The Gifts Of Blessing From Faith, Hope, And Love
Children's program
WHO - ME? DO A PROGRAM? Volume 2
Program Resources For Congregational Events
Worship Service
Leader's Helps
Participants
A worship leader, 4 readers for the Advent Candle section (optional 4 readers for the Scripture section)
Skit
Faith, Hope, And Love Meet At The Corner
Leader's Helps
Participants
This skit takes place in the order of worship. It involves two readers. Reader 1 is Miriam, who is looking for answers to faith questions, and she talks with Reader 2.
Props
Decorated street post with sign: "Corner of Head and Heart"
Bible
Purse and checkbook
Three gift packages wrapped and tagged
Gift - "From Faith"
Gift - "From Hope" (with a ribbon)
Gift - "From Love" (Bible study book with bow)
Program
The Gifts Of Blessing
From Faith, Hope, And Love
Reader 1
The Lighting Of The First Candle: God's Messenger Approaches
First Reading: Isaiah 52:7--10
Reflection: Wake up! Wake up! It's Christmas morning. Excited voices squeal with delight as little feet race to see what lies underneath decorated Christmas trees. The joy of Christmas is evident in the eyes of those receiving gifts as well as in the eyes of those giving. Our first reading tells us that the feet of the messenger announcing peace, bringing good news, announcing salvation, are beautiful. The prophet Isaiah declares that God's messenger will arrive. All nations will behold the salvation that God has intended to be for all people. The people sitting in darkness will see a great light. God calls to us tonight to wake up! As we gaze at the light of our first candle, let God's light break upon the darkness of our souls. The messenger of salvation stands in our midst. Listen to the watchmen declare the Good News: "Have faith and believe!" Amen.
Hymn: "Wake, Awake" (verse 1)
Reader 2
The Lighting Of The Second Candle: John the Baptist, God's Messenger
Second Reading: Mark 1:1--8
Reflection: Signs posted along the side of a highway warn drivers that a construction zone is approaching. Ahead can be seen a flagman in orange holding a sign which tells us to stop. Impatiently we wait for the road crew to move out of our way. Hope of arriving home early seems to elude us as trucks block our path. Finally, the sign turns to "proceed with caution." A voice beckons us to resume our journey. John the Baptist came to prepare the way for Christ. "Repent and believe!" was his cry along the banks of the Jordan. His clothing, like that of the flagman, denoted his station. He was a prophet, a messenger from God speaking for God, calling God's people to return to their Lord.
God's messenger stands in our midst tonight. A voice calls us to prepare our hearts so that the Christ Child might enter in. John baptized with water, but Jesus baptized with the Holy Spirit. Listen to the voice of God's messenger as he holds up a sign to us to stop and realize how near God truly is. Amen.
Hymn: "On Jordan's Banks" (verses 1 and 2)
or "The King Shall Come" (verses 1 and 2)
Reader 3
The Lighting Of The Third Candle: The Coming King
Third Reading: Isaiah 9:6--7
Reflection: Elected officals. We, the people, choose certain individuals with qualifications for leadership to exercise the authority of office so that our nation and communities will be competently governed and so we may live in peace.
The prophet Isaiah tells us in this third reading of one who has the authority of God placed upon his shoulders. He is given titles: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Who is this king to come? Isaiah tells us it will be a child. This child will be from the line of King David and will set his people free. Freedom is something that all people value highly. But the freedom that God gives goes beyond the boundaries of patriotism and politics. It is freedom from sin and death. As Israel hailed their anointed king, we rejoice in Jesus' arrival and the freedom that he brings. Amen.
Hymn: "On Jordan's Banks" (verses 3 and 5)
or "The King Shall Come" (verses 4 and 5)
Reader 4
The Lighting Of The Fourth Candle: The King Arrives
Fourth Reading: Matthew 1:18--23
Reflection: The announcement of a child to be born is often greeted with a range of emotions: joy, excitement, and anticipation to sometimes sorrow and unbelief. Joseph could not believe this was happening to him. His betrothed was pregnant. Whose child was it? It certainly wasn't his. Poor Mary. How could she explain what had happened to her?
