Advent

Crazy man in the Wilderness (Sermon December 8, 2013)

James Tissot’s John and the Pharisees (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Scripture: Matthew 3:1-12

Advent is probably one of my favorite times of the year. It is filled with anticipation in many areas. The reality of winter has set in so as a child I always anticipated snow…ok I will be honest I was really anticipating a snow day where I wouldn’t have to attend school. As December rolled around Sears would send out their catalog the “wish book” and my brother and sisters would go through the pages marking the items we wanted for Christmas. Then there was the anticipation for Christmas in general. We could not wait. I mentioned before that my family really celebrated Thanksgiving and because of that we would not decorate the house for Christmas until December because my parents wanted us to remember to be thankful for what we had before we went into the anticipation of the season. I think this instilled in us a greater sense of anticipation and longing.

Today it is a bit different. I have a new outlook now that I have somewhat matured. I anticipate different aspects in this season than I did before. I anticipate the telling of the birth of Christ by my son James. And I remember the first time he told the story on his own. I anticipate the future of the season with Albert and to see the story come alive in his life. I anticipate the Story of Emmanuel illuminating the lives of those that I have the opportunity to walk with in their journeys of faith.

This season also has a form of darkness in it as well. We do not fully know the exact date of the birth of Jesus; many believe that the actual day was in the spring while tradition has placed the celebration of Christ’s birth in the winter. Some might find that discrepancy disheartening but to me I think it is encouraging. Winter is a dark time of year, the air gets colder, and the plants seem to just die. Winter is a time of scarcity, poverty, and fear. In ancient times it was difficult to survive a winter. Winter usually brings out great amounts of illness, depression, and despair. This time of year we long for the warmth of the sun, the greens of grasses, and the singing of the birds. It is no wonder that in ancient times the celebration of the birth of Christ was set in winter, because it is a time of unknowing and hope in something unseen. It is a time where humanity had to live on faith. We need a time where light can come into the darkness.

The changing seasons have always been a source of spiritual thought. They show us that everything has a time, a place, and that nothing stays the same. In the darkness of winter our lifestyles usually slow down and take a different focus, we spend more time in our homes together, and less time running around. It is in the darker days the things that mean the most to us become more important. This darkness is not only found in winter but can be found when ever we have a trial in life. This is they type of feeling we find an entire nation in as we read of the ministry of John the Baptist.

Israel is in a dark period of their history. It is not the darkest moment but it is not the best either. They look back in their history and they know that at one point in time they were great but on this day they are a nation ruled over by another. They are a province lorded over by an empire, and others are eating the fruits of their labor and they struggle just to survive. They pull together in groups of like-minded people and form basically a tribal system of governance headed up by religious factions that come together on only a few common themes. The only light that they see is that they are at home in the land of their fore fathers and have a temple to worship in, beyond that the economic and political landscape is a wilderness. So they anticipate a new era, a new day, a new kingdom where they can once again live free as the people of God. The problem is that the various factions are at a constant battle between themselves as to what that new day will look like, and how it will emerge. In the struggle to dominate the only area of their life that they can still discuss, they oft forget that they are on the same team, that the end goal of all is the same. The Kingdom, or the restoration of Israel as it was.

Then enters a man, John. He is out in the wilderness, preaching passionately, and living oddly. I want us to sit here for a bit. Matthew gives us a clear image of John, he actually gives us a clearer description of John then he even give to the central figure of the Gospel Jesus. We know what John wears, where he lives, and what he eats this is actually very important.

John wears garments of camel’s hair and a leather belt. His clothing is functional, durable, and simple. It catches attention because it gives little regard to fashion trends and focuses only on utility. John lives a life of simplicity, and as a wonderer. This gives a depiction of his message.

He eats locus and honey. I have heard a couple of versions of what this might mean. The most obvious is that he ate bugs sweetened by honey. The second version of what this might mean is that he ate bread made of the seeds of locus trees, which is very bitter and poor bread. Either way he ate the food of poverty, eating only what could be found in the wilderness. Honey was widely available to all classes of people, and was the only sweetening agent available to the poor. Bugs or locus bread are the food of the desperate. This gives us an image of his message.

