Sylvania Wesleyan Church 1
Sunday Morning 11/30

      • Isaiah 2:4NIV2011

  • Good Morning and Merry Christmas.
    It is wonderful to say that. I love this time of year because it is such a joy to spend the time getting ready for Christmas. We get to look forward to all the different Christmas traditions.
    Some of us like to bake and make all the different kinds of Christmas treats that we eat.
    For some we have traditions around how we open presents. You might open them on Christmas eve. You might be the type to get a new pair of pajamas on Christmas eve and open your presents the next morning.
    Some people opening presents is a free for all. Others its a one at a time passed around the room. There are all kinds of traditions that are built and changed and adapted for all of us.
    I wanted to share with you a tradition I had until just a few years ago.

    A Christmas Story

    The Movie A Christmas story is always on every year for 24 hours at Christmas. Now the beauty of this movie is it is really broken up into small short stories. While there is a larger story thread throughout the movie it is really broken up into segments. Each story existing on its own.
    It is the nature of this movie that led to my tradition. Until just a few years ago I had never watched the movie from beginning to end. I had seen the entire movie but I never watched it from the very beginning to the very end in one sitting.
    The thing is when its on for 24 hours you can watch portions of it through out the day and then come back and watch a different section and before you know it you have seen the whole movie.
    It wasn’t till I sat down and watched it with my kids that I saw it all the way through. It was fun though to sit down and watch the movie.
    Yet, for many people this movie and other Christmas movies are the things we watch every year and we kind of get bored with them. We like to dust them off every year and watch through but they aren’t as good as the first time we watched them.
    There are other things that they can get a little stale after a few years of doing the exact same thing. IT can get to the point that we feel like we have lost the wonder of the Christmas.

    The Season of Advent

    I remember having this conversation just the other day about the season of Advent with someone. You have to make it new and fresh every year because its just expected to preach and teach on the Christmas story.
    Of course we can do this in different ways.
    A Deep dive on the actual story
    A look at the prophecies
    Or we can start trying to be funny in our sermon illustrations or presentations.
    Here are a few ideas for you.

    Messy Mangers & Holiday Hang-ups

    The Grinch who Found Grace

    Home alone with Hope

    Waiting in Line for Jesus

    The Advent-ture in Missing the Point

    The Season of Advent

    its always a challenging time of the year because it can be difficult to think about what we can do to look at the story that we are sharing and make it fresh and engaging for you. Maybe though just maybe we need to just let it speak for itself and examine our hearts and see if we are ready to hear this story like we are hearing it for the first time.
    Let’s open ourselves up to hear it that way. Just like the Christmas story we are going to jump around a little bit to help with the story.
    Luke 1:26–38 NIV
    26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” 29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” 34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.” 38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
    Matthew 1:18–25 NIV
    18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). 24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
    Luke 2:1–20 NIV
    1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register. 4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. 8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” 15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” 16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

    The Wonderous

    Isn’t amazing to think about all that happened in this story. To think I also for the sake of time left out portions of the story. I wanted to hit the major highlights of the story.
    Mary and Joseph though think about them for a moment. There was so much going on for them in this story. And I can’t help but think about how many times there were thinking.
    I wonder how this is going to work out.
    Maybe that’s what really makes the story wonderous.
    How is this going to work out.
    Mary—Alright I am going to get pregnant, I have never been married, I have never been with a man, umm Ok God if you are sure about this.
    Joseph—Alright my Fiancé is pregnant, God told me to not be scared, How am I not supposed ot be scared by all of this? I guess I could walk away I have the right to I think, Oh man, how am I going to stand before God and explained I walked out on this one...Umm Okay God I wonder how you are going to make this work but you got this.
    Keep going with the story.
    Umm how are we going to have this baby in a manger. This isn’t the most hygienic place God?
    Who are all these people showing up to see us? Why are they talking about Angels singing to them in the sky?
    Someone tell that drummer boy to stop playing his drum Jesus is trying to sleep?
    IF we are honest this story is amazing to read and to see all the pieces coming together to give us this story.
    It makes me wonder and sit in awe at the way God works in ways that we can’t even begin to understand. To bring it all together to bring Jesus to us in this season.
    It is there that we find the hope and the wonder of this time of year.
    It is what gets me so ecstatic for this time of year because our savior has come.
    LEt’s recapture that sense of wonder and amazement at the Christmas season and look to God in all that he is doing for us.
    Let’s pray.

      • Luke 1:26–38NIV2011

      • Matthew 1:18–25NIV2011

      • Luke 2:1–20NIV2011

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