God is so good. He is always with us. He was with Mary in this situation, appearing to her fiance in a dream and explaining things to him. Emmanuel, God with us. The child that Mary would bear would be called Emmanuel. As Mary and Joseph looked into the baby Jesus' eyes, many thoughts must have raced through their minds. Emotions must have ranged from joy and excitement at his arrival to sorrow and unbelief at his death.
The Magi came and worshipped the child as King, bringing gifts of gold, incense, and myrrh. This babe, the Son of Mary, would bring as our King gifts of faith, hope, and love to all who believe. Tonight we hail the Word made flesh, the babe, the Son of Mary. Amen.
Bulletin
The Gifts Of Blessing
From Faith, Hope, and Love
Call To Worship
L: We gather tonight, as a community of faith, united in Christ Jesus our Lord. We call upon the Holy Spirit to be present as we sing praises to the Prince of Peace. Come, let us join our voices with the angels in declaring Jesus Christ our Lord and King.
C: Hail to Christ, the Prince of Peace.
Hymn: Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" (verses 1 and 3)
The Blessing Of Good News
L: As Mary was greeted with a message from the angel Gabriel, so God greets us with the message of salvation through Jesus Christ, his Son.
C: We hear the Good News proclaimed this night.
L: By faith Mary believed that a son would be given unto her.
C: Increase our faith to believe in Jesus, Mary's child.
L: Jesus, born the hope of Israel, visited and redeemed all people.
C: Our hope is in the Lord, our God, who came down from heaven to earth to bring salvation to all people.
L: God's love became flesh and lived among us. Jesus entered history as a baby and brought salvation to all through his death and resurrection. Today we, like Israel, invite Emmanuel, God with us, into our history.
C: Come, oh, come, Emmanuel, and ransom your people today. To you be all honor and glory, forever and ever. Amen.
Hymn: "Oh, Come, Oh, Come, Emmanuel" (verses 1, 3, and 4)
The Blessing Of God's Light
The Lighting Of The First Candle: God's Messenger Approaches
First Reading: Isaiah 52:7--10
Reflection
Hymn: "Wake, Awake" (verse 1)
The Lighting Of The Second Candle: John the Baptist, God's Messenger
Second Reading: Mark 1:1--8
Reflection
Hymn: "On Jordan's Banks" (verses 1 and 2)
or "The King Shall Come" (verses 1 and 2)
The Lighting Of The Third Candle: The Coming King
Third Reading: Isaiah 9:6--7
Reflection
Hymn: "On Jordan's Banks" (verses 3 and 5)
or "The King Shall Come" (verses 4 and 5)
The Lighting Of The Fourth Candle: The King Arrives
Fourth Reading: Matthew 1:18--23
Reflection
Hymn: "What Child Is This?"
Prayer Of The Day
L: Lord God, we come before thy throne, keenly aware of our need for a savior. We stand before the manger now, seeing your love made flesh in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Increase our faith to believe as we journey through this life with the hope and assurance of life everlasting. Pour out your love anew as we yield to your Spirit.
C: Lord Jesus, be born anew in our hearts. Amen.
The Blessing Of Faith, Hope, And Love
Faith, Hope, And Love Meet On The Corner - Skit
Offering
Special Music
Offertory
The Blessing Of Prayer
Prayers Of The Church
L: Almighty Lord, we thank you for the gift of faith planted in our hearts. Enable us to exercise that gift at all times as we face the challenges that confront us each day.
C: Increase our faith to believe, O God.
L: Eternal God, we place our hope in you. Grant us patience to endure in times of trial that our faith will not fail us.
C: Increase our faith to endure, O God.
L: God of Love, we confess that we have not loved you with our whole heart. We confess that we have not loved our neighbors as you have loved us. Forgive us, and help us to receive your love found in the Christ Child. Help us share that love we find hung on the Cross. Raise us to new life that we might share your love with others.
C: Increase our love for you and others, O God.
