SErmon Thoughts for Sunday December 09, 2007

Luke 1 The Songs of Christmas Second Sunday in Advent

Hey, I thought singing was simply opening my mouth and pushing out more air; kind of like talking on steroids. But if you study singing you find out there is a whole lot going on and happening at the same time. Singing is an act of coordination between several parts of your body, not just a bunch of hot air moving somewhere in a hurry. Posture, correct breathing, resonance, voice registers, and health of the vocal cords are all a part of the ability to sing. So are tone, focus, tempo, interpretation, diction, enunciation, and even stuff like how you end your vowels. Man, singing is tough, hard work; who knew!

They say singing is good for the soul. They say singing lowers blood pressure. They say singing everyday is good for our mental health. They say God created us with the most amazing instrument for making music. I have seen tough guys in the movies singing on the trail, singing in the rain, singing about the moon, singing about a dog or a horse, and yes singing about a girl. Clint Eastwood even sang to a tree in a movie once. Sometimes when folks sing, I cry. The lady sitting beside me at “The Lion King” last year must have thought I was a real loser because I could not stop my eyes from sweating. While I am on the subject, doesn’t everyone sing in the car? Yeah, me too.

Sometimes I just feel like singing. I did not say I was good at it, or even really understand how it happens, I just feel like it. Some days singing is easy, like eating an ice cream cone. Some days singing is tough; like at my dad’s funeral. But I sang that day, sort of.

This is the season for singing. We are singing fools at Christmas. This is the best reason to sing. The God of the universe has come to save us from our sin. So, as you find yourself singing all the non-Christmas Christmas songs (you know what I mean) be sure to add in a chorus of Away in the Manger, Silent Night, Joy to the World, It Came Upon A Midnight Clear, O Little Town of Bethlehem, Mary Did You Know, or my favorite; O come All Ye Faithful. See if all that singing hard work does move you just a little closer to home.
Blessings, Dave Weesner

Sunday Worship
Scripture: Luke 1:34-38
Sermon Title: “I Feel Like Singing”

Thoughts leading to Dec 02

Isaiah 9:1-7 & 11:1-9 The Coming King First Sunday in Advent

What’s in a name? Apparently quite a lot. When parents are considering the name for their child many consult book lists, while others go with family names, or simply a gut feeling about the name.

Here is a list of the top ten names in the US for boys and girls from 2006 from the Social Security Administration. From most popular:
Boys: Jacob, Michael, Joshua, Ethan, Matthew, Daniel, Christopher, Andrew, Anthony, William
Girls: Emily, Emma, Madison, Isabella, Ava, Abigail, Olivia, Hannah, Sophia, Samantha

This passage from Isaiah offer the best all time names for Christ Jesus. Unlike our favorite names for our children, these tend to be descriptive of Jesus attributes and abilities. It is a pretty cool list; take a look. We are going to be looking at these names and learning more about the Christ and ourselves. The goal is that this investigation will lead us all a little closer to home.
Blessings, Dave Weesner

Sunday Worship
Scripture: Isaiah 9:1-7
Sermon Title: “Name the Child”

Scripture and Sermon Thoughts for Nov 18, 2007

1 Kings 4 & 5 Elisha’s Miracles Month of Miracles

The easy and the hard both happen to us on a daily basis. Some stuff we do not even give a second thought. The light changes, we push the gas, and the car goes. We open the faucet and water fills our glass. We look toward the East and the sun peaks over the hills to offer a visual feast. Other things take place which feel so hard to accomplish that we wonder how and why this thing took place. The baby takes the first breath. The final breath is not received until after all the family has arrived. The broken arm heals, the final step of the marathon is planted, or the evil is put down once and for all.

Miracles are both easy and hard. It is almost funny to note that they can be of the same stuff. One might see the thing as hard, another as easy. One will moan under the stress and load of a particular situation, while another will sail along through life with the same situation. Both are miracles, both are amazing. We always say that miracles are of God. We always say things that lead us believe that God makes miracles happen, even plans the miracles in our lives. They are God moments when we are offered a closer glimpse of the kingdom. Miracles show a closer walk with God.

However, I think miracles may not be about God at all, at least not in the sense that God provides them for us alone as if we are consumers at the supermarket asking for a miracle stew to meet our hunger. Just perhaps miracles are in the way we approach our lives. Maybe Einstein was right when he said, “Either everything is a miracle, or nothing is a miracle.” Perhaps how we understand God’s presence in our lives and our everyday events, both hard and easy, dictates if and how we identify miracles in our lives.

The miracle is life itself. It is when we begin to categorize some events as easy and others as hard that we undo the very grace of God’s life giving Spirit. It is all miracle, and it is all both hard and easy at the same time. To claim a miracle of God is to claim the very being and presence of God. And that my friends, ah yes brothers and sisters in the faith, that claiming of God and only God in our lives as our miracle power, which runs in and through all things at all times, is the beginning of wisdom and moves us all a little closer to home.
Blessings, Dave Weesner

Sunday Worship
Scripture: 2 Kings 5:9-14
Sermon Title: “Miracle Healing”