First Love Church
These podcasts are messages that were preached at First Love Church in Ocala, Florida. We hope that you are encouraged and inspired by what you hear. We are a non denominational, egalitarian church that practices a generous orthodoxy. Find out more about our local congregation online at firstlovechurch.org.
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First Love Church
Peace and Repentance
Have you ever wondered how peace can emerge from the midst of chaos? In our latest episode, as we follow the journey through Advent, exploring the profound lessons from the story of John the Baptist and Zechariah's transformative song. We promise you’ll discover the significance of doubt, silence, and eventual redemption, as we reflect on the start of a new liturgical year filled with hope and anticipation. Through personal stories and reflections on scripture, we invite you to appreciate the gift of peace amidst life's inevitable struggles, offering a profound reminder that faith can bring calm even in the most turbulent times.
As we continue, we challenge conventional notions of peace and repentance by revisiting the radical life and teachings of John the Baptist. Peace isn't just about quiet and order; it can also be about challenging injustice and embracing transformation. Through examining John's call to repentance and exploring the deeper meaning of baptism, we reveal how true peace requires us to engage actively with our faith and the world around us. You’ll be inspired to consider how repentance might not only change you but also pave the way for justice and equity in the broader community.
Finally, we turn our gaze inward, urging you to find joy and purpose in humble service and intentional living. Our discussion emphasizes the importance of focusing on what truly matters—relationships, love, and the lasting impact of our actions. By choosing joy and letting go of negativity, we remind you of the hope and peace available through faith and encourage you to embrace a mindset that transforms not only your own life but those around you.
This podcast is made possible, thanks to the generosity of our donors. If you would like to support the ongoing work of First Love Church you can donate at https://www.firstlovechurch.org/giving
In the service of LOVE,
Pastors Dennis and Heather Drake
Welcome to the First Love Church Podcast. This is a collection of Sunday teachings inspired by the Revised Common Lectionary and recorded weekly in Ocala, florida. The readings for today come from the story of John the Baptist in this particular Advent year. Thomas mentions that I do love the liturgical calendar, and it's not just a calendar that makes me happy, it's an invitation into a reality that is so much bigger than I could even concoct myself. It is this idea that December starts with Advent, the good news, and so in the liturgical calendar, december 1 is the brand new year. Jesus has come, everything else is no longer the same, and so it's this beautiful invitation into peace. And today, when we go to the Advent theme, it is the song of the sound of Zachariah. The song of Zachariah and the sound of a voice in the wilderness saying prepare the way of the Lord.
Speaker 1:John the Baptist is, I think, if you don't follow the liturgical calendar, an unlikely advent poster boy for this good news. But he comes in and he says repent, make straight the paths, pay attention, god is coming. And so it is such a beautiful text for us today to look at and to hear and to believe that our hearts can be reframed and restored. Will we pray this morning, oh Christ, you who are the light of the world, may we live as children of the light of the light. May you give us your light this day so that we might become emissaries of all that is right and true and good in your kingdom. Gospel, and we hear the song of Zechariah. Now, this is your see in the church calendar, so we're not going to talk about them much, but I am going to give you a little bit of backstory, because if you don't know what this is where we enter this text, it loses a little bit of the meaning.
Speaker 1:Zechariah was somebody who was from a lineage or a people who served God in the temple, and one of the times that Zechariah was there, we meet him as a very old man and he was in the temple and he's in the holy of holy, in this area, where he's attending to the presence of the Lord, and an angel, a messenger of God, shows up and starts to have a conversation with him and said good news, your wife is going to have a baby. And I was thinking about this particular part of the conversation because they were very old and they had tried for a very long time to have a child and it didn't happen. And I wonder if the conversation ended up with a lot of blame. Whose blame is it? Why can't this happen for us? Is it your equipment? Is it my equipment? Have we displeased God? Is it something I've been eating? Is it something? Is it a curse on our family? When things don't go as we think they should, very often we start blaming, and then they probably put that conversation away for a very long time. So when an angel shows up and says your wife is going to have a baby, I think that the normal question is well like why? Why now? Why after so long? This is not possible that this can happen. And right at that moment the angel said no more talking out of you, and Zechariah is mute for the rest of the time. And so sometimes I have to look at the message. Maybe the angel doesn't come and have to make me mute, but I can choose to follow that beautiful path and say, unless I can speak, the good that is going to happen, along with the idea of light and that God is coming for us. Maybe we should restrain our own tongue and say let it be done unto me according to your word, like Mary does.