John lives and preaches out in the wilderness. He lives on the fringes of society out in the uninhabited and uncultivated areas. We often think that he is out in the desert, but that is not exactly the fullest truth. It is the area that is unfit for the growing of crops and is left for grazing, it is unclaimed because it has little value. It is also a depiction of his message as well.

John lived the life of poverty and simplicity wondering out in the wilderness of unclaimed land, it is almost as if his very life is an image of the Exodus. But we must remember that John was not a poor man. His father was a priest, and John was his only child. John had an inheritance; he had a home and land to live on. He had a ready-made career in the temple by his very linage, yet he chose to live on the fringes of society. Spoke his message there in the Wilderness.

He is the voice crying out in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” He cried out to everyone to, “Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven has come near.” This term repent is one we often hear, but the language that John uses is much deeper. In the old testament the word translated as repent means: to turn back, turn to, return, to return, to restore, to be returned, recovered, be brought back. The understanding of repent was about restoration and turning back to the one that we once knew. But this is not what John was preaching. When John cried out in the wilderness he was using a word that was much different it meant: to change any or all of the elements composing one’s life: attitude, thoughts, and behaviors concerning the demands of God for right living. The usage of this word is in essence saying that there is nothing to restore because there is not anything there. John was saying to the people of Israel that they are as far from God as the very Gentile overlords and that there needs to be a total change.

People came from all over Judea to listen to his message, it caused them to change and they confessed and were baptized in the river Jordan. They crossed the waters and entered into a new life the very action was one not used for Jewish people but for Gentile converts to the Jewish religion. And people came, not only Gentiles but also the Jewish people. Even the very ones that lead the various religious factions, the Pharisees and Sadducees, came to be baptized by John. Yet to them he had even harsher words, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee the wrath to come?”

Brood of vipers? I have to admit I did not enjoy researching this passage, because even pictures of snakes can send shivers down my spine. But I spent time reading about this phrase. Vipers of Asia are unique reptiles that can either lay eggs or give birth to living offspring. In ancient times it was believe that vipers would eat their way out of the mother snake while in the process killing their mother. I tried to research this out further to see if this was a fact or just a tradition of history, unfortunately there were too many snake pictures so I cannot confirm or deny this statement. Regardless the phrase stands in history as meaning, “Mother killers.” Who is the mother being killed? John cries out to the religious leaders saying you are killing our faith you have eaten your way out into the world and in the process taken the very life away from everything you stand for. John says you brood of vipers have killed Israel, killed the very thing you claim to protect. Israel is no longer the light of the world but a dead carcass spewing out little venomous snakes.

Darkness surrounds them all. The only hope is found in the words of a crazy man living on the fringe of society, a man that turned from a life of prosperity to hopefully bring people to the God they never knew. The kingdom of Heaven has come near. There is hope in those words. Even though the religious leaders have killed the religion, the kingdom has come near. The kingdom is just ahead the new day is just around the corner. Do not lose hope in this darkness because the light is on the horizon. Repent; change every aspect of you life.

John is calling them and each of us into something greater. He is calling us to repent, to change everything about our lives to align them with God, to become a people that is loving God, embracing the Holy Spirit, and living the love of Christ with other. John is crying out to everyone that will listen, to throw away that old life and the things that bring status and honor in that life and to clothe ourselves in something else. It is very similar to the many cycles within the church. Those in the early church gave all they had to the apostles and everyone’s needs were met even through harsh persecution. This period of time was followed by abundance where the church was in a place of honor and people like St. Anthony left society to live in the wilderness giving up all the wealth the world had to offer to live a life of simplicity in the wilderness, giving rise to a new day in the church. This too was followed by abundance and complacency and St. Francis, a wealthy man, gave up all his wealth and lived a life of simplicity and charity to spark a revival in the church. Again followed by abundance and leaders began to eat through the mother and poison the faith. Then emerged the Lutherans and other various reformations occurred bringing repentance to the church, and these became established and again religion ate the way through the relational aspects of faith. The cycle continued bringing about the Society of Friends and other various denominations and religious orders in Protestant, Orthodox and Catholic expressions of faith each one rising in their own ways and each dying in others. God is continuously at work in His world continuing to call us out of the comfort of society to the margins to build and restore relationships with Himself and humanity. He is calling us each to repentance. The question then is, are we willing to answer that call and step out in faith, step out into the wilderness to cry out to the lost? Or are we going to be a brood of vipers eating our way out into the world in the process killing what was once there?

