It is Thanksgiving weekend, and
I certainly have much for which to be thankful.
But for the past two weeks I’ve been looking beyond Thanksgiving…to
Advent.
I’ve preached tons of sermons over the years, but – until two years ago – I never was the primary pulpit minister. As a result, I seldom had to present a holiday message. Many of my colleagues in ministry have shared the opinion that “holiday preaching” is one of the most challenging tasks in all of ministry. And now I tend to agree with them.
Why? Because it is extremely difficult to preach
about Easter and Christmas, year after year, and keep the message fresh. These holidays define our faith in essential
ways, yet the core story is contained in just a few Bible passages. People enjoy revisiting these familiar
stories, but – at the same time – no one wants them to become stale.
Some pastors I know simply give
up, and refuse to preach holiday messages at all. They create some other kind of sermon series
– working their way through a relevant topic or a Bible book – and stick with
that series right through the holiday.
I did that (sort of) two years ago, during my first Christmas at Garden
Way, preaching just one seasonal sermon on the Sunday before Christmas. And even that one message fit neatly into the
larger (non-Advent) series I was preaching.
I certainly understand the
motivation for avoiding the annual holiday sermon series. However, I’m not sure this is the best
approach, for me or for the church. It’s
certainly easier on me as the preacher, but then the entire church (which includes
me, by the way) misses out on the message and the meaning of the season. And we all lose some of the spiritual rhythm
of life that comes from taking time to step back and re-visit the foundational
message of Advent: the arrival of God in human form.
It is an amazing story…a life-changing story…that we cannot take for granted.
It is an amazing story…a life-changing story…that we cannot take for granted.
So last year I preached a multi-week
series that worked through most of the core Christmas passages. It was delightful to do so for the first time,
but then this year – as Christmas was approaching – I found myself in a
quandary. How should I attempt to “re-preach”
some or all of these passages?
One of the beauties of the
internet is that sermon research is amazingly easy, so I’ve been perusing
various websites in search of ideas for the Christmas season. And I’ve discovered that other ministers –
facing this same challenge - have come up with some wonderfully creative ways
to proclaim the Advent message anew.
I have no desire to preach another
pastor’s message, so I was not looking for sermons…I was looking for sermon topics. I was hoping for a creative spark that would
give me an idea for a fresh way to approach the familiar Christmas texts.
My search was, to a certain
extent, futile. I did not have that
“eureka” moment when I was hit by a flash of insight. However, this search did get me thinking
creatively about the Advent message. In
particular, I started to think more specifically about the people involved in the story. About the ups and downs of their lives,
particularly in the months and weeks leading up to the birth of
Jesus.
And it struck me that far too
often, I have approached Christmas as a bit of warm, comforting history. As an ancient tradition, over which my family
has laid its own traditions. But to a certain
extent, this has caused me to lose sight of the biblical story of Christmas. I was forgetting that God intervened in the
lives of specific people – people like Zechariah & Elizabeth; Joseph &
Mary - at a specific moment in history.
These individuals were not
static characters in a play. They were
not “tools” to be used by God to accomplish His purposes. They were real people, with real struggles
and real challenges. And because of His
great love for His children, God did not just accomplish His purposes through them, He showed up to do something
significant for them.
All of this was churning around
in my head, so I spent several days pondering…and praying… and reading (and
re-reading) the opening chapters of Matthew and Luke. And slowly, a theme began to emerge. Slowly some ideas crystallized. And ultimately the Lord enabled me to
discover a new way to present Advent to the church this year.
So in December, I will present
five messages that wrestle with the question, “When Does God Show up?” Here’s how I described this series to the
church:
“Christmas is about God’s arrival in human form; that
defining moment in history when Jesus came to live among us. The Christmas season reminds us that God
showed up in an amazing way to display His wisdom, His power, and His love for
people.
In this series of messages, we will explore the lives of some familiar characters in the Christmas story and see how God made His presence known before the birth of Jesus. Speaking through angels and dreams, God showed up – in critical moments – to meet the heart-felt needs of His children. And through Jesus, God still shows up to meet our needs today.”
In this series of messages, we will explore the lives of some familiar characters in the Christmas story and see how God made His presence known before the birth of Jesus. Speaking through angels and dreams, God showed up – in critical moments – to meet the heart-felt needs of His children. And through Jesus, God still shows up to meet our needs today.”
When We’re Disillusioned (Luke 1:5-25)
The story of Zechariah & Elizabeth as they desperately wait to become parents
When We Least Expect (Luke 1:26-38)
The story of Mary and the angel’s announcement of her impending pregnancy
When We’re Confused (Matthew 1:18-25)The story of Joseph after he learns of Mary’s pregnancy
When Life is Hard (Luke 2:1-7)
The story of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus in the manger
Postscript: Do We Sincerely Want God to Show Up? (Matthew 2:1-12)
The contrasting stories…and contrasting purposes…of Herod and The Wise Men
I’ve not yet written these
messages, but I’m intrigued with this fresh perspective on Advent. Just pondering these themes is building
within me a sense of anticipation for the month of December. I’m excited to see what God will say to me as
I begin to craft these messages next week.
So I’m trusting that the
preparation and presentation of these sermons will be a transforming experience for all
of us.
I’m trusting that God will show
up in our midst.
And I'm trusting that when God does show up, He will do so in an intensely personal way...desiring to work through us and in us...just as he did for our ancestors in the faith, during that very first Christmas season.
And I'm trusting that when God does show up, He will do so in an intensely personal way...desiring to work through us and in us...just as he did for our ancestors in the faith, during that very first Christmas season.
- Bruce
