Rejoice....this week's sermon

OK, so John the Baptist calls the people a bunch of snakes...what is he getting at and does this approach with people work. Well, John was saying that just because the people were coming to him for baptism, he did not believe that they were serious about it. If they were serious, John expected to see some changes in their lives...like sharing with those in need and not taking more in taxes than people were actually required to give. John was kind of harsh, but his central messages was about Jesus and it was Good News. Jesus would be their Savior. That is something to rejoice about...and, for us today, to share in ways that can be understood by those who don't go to church.

In his book, They Like Jesus But Not The Church, Dan Kimball explains that many people don't see joy, love, compassion when they look at churches or know from their church experience. How can we let our gentleness be known to everyone? May this Christmas be a time when many do see the joy that we share and know through our Savior Jesus Christ.

The 2nd Sunday of Advent - Preparing for Salvation

It snowed here in Winchester today, which gave me a lot of time to ponder the themes found in our readings for the 2nd Sunday of Advent. Tomorrow is also the Feast of St. Nicholas. Millions of people know who Santa Claus is, even if they don't know that Santa Claus is really St. Nicholas mispronounced in English from the Dutch, Sinter Klaas. How does all this relate to John the Baptist, you ask? Well, John called people to repent and turn to God; he wanted them to live life in a way that displayed the faith they claimed, or wanted to claim, for themselves. St. Nick was a man, who became a bishop, who lived in such away that he is still remembered today, by many who know little about the Christian faith...this is of course not a good thing one hand...but on the other hand, it shows what living our faith can do...how it can prepare the way for others to learn about the love of God. Many people celebrate Christmas because of Santa Claus - it is our job to work with the secular nature of our culture and link it back to God and to the faith that gave us Christmas...that gave us Jesus Christ.