Speaker 1:So at this particular point in the story where we're going to read this text, john the Baptist or John as he is, we know him is born and they've come to the temple to do a circumcision and he gets his name. And everyone knows that Zachariah is mute and they ask his mother, what is he going to be named? And she says John. And everybody's like no, the dad wouldn't want that, that's not your family name, you can't have that name. And so they look to Zachariah and he affirms, and at that moment his mouth is open. He said I affirm what she says His name will be John. And then he starts into this song.
Speaker 1:Now, part of this song is from the Psalms, is a part of the Psalter, and part of it is a rehearsal of the song that he heard Mary sing In Luke's gospel. This is the second song of Advent. The first one is the Magnificat, where Mary shows up and says this is how it's going to be those who are low are going to be brought high, those who are rich are going to experience a poverty, they're going to understand things, and those who have power, that's going to be given to everyone. And so we hear some of what he's saying. He's heard the song of Mary. Now, at this particular moment, he is in the house of the Lord. He is dedicating this son that he never thought that he would have, and he begins this song Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has visited and redeemed his people.
Speaker 1:He has sent us a mighty savior from the royal line of his servant, david, just as he promised through his holy prophets long ago. And now we will be saved from our enemies and from all who hate us. He has been merciful to our ancestors by remembering his sacred covenant, the covenant he swore with an oath to our ancestor Abraham. And we have been rescued from our enemies so we can serve God without fear, in holiness and righteousness for as long as we live. And you, my little son, imagine an older father being able to say and you, my little son, will be called the prophet of the most high because you will prepare the way for the Lord. You will tell his people how to find salvation through forgiveness of their sin. Because of God's tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death and guide us to the path of peace. What a beautiful song, what a beautiful prophecy for us. What an incredible hope. This Zachariah has heard the song of Mary and he has heard the sound of the prophet and he has burst into song when his mouth is finally opened, he knows it's not about complaining, it's about saying this is the hope for all of us. And so we hear Zachariah's song when he said you will be the one, john, who prepares the way of the Lord.
Speaker 1:So in the text this morning we go to Luke, chapter 3. Now Jesus and John have already grown up and they are very different, and that is part of the story too. I love part of the Advent story where there is a very old woman, elizabeth, who is giving birth, and there is a very young woman, mary, who is giving birth. And it reminds us that all of us, no matter where we find our place in the age of our life or in the journey of our life, there is a place for you in the Advent story, in the telling of good news, in the rehearsing of someone coming that is greater than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear, but he will baptize you in the Holy Spirit.
Speaker 1:Now it was the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius, the Roman emperor, and Pontius Pilate was governor over Judea. This kind of is like this long line and sometimes it doesn't make sense to us, but it reminds us that this is the scandal of Advent, the scandal of the particular that God comes low for us and interrupts time, pauses time for a second and said this is the reason. And so the person recording it says hey, this is the time that it actually showed up, when Tiberius was governor, when Herod Antipas was the ruler over Galilee and some of these things. If you've been in Christianity for a while, you hear some of these names. But he's reminding us of a particular place, of a particular time, where God intersects the regular, going on with an incredible good news.
Speaker 2:You know, and for us, I would hope that we could, you know, really take these meditations during this Christmas season and this week to really ponder the gift that is peace. You know, scripture isn't promising that it wouldn't be difficult for this older couple to wait around for this baby and maybe even doubt for a while, but that there can be peace. And even when you can't speak, you can still have peace. You know, and so I don't claim to stand up here and say to you that you're never going to have problems in this world. There will be tribulations, but what I would like for you to ponder on is the gift of peace that you can have in the middle of any struggle.
