Our finest gifts we bring . . . to lay before the King . . .
I am writing these words in that holy space between Christmas and Epiphany, between the celebration of God's advent on earth in human form and the celebration of the revelation of that advent to all the world. I am thinking about the new year, and I am thinking about the new life that Christ offers to every single one of us that can be ours when we choose to pick up our cross and follow faithfully, wherever Christ might lead.
This year, I had the opportunity to preach a sermon on New Year's Day. That's a relatively rare opportunity in the life of a preacher. I took advantage of that opportunity to offer to the congregation a sermon about becoming the kind of people God is calling us to be . . . a sermon about doing some difficult work to make improvements to our lives in areas that really need improvement . . . a sermon about perseverance in the face of trial and adversity . . . a sermon about how you can bring more satisfaction, self-confidence, fulfillment, hope, serenity, and joy to your life when you do the hard work that God is calling you to do. On one level, the sermon was about making New Year's resolutions that really matter, and then sticking to them when the going gets tough. On another level, the sermon was about growing closer to God . . . which is, after all, the primary goal of a faithful Christian life.
Apparently, the sermon hit home for a number of people. We had only about half the number of people here on New Year's Day that we typically have, but I received quite a bit more enthusiastic comments from people than I usually do. People told me things like "More people needed to be here to hear that message" and "You should have saved that for a day when more people were going to be here" and "You just described my life" and "That was truly excellent" and "That was outstanding" . . . and one very sincere and heartfelt "Thank you." One person that I am aware of immediately set to work (before even leaving the church building!) figuring out how to begin to tackle the biggest challenge they are facing in their life right now. Discussion about the sermon continued on Monday night at the Disciple Bible Study, and when I mentioned to the participants that I was thinking about printing it in the newsletter, they wholeheartedly encouraged me to do so. I'm glad the sermon hit home for a number of people, because in many ways, this sermon describes what I've been trying to do with my life, in several different ways, for a number of years now, and I know how much more satisfaction, self-confidence, fulfillment, hope, serenity, and joy I am feeling in my life now than I did at earlier points in my journey. I know how much more faithful to Jesus Christ I am now than I once was . . . and I keep becoming aware of just how much more I need to grow, and of the challenging work that God is calling me to do to continue to grow in my relationship with God.
So, I offer this sermon to you - once again - here in this newsletter, hoping that those of you who heard it once will find more to gain from it, and hoping that those of you who didn't hear it will sit down with it carefully and prayerfully. Yes, it's long. I know that. It's probably the longest sermon I've ever written. We had no choir anthem, no children's message, and no mission message on that day, so I used that extra time. one of our elders told me afterwards that the Rev. Paul Arnold would occasionally give some very long sermons when he was the Pastor here, many years ago, and that some people complained that they were too long, but that they were really good messages, messages worth hearing. I don't know that this sermon is as good as Rev. Arnold's sermons were . . . but at least I know - from what people told me - that it hit home, for quite a number of you. Read it . . . pray about it . . . live it . . . apply it.
Here's to 2012, and to all the possibilities that it might bring . . . for your life, and for your relationship with God.
Peace and blessings,
Bill
January 1, 2012
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