L: As faith, hope, and love are increased in our lives, let us seek to know the giver of those gifts in a more personal way, that we might be able to boldly pray and live the prayer our Lord taught us to pray.
The Lord's Prayer
Benediction
L: Now may the blessing of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit go with you. Rejoice with the angels and the shepherds and be bearers of the Good News.
C: We rejoice in Christ Jesus, the Good News of salvation. Amen.
Hymn: "Good Christian Friends, Rejoice"
Skit
The Gifts Of Blessing
From Faith, Hope, And Love
Faith, Hope, And Love Meet At The Corner
(Christmas decorated street sign - Corner of Head and Heart)
Reader 1 (Miriam): Here, faith, here, faith ... come out now. Where are you, faith? Oh, dear, I'm so confused.
Reader 2: Merry Christmas, Miriam. I realize this is a busy season, but I'm surprised you don't know where you are.
Reader 1: Of course I know where I am. It says right here: the Corner of Head and Heart. This is just where I need to be, for it's time to make a transition in my life with all this head stuff. The Advent season has a tendency to challenge one's faith, to tug at the heart. I've decided to take time and really examine my head, heart, and faith.
Reader 2: What do you mean? And what is it you are looking for?
Reader 1: Well, I'm looking for faith. I know (points to head) what faith is in my head, after all I've heard about it each Sunday since I was a little kid. But I haven't been able to translate all that knowledge about it to my heart and apply it to everyday life.
Reader 2: Sounds heavy to me. Is that what they call "theology" in church circles?
Reader 1: Ha, ha! Let me try to explain (pulls out her Bible). Now according to Hebrews - that book is filled with faith stuff - but in chapter 11, verse 1, the Apostle Peter defines faith as "being the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." That verse is great, but what does it mean to me today?
Reader 2: Well, since this is the Christmas season, I have a real blessing for you. Take this gift (gives her a gift marked "From Faith"), and I'll try to explain. Let's take a look at the example of your namesake, Miriam, Moses' sister. She and her mother hid Moses as a baby so he wouldn't be killed. Then they set him adrift on the Nile, trusting that God would protect him and had a plan for his life.
Reader 1: Oh, I see. They had faith in a God they couldn't see and believed that he had a plan for Moses' life.
Reader 2: Yes, they had assurance that God would take care of the infant, and he did. He put him into the home of Pharaoh's daughter and raised him to high status in the court. Now Moses had faith when he applied the blood to the doorposts during the Passover so that the angel of death would not harm the firstborn of Israel. That is conviction of things not seen.
Reader 1: I'm beginning to see. We take God's Word by faith and apply his promises to our lives. Then we are assured that God's will is being carried out in every detail, large and small. That's a good conviction to hold tight to.
Reader 2: Do you believe God will protect you and has a plan for your life?
Reader 1: I have a wall plaque that quotes Jeremiah 29:11, which says that God has plans for each of us, plans for our welfare and not for harm, to give us a future with hope. So I guess it must be true. But that just brings me to another question. Maybe you can bless me with a second answer. (Fumbles around in her purse.)
Reader 2: What's that, and what are you looking for now?
Reader 1: Since I'm beginning to understand faith and translate it from my head to my heart with your help, maybe you can help me fill out this missing part of my checkbook?
Reader 2: Well, if you're hoping that I can deposit some money into your account, I'm afraid you'll have to wait. I've spent my entire Christmas club on presents already.
Reader 1: No, I don't want your money. What I'm looking for is hope. How do I get that idea translated from my head to my heart?
Reader 2: Today is your day to be blessed with gifts, Miriam. Here, take this present (gift marked "From Hope," tied with a ribbon), and let's go back to the book of Hebrews. Faith is the assurance of things "hoped" for, the conviction of things not seen.
Reader 1: Oh, so hope is tied up with faith like this ribbon on my package?
Reader 2: You got it. Hope is that anchor we depend upon to keep us from drifting into deep water and being washed away by the waves of despair. It certainly is time for us today to cling to hope that God is in control. Just look at our world - natural disasters, disease, famine, wars, homelessness, the sad state of our national finances and government. As Christians we put our hope in someone greater than systems or other means to save us.