Speaker 2:I remember a woman came to me when I was really young in the ministry and she said that her daughter, who was 13, had been taken by a 30 year old man and they left the state of Florida and she didn't know what was happening to her daughter and whether she'd be safe or returned home or what. And I'll be honest with you, church, I'm a young pastor and they didn't teach anything like that in Bible school. You know that someone would come to you that devastated this woman didn't know where else to go after going to the police. So she just showed up at the church and I was the pastor on call and I met her there and it just rose up in me to say we need to make our requests known to God. And her and I just lamented, like you would see a mother do and you would with someone you care about when there's such real stakes, such real fear potentially to overtake you, and we prayed and I read that scripture let's pray, and the peace of God, which passes understanding, would guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus. Now it's just sometimes a bumper sticker or a scripture that you've heard people quote, but at that moment it was real to her and I. We looked at each other and we began to smile and we felt like something had happened in the spirit. And how can you even really understand this? It's just a passage of understanding, because she still was in that same circumstance. She didn't know where her daughter was, but God had shifted and given us something that we could have in the middle of struggle, because you can either worry yourself sick, get no sleep, be tormented, or really go to the only one that can do anything anyway and then allow that exchange of your burden for God's peace, and I'll never forget that we walked away from that just really almost unable to communicate what had happened. And it wasn't just a few hours later she called and she was laughing. She goes the sheriff's called me from North Georgia and they've got my daughter in their car and they're driving her back now, and there was days that she didn't know where that girl was.
Speaker 2:Now I don't claim that my prayers were the reason, but I will tell you that our prayers connected with God's sovereign power and strength, and during that whole place of torment, we were able to have peace. And I want that for you, and I want you to think about where we just sacrifice peace or we don't rely on it or draw on it in the middle of and, and so I I couldn't begin to promise you that you wouldn't go without struggle, but I can tell you that you can have a peace that passes understanding, and that is, you know, just like last week, what we talked about having hope. Without hope, we, we perish, you know, and without uh, peace there, there, uh, uh, there's, I mean, there's just it's misery. And so I want to remind you that these are the things that god gave you, and so in that I can be sustained I love that in this particular text, it reminds us that peace may look different than you thought it was.
Speaker 1:Because if this young baby, if this child is going to prepare the way of peace I don't know if you have this experience, but this is mine and the people that I know there's nothing more disruptive than a baby. I mean, you're living your life, you're doing it how you want to do it, and then a baby comes in and they just take over. This is not peaceful at all. This is complete anarchy. Everything is now about what this baby wants, how this baby feels, how we can. I mean, if you say this is how peace comes, it's not a real life person baby. I mean that is not peaceable. And here the invitation is to allow there to be, like a greater thought, an expansion of love, an expansion of what do we think peace actually is. And Zachariah says over this baby, you're going to be the prophet of the most high and you will bring peace Now, fast forward. You and I both know that John the Baptist was not what we would call a peacemaker. He stirred everybody up and so if you were going to say you are going to be a peacemaker, really, that is really what peace does. It upends the things that are wrong in our life. It upends oppression. It upends ways that we keep people in bondage. But he's saying to you know, prophesying over this baby that you're going to bring peace because we're going to prepare the way of the Lord. And it says that Annas and Caiaphas were the high priests. So they're giving us a very specific point in time.
Speaker 1:At this time, a message from God came to John, the son of Zechariah, who was living in the wilderness. And he's not just like weird. John has forsaken Jerusalem because that's where people thought God dwelt was in the temple. God dwelt in a temple. Here is where we keep God. And John was like I'm following God and he's not in that temple. I just want to tell you and John goes to the wilderness, we also see Jesus then going to the wilderness. The spirit actually leads him out of the structure, out of the place that we said that God was, and John is living in the wilderness.
