Every year at this time, churches around the world typically read passages of scripture that lift up the person of John the Baptizer. John was a close relative of Jesus, and he was a prophet.  John knew his calling: It was very simple – very clear: Prepare the way of the Lord.  Prepare people for Jesus coming. Prepare hearts and minds…

Last Sunday was the first Sunday of Advent. This marks the beginning of the four-week Christian season leading up to Christmas. Many churches light a candle on each of the four Sundays before December 25th.  In some congregations, the Sundays will have themes: Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love.  This is a time of preparing our hearts to receive Christ anew and to reflect on his coming into the world.

Some families also have a tradition of lighting a candle at dinner one night each week. It gives them a chance to talk about the season, who we are celebrating, and why. The tradition itself adds meaning and life to the family.

I wonder if you have any special traditions for this season in your family or with your friends. If not, what a great year to begin something new!

Let us pray: Loving God, thank you for breaking into this world through Jesus. Thank you for showing us your love first hand; for meeting us where we are and for walking with us even now. Help us this year to find ways to prepare for your coming. Remind us again of the truth and depth of the Christmas spirit. Grant us your grace that we may prepare our hearts once again. Amen.

Today’s message was written by Rev. Dr. Roger Kunkel, founder of Dial Hope.

 

One of my favorite Peanuts comic strips is one that was printed some years ago, just a few days before Thanksgiving. Lucy is feeling sorry for herself, and she laments, “My life is a drag. I’m completely fed up. I’ve never felt so low in my life.” Her little brother, Linus, tries to console her and says, “Lucy, when you’re in a mood like this, you should try to think of things you have to be thankful for. In other words, count your blessings.”

To that, Lucy says, “Ha! That’s a good one! I could count my blessings on one finger! I’ve never had anything, and I never will have anything. I don’t get half the breaks that other people get. Nothing ever goes right for me! And you talk about counting blessings! You talk about being thankful! What do I have to be thankful for?” Linus says, “Well, for one thing, you have a little brother who loves you.” With that, Lucy runs and hugs her little brother Linus as she cries tears of joy. And while she is hugging him tightly, Linus says, “Every now and then, I say the right thing.”

Well, what about us? We have a God who loves us, who loves us unconditionally. And if that doesn’t make us sing the song of thanksgiving, I don’t know what would. God loves you!

Let us pray: Generous God, who loves us not because of our merits but just because we are; we are overwhelmed by our blessings. Our lives are overflowing with gifts too numerous to mention – the marvels, and beauty of creations, life itself, family, friends, home, church community. Keep us, we pray, from ever taking for granted what we enjoy. In gratitude and humility, we pray, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

There’s this passage of scripture in the book of 1 Kings where the prophet Elijah is just about at his wits end. He’s been going and going, and God says to him, Elijah, go up on the mountain – because I’m going to meet you there. And so Elijah goes up on the mountain, and the scripture says there was this great earthquake – shook the mountain – but God was not in the earthquake. Then there was this tremendous wind, but God was not in the wind, then there was a fire – and God was not in the fire. But following the fire, God came in the sound of sheer silence.

When was the last time you heard the sound of sheer silence, or anything close?

Which raises the question, when do you make room in your life to listen for God? Because it is easy for any of us to get to the point where God feels really distant, where we feel spiritually dry, where all of a sudden we’ve got all these problems, or worries and we just wonder, “Where is God in all this?”

In the Gospels, Jesus sets a healthy pattern. He works hard. He meets a lot of needs. He touches a lot of people. But often we find he withdrawals from the crowds, finds space and time alone to listen and to pray.

I suspect that most of us want to hear God’s voice. We want to have God’s healing and guidance at the center of our lives. But how often do we truly pause and listen?

In the Gospel of Mark, after Jesus sends the disciples out on a pretty serious mission, they come back together for the first time, and Jesus says to them, “Come away to a deserted place by yourselves and rest awhile.”

Let’s pray: Loving God so often we find ourselves racing through life and our souls are just starved. We find that we can go and go and go – but yet we miss so much of life that way. Forgive us for not slowing down to smell the flowers more often. Forgive us when we work as though the whole world depended on us and not on you. Help us to stop and breathe and notice your presence.

We want to know you, God. We want to live out of a deep experience of your grace and love. And so we ask you to help us create time and space in our lives to listen for your still small voice. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Today’s message was written by my friend Rev. Roger Kunkel, founder of Dial Hope.

 

From the Bible, the Manufacturer’s Handbook, come these inspiring words that lift our spirits:

“While (the Prodigal Son) was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him.” – Luke 15:20

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.” – John 1:14

“Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.” – Psalm 127:1

“Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the lands! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!” – Psalm 100:1-2

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” – Psalm 46:1

“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.” – 1 John 4:18

“As each has received a gift, empty it for one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” – 1 Peter 4:10

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” – Hebrews 11:1

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” – 2 Timothy 4:7

“Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” – Philippians 1:21

Let us pray: O God of light, who makes the sun to rise each morning, we praise you for your Son Jesus, who came into the world to bring the light of life to a darkened world. Lord, what are you up to today? We want to be a part of it. Help us this day to walk with hope. We love you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

There is an old story about a tailor who visits his rabbi and says, “I have a problem with my prayers. If someone comes to me and says, ‘Mendel, you’re a wonderful tailor,’ that makes me feel good. I feel appreciated. I can go on feeling good for a whole week, even longer on the strength of one compliment like that. But if people came to me every day, one after another, hour after hour, and kept saying to me ‘Mendel, you’re a wonderful tailor,’ over and over again it would drive me crazy. It would soon get to the point where I wouldn’t want to listen to them anymore. I would tell them to go away and let me do my work in peace. This is what bothers me about prayer. It seems to me that if we told God how wonderful He is once a week, even once every few weeks, and just one or two of us at a time, that’s all He would need. Is God so insecure that He needs us praising him every day? Three times a day, morning, noon, and night? It seems to me it would drive God crazy.”

The rabbi smiled and said, “Mendel, you’re absolutely right. You have no idea how hard it is for God to listen to all of our praises, hour after hour, day after day.  But God knows how important it is for us to utter that praise, so in his great love for us, God is willing to tolerate it.”

There is something indeed about speaking praise and naming that for which we are thankful that changes our perspective. Gratitude always gives us a glimpse of the bigger picture. And, our prayers open our hearts to God and to others.

Let us pray: We do praise you, O God, for your creative power, mercy, and undying love. Thank you for the many blessings that flow into our lives every day. May we never fail to notice and may we never forget to give thanks. Amen.