Reader 1: Like my checkbook in a way. I depend upon it to pay my bills and hope that my checks don't bounce.
Reader 2: Right, but you need to make a deposit in your account in order to have money to pay those bills. Correct?
Reader 1: I see. If I don't deposit faith into all circumstances and situations I wouldn't be able to hang on to hope as an anchor. Right? Something like Mary believing the angel's message of a child.
Reader 2: That's right. Mary believed that God could do what he had promised. Her faith in that promise saw her through her time of pregnancy, Jesus' birth, and then the death of her son on the cross. Her hope was in a God she trusted. What a blessed example of faith and hope she is to each of us today. Then there were the early Christian martyrs. They had faith in Jesus and a hope of eternal life. So when they were marched into the arenas, or burned at the stake, or even crucified, they became examples of those who had put their faith and hope in an unseen God and his promise.
Reader 1: I'm certainly glad we don't have to die for our faith like that today as an example of hope.
Reader 2: But there are many in today's world who suffer religious persecution and sometimes even death because of the faith and hope they have in Christ. Many are imprisoned for publicly confessing Jesus Christ as Lord and embracing the Christian faith.
Reader 1: I'm glad I live in a country where there is freedom of religion and a guarantee that I can practice what I believe.
Reader 2: Yes, but there may come a time when even Christians in this nation might lose that freedom to the expression of their faith. That's why we need to be grounded in God's Word so we can trust in the hope we have of his presence with us in those times of persecution. Christmas is a time of battle and persecution today. Just look at the fight over barring religious symbols like the cross or nativity scenes in some public places. Persecution comes in subtler forms also. Santa Claus becomes the center of celebration instead of Jesus. We can sing "Jingle Bells," but watch out for "Silent Night." And a virgin bearing a child? Modern science will pooh--pooh. A king born of a woman in a stable. Poverty level?
Reader 1: I'm beginning to see. It might help me to go over the material from our church leaders who are working on programs for women and children in poverty - certainly an area where we need to have faith that people will respond and offer others hope.
Reader 2: That's a great idea and a means to translate your head knowledge to the heart as you participate.
Reader 1: Just one more question. 1 Corinthians 13:13 tells us that "Faith, hope and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love." How is love tied up with these other two ingredients in the Christian faith?
Reader 2: Well, I know where you can get the answer. Here, take this gift and be blessed (gives gift of a Bible study with bow and tag "From Love"). This is a Bible study which shows God's love revealed. Love is the third element which is meshed with faith and hope, enabling us to be Christ's presence in this world today. Without love, our actions and missions will be empty. God calls us to love each other - to reach out in concrete ways to those we work with, live in community with, and others far beyond our reach. As we grow in faith, affirming each other, sharing God's love, we will have an impact upon the world and further the kingdom of God. Our hope is that everyone will turn and embrace Jesus as Lord. It is God's love that makes the difference. When we receive that love poured out to us in Jesus Christ, we will respond and love God and others.
Reader 1: Awesome. So faith, hope, and love are not only gifts from God but responses by each of us to what Jesus Christ has done for us in his death and resurrection.
Reader 2: Correct. Receive the gifts. Exercise them daily. Then reach out to all God's creation in response. Hey, where are you going? Do you have more shopping to do?
Reader 1: No, I'm all done shopping around. You've really been a blessing, so I'm headed out to do as you suggested - respond to the gift God has blessed me with in Jesus. I have the faith, I know where my hope lies, so now I'm ready to share God's love in mission. Thanks a bunch. It's been great chatting, but now it's time for action. Have a blessed Advent season and a very special Christmas.
Reader 2: And what about each of you? Have you made the trip from head to heart? What is this Advent going to be like for you in light of the gifts of faith, hope, and love? Remember faith, hope and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love. Receive God's love - the love we celebrate this Christmas in the Christ Child. For God so loved the world that he gave us Jesus, a precious gift. Receive that gift, share it and all that knowledge from your heart with others. Merry Christmas.