Speaker 1:And then John went from place to place on both sides of the Jordan River, preaching that people should be baptized to show they had repented of their sins and turn to God to be forgiven. He begins to say things like listen, if you have two coats, one of them belongs to your brother, who has none If you are in the service of the military. If somebody asks you to go one mile, go two. He begins to say to us that really, to be baptized in the way of John, to into this life, it's into the life of equity, it's into the life of turning from oppressive systems and into a way that is something different. And so John, this little baby that Zechariah says, you're going to prepare the way of the Lord.
Speaker 1:And John is upending things and people are like this is getting messy. In fact, people are hearing this, and then they keep coming to John, they're leaving the city, they're going to listen to him, and then even politicians start coming out, and that's where the trouble begins. I mean, I'm sure it began before then, but that's where his trouble begins, a big trouble begins. I don't know if his mother wanted him to move to the wilderness. I'm not sure about that. Maybe there was some trouble there, but he's living in the wilderness, he's wearing super weird clothes and he's eating locusts and honey. So he wasn't a vegan, we know that. But it was super weird and people knew him for his wild teaching and for his strange clothing. And so I want us to be very aware that sometimes the word of the Lord comes to us in ways and by messengers that we would never have expected it. This is what John was preaching that they should repent. And repentance is not say sorry. Repentance is turn away from that thought and come into a higher thought.
Speaker 2:This is what Jesus offers us to you know, uh, I was on the text, uh thread with a one of my dearest friends from when I was a young kid, in junior high, and, um, he said to me one of the things was that he was really bothered because, and feeling bad because, he hadn't yet been baptized. And so I said, well, next time I get in town we'll handle that. But I don't believe that God is just requiring of us to have the baptism as the ceremony. You know. So when I see John preaching this in verse 3, preaching that people should be baptized to show the baptism is the outward sign of that inward decision that I'm going to, as it says in verse 3, that I'm going to repent of my sins and turn to God. That is the thing that we need to be immersed in. You know, baptism is that water that you immerse in, but for you and I we could have dipped in the water, but are we plunged in repentance? You know, turning to God for forgiveness. You know that that is the life that John is preaching for us, and so a lot of times, you know, that's where people like John get in trouble, and you can.
Speaker 2:Maybe is we get in trouble with the religious because the religious are fine with doing the dip is we get in trouble with the religious? Because the religious are fine with doing the dip but they're not immersing their life in the transforming message. And so if the message is be baptized, what am I being immersed into? And so it's not as important. Now I'm not saying for my friend or for you not to be baptized, but understand that what that is is you saying to everyone on the outside. This is what I'm about.
Speaker 2:And so I'm asking you in this season, can we hear the message of John again and remember that it's a lifestyle of repentance, of turning from my sins on a regular basis, turning to God and living in that place of forgiveness. And to me, living in the place of forgiveness is a battle, because it's easy to live in a place of shame, it's easy to live in a place of guilt, but to really endeavor to understand the power of grace and forgiveness and to walk in that with a heart of peace. You know that can be work on our part, because we have to silence our mind and thoughts of shame that come in. No, I have repented. Amen. Anyone with me? Or are we done with the chubby guy talking?
Speaker 1:John went from place to place on both sides of the Jordan River preaching that people should be baptized to show that they had repented of their sins and turned to God to be forgiven. Also, just a little tag here Remember that when Jesus was talking about John, jesus said there was not a better human that has ever lived. So we should pay attention to the way that John lived, the way that he understood things, and Jesus himself said I'll be baptized into John's baptism, into understanding that my life and how I live is marked by generosity, my life and how I lived. Isaiah had spoken of John when he said Now I want to ask this beautiful message that Isaiah preaches about that John actually reiterates and he says clear the road for him. What can we do now with that? But we can clear our mind of things that impede the work of the spirit in rebuilding the kingdom in our minds, in rebuilding, rebuilding our lives. It is up to us to clear the road for him. Pay attention to the fact that in John's humility, john says that I'm not even worthy to carry Jesus's sandals and Jesus said that John is the best person that ever lived. And what you see here is an incredible invitation into a life of humility, into a life of bringing yourself low so that Jesus so that light, so that love can be exalted. And then he begins to say again this is the prophet Isaiah. The valleys will be filled and the mountains and the hills made level and the curves will be straightened and the rough places made smooth, and then all people will see the salvation sent from God. All people will see the salvation sent from God, not just some. All people will see this. And this is an invitation for us to really see. We see this, to really allow our vision to not be what we see with our eyes but what we see with our heart, to allow that inner vision, that inner kingdom, to be established among us.
Speaker 1:In this time of Advent, is this paying attention? How do we see? Do we only see in this temporal place, in this reality, that things are here today and gone tomorrow? We're invited into the eternal, we're invited into hope, we're invited into peace, and sometimes peace means telling people listen, there is another way to live, it is the way that Jesus has offered us. It is this hope, it is new life, and then all people will see the salvation sent from God. What a beautiful hope. If there was a message that is peace, it is.
Speaker 1:Salvation comes through the way of jesus christ from philippians, chapter one.
Speaker 1:Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my god and whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, for you have been my partners in spreading the good news about Christ from the first time you heard it until now, and I am certain that God, who began a good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished, on the day when Christ returns. This is a very hopeful message, beloved. It is a beautiful prayer that you pray over your children. It is a beautiful prayer that you pray over yourself. It is a beautiful prayer that you pray over your children. It is a beautiful prayer that you pray over yourself. It is a beautiful prayer that you can pray over the world. I am certain that God, who began his work within you, will continue it until it is finally finished, on the day when Christ returns. This work is the work of God. It is the work of love. It is not finished, but do not give up, do not lose heart.
Speaker 2:What does it look like? The work of God in you? Do you have any imagination of what that would be like? Have you been around work before? When you live in Chicago, a warm weather means just one thing Road work, construction.
Speaker 2:And you'll be driving down the Eisenhower at 50 miles an hour and there'll be two cones and you look on the other side of the cone and there's a 30-foot hole in the road and you're like I'm not going to go. And those cones are really to kind of remind you to drive a little bit slower and be careful. And I think around many of us, if we could just walk around with some cones All of us had our cones Maybe you wouldn't be so freaked out when someone's so grumpy in the line Because, man, there's so much going on, there's so much work that's taking place, and so what does it look like? You know what's it look like that that um work is is.
Speaker 2:It's weirdly messy that you're renovating a house but yet there's dust everywhere, there's broken pieces and and unfinished things everywhere, and when I wait a minute, I thought that this work was going to beautify the home. It's a wreck. Well, wait, because you're in mid-process here, if you trust the person doing the construction, you can say it's going to get better. Well, it's going to have to get better because this place is a mess and I think that we forget that God's doing this work in us.
Speaker 1:We pause here for a moment to thank you for joining us today. If you're finding this episode meaningful, would you take a moment to share it with a friend? This podcast is made possible thanks to the generosity of people just like you. If you would like to support the ongoing work of First Love Church and the continued work of our podcast, visit us online at firstlovechurchorg, reminding you to like, follow and subscribe.
Speaker 2:And I think about how, like every time an angel comes to somebody in Scripture, the angel's first thing is what Chill out, no peace. You know why? Because they're Chill out, no peace. You know why? Because they're freaking out, an angel must be uber scary. They fall down and they're like get up, it's all right, come on, we're going to do some stuff.
Speaker 2:And see, I think that for us, sometimes we think that it's only in the smooth road that God is present, or it's only in the finished product, where God is with us during renovation, you know, and and when God shows up, we need peace. So I would like to ask you to consider this that maybe in the areas that feel so much of turmoil, might be the very place that God is already showed up in, because what does work look like? What does construction look like? Wait a minute, it looks like my life. It's turmoil. There's a lot of unanswered questions, there's a lot of fear and confusion, and that's why I need to hold on to that first word spoken peace, that even in the middle of this work that he's promising to do in you. But I seem to resist it because I just want the banging to stop. I'll never forget the lot next door.
Speaker 2:They decided to start building the house on the one day a week. I get to sleep late Saturday mornings back in that old house and at 6.30, deep, deep, deep deep the big backhoe is clear in the land. I wanted to go outside and at 6.30, deep, deep, deep, deep, the big backhoe is clