Pastor Cal Lord's Recent Sermons
Can You Hear The Singing?
December 16, 2007 Luke 2:8-14
It was a chilly December morning as an elderly woman entered her small town post office and
made her way to the counter. The clerk asked her "How may I assist you?"
She told him that she had all of her Christmas cards now completely filled out and addressed but
she was in need of stamps. The clerk asked "What denomination would you like ?"
The woman said "Has it really come that... well then give me 10 Baptist, 10 Catholic and 20
Methodist."
It is an old joke but I think he was simply asking how many stamps she wanted.
Christmas is the largest card sending occasion in the United States, with approximately 1.9 billion
cards sent to friends and loved ones every year. This past week I got the bulk of my cards out.
How about you?
Did you know that it was in 1843 that Englishman Henry Cole sent out the very first Christmas
cards. Cole was too busy to write a personal holiday greeting so he hired well-known London
artist John Calcott Horsley to design a card he could send to all his acquaintances.
In 1875 Louis Prang, a German immigrant, brought the idea of Christmas cards to America.
Then the most well known of all card-makers, Hallmark introduced its first Christmas cards in
1915.
Each year Hallmark provides more than 2,200 Christmas card designs....and yet many of them fail
to communicate what Christmas is really all about. There are pictures of winter scenes, of family
and hearth and home. There are scenes with Santa and gifts and candles and flowers and bells.
There are images of angels and shepherds and wise men traveling from afar. They come with
wishes for peace and remembrance and good tidings. They come with prayers of good health and
happiness. They even come singing Christmas Carols. But most of them fail to announce the
reason for our joy, that Jesus Christ was born.
The original Christmas announcement was sent by God and delivered by His angels. When it came
the whole sky became alive with singing as the angels sang “glory to the new born king.”
You don’t need a card to tell you the good news today. The angels are still singing. MY question is
do you hear them? We crowd them out with all the running we do from store to store and one
party after another. We push them aside with all the expectations and demands we put on
ourselves. The distractions can be so loud that we can miss the sweet sound of God’s
proclamation.
Our text today brings us back and reminds us of the three pronged message of the angels. The
announcement calmed fear, it created hope and it called others to worship.
The first words of the angels were these: "Do not be afraid."
We need to hear those words today, don’t we? There are so many things that trouble us. We
worry about our children, our health, our parents, our jobs, our finances, our relationships… We
live in a world where things change so quickly and nothing seems to last.
I got a call this week from a young woman who said she and her husband were having problems
and she was going away for a few days. Fears and worries don’t stop just because Christmas is
coming.
The world that Jesus was born into had lots of troubles but the angel came with a word of
encouragement. Don’t be afraid of the future for God holds the future, your future in his hands.
A sign of this was the fulfillment of a prophesy that a virgin would give birth. Seven hundred years
before the event took place, Isaiah had spoken the word. It reminds us that we are not alone.
There is someone who is out there who cares for us. He has a plan and he will not let fail us.
2 Timothy 1:7 says, “ For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and
of self-discipline.” We have the good news. Now it is our song to sing so we can calm the fear of
others.
I know that sometimes when I am singing in the choir I get a little off. As soon as I realize it, I
quiet down and listen for George or Brian. When I hear them I get back on track. We nee to do the
same with the angel voices so we can share the god news that calms fears.
Second, the angel song creates hope. Too often we hear messages of doom and gloom. Politicians
are famous for it. They remind us of the war in Iraq, global warming, economic uncertainties,
rising energy costs, and failed leadership. I don’t blame them. That’s their job. They want to get
elected so they have to remind us how bad things are even if they aren’t.
The truth is that as Christians we are people of hope. We have seen the worst life can offer as
watched Christ’s innocent blood shed on the cross. We know the story how Herod slaughtered a
generation of innocent children to protect his own interests. Yet, God had the final say. He brought
Christ forward and raised up the savior. Nothing could stop him.
Reminds a little bit of the New England Patriots. All season long the antagonists have predicted a
loss. Yet they keep rolling along.
Then angels sang, “I bring you good news of a great hope… Jesus Christ is born.” In other
words, God is coming to your house today. He is going to set up a throne room in your heart and
the winds of hell will not be able to knock you down.
You and I have a future. We are not alone. God has a plan. Nothing can keep us down. It doesn’t
matter what your past is. It doesn’t matter where you were born or what your family economic
situation is. You are going to be a winner because God is on your side. Remember, he said this to
the shepherds, not the princes. It is good news.
When we go to the soup kitchen, we can share that word. When we go to the TVCCA Shelter, we
can share that word. It is for everyone. It is our hope. If you don’t believe me, listen to the
singing. “For unto us a child is born..” Can you hear it?
Finally, the angel song calls us to worship. Now it’s a bad day to focus on the call because the
weather has kept many at home. But when the song rang through the sky, the shepherds did what
came naturally, they went to worship God. The angel song is a call to worship.
We can sing as the angels did that first Christmas: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth,
peace to men on whom his favor rests."
In just over a week we will celebrate his birth. We may do a lot of other things in the next week
and a half, but if you hear the singing, I pray you will tune in and stop and worship. For that is
where the blessing can be found. It won’t be under the tree. It won’t be at the mall. It won’t come
at the office party. The blessing comes in singing at the foot of the manger.
It is no secret that my favorite Christmas song is “The Little Drummer Boy.” I found out yesterday
it was written Harry Simeone in the year I was born, nnnn. The point is that this little boy heard
about the birth and he was moved to come and worship with his gift.
That is what Christmas is all about. It is praising God for his precious gift. That is something to
sing about. So can you hear them singing? If not, find a quiet place, and listen. Before long I
promise you will be singing a some of courage and hope and praise. Amen.