There is a new day coming near, a new era in the cycle of the church. Some hope that it is the second coming and it is fine to think that, but in the anticipation of that great day let us not become lax and comfortable. Let us instead actively participate in bringing hope and light into the darkness of our world by totally turning to God in mind, body, and spirit. Let us now join together in a time of Holy Expectancy, a time of anticipation as we listen and wait for God to speak to us and through us, and let us become the people God has called us to be.

Be Prepared (Sermon December 1, 2013)

Scripture: Matthew 24:36-44

There are several things that tend to annoy me. Annoy may be a strong word to use but there are certain things that I just don’t understand the reason behind people’s thought. The number one thing that annoys me while I work outside of the church is the fear that people have when upper level managers come to visit. When I was working in car rental my city manager would be calling around to every location, if not visiting the location, to make sure everything was in order. She would keep a running feed to our stores letting us know where the managers where at all times to let us know when or if they were going to stop in our location. Much of it was a good thing; it is nice to know if someone is going to visit so the location manager would be in the office. But some of the tasks that were given to make sure the visit ran smoothly were annoying. This happens in many places of business, I would venture to say that it happens in every organization that has any hierarchy at all. When the upper managers visit there is a trickle down to the locations to make sure everything is in order.

What annoys me about the visits is not that a manager is visiting but the fear and chaos prompted by the visit. I remember helping a location prepare for a visit I had to run reports for several months previous because of one reason they did not do the work. I was sent to this location for one reason the city manager knew that I had the work done and our location was prepared for the visit at any moment. Our location had reports beyond the requirements gathers and could tell the upper management at any given moment which of our customers gave the most business, we could show them a graph to track the trends in our business, and every vehicle that we had available to rent was cleaned and ready to go at any moment. When the upper management visited our location we had discussed strategy in increasing sales in a constructive way, because we could look quickly and easily at what the trends where. At the other location, the one I had to help prepare, they could not do this as efficiently as a whole, because only one person knew the numbers and knew the trends, and there was nothing more than that person’s memory to prove the trends.

You may think that I am bragging but in all honesty the office I had to assist was the top rental location in the city and ours was one of the lowest, so when the economy slowed the location I worked at was closed and we were moved to different areas to work. What I highlight though is that we knew what was going on, we knew our business, and we were aware of what was on the horizon. Other locations did not have that knowledge because they were unprepared and many people lost their jobs because of it.

This fear of a visit is basically the theme behind the passage that was read today. A random visit at a time no one knows. This passage can strike fear into the hearts of many or it can be a great comfort to others. The difference is the level of preparation involved. The question is how do you react?

“But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” Day and hour, these terms mean different things today than they meant to a culture so long ago. Our culture is much more precise than many cultures around the globe, and as we look back through history the precision of time was not nearly as important. When ancient cultures us the term we translate as day can mean many different things it can mean the literal time between sunrise and sunset, it can mean the reign of a king, or any other undetermined amount of time. Context is always important. In this case what we interpret as meaning day is not a 24-hour period of time, but an open ended, undetermined period or an era.

Hour, like day, has a loaded meaning. When someone says hour today we think a 60-minute period of time. In Jesus’ culture the word we translate as hour could mean moment. So no one knows the era or moment of the coming. I want to stress that again, no one knows. Not the managers, preachers, priest, or popes, no one knows the era or precise moment of anything dealing with God’s timetable except the Father.

This should mean something to us. Jesus speaks of a time but no one knows exactly when that time is. It is undetermined in our temporal perspective. It is important but what is more important is what is going on now. If you do not and cannot know of this time that Jesus speaks then that should not be the focus our attention.

