Thursday, December 25, 2008
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Fourth Sunday of Advent, 2008
During the 11 o'clock Worship Hour, the Zion UMC Choir presented the challenging Christmas Cantata "Hope Has Hands," and offered up a joyful noise unto the Lord before a packed sanctuary. Later, in the evening, at 6 p.m., the Sr. MYF and the Jr. MYF presented their annual Christmas program, an adaptation of the children's novel, "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever," which was modified to be set in Pricetown. Afterward, a special visitor in red and white arrived to the delight of all, and then Christmas gifts were exchanged...
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Sermon Notes for the Third Sunday of Advent 2008
Another definition of the word Advent is “the arrival of something momentous,” according to Webster’s College Dictionary... During the Advent season, we anticipate the arrival of Christmas, and reflect on that time when the arrival of the Messiah was anticipated by his people as we, in turn, anticipate the return of Jesus Christ…
1,700 years before the birth of Christ, Jacob – the son of Isaac, and the brother of Esau – anticipated the arrival of the Messiah when he spoke the following words found in Genesis 49:10 -
“The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.”
The term SHILOH is found in the Scriptures approximately 33 times, and in 32 of these instances, it is identified as a place…
You may have heard of a town called SHILOH in cowboy novels or cowboy movies, but Jacob was not referring to a place when he made this statement on his deathbed. He was referring to a person…the Messiah, long anticipated by his people. He was being quite specific about specific characteristics of the Messiah as well. Many feel that when Christ fulfilled these characteristics, there could no longer be any further argument against the fact that Jesus was, indeed, the Shiloh…the Messiah.
One theologian remarked that “perhaps there is no part of the Old Testament scriptures which [Hebrews] find so difficult to reconcile with their unbelief in Jesus as this. [It is a very graphic and explicit reminder of the Redeemer, [and] it stands forth to the Christian as one of those solid proofs of the authority and divinity of our holy religion.”
But what does the term Shiloh, as used by Jacob in Genesis 49, mean?
1. A Messenger, or ‘one who is sent.’
· The Gospels tell us that Jesus was “sent of the Father” as the messenger of God’s love and mercy to our lost world…
· “For this we know, and testify, that the Father sent the Son.” (1 John 4:14)
· Christ repeatedly referred to himself in the Gospels as being one who was “sent by the Father”: “This is the will of God, that you believe on him whom he hath sent.” (John 6:29)
· “For I came heaven not to do my will, but the will of him who sent me.” (John 6:38)
· As the Messenger, or Sent One of God, he covenanted with the Father for the redemption of the world. In the fullness of time, God sent him forth, and he was anointed to the great work by the descent of the Holy Spirit. After this event, he entered his public ministry by proclaiming, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, and to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”
2. A Peace-Maker.
· Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would be the “Prince of Peace,” and when Christ was born on that first Christmas morning, the angels sang, “Peace on earth, good will toward men.”
· As one theologian once wrote, “[The inhabitants of] Earth had rebelled against heaven; man against his God. Sin exposed our guilty race to the wrath of Deity. Jesus came to set up an honorable system of mediation He undertook to render perfect satisfaction to the insulted justice and holiness of God; he came to ‘magnify the Law,’ and through him all believers have peace with God. The gospel of peace is freely procured, and a spiritual empire of peace and holiness [has been] set up in our world.”
3. A Prosperous Savior.
· Jesus was sent of God to be the Savior of the world. He became a Savior through making peace for us. But as a Savior he is prosperous in that he possesses every qualification for saving souls.
· In the Old Testament Messianic prophecy of Isaiah, we read, “He shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hands.” (Isaiah 53:10)
· The Kingdom of the Shiloh is to be an everlasting Kingdom and his dominion shall be forever and ever. His reign of mercy is to be universal, and shall encompass every nation, people, and tongue. And portions of all people in the world will gather before him…
1,700 years before the birth of Christ, Jacob – the son of Isaac, and the brother of Esau – anticipated the arrival of the Messiah when he spoke the following words found in Genesis 49:10 -
“The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.”
The term SHILOH is found in the Scriptures approximately 33 times, and in 32 of these instances, it is identified as a place…
You may have heard of a town called SHILOH in cowboy novels or cowboy movies, but Jacob was not referring to a place when he made this statement on his deathbed. He was referring to a person…the Messiah, long anticipated by his people. He was being quite specific about specific characteristics of the Messiah as well. Many feel that when Christ fulfilled these characteristics, there could no longer be any further argument against the fact that Jesus was, indeed, the Shiloh…the Messiah.
One theologian remarked that “perhaps there is no part of the Old Testament scriptures which [Hebrews] find so difficult to reconcile with their unbelief in Jesus as this. [It is a very graphic and explicit reminder of the Redeemer, [and] it stands forth to the Christian as one of those solid proofs of the authority and divinity of our holy religion.”
But what does the term Shiloh, as used by Jacob in Genesis 49, mean?