Leader's Helps
Participants
A worship leader, 4 readers for the Advent Candle section (optional 4 readers for the Scripture section)
Skit
Faith, Hope, And Love Meet At The Corner
Leader's Helps
Participants
This skit takes place in the order of worship. It involves two readers. Reader 1 is Miriam, who is looking for answers to faith questions, and she talks with Reader 2.
Props
Decorated street post with sign: "Corner of Head and Heart"
Bible
Purse and checkbook
Three gift packages wrapped and tagged
Gift - "From Faith"
Gift - "From Hope" (with a ribbon)
Gift - "From Love" (Bible study book with bow)
Program
The Gifts Of Blessing
From Faith, Hope, And Love
Reader 1
The Lighting Of The First Candle: God's Messenger Approaches
First Reading: Isaiah 52:7--10
Reflection: Wake up! Wake up! It's Christmas morning. Excited voices squeal with delight as little feet race to see what lies underneath decorated Christmas trees. The joy of Christmas is evident in the eyes of those receiving gifts as well as in the eyes of those giving. Our first reading tells us that the feet of the messenger announcing peace, bringing good news, announcing salvation, are beautiful. The prophet Isaiah declares that God's messenger will arrive. All nations will behold the salvation that God has intended to be for all people. The people sitting in darkness will see a great light. God calls to us tonight to wake up! As we gaze at the light of our first candle, let God's light break upon the darkness of our souls. The messenger of salvation stands in our midst. Listen to the watchmen declare the Good News: "Have faith and believe!" Amen.
Hymn: "Wake, Awake" (verse 1)
Reader 2
The Lighting Of The Second Candle: John the Baptist, God's Messenger
Second Reading: Mark 1:1--8
Reflection: Signs posted along the side of a highway warn drivers that a construction zone is approaching. Ahead can be seen a flagman in orange holding a sign which tells us to stop. Impatiently we wait for the road crew to move out of our way. Hope of arriving home early seems to elude us as trucks block our path. Finally, the sign turns to "proceed with caution." A voice beckons us to resume our journey. John the Baptist came to prepare the way for Christ. "Repent and believe!" was his cry along the banks of the Jordan. His clothing, like that of the flagman, denoted his station. He was a prophet, a messenger from God speaking for God, calling God's people to return to their Lord.
God's messenger stands in our midst tonight. A voice calls us to prepare our hearts so that the Christ Child might enter in. John baptized with water, but Jesus baptized with the Holy Spirit. Listen to the voice of God's messenger as he holds up a sign to us to stop and realize how near God truly is. Amen.
Hymn: "On Jordan's Banks" (verses 1 and 2)
or "The King Shall Come" (verses 1 and 2)
Reader 3
The Lighting Of The Third Candle: The Coming King
Third Reading: Isaiah 9:6--7
Reflection: Elected officals. We, the people, choose certain individuals with qualifications for leadership to exercise the authority of office so that our nation and communities will be competently governed and so we may live in peace.
The prophet Isaiah tells us in this third reading of one who has the authority of God placed upon his shoulders. He is given titles: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Who is this king to come? Isaiah tells us it will be a child. This child will be from the line of King David and will set his people free. Freedom is something that all people value highly. But the freedom that God gives goes beyond the boundaries of patriotism and politics. It is freedom from sin and death. As Israel hailed their anointed king, we rejoice in Jesus' arrival and the freedom that he brings. Amen.
Hymn: "On Jordan's Banks" (verses 3 and 5)
or "The King Shall Come" (verses 4 and 5)
Reader 4
The Lighting Of The Fourth Candle: The King Arrives
Fourth Reading: Matthew 1:18--23
Reflection: The announcement of a child to be born is often greeted with a range of emotions: joy, excitement, and anticipation to sometimes sorrow and unbelief. Joseph could not believe this was happening to him. His betrothed was pregnant. Whose child was it? It certainly wasn't his. Poor Mary. How could she explain what had happened to her?