December 16, 2007 Luke 2:8-14
It was a chilly December morning as an elderly woman entered her small town post office and
made her way to the counter. The clerk asked her "How may I assist you?"
She told him that she had all of her Christmas cards now completely filled out and addressed but
she was in need of stamps. The clerk asked "What denomination would you like ?"
The woman said "Has it really come that... well then give me 10 Baptist, 10 Catholic and 20
Methodist."
It is an old joke but I think he was simply asking how many stamps she wanted.
Christmas is the largest card sending occasion in the United States, with approximately 1.9 billion
cards sent to friends and loved ones every year. This past week I got the bulk of my cards out.
How about you?
Did you know that it was in 1843 that Englishman Henry Cole sent out the very first Christmas
cards. Cole was too busy to write a personal holiday greeting so he hired well-known London
artist John Calcott Horsley to design a card he could send to all his acquaintances.
In 1875 Louis Prang, a German immigrant, brought the idea of Christmas cards to America.
Then the most well known of all card-makers, Hallmark introduced its first Christmas cards in
1915.
Each year Hallmark provides more than 2,200 Christmas card designs....and yet many of them fail
to communicate what Christmas is really all about. There are pictures of winter scenes, of family
and hearth and home. There are scenes with Santa and gifts and candles and flowers and bells.
There are images of angels and shepherds and wise men traveling from afar. They come with
wishes for peace and remembrance and good tidings. They come with prayers of good health and
happiness. They even come singing Christmas Carols. But most of them fail to announce the
reason for our joy, that Jesus Christ was born.
The original Christmas announcement was sent by God and delivered by His angels. When it came
the whole sky became alive with singing as the angels sang “glory to the new born king.”
You don’t need a card to tell you the good news today. The angels are still singing. MY question is
do you hear them? We crowd them out with all the running we do from store to store and one
party after another. We push them aside with all the expectations and demands we put on
ourselves. The distractions can be so loud that we can miss the sweet sound of God’s
proclamation.
Our text today brings us back and reminds us of the three pronged message of the angels. The
announcement calmed fear, it created hope and it called others to worship.
The first words of the angels were these: "Do not be afraid."
We need to hear those words today, don’t we? There are so many things that trouble us. We
worry about our children, our health, our parents, our jobs, our finances, our relationships… We
live in a world where things change so quickly and nothing seems to last.
I got a call this week from a young woman who said she and her husband were having problems
and she was going away for a few days. Fears and worries don’t stop just because Christmas is
coming.
The world that Jesus was born into had lots of troubles but the angel came with a word of
encouragement. Don’t be afraid of the future for God holds the future, your future in his hands.
A sign of this was the fulfillment of a prophesy that a virgin would give birth. Seven hundred years
before the event took place, Isaiah had spoken the word. It reminds us that we are not alone.
There is someone who is out there who cares for us. He has a plan and he will not let fail us.
2 Timothy 1:7 says, “ For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and
of self-discipline.” We have the good news. Now it is our song to sing so we can calm the fear of
others.
I know that sometimes when I am singing in the choir I get a little off. As soon as I realize it, I
quiet down and listen for George or Brian. When I hear them I get back on track. We nee to do the
same with the angel voices so we can share the god news that calms fears.
Second, the angel song creates hope. Too often we hear messages of doom and gloom. Politicians
are famous for it. They remind us of the war in Iraq, global warming, economic uncertainties,
rising energy costs, and failed leadership. I don’t blame them. That’s their job. They want to get
elected so they have to remind us how bad things are even if they aren’t.
The truth is that as Christians we are people of hope. We have seen the worst life can offer as
watched Christ’s innocent blood shed on the cross. We know the story how Herod slaughtered a
generation of innocent children to protect his own interests. Yet, God had the final say. He brought
Christ forward and raised up the savior. Nothing could stop him.
Reminds a little bit of the New England Patriots. All season long the antagonists have predicted a
loss. Yet they keep rolling along.
Then angels sang, “I bring you good news of a great hope… Jesus Christ is born.” In other
words, God is coming to your house today. He is going to set up a throne room in your heart and
the winds of hell will not be able to knock you down.
You and I have a future. We are not alone. God has a plan. Nothing can keep us down. It doesn’t
matter what your past is. It doesn’t matter where you were born or what your family economic
situation is. You are going to be a winner because God is on your side. Remember, he said this to
the shepherds, not the princes. It is good news.
When we go to the soup kitchen, we can share that word. When we go to the TVCCA Shelter, we
can share that word. It is for everyone. It is our hope. If you don’t believe me, listen to the
singing. “For unto us a child is born..” Can you hear it?
Finally, the angel song calls us to worship. Now it’s a bad day to focus on the call because the
weather has kept many at home. But when the song rang through the sky, the shepherds did what
came naturally, they went to worship God. The angel song is a call to worship.
We can sing as the angels did that first Christmas: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth,
peace to men on whom his favor rests."
In just over a week we will celebrate his birth. We may do a lot of other things in the next week
and a half, but if you hear the singing, I pray you will tune in and stop and worship. For that is
where the blessing can be found. It won’t be under the tree. It won’t be at the mall. It won’t come
at the office party. The blessing comes in singing at the foot of the manger.
It is no secret that my favorite Christmas song is “The Little Drummer Boy.” I found out yesterday
it was written Harry Simeone in the year I was born, nnnn. The point is that this little boy heard
about the birth and he was moved to come and worship with his gift.
That is what Christmas is all about. It is praising God for his precious gift. That is something to
sing about. So can you hear them singing? If not, find a quiet place, and listen. Before long I
promise you will be singing a some of courage and hope and praise. Amen.
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