[Propertalk] FW: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Christmas 1A: “Sin Is Like ‘Small-C christmas’- Buy Now- Pay Later! (Dr. Tony Evans)”

[joeparrish]

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-------- Original message --------From: Judy <judy_boli at ecunet.org> Date: 28/12/2019  9:11 pm  (GMT-05:00) To: Propertalk <propertalk.topic at ecunet.org> Subject: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Christmas 1A: “Sin Is Like ‘Small-C christmas’- Buy Now- Pay Later! (Dr. Tony Evans)” 

Dear Friends,

 

This Sunday’s sermon is
entitled “Sin Is Like ‘Small-C christmas’- Buy Now- Pay Later! (Dr. Tony
Evans)” and is based on all the lessons. 
Here it is:  

 

The
Rev. Ruth Lorenson (now in heaven with her Lord) posted this poem on the web
some years ago, and I’m sharing it with you again.  Can you find yourself in it anywhere?

'Twas the day after Christmas, and all
through the house,

Every creature was hurtin', even the
mouse.

The toys were all broken, their
batteries dead;

Santa passed out, with some ice on his
head.

Wrapping and ribbons just covered the
floor,

While upstairs the family continued to
snore.

And I in my T-shirt, new Reeboks and
jeans,

I went into the kitchen and started to
clean.

When out on the lawn there arose such a
clatter,

I sprang from the sink to see what was
the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash,

Tore open the curtains, and threw up
the sash.

When what to my wondering eyes should
appear,

But a little white truck, with an
oversized mirror.

The driver was smiling, so lively and
grand;

The patch on his jacket said "U.S.
POSTMAN."

With a handful of bills, he grinned
like a fox

Then quickly he stuffed them into our
mailbox.

Bill after bill, after bill, they still
came.

Whistling and shouting he called them
by name:

"Now Visa, now Mastercard, now
Penny's and Sears

Here's Robinson's Jewelry, and Target
and Mervyn's.

To the tip of your limit, every store,
every mall,

Now charge away--charge away--charge
away all!"

He whooped and he whistled as he
finished his work.

He filled up the box, and then turned
with a jerk.

He sprang to his truck and he drove
down the road,

Driving much faster with just half a
load.

Then I heard him exclaim with great
holiday cheer,

"Enjoy what you got. . . . .
.you'll be paying all year!" 

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!  The
BIG CHRISTMAS DAY is over, and now we get to live the consequences. As Rev.
Tony Evans says, “That’s how sin (and MasterCard) work, isn’t it...buy now, pay
later!”   Many people have their trees
down, decorations away, and their old habits back.  Remember, we Episcopalians celebrate
ChristMass for 12 days- one big day to enjoy and the other 11 days to think
about what it means to us this particular year, and that’s what I’d like us to
do this morning.  This is the fourth day
of ChristMass, and I invite you to think about what happened, and more
important- what it means to us on this Sunday leading up to New Year’s Day- 2020,
and how we can use it to empower our lives. 
In other words- ChristMass!  So
what!!!           

Have you ever heard anyone say, “My ChristMass was ruined
this year because of _______________________.” 
The reasons are as varied as the people making the statement.  Maybe the parents or grandparents felt their
ChristMass was ruined because their children didn’t appreciate the gifts- just
wrecked them.  Or- maybe the realization
has finally hit that you overspent and will be paying bills you can’t
afford.  Maybe someone you love is sick,
or a divorce is pending.  Maybe you’re
struggling with the terminal illness or death of someone you love.  Maybe financial or family or personal
problems seem overwhelming, especially at this time of year.  Any of these are enough for many people to
say that their Christmas is ruined, but remember- there are two kinds of
Christmases: the small “c” christmas and the capital “C” ChristMass.  If you are only a small “c” christmas person
(fun, family, food, and presents, “Frosty the Snowman,” and “Santa Claus Is
Coming to Town”)- these things can spoil your holiday in a hurry.  But I’m here to tell you that that’s not the
gift God gave us- a small “c” christmas. 
God gave us the ChristMass- a capital “C” ChristMass the
Word-Made-Flesh-Dwelling-Among-Within-Us ChristMass, and that gift really shows
its power in the hard times.  That gift
is Jesus, “Immanuel, God with us”.  This
means that Christians who have really absorbed the true meaning and power of
ChristMass are like tea bags- the hotter the water life puts them in, the
stronger they get.  True ChristMass isn’t
for fun; it’s for power.  You’ve heard people
say, “If only ChristMass could last all year!” 
Well, let it last all year in your life, invite Immanuel, Jesus, God to
be with you ever more powerfully in your daily struggles this year, and life
won’t throw anything in your face that you and God can’t handle and turn into
some kind of positive. 

Here we are starting a new year Wednesday at midnight, and
not one of us knows what it will bring. 
Mary never guessed when she said “Yes” to God that she would be nine
months pregnant and bouncing along on the back of a donkey all 50 miles to Bethlehem.  She never guessed that her water would break,
that there would be no place to stay, and that she would have her first baby in
a stable (probably a damp cave), helped only by her husband (who knew
ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about having babies- men didn’t get involved in things like
that then).  Joseph never guessed that he
would be taking his little family to Egypt to protect the Christ Child
from King Herod.  When the Wise Men
didn’t fall for King Herod’s trick, and went home another way- do you recall
how the king ordered his soldiers to kill all the Jewish baby boys two years
old and younger?  Those poor mothers who
had their little boy babies killed by the soldiers could never have predicted
such an atrocity.  Who would have guessed-
we started the year with the funeral of our sister, Mrs. Felicia Johnson-Martin;
then buried my Tina Jones’ daughter, my granddaughter, Mariah Boli; and ended
it with the death of Mr. Benjamin Watson? 
Those of us who have lost loved ones never guessed 2019 would be their
stairway to heaven and we would have to live life without their counsel. We can
be sure this next year will provide some huge delights and some just as huge
sadnesses- that’s life.  Through it all,
we don’t know what the future holds, but our ChristMass (big “C) promise is: we
do know who holds us in his arms as we live through the unknown- our heavenly
Dad.  With Jesus in our hearts and bodies
and lives, we can survive and even overcome anything.  That’s the kind of ChristMass power we can
claim.  

So, my challenge to you is- access ChristMass power.  Use this New Year as a start.  Do you have a habit you want to break?  Is there something about your life that’s not
working?  Is there a relationship that
needs redemption?  Is your temper getting
the best of you?  Is there healing that
needs to happen?  Is there something
you’ve been putting off, knowing you really should do it?  Are you satisfied with your time with God,
your spiritual walk, or have you been shortchanging your Lord?  Plan to succeed.  Bring it to the altar.  Don’t let the devil turn you around- when you
slip, just start again.  You will
overcome.

 

For anyone who is interested, this sermon and updated African-American
wisdom statements are posted on our parish’s web site under “Sermons &
Stuff”. The address is: http://www.stpaulsepisag.org
.

 

Blessed preaching,

Judy Boli

St. Paul's Episcopal Church

Saginaw, Michigan





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