God is so good. He is always with us. He was with Mary in this situation, appearing to her fiance in a dream and explaining things to him. Emmanuel, God with us. The child that Mary would bear would be called Emmanuel. As Mary and Joseph looked into the baby Jesus' eyes, many thoughts must have raced through their minds. Emotions must have ranged from joy and excitement at his arrival to sorrow and unbelief at his death.
The Magi came and worshipped the child as King, bringing gifts of gold, incense, and myrrh. This babe, the Son of Mary, would bring as our King gifts of faith, hope, and love to all who believe. Tonight we hail the Word made flesh, the babe, the Son of Mary. Amen.
Bulletin
The Gifts Of Blessing
From Faith, Hope, and Love
Call To Worship
L: We gather tonight, as a community of faith, united in Christ Jesus our Lord. We call upon the Holy Spirit to be present as we sing praises to the Prince of Peace. Come, let us join our voices with the angels in declaring Jesus Christ our Lord and King.
C: Hail to Christ, the Prince of Peace.
Hymn: Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" (verses 1 and 3)
The Blessing Of Good News
L: As Mary was greeted with a message from the angel Gabriel, so God greets us with the message of salvation through Jesus Christ, his Son.
C: We hear the Good News proclaimed this night.
L: By faith Mary believed that a son would be given unto her.
C: Increase our faith to believe in Jesus, Mary's child.
L: Jesus, born the hope of Israel, visited and redeemed all people.
C: Our hope is in the Lord, our God, who came down from heaven to earth to bring salvation to all people.
L: God's love became flesh and lived among us. Jesus entered history as a baby and brought salvation to all through his death and resurrection. Today we, like Israel, invite Emmanuel, God with us, into our history.
C: Come, oh, come, Emmanuel, and ransom your people today. To you be all honor and glory, forever and ever. Amen.
Hymn: "Oh, Come, Oh, Come, Emmanuel" (verses 1, 3, and 4)
The Blessing Of God's Light
The Lighting Of The First Candle: God's Messenger Approaches
First Reading: Isaiah 52:7--10
Reflection
Hymn: "Wake, Awake" (verse 1)
The Lighting Of The Second Candle: John the Baptist, God's Messenger
Second Reading: Mark 1:1--8
Reflection
Hymn: "On Jordan's Banks" (verses 1 and 2)
or "The King Shall Come" (verses 1 and 2)
The Lighting Of The Third Candle: The Coming King
Third Reading: Isaiah 9:6--7
Reflection
Hymn: "On Jordan's Banks" (verses 3 and 5)
or "The King Shall Come" (verses 4 and 5)
The Lighting Of The Fourth Candle: The King Arrives
Fourth Reading: Matthew 1:18--23
Reflection
Hymn: "What Child Is This?"
Prayer Of The Day
L: Lord God, we come before thy throne, keenly aware of our need for a savior. We stand before the manger now, seeing your love made flesh in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Increase our faith to believe as we journey through this life with the hope and assurance of life everlasting. Pour out your love anew as we yield to your Spirit.
C: Lord Jesus, be born anew in our hearts. Amen.
The Blessing Of Faith, Hope, And Love
Faith, Hope, And Love Meet On The Corner - Skit
Offering
Special Music
Offertory
The Blessing Of Prayer
Prayers Of The Church
L: Almighty Lord, we thank you for the gift of faith planted in our hearts. Enable us to exercise that gift at all times as we face the challenges that confront us each day.
C: Increase our faith to believe, O God.
L: Eternal God, we place our hope in you. Grant us patience to endure in times of trial that our faith will not fail us.
C: Increase our faith to endure, O God.
L: God of Love, we confess that we have not loved you with our whole heart. We confess that we have not loved our neighbors as you have loved us. Forgive us, and help us to receive your love found in the Christ Child. Help us share that love we find hung on the Cross. Raise us to new life that we might share your love with others.
C: Increase our love for you and others, O God.
L: As faith, hope, and love are increased in our lives, let us seek to know the giver of those gifts in a more personal way, that we might be able to boldly pray and live the prayer our Lord taught us to pray.