1. A Messenger, or ‘one who is sent.’
· The Gospels tell us that Jesus was “sent of the Father” as the messenger of God’s love and mercy to our lost world…
· “For this we know, and testify, that the Father sent the Son.” (1 John 4:14)
· Christ repeatedly referred to himself in the Gospels as being one who was “sent by the Father”: “This is the will of God, that you believe on him whom he hath sent.” (John 6:29)
· “For I came heaven not to do my will, but the will of him who sent me.” (John 6:38)
· As the Messenger, or Sent One of God, he covenanted with the Father for the redemption of the world. In the fullness of time, God sent him forth, and he was anointed to the great work by the descent of the Holy Spirit. After this event, he entered his public ministry by proclaiming, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, and to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”
2. A Peace-Maker.
· Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would be the “Prince of Peace,” and when Christ was born on that first Christmas morning, the angels sang, “Peace on earth, good will toward men.”
· As one theologian once wrote, “[The inhabitants of] Earth had rebelled against heaven; man against his God. Sin exposed our guilty race to the wrath of Deity. Jesus came to set up an honorable system of mediation He undertook to render perfect satisfaction to the insulted justice and holiness of God; he came to ‘magnify the Law,’ and through him all believers have peace with God. The gospel of peace is freely procured, and a spiritual empire of peace and holiness [has been] set up in our world.”
3. A Prosperous Savior.
· Jesus was sent of God to be the Savior of the world. He became a Savior through making peace for us. But as a Savior he is prosperous in that he possesses every qualification for saving souls.
· In the Old Testament Messianic prophecy of Isaiah, we read, “He shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hands.” (Isaiah 53:10)
· The Kingdom of the Shiloh is to be an everlasting Kingdom and his dominion shall be forever and ever. His reign of mercy is to be universal, and shall encompass every nation, people, and tongue. And portions of all people in the world will gather before him…
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Sermon Notes for the Second Sunday of Advent 2008
Advent means “to come” and "the anticipation of a momentous event" and, during this time of year, we celebrate the anticipated arrival of the Lord Jesus.
I Thessalonians 3:9-13 reads, "9How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you? 10Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith. 11Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus clear the way for us to come to you. 12May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. 13May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones."
· This passage of Scripture expresses the hope of seeing loved one’s face-to-face, after a prolonged absence.
· There is an encouragement to strive for Christian perfection and holiness:
1. There is an encouragement to love one another with Christian love.
2. There is an encouragement to be like Christ.
Like the Apostles, we anticipate the eminent arrival of the Lord Jesus Christ; we hope to see Jesus face-to-face soon, and we must make ready for his return.
Have you ever been separated from a friend or loved one, and had hopes of seeing them again? If that friend called you, out of the blue, and told you they’d be coming to see you – what would you do? You’d get yourself, and your house, ready…
Jesus is coming back, and we don’t know when…but we need to be ready.
We cannot afford to be uncertain as we anticipate the arrival of the Lord…
I Thessalonians 3:9-13 reads, "9How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you? 10Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith. 11Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus clear the way for us to come to you. 12May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. 13May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones."
· This passage of Scripture expresses the hope of seeing loved one’s face-to-face, after a prolonged absence.
· There is an encouragement to strive for Christian perfection and holiness:
1. There is an encouragement to love one another with Christian love.
2. There is an encouragement to be like Christ.
Like the Apostles, we anticipate the eminent arrival of the Lord Jesus Christ; we hope to see Jesus face-to-face soon, and we must make ready for his return.
Have you ever been separated from a friend or loved one, and had hopes of seeing them again? If that friend called you, out of the blue, and told you they’d be coming to see you – what would you do? You’d get yourself, and your house, ready…
Jesus is coming back, and we don’t know when…but we need to be ready.
We cannot afford to be uncertain as we anticipate the arrival of the Lord…
We must fulfill our commitments as Christians:
· by striving for Christian perfection, and lives of holiness
· by serving the Lord in our local church…when we join the church, we agree to honor the Lord, and his church, by giving it, and him:
1. Our Time
2. Our Talents
3. Our Presence, andOur Tithes…
Hanging of the Greens 2008
On Sunday, November 30th, our church congregation celebrated the 2008 Hanging of the Greens, we decorated the Christmon tree, we decorated the church with poinsettias, and some of the men in the church put up our Nativity Scene! The Advent season is officially upon us! The live tree in the sanctuary was given by an anonymous donor in memory of the late C.W. Smith, whom we all miss dearly... 
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Scripture References for the First Sunday of Advent 2008
Jeremiah 23:5-6
5 "The days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. 6 In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The LORD Our righteousness."
Isaiah 9:2, 6-7
"2 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned...6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this."
Isaiah 53:1-6
1 Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? 2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all."
John 1:1-5, 9-14
1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning. 3Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it...9The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. 10He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God. 14The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."
Thursday, November 27, 2008
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