Sermon Tone Analysis

TWAS THE MONTH AFTER CHRISTMAS

       

Twas the month after Christmas, and all through the house

Nothing would fit me, not even a blouse.

The cookies I'd nibbled, the eggnog I'd taste

All the holiday parties had gone to my waist.

When I got on the scales there arose such a number!

When I walked to the store (less a walk than a lumber).

I'd remember the marvelous meals I'd prepared;

The gravies and sauces and beef nicely rared,

The wine and the rum balls, the bread and the cheese

And the way I'd never said, "No thank you, please."

As I dressed myself in my husband's old shirt

And prepared once again to do battle with dirt--

I said to myself, as I only can "You can't spend a winter

disguised as a man!"

 

So-away with the last of the sour cream dip,

Get rid of the fruit cake, every cracker and chip

Every last bit of food that I like must be banished

"Till all the additional ounces have vanished.

I won't have a cookie-not even a lick.

I'll want only to chew on a long celery stick.

I won't have hot biscuits, or corn bread, or pie,

I'll munch on a carrot and quietly cry.

I'm hungry, I'm lonesome, and life is a bore---

But isn't that what January is for?

Unable to giggle, no longer a riot.

Happy New Year to all and to all a good diet!

 

!!

The Christmas Cast

 

q      \\ The shepherds returned to their flocks.

q      The angels returned to heaven

 

q      Mary and Joseph remained in Bethlehem for 40 days at least.

They lived in Egypt following Herod’s discovery of the birth of Christ and the visit of the wise men.

They stayed there until Herod’s death.

But their lives were never quite the same again.

q      Simeon – lived to see the Messiah

 

q      Anna the prophetess – recognized the Christ child.

q      Herod – never had a clue as to what happened until the arrival of the wise men perhaps 2 years after Jesus birth

 

q      The Wise Men – went home

 

Life returns to normal for everyone.

Most of our life is spent there in the normal routines.

The days when someone asks you’ What’s new?” and you find yourself digging and scratching to say something because you don’t want to say “nothing” and so declare your life to be a string of boring days one after another.

In my mind the brilliance of a Christian life, if it is to be found is found in the days after Christmas, figuratively speaking, the days when there is nothing special happening to you – no holidays, no special honors or recognitions, no exotic vacations or undertakings.

The place where we spend the majority of our time, the dash between birth and death

 

1 Thessalonians 4:11 Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you,  12 so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.[1]

\\ HOW DO YOU LIVE YOUR DASH?

I read of a pastor who stood to speak

At the funeral of his friend.

He referred to the dates on her tombstone

From the beginning to the end.

He noted that first came the date of her birth,

And spoke of the second date with tears.

But he said what mattered most of all

Was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time

That she spent alive on earth.

And now only those who loved her

Know what that dash is worth.

For it matters not how much we own;

the cars, the house, the cash.

What matters most is how we live,

And how we spend our dash.

So think about this long & hard,

Are there things you'd like to change?

For you never know what time is left.

You could be at "dash, mid-range."

If we could just slow down enough,

To see what's true & real.

And always try to understand

The way that others feel.

And be less quick to anger,

And show appreciation more,

and love the people in our lives

Like we've never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect,

And more often wear a smile,

Keeping in mind this special dash

Might last but a little while.

So when your eulogy's being read,

Your life's actions to rehash,

Would you smile at the things being said

About how you spent your dash?

\\  

 

The recipe for life in the days after Christmas.

Rising to the occasion of daily life.

Every day is an occasion and I think that there should be certain personal and meaningful rituals associated with it.

1.

*The way that you begin your day will shape it*  - there will be a sense that you are in control of your day or that your day is in control of you.

If it is hurried because you don’t get up in sufficient time then you know what the day will be like.

You will be impatient with others because you are irritated with yourself and the fact that you are being run by your schedule.

Each day I am developing several practices, priorities and perspectives.

No matter how tired I am or how low I am feeling, I feel better when I have gotten myself out of bed to pound the pavement.

I’m not trying to make a religion out of running, merely saying that this is my device that gets the bed off my back and gives me regular contact with people that I can laugh with at the beginning of the day.

When this routine is interrupted I have to regain control quickly if I am to face the day at my best.

2.

*I am practicing several things in my prayer life as well.*

At the beginning of each day, I remind myself that God is sovereign and that I am called to be involved in something that is much bigger than I am.

I offer myself to God as an instrument of righteousness, useful only in the hands of God.

 

/Romans 6:11 //In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.

13 Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness*, but rather offer yourselves to God*, as those who have been brought from death to life; and *offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness*.

14 For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.

/

!

Slaves to Righteousness

/15 //What then?