The Lord's Prayer
Benediction
L: Now may the blessing of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit go with you. Rejoice with the angels and the shepherds and be bearers of the Good News.
C: We rejoice in Christ Jesus, the Good News of salvation. Amen.
Hymn: "Good Christian Friends, Rejoice"
Skit
The Gifts Of Blessing
From Faith, Hope, And Love
Faith, Hope, And Love Meet At The Corner
(Christmas decorated street sign - Corner of Head and Heart)
Reader 1 (Miriam): Here, faith, here, faith ... come out now. Where are you, faith? Oh, dear, I'm so confused.
Reader 2: Merry Christmas, Miriam. I realize this is a busy season, but I'm surprised you don't know where you are.
Reader 1: Of course I know where I am. It says right here: the Corner of Head and Heart. This is just where I need to be, for it's time to make a transition in my life with all this head stuff. The Advent season has a tendency to challenge one's faith, to tug at the heart. I've decided to take time and really examine my head, heart, and faith.
Reader 2: What do you mean? And what is it you are looking for?
Reader 1: Well, I'm looking for faith. I know (points to head) what faith is in my head, after all I've heard about it each Sunday since I was a little kid. But I haven't been able to translate all that knowledge about it to my heart and apply it to everyday life.
Reader 2: Sounds heavy to me. Is that what they call "theology" in church circles?
Reader 1: Ha, ha! Let me try to explain (pulls out her Bible). Now according to Hebrews - that book is filled with faith stuff - but in chapter 11, verse 1, the Apostle Peter defines faith as "being the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." That verse is great, but what does it mean to me today?
Reader 2: Well, since this is the Christmas season, I have a real blessing for you. Take this gift (gives her a gift marked "From Faith"), and I'll try to explain. Let's take a look at the example of your namesake, Miriam, Moses' sister. She and her mother hid Moses as a baby so he wouldn't be killed. Then they set him adrift on the Nile, trusting that God would protect him and had a plan for his life.
Reader 1: Oh, I see. They had faith in a God they couldn't see and believed that he had a plan for Moses' life.
Reader 2: Yes, they had assurance that God would take care of the infant, and he did. He put him into the home of Pharaoh's daughter and raised him to high status in the court. Now Moses had faith when he applied the blood to the doorposts during the Passover so that the angel of death would not harm the firstborn of Israel. That is conviction of things not seen.
Reader 1: I'm beginning to see. We take God's Word by faith and apply his promises to our lives. Then we are assured that God's will is being carried out in every detail, large and small. That's a good conviction to hold tight to.
Reader 2: Do you believe God will protect you and has a plan for your life?
Reader 1: I have a wall plaque that quotes Jeremiah 29:11, which says that God has plans for each of us, plans for our welfare and not for harm, to give us a future with hope. So I guess it must be true. But that just brings me to another question. Maybe you can bless me with a second answer. (Fumbles around in her purse.)
Reader 2: What's that, and what are you looking for now?
Reader 1: Since I'm beginning to understand faith and translate it from my head to my heart with your help, maybe you can help me fill out this missing part of my checkbook?
Reader 2: Well, if you're hoping that I can deposit some money into your account, I'm afraid you'll have to wait. I've spent my entire Christmas club on presents already.
Reader 1: No, I don't want your money. What I'm looking for is hope. How do I get that idea translated from my head to my heart?
Reader 2: Today is your day to be blessed with gifts, Miriam. Here, take this present (gift marked "From Hope," tied with a ribbon), and let's go back to the book of Hebrews. Faith is the assurance of things "hoped" for, the conviction of things not seen.
Reader 1: Oh, so hope is tied up with faith like this ribbon on my package?
Reader 2: You got it. Hope is that anchor we depend upon to keep us from drifting into deep water and being washed away by the waves of despair. It certainly is time for us today to cling to hope that God is in control. Just look at our world - natural disasters, disease, famine, wars, homelessness, the sad state of our national finances and government. As Christians we put our hope in someone greater than systems or other means to save us.
