2021 - An Unopened Gift!
Good morning. Welcome to the worship service at First Christian Church in Henrietta. America would be very Merry Christmas and everyone is still well and safe.
This year this week our church. It will have for birthdays I guess. Young couple nurture to very active and our our music program and so forth. George is having your birthday today and his wife April had a birthday yesterday. So need to wish both of them a very happy birthday young lady whose granddaughter of Jeanette Lee Peyton will have a birthday this coming Wednesday and Donna Connelly then will I have birthday on Saturday. Also want to wish you a happy anniversary to Sue Anne and Max Brown who will be celebrating their birthday or anniversary tomorrow. So happy birthday and anniversary to all of those. Also will have the newsletters mailed out to you sometime this week. By the end of it by the end of this year.
Today's scripture reading I've taken from the 5th chapter of The Gospel according to Matthew. Jesus said blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted? Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled? Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown Mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad because great will be your reward in heaven. May God richly add his Blessing to this reading of his word. Let's pray.
most merciful Lord It is with glad hearts that we come before you and this time. we have each celebrated the birth of your son in our own ways and are now praying for and hoping for a brighter new year than this one is turned out to be father we pray that you would comfort those who have either lost loved ones this year due to the terrible virus or who had themselves suffered from We are asleep pray that the worst of this pandemic is over and all the world is on the road to recovery. Made the terror and suffering. It is caused be a wake-up call to us all that our hearts may be turned turned or become more closely attuned into you. Maybe year to come be a time when all the world will allow you to come into their hearts and live in such a way as to glorify you. You said you were asking the most holy and precious name of your son Our Savior. I'll men.
In approximately 110 hours and event will occur which has never occurred and never will again this last Monday. An event occurred that I'm sure that most of you are familiar with its called the conjunction of two planets the planets Jupiter and Saturn and in some cases it was being called the Christmas conjunction or the Christmas star.
I highly doubt that it had anything to do with the Star of Bethlehem, but it was interesting. Summer said that this occurs about every 400 years or others have said 800 years. Someone rate asked me if I saw it. I said I certainly did and I hope to see it again and they say well probably from the other side. I said y'all probably would if it if it's before I had one person said what's going to happen with those two planets meet. And I said, well, they're not really going to meet in that way there even when they light up there. 456 that million miles apart. So I was no danger of a of a collision. But anyway, it was interesting. So this this event that's coming up in a hundred and ten hours will Mark the beginning of the year 2021. 8674 hours ago This year 2020 began. Seem to have every indication that it was going to be one of the greatest years that our nation has ever known and hopefully all the world. It was catchy to relate to the perfect 20/20 vision with a perfect 20/20 year. But it certainly has not turned out that way. We can probably all take out some aspect which which we can find fault the past year or this year. But if there's anything we can probably all agree on would be the worldwide Avid epidemic that is known as covid-19.
The best information I could find this appears to be the 243rd similar occurrence since the year 1200 BC. Now if my math is correct, that's about 3220 years. So as we began to prepare a new year. Let us hope and pray that it's going to be a far better year than the year 2020.
A little more than 2000 years ago. God came to Earth in the person of Jesus an event which most of the world celebrated a couple days ago.
No other person living or dead has had near the impact upon Humanity as has the person Jesus. It would be. Well, some people some person might be able to do it, but I cannot summarize his life. teaching in 15 to 20 minutes But his Sermon on the Mount. Has been fairly universally accepted as a good synopsis of his teaching.
It contains a little more than two thousand words. I didn't count them. I use someone else's estimater count of it. If the average speed for an adult is 300 words per minute. Mine's not that's what I read slower than that. But if you need to file a 300 words a minute, it's only take you about 7 minutes to read this sermon that Jesus delivered
A scripture reading today was the first portion of that sermon which is commonly referred to as the Beatitudes or some call it the Blessed attitudes. Now we probably think that we have it rough today and we do in certain circumstances, especially because of the pandemic that has affected our lives this last year. But when you think about the situation in which the people of that day lived the people to whom Jesus were speaking directly there can really be no comparison with that first century life in Israel and the 21st century in America today. We have so many benefits in our world today that course those people never even dreamed of certainty. They never experienced a lot of things that we do but we haven't experienced things that they do Francis in America. We have never had to live under the domination of any other Nation such as the people of that day did living under the
the domination or the infiltration of the Roman authorities
Most of us have never known a religion other than Christianity. To them. It is a totally new concept. Of course, they didn't have Bibles to read if they could even read. But their religious life if it existed for certainly far different from from hours.
