Several hundred of them gathered at the grave side for his simple funeral. The local pastor, Tim, preached the following sermon:
"We have gathered here to celebrate the life of William L. Anderson, the one most of you called Sarge. The family told me that Sarge would want me to keep this short and so I will. But there are some things that just need to be said. A fellow asked me, 'What in the world are you going to be able to say at a funeral about old Sarge?' I suspect some of you have been wondering about that. After all, he wasn't notorious for going to church. And I've heard rumors that Sarge drank a little beer -- and that he sometimes cussed." A little ripple of laughter spread over the congregation and people began to relax a little. Tim went on. "But in spite of all of those things, you have loved Sarge. So is it so hard to believe that God loves Sarge, too? That's what counts right now. None of us is good enough to go to meet the Lord counting on our own goodness. We all have to go counting on God's love for us. Jesus came to show us how much God loves us. And Paul said in Romans 8 that nothing in the whole creation can separate us from the love of God. With that in mind, we can, with confidence, commend our friend, Sarge to the care of God."
"But someone might ask, what about the judgement of God? That's a good question. The Bible does talk about judgement. In fact there's a passage about the judgement that ought to ring a bell with lots of us because it talks about refining. We know about refining oil but this passage compares the judgement of God to someone refining silver and gold. Let me read it to you. It's in Malachi 3:2-4 'But who can endure the day of his coming and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire and like a fuller's soap; he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the Lord in righteousness.' The old prophet is saying that when we meet God, that will be a time for judgement and for refining of our lives. Now, I may be a little bit of a maverick in the way I think about the judgement of God. I don't think of it just as something that happens at the end of time or at the end of our lives. I think it is something that happens again and again in the middle of our lives because God meets us in each moment of our lives and asks us to live up to the best that we are capable of. In those times, I don't think God looking for a reason to send us to hell. God is trying to find a way to bring out the best in us. I think that happens in a special way when life puts us into a situation where it will cost us a lot to live up to the loving commitments we have made for our lives. You all know something like that happened among us just this week. And Sarge and his friend George Christopher, The Deacon, rose to the occasion and gave the most perfect gift anyone can give to God, a total commitment in love. Let's just pray that all of us, and all of this world we live in, can rise to the challenges that will meet us in life and experience the refining that comes from God."
* * *
Robert Lewis Stevenson, grew up in Scotland around the turn of the century and his family's house was on a hillside outside of town. Each evening, he would sit in the kitchen and look down on the town, watching the lamp lighter ignite each of the town's street lamps. He remembered one evening saying to his mother, "Look, there is a man down there who is punching holes in the darkness."
And so this Advent we proclaim the nearness of the kingdom of God. The Book of Common Prayer calls on God to "give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and to put on the armor of light." Thus may we too have grace to "punch holes in the darkness."
* * *
A woman in my congregation recently returned from a retreat at Gethsemane, the monastery in Kentucky where Thomas Merton journeyed so diligently in his pilgrimage toward God. When she returned I asked her how her time there was. She beamed and said it was "Heavenly."
So it is with those of the spirit. We journey on with all the saints here on earth and those who have gone before. Hardly do we realize with such busy and anxious lives how close heaven lies. The kingdom of heaven is indeed "at hand." Only when we stop and listen to the heart of God beating in ours do we realize that Heaven is close. Indeed it is "at hand" as both the Baptist and as Jesus said.
* * *
Tolstoy, in latching on to Luke 17:21 proclaims that the Kindom is Heaven is "within" us. That is why it is so very close at hand and why it is so near. He goes on to say that the connection between God and humanity is within the grasp of love.
"God is the infinite ALL. Man is only a finite manifestation of Him.
Or better yet:
God is that infinite All of which man knows himself to be a finite part.
God alone exists truly. Man manifests Him in time, space and matter. The more God's manifestation in man (life) unites with the manifestations (lives) of other beings, the more man exists. This union with the lives of other beings is accomplished through love. God is not love, but the more there is of love, the more man manifests God, and the more he truly exists" --Tolstoy
* * *
I can remember, when I was a child, how much I liked spending the day at my Grandma Nesbitt's, roller skating on the smooth sidewalk by her house, and playing "work-up" with neighborhood kids in the vacant lot next door.
The problem was, when I came in at noon, Grandma would hand me a bar of soap and the hand brush and make sure that I got my hands clean enough for me to sit down with her for lunch.
This involved a lot of scrubbing, because Grandma couldn't endure dirty hands at the dinner table.
I can hear echoes of all this in our Old Testament reading for today (Malachi 3:1-4):
"Who can endure the day of (the Lord's) coming?" Malachi asks. "For he is like... fuller's soap... and he will purify..."
And the Lord is purifying all of us, day by day, helping us to move beyond the impurities of our lives: beyond our selfishness, beyond our self-centeredness. Helping us grow into the mature Christian people he intends us to be.
I can also hear echoes of this when I listen again to Handel's glorious Messiah at this time of year, and hear the same words:
"Who can endure the day of his coming... and he will purify..."
* * *
When our family lived in Minot, North Dakota, we managed to live through the terrible flood in the spring of 1969. Because of a heavy snowfall to the north of us in Canada that winter, and then a late spring, all the snow melted at once and the waters suddenly came rushing down the Souris (Mouse) River, and one-third of the city of 30,000 people had to quickly flee from the lowlands.
Then the bulldozers and back hoes and front loaders and dump trucks worked around the clock to haul dirt from the big hill behind our house to build levees to try to keep the water out of the low-lying areas.
We went to bed at night, every night for a week or two, hearing the earth-moving equipment digging away at the hill above us. In time, the hill was considerably lower, and a large protective embankment had been raised up in the valley.