There is another word that jumps out at me when I read through this passage, taken. “Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left.” Taken, this word has several meanings but the word used in this portion of scripture could mean to take with, take charge of, to receive, or to accept. So let us think of this passage from that perspective, “one will be taken with, take charge of, receive, or accept, and one will not” One is given responsibility where one is not, one is chosen for a task and one is not. I would like us to contemplate on this passage using the idea of being given a task and having an undetermined amount of time to do that task.

I want us to consider this passage in that way for a reason. If this passage only looks forward to the second advent of Jesus then he is telling us that we do not and cannot know when that is going to be, but there is still a task that we need to be working on while that undetermined amount of time transpires. We have work to do, and we will not know when the boss will be paying us a visit.

Jesus illustrates his point by speaking of the days of Noah. No one knew when the flood would hit, for that matter no one knew what a flood really was. It was only when the Noah was sealed in the ark that reality began to set in. All along people just continued to do what they always did, totally unconcerned with the crazy man building a boat on dry land. They would walk by ask questions, laugh, and go on their way all the while Noah continued to work. He worked every day for years. We do not know exactly how many years it took Noah to build this great boat, all we know is that it was less than 120 years. Imagine going over one hundred years without seeing the final product of your labor, no one knows the time, yet there is a task and work to be done.

Let us say for 100 years Noah was building the ark, during that time things were still going on all around him. He still had to live his life, his family still needed to cared for, but he continued focused on the task not neglecting God or his family. Never knowing exactly when the day would come, only knowing that it would. He did not know if he was working hard enough or fast enough, all he knew was that he was given a task and he was going to complete it. Noah worked away and everyone around him was going about eating, drinking, marrying, and being given in marriage while Noah continued to work. He knew that that time would come and he pressed on. Those around him knew that he was given a task for a reason, yet were unconcerned. One was taken and one was left.

Noah stayed focused for 100 years on the same task to build an ark, he did not move from that task. He knew it was what needed done, and because of that he did not change course. Jesus has given us a task as well. We do not know exactly how long we have to complete that task, but we must press on toward that goal. Our part in that task may be different than someone else’s, one is taken and one is left, but that should not distract us from the task we ourselves have been given. This reminds me of one of the queries in the Faith and Practice of our Yearly Meeting:

Do you earnestly seek to maintain a life in fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ? Do you practice the daily reading of the Scriptures in your families, giving time for waiting upon the Lord? Are you watchful not to be unduly absorbed by temporal affairs? Are you careful to avoid all places and amusements inconsistent with a Christian character?

I was recently asked about what being unduly absorbed by temporal affairs meant. That is a difficult question to answer. We could look at the word temporal and consider this as being the dimension of time, relating to the material world, or the opposition of the spiritual realm. I think either definition could be used in answering the question, because at the heart of the query it speaks of our relationship with God. Are we getting distracted from God due to our schedule? Are we distracted because of our finances or lifestyle? Are we being distracted from our task?

I ask you to meditate on this passage with a focus on tasks to be completed over an undetermined amount of time instead of focusing on something easier like the second coming of Jesus, because often in our current culture we can be distracted from the tasks God has given us by focusing on the time. We want Jesus to make his second advent soon, because we are tired of working on our ark. But Jesus is telling us don’t get distracted, but to continue working. Continue to do what we have been called to do. If we do not continue, we will be left and the task God gave us will be given to someone else.

God is calling us to go make disciples in all the earth, saturating them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. To do this task we must stay focused on God, we also must be able to speak to the people we are called to minister to. To accomplish our task we must study our culture, while not becoming unduly absorbed or saturated by temporal affairs. We must gain knowledge and wisdom in both the spiritual and secular arena of life, but maintain a balance and stay focused on the true task we are designed to complete. We maintain that balance by making it our custom to worship, taking time to withdraw to pray, and to serve to those around us.

No one knows the day or hour. One is taken the other is left. These can be words striking fear into our hearts or they can be words of encouragement directing us to continue to stay focused. God has given each one of us an opportunity to use what he has given us to serve the people he is calling to Him, we each must step up and receive and accept that task. As we enter this time of open worship I want us to really consider if we are truly prepared for a visit from God? Are we focused on the task He has given us or are we being unduly absorbed by temporal affairs? Are we living a balanced life with God or are we caught off guard and unprepared? No one knows the day or hour, no one knows the era or moment, so let us be ready and be a people that will always be found loving God, embracing the Holy Spirit, and living the love of Christ with others.