Reader 1: Like my checkbook in a way. I depend upon it to pay my bills and hope that my checks don't bounce.
Reader 2: Right, but you need to make a deposit in your account in order to have money to pay those bills. Correct?
Reader 1: I see. If I don't deposit faith into all circumstances and situations I wouldn't be able to hang on to hope as an anchor. Right? Something like Mary believing the angel's message of a child.
Reader 2: That's right. Mary believed that God could do what he had promised. Her faith in that promise saw her through her time of pregnancy, Jesus' birth, and then the death of her son on the cross. Her hope was in a God she trusted. What a blessed example of faith and hope she is to each of us today. Then there were the early Christian martyrs. They had faith in Jesus and a hope of eternal life. So when they were marched into the arenas, or burned at the stake, or even crucified, they became examples of those who had put their faith and hope in an unseen God and his promise.
Reader 1: I'm certainly glad we don't have to die for our faith like that today as an example of hope.
Reader 2: But there are many in today's world who suffer religious persecution and sometimes even death because of the faith and hope they have in Christ. Many are imprisoned for publicly confessing Jesus Christ as Lord and embracing the Christian faith.
Reader 1: I'm glad I live in a country where there is freedom of religion and a guarantee that I can practice what I believe.
Reader 2: Yes, but there may come a time when even Christians in this nation might lose that freedom to the expression of their faith. That's why we need to be grounded in God's Word so we can trust in the hope we have of his presence with us in those times of persecution. Christmas is a time of battle and persecution today. Just look at the fight over barring religious symbols like the cross or nativity scenes in some public places. Persecution comes in subtler forms also. Santa Claus becomes the center of celebration instead of Jesus. We can sing "Jingle Bells," but watch out for "Silent Night." And a virgin bearing a child? Modern science will pooh--pooh. A king born of a woman in a stable. Poverty level?
Reader 1: I'm beginning to see. It might help me to go over the material from our church leaders who are working on programs for women and children in poverty - certainly an area where we need to have faith that people will respond and offer others hope.
Reader 2: That's a great idea and a means to translate your head knowledge to the heart as you participate.
Reader 1: Just one more question. 1 Corinthians 13:13 tells us that "Faith, hope and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love." How is love tied up with these other two ingredients in the Christian faith?
Reader 2: Well, I know where you can get the answer. Here, take this gift and be blessed (gives gift of a Bible study with bow and tag "From Love"). This is a Bible study which shows God's love revealed. Love is the third element which is meshed with faith and hope, enabling us to be Christ's presence in this world today. Without love, our actions and missions will be empty. God calls us to love each other - to reach out in concrete ways to those we work with, live in community with, and others far beyond our reach. As we grow in faith, affirming each other, sharing God's love, we will have an impact upon the world and further the kingdom of God. Our hope is that everyone will turn and embrace Jesus as Lord. It is God's love that makes the difference. When we receive that love poured out to us in Jesus Christ, we will respond and love God and others.
Reader 1: Awesome. So faith, hope, and love are not only gifts from God but responses by each of us to what Jesus Christ has done for us in his death and resurrection.
Reader 2: Correct. Receive the gifts. Exercise them daily. Then reach out to all God's creation in response. Hey, where are you going? Do you have more shopping to do?
Reader 1: No, I'm all done shopping around. You've really been a blessing, so I'm headed out to do as you suggested - respond to the gift God has blessed me with in Jesus. I have the faith, I know where my hope lies, so now I'm ready to share God's love in mission. Thanks a bunch. It's been great chatting, but now it's time for action. Have a blessed Advent season and a very special Christmas.
Reader 2: And what about each of you? Have you made the trip from head to heart? What is this Advent going to be like for you in light of the gifts of faith, hope, and love? Remember faith, hope and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love. Receive God's love - the love we celebrate this Christmas in the Christ Child. For God so loved the world that he gave us Jesus, a precious gift. Receive that gift, share it and all that knowledge from your heart with others. Merry Christmas.