In our gospel lesson for today (Luke 3:1-6), and again in Handel's Messiah, we hear Luke telling us that John the Baptist came to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord, making the hills and mountains low, and filling up the valleys.
I don't think Luke was talking about John the Baptist jumping onto a bulldozer and moving piles of dirt. But rather, doing what we're all called to do, as followers of our Lord, which is to prepare the way so that our family and friends and neighbors and co-workers can experience the Lord's coming.
If they can see some of our Lord's compassion and mercy and caring for them in us, the road from him to them is made that much easier.
* * *
In our Psalm for today, which is not from the book of Psalms but rather from the book of Luke (1:68-79), we hear Zechariah, the father of John, who will later be known as John the Baptist, speaking (almost singing!) praises to the Lord on the occasion of eight-day-old baby John's being presented in the temple. (These words of Zechariah are also used in Morning Prayer [Matins] services in some congregations.)
Jesus will not be born for a few more months, but Mary has paid a visit to John's mother Elizabeth, a few months earlier, so Zechariah and Elizabeth know that the Savior of the world will be coming soon.
His son John, Zechariah says, will announce that the dawn from on high, who is Jesus, will come upon us, and that he will shine into this dark world where we live, right here where we live in the very shadow of death, and that he will guide our feet into the way of peace.
In our troubled world today, with all its wars and rumors of war, we need our Lord to guide us into this way of peace, this way of living together as his people.
Which reminds me of the "trust walks" many of us have taken. First we're blindfolded, plunging us into complete darkness, then we depend completely on someone else to lead us wherever we need to go.
Which raises a question: Do we dare to trust our Lord to lead us in the same way, day by day, through this world's darkness, to where we, as his followers, need to go with him?
WORSHIP RESOURCE
By Thom Shuman
Call To Worship
One: Welcome to this place
where we seek our hearts' true home.
All: here, we gather with God's people;
here, we hold one another in our hearts.
One: Welcome to this place
where we seek our hearts' true home.
All: Here, God looks in favor on us;
here, we discover God's intentions for us.
One: Welcome to this place
where we seek our hearts' true home.
All: Here, we find a feast prepared for us;
here, we taste God's grace and hope.
One: Welcome to this place!
All: Where we find our hearts' true home.
Prayer Of The Day
Blessed God,
Faithful Promise-Giver:
you hold us in your love
and will not let us go,
no matter how often
we may break your heart.
Jesus Christ,
Dawn from on high:
we remember your birth with joy
and await your Day,
when you complete
your work of love and grace.
Holy Spirit,
Refiner and Renewer
of God's people:
you invite us to share in the gospel,
to grow in understanding,
to live with one another,
to cope with anxiety,
to serve the world in God's name.
God in Community, Holy in One,
we lift our prayers in joy,
thanking and remembering
the One who taught us to pray, saying,
Our Father...
Call To Reconciliation
God is the witness to our lives, the One who sees all we do and fail to do, the One who hears what we say, and don't. God is also the One who cleanses us, who makes us pure, who forgives us. Join me as we pray to our God,
Unison Prayer Of Confession
Refining God, it is not easy for us to admit we are not a blameless people. We trust the promises of politicians, but have trouble believing the ones you have made. We find ourselves captive to emotions and lusts which stun us, but doubt you can save us. We prefer the shadowy streets of the world, rather than walking in your Light.
Forgive us, Faithful One. May the Light of Christ show us your way; may the Love of Christ overflow from our lives to others; may the Life of Christ be our model as we seek to be your people.
(Silence is observed.)
Assurance Of Pardon
One: Do you feel it? God's tender mercy
rests on you, heals you, transforms
you. Do you see it? God's Light
breaks into our lives, and shows us
the way.
All: Renewed and made whole, we see the
path God has prepared for us -- the
way of peace, the way of hope, the way
of grace, the way of service. Thanks be
to God. Amen.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Preparing the way
Object: a box, some wrapping paper, bows, scissors, and tape
Good morning. I brought one of the Christmas gifts I want to give with me this morning. I suppose I could just give this box, but it wouldn't seem as special. I always like to wrap my Christmas gifts in the finest wrapping paper and top each gift with a bow. Is that how you like your gifts? (let them answer)
I have to prepare for Christmas giving by purchasing my gift and then wrapping it. (Begin wrapping the box now so that by the end of the children's sermon, you have completely wrapped it.) There are many steps involved in just giving a Christmas gift. See how I have to cut the paper and tape it to the box. All this is preparation.
Today we hear about someone who comes to prepare. Who am I talking about? (let them answer) That's right -- John the Baptist. And what is he preparing? (let them answer) He is preparing for Jesus to come.
During this season of Advent we are all preparers like John the Baptist. We are all preparing for Jesus to come -- at Christmas and at the end of all time. Preparation is important. If I didn't take the time to prepare my gift for Christmas giving, I don't think my gift would be as special as it will be with the wrapping paper, bow, and the special things I do with the gift as I prepare to give it. In the same way, as we prepare for Jesus to come, his coming will be that much more special, too.
I'm glad we have this season of Advent for us to prepare for Jesus' coming. I'm glad and excited Jesus is coming. I look forward to Christmas. But meanwhile, I prepare. Today I want you to ask your parents, your Sunday school teacher, and others, for some good ideas on how we can all prepare for Jesus. Will you do that today? (let them answer) Good. Let's pray:
Dearest Lord Jesus: We prepare for your coming. Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, December 10, 2006, issue.
Copyright 2006 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 517 South Main Street, Lima, Ohio 45804.