Blessed are the Obedient (Sermon December 23, 2012)

Scripture: Luke 1:39-55

How often do we really step back and sit in the stories surrounding Christmas? Have we ever really considered what our own thoughts and feelings would have been if we in their shoes? Imagine a scared teenager in a very religious community. Imagine the wife of a priest; a wife who had been barren as long as you can remember and who in advance years ends up pregnant. To top it off the priest is no longer long winded because he cannot even speak and has not spoken for around six months. Ok I think maybe some people might like the silent priest. Have you imagined it just beyond the surface?

Today’s passage begins with Mary setting out in haste to a Judean town in the hill country. In the 2000 years of telling this story we often forget the intensity of the situation. Have you like me so many years just quickly read over this passage as if Mary was just rushing over to Judea for a Thanksgiving meal? I do not really know why, other than the fact that this portion of scripture is usually read between the end of November and December. I know that sounds juvenile but then I hope you weren’t under the impression that you had a really mature pastor.

Imagine Mary after the angel came to speak to her. She was a young girl, she was considered a woman but that mainly means that she was over the age of twelve years old. She was betrothed to Joseph a carpenter. The betrothal process usually took a year, unless the marriage needed to be rushed so her age probably would have been above thirteen years old.  This is about the closest we can probably get to knowing her age. She was young and unmarried. She was caught in a situation where she was with child and the announcement she had to make was not one that would be easy to speak of. I will let you in on something, around 14 years ago I found myself in a very similar situation. I was filled with mixed emotions: joy, hope, excitement, dread, and fear. I can explain my situation though. I was able to tell my parents just exactly happened. Mary could not explain. I sat up the night I heard the news for hours. Finally after hours of wakeful sleep I slowly rose from bed, walked the hallway from my bedroom to speak with my mother.

Mary had to say something. She was excited to be obedient to the will of God. In many cases she was like every other woman of that time, hoping to be the one chosen to give birth to the long awaited king. She was excited, she had a religious and spiritual devotion that was off the charts, yet how was she going to tell her folks. By all traditions and legends Mary’s parents were very devoted followers of God. Some accounts say that her father was a priest and her mother was much like Elizabeth. We cannot really know for sure who or what she was in a way that we can know our own friends and family members. Mary in the excitement knew that her parents would have questions of which she could not explain.

Now let us consider Mary’s parents, Anne and Joachim. We know very little about these two people because very little was told about them except in tradition. We can learn something from our own emotions though. Imagine if your daughter came to you and told you that she was with child. You are Joachim. What is the first thought that comes into your mind? What is the first words you would say? You are Anne. What is your initial reaction? Are your arms reaching out to a crying confused child or are your hands covering your mouth holding back your own cries. Imagine once again that you are the Mary’s father, are you searching your mind trying to consider the wisdom of your own choices, considering if you or the family had unwisely let Joseph and Mary spend time unattended.

Do you understand the raw emotions that surround the miracle of Christmas? Anne and Joachim knew that there was something different going on. They chose Joseph to be Mary’s bridegroom for a reason. He was honorable. No matter how he thought about it, no one could find a way or a moment of any dishonorable activity. So what exactly will you do? You love your daughter, you trust her even though the story seems a bit far-fetched. Yet you also know that the community will find this hard to believe. They needed some time, they knew that Anne’s sister was with child and they decided that it would help their daughter to help her aunt. So quickly they sent her down to Elizabeth’s.

It is not that far fetched to think that Mary was in many ways sent away in some form. A birth in this manner was not taken lightly in the first century community. At the mere mention of any infidelity an individual could be brought to trial where the end result could be death. The parents had to discretely confirm what was going on without the rest of the community talking about the maternal glow growing around Mary.

Now back to Mary making that journey to the hill country. Imagine the walk. As she walk up the inclines singing the praises of God and the hope for Israel. Giving thanksgiving for having the opportunity to participate in the unfolding or emerging kingdom of God. Then as the path wound down the hillsides and the footing became more treacherous she began questioning why she was chosen, the reality of the situation began to set in. What was she going to do? She was too young to have a baby, she was not married, what were people going to think? Then in the distance she saw the homestead of her relatives and began to grow nervous. She was really about to enter into a life totally out of her control, people were going to say what they say and she was going to have this baby, and the first test was just before her. What would the priest’s family say?

It is odd that we know more about Mary’s aunt and uncle from scripture than we do her own parents. I think there is a reason for this. Mary’s parents were common people, they did not necessarily stand out in the community. I am not degrading from their status or importance to our faith traditions; I am just saying that they were for the most part common. They were well respected and loved but they were not seekers of power. Zechariah was a bit different. He and Elizabeth may have been a bit more important in the community. We know that Zechariah was selected to tend the incense before the most holy of accessible areas of the temple. At least for a moment he was a very important priest. How was this righteous family going to react to Mary?

Did Mary hesitate or did she boldly approach the house? Either way she approached and she greeted her aunt; this meeting is one of the most important events in all of scripture. I say this because the response of Elizabeth could either encourage Mary in her faith or cause Mary to lose heart. With a loud voice Elizabeth cried, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me?”

Our faith tradition was confirmed by those words. It was at that moment that all hesitation from this little girl exited and she was prepared to face the world. The course was set and Jesus would be born. Even in those ancient days a woman could choose to stop a pregnancy, but from the encouraging words of an old aunt Mary chose life.

She chose life. God chooses to work with willing people. At any moment if Mary decided in her heart that she could not handle this task, God would have honored her decision and Jesus would have been born of another. It is true that God knew that she would be obedient to His call, but he also allows us to choose as well. God does not control every action in our lives like a divine puppeteer but he uses our choices and actions to mold us into the people we are to be. We can only fully see our potential when we open our lives and release ourselves into His hands.

Mary is blessed among women because it is through her devotion and obedience to God that the hope of the entire universe hinged. Mary provides us an example of just how important one life willing to follow God can change the world. One life. One seemingly insignificant life is important. Do we recognize the full value of life? As Friends this is central to our beliefs. We encourage people to live in simplicity, so that we can be free to use all the tools available to us to encourage the lives around us instead of consuming the energies of others. We promote a testimony of peace because each life no matter how much we disagree with them is important. We live lives of integrity because without truth and honesty we cannot encourage others in their life journeys. We encourage the building and support of communities because this opens communication between people so that we can embrace the life in others, and ourselves and we recognize that all people are loved equally by God and should be treated likewise. Life is important.

Mary took a journey from her home to the hill country of Judea contemplating her future and that of her people. She was sent away quickly by her parents who also had to spend time contemplating the future of their daughter and their people would they allow this to continue? Elizabeth stood there and upon hearing the voice of her niece she was filled with the spirit and saw the hope of the universe in the eyes of one life. Each person each had to choose if life important.

I imagine the tears shed between these two women after Elizabeth’s joyous cry. The hope that Mary found as well as the strength that filled both by just recognizing that obedience to God was the beginning of true life. And Mary sang to her aunt:

“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.” (Luke 1:46-55)

She sang a song about the kingdom of God, a kingdom based on the love of God and mankind. She sang a song about the end of an age and the beginning of something new. The new kingdom is not based on the success in the eyes of the world, but on the honoring of life in others.

How important are the lives around you? How would each of us respond to this pregnant teenager? We do not know how God will mold the lives of those around us. The only thing we can control is how we live our lives and how we respond and encourage the lives around us. Mary could have left her aunts house rejected and broken discouraged from embracing a life with God, but instead she sang.

This is the heart of Advent, and Christmas. It is the hoping for the end of one age and the beginning of another. This week many in the world sat in anticipation wondering if the end of the age would come, many of those people woke up Friday morning thinking nothing changed. But what if the last age did end? What if a new age did come? What if in each of our lives, like Mary, chose to be obedient to God no matter how crazy the path sounded? What if we were to look on the lowly people and cry out joyfully that they are blessed among mankind and highly honored by God? If that happened then we may just see a new age.

As we enter into this time of open worship and as we anticipate the excitement of Christmas. I pray that we will take some time just to consider and image what the emerging kingdom of God in each of us will bring.