Pastor Rich's Sermon - December 1, 2002

“This Christmas is going to be different! I am not going to let this Christmas overwhelm me. I refuse to allow myself to get to the point that I can’t wait for Christmas to be over. It is not going to happen this year.”

Does this sound familiar to you? Have the seasons of Advent and Christmas become seasons that you dread rather than enjoy? Have they become seasons that overwhelm you?

Between the multiple trips to mall, the hours spent standing on lines, cruising the parking lots for a place to park, jockeying for position at the grocery store check out counter, writing out Christmas cards, attending Christmas plays, (excuse me holiday plays) at school, plus additional Church events it is no wonder we lose track of what Christmas is all about.

I would love to work the public address system in the mall. I would say, “Attention shoppers please be on the look out for a lost person. He is a small newborn child who is wrapped in swaddling clothes and His name is Jesus. If you see Him please, please let Him into your heart.”

“Be on guard! Be alert!

It seems each year we do more and more complaining about all the preparations involved with Christmas than year before. Allow me to ask you, “Whose fault is this? Is there someone holding a gun to your head or twisting your arm? Did you receive pre-requisites for celebrating Christmas that require that you do all these things to celebrate Christmas?

If you did then let me give you some advice, throw them out.

Chances are good that you will be overwhelmed this year, but get overwhelmed for the right reasons. Be overwhelmed by God’s glory. Be overwhelmed by the joy that this child, Jesus who was born to us is God’s gift of love for you. Be overwhelmed by the absolute grace and magnitude of this gift.

If you are going to fear anything this Advent/Christmas season may it not be that Toys-R-Us won’t have the toy that your son or daughter must have. Let your fears not be that you won’t get all your cards written out, or that you will forget to buy a gift for someone. Be fearful this season but may your fear be an awesome reverent kind of fear for the God of your salvation and mine.

Be overwhelmed! Be fearful!

It is one thing to say what you should or shouldn’t do. It is another thing to tell how. So let me tell you how to prepare for Christmas if you want to be overwhelmed and fearful for the right reasons this Christmas.

To use the words of Jesus,

“Be on guard! Be alert!

I know that we have set a specific date for Christmas, BUT that doesn’t mean we are limited to experience Christmas on the 25th and only on the 25th. The good news, the miracle of Christmas can be experienced on your journey to Christmas.

Let me give you an example. As most of you know, Diane and I spent fifteen days in Alaska this past summer. Even before we left I had expectations and hopes for this trip. I had hopes that I would see glaciers up close. I had hopes I would see bald eagles in flight. I had hopes I would see the wildlife and sea-life that Alaska is noted for. In order to insure that my hopes would be fulfilled it meant making a specific itinerary that would put me in places that this would happen. It meant planning a sea excursion in Resurrection Bay. It meant cruising Prince Edward Sound not on a big luxury cruise ship, but smaller ship that held only seventy passengers. It meant taking a train ride from Anchorage to Denali. It meant boarding a school bus and driving five hours into the interior of Denali National Park. Yet even after making all these plans, what was required most of me, was watchfulness. It wasn’t like I was going into an aquarium or a zoo where I would find signs pointing me in the direction to see the lions, the pandas, or the whales. No, seeing Alaska’s wildlife required a diligence on my part and the part of everyone that I shared the journey with.

To be specific when we were on the bus in Denali the bus driver said to us, “If anyone sees any wildlife just shout stop and which side of the bus. She couldn’t keep her eyes out for wildlife and keep her eyes on the road. If you saw some of the roads we were driving on, trust me you would want her to keep her eyes on the road. We saw an abundance of wildlife because every person on the bus was diligently looking for it. This was true when we were on the cruise ship as well.

My point is that God will provide you and me numerous, as a matter of fact, unlimited opportunities to experience the miracle of Christmas. The question you and I need to answer is, will we be looking for them? Will we be looking for God to reveal Himself, to make Himself known to us? Will we

“Be on guard! Be alert!”

for Jesus?

Truth is, that you and I will be overwhelmed and fearful this season. You and I have the power and ability to determine whether we will be overwhelmed and fearful for the right reason or the wrong reason?