Go to someone who was accustomed to being reminded of a foreign presence in their land the concert. Shadow of a Roman soldier everywhere. They looked it became constantly a reminder of the many failures. That they had to live under just think there was only about a hundred years time. When they were ready a free Nation after I forget how many centuries are there, then that's just one country after another had dominated them and ruin them. They were also reminded of their failures as in their religious Life by the scribes and the Pharisees.
So it had to be a and irritating life that in which they lived. And then Along Came Jeeps. Doubt, we don't sure exactly when this this Sermon on the Mount occurred Matthews, the only of the gospels that included as a a one-time setting for the that truly happened at that time. We don't know some of the other gospels contain parts of it here and there are so it sounds better to say there was this time when all these people came and sat down on the hillside and Jesus toston. But he talked them certainly different than what they had heard before his words were or words of Hope and of encouragement seemed to be a kind of like a ray of sunshine breaking through on a cloudy day breath of fresh air in a closed room. He was totally different than anything they had heard before he didn't he didn't put in a flashy appearance like the Pharisees did he didn't stand on the street corners in open they pray to God in Thanksgiving that he was so much better than the others. He identified himself as pretty much a common person. They sat down that Hillside and listen. They heard words of Hope and encouragement in love. Certainly their hearts could not help but be touched. 8 * he use the phrase blessed are those who you know?
He encouraged them to live life and to be helpful and hopeful and what was going on. Certainly, this message was Far different than anything they had ever heard before. He didn't remind them as the Pharisees did of how sinful they were because they didn't do all of these things. They were supposed to do these were common people. They couldn't pay the British had difficulty keeping up with all the restrictions that the Pharisees had place to fall in them. And Jesus was well, like a truly a breath of fresh air.
now if you'd rather sometimes we have a choice, I'll try to remember that there was an old time preacher and I should have looked it up, but I didn't know who he was kind of a And outstanding preacher in the in the sense of that time people dreaded going to church then because they were constantly reminded of of all of the sins that they committed and even though they went they felt under compulsion to go but there was no no good feelings when they left they had been put through a wringer and there was one preacher. I can't remember his name. I'm ever won disarmament. He preaches like a that every person was kind of like a spider hanging on the web over a flame that could burn through at any time. That their life was very tenuous.
I don't think I'd want to go to church like that. Where you feeling worse than you did when you came. I could like to be encouraged and lift it up and hear the good thing. You said Jesus had to say.
Too often. We allow situations to control our moods and we feel defeated at times. I remember story from long time ago.
Sorry visit to shoe salesman people used to sell shoes and other things kind of door-to-door. Remember, I had an uncle who who sold out. Peanuts and gum, he had he had gumball machines and peanut butter Sheen set up and in various locales and he would he would go around and service them periodically and of Elmer coming because he had these boxes in the back of seat of his car and which he had peanuts and gum and candy and of course he would come and spend the night with us. So we would kind of help ourselves to those peanuts and gum and stuff. But it was a different world back. Then these the story about 2 to shoe sales company sent two of them out to a remote area in the Ozarks years ago. And they hadn't been there very long till the company got a telegram from one of the salesmen. It said I'm returning to the office at once can't sell shoes here. Everyone goes barefoot. A few days later. They got a telegram from the second self. And he said in clothes are 50 orders for shoes prospects here or unlimited. No one here has shoes. Well, at least they agreed on one thing. I guess I'd suggest you that approaching any problem with a positive attitude rather than negative certainty goes a long way towards solving the problem.
We may not know what the year ahead holds. We have prospects of good things. We hear there's a vaccine that there are two of them. I guess that's being utilized to help spread to help stop the spread of the virus and we certainly hope that that works but then there are other things that kind of cash be a dark cloud upon the year to come as well, but we can certainly hope that we can choose what kind of attitude we have to receive it and to live within it. I remember some of you might be Star Trek Star Trek fans. My son was I don't know. He probably watched every word every sequence a dad. Hey it ran for about three years before they started repeating it. But I remember I do remember this every episode began with these words. That's a five-year mission is to explore Strange New World to seek out new life and new civilizations and to boldly go where no man has gone before. well I would suggest to you that that is our mission as we end of the year 2021 to boldly go where no man has gone before. For certainly no one has lived any of its 525,600 minutes. It's up to us. We can approach it. Like one of those two shoes help we can either be totally negative or we can be totally positive. It's our choice. We get to choose which one we would like to emulate.
you know, I ain't riding to the early church in Philippi Philip I was a coastal city in Greece. And Paul's letter to them was written from the his first imprisonment in Rome. Fortunately. He was allowed to live in a in a home. That I suppose he or someone else rented. But he was always under guard. And he wrote four of his what I think or a his best letters. Call these prison red letters and one of them was to Phillipi. Any dad he wrote these words? Now keep in mind he didn't know what his next moment was going to hold he was certainly at the mercy of Rome could have been that any minute. He'd be jerked up and killed but he wrote this. Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead. I press on toward the goal of the prize at the Oakford call of God in Christ Jesus.
I would suggest to you. At that would make a profound New Year's resolution. We're all of us. Forgetting the losses in the suffering that have passed and much of which has been experienced in this year 2020. And I cannot imagine what many people have gone through. I did a funeral two weeks ago. I think it was two or three for a 51 year old person. Healthy man who was overtaken by this covid-19?
butter
We're facing a new year. Forgetting what's past looking forward to what lies ahead we need to press Faithfully on word as God directs our steps.
I can't remember the person who always had a dream and Gloom attitude.
I know I've known a couple of people or at least a couple I can I can think of that the always saw the bad side of things if you give them some some gift. There's always something wrong with it.
It is kind of person that looks at the glass is half-full. And they say it's see it as being half empty is always something something wrong with it. There's no expression called living in the dumps and it seems to be what they do quite often. Friend of mine one time told me he was going to buy you told me you attended any event. I think it's afterward and afterwards that he did he was telling me about this event that he had been looking forward to it bought a ticket to it 7 months ahead. There was a musical concert or a or a play or something. I don't remember the exact details, but I remember that he said he had been looking forward expectantly to this. And it had a glitch. It was delayed in starting for one reason or other and I don't remember if he told me what it was or not. But anyway, it seemed as though that put a black mark in his mind on his enjoyment of that event something he'd been looking forward to for for quite some time. And what he remembered about it was the fact that it was delayed in starting. I hope he wasn't able to enjoy it at the time but in telling me about it or repeating it. That's the thing that that came across to me that they were late starting.
Sometime somehow we need to approach every moment with the expectation that it's going to be filled with joy and happiness Play Habits moment. It may be late starting but certain they're still part of it that we can enjoy. We answered as we face this a new year. We don't know how this going to be perfect or not last year pretty well starred off on a hopeful note. But it's not ending that way. Well, maybe there's hope they are with their vaccines out. We certainly hope so, but it's not been the year that we fully expected.
8 times Jesus said to these people blessed. Are those who? And I would submit to you that perhaps he's Whispering the same words to our hearts today.
If we race forward to this new year.
I pray that we do so with hearts and Minds filled with determination to allow God to guide our steps and bless our lives.
I have a friend. that
he was a former student years ago. Who's actually a retired veterinarian?
lives down the central part of the state and he has a
a YouTube program that he does occasionally has quite a few followers. I try to watch all of them. I can one of the nice things about it is has a very positive attitude spend a couple of glitches in in his family's life this year. But he tries to overcome that I remember one time. He said something he read.
said kindness Is the one thing a blind man can see? and the deaf man can hear
Italy tries to Stratus
the being kind to one another and I think he does a great job. It reminded me of what Paul said to the Ephesians be kind to one another tenderhearted forgiving one another as God in Christ has forgiven you. Show as we approach this new year. We can all pray that it be a truly a good year. But we have to do our part. So are we approach it out by being kind to one another tenderhearted forgiving one another just as God in Christ has forgiven us. Let's pray. All Madden gracious god father. We are thankful for the love that you share with us. Or regardless of our our sinful us. Our weaknesses are human. You still love us and you gave your life for us. So as we go forth to enter into this new year, we pray that truly you might lead us that we can see hope and love and joy and also that we might spread it to others about us. So Bay for you bless our hearts and use us as your instruments of peace and goodwill to all who win counter. rascate in Christ's name
I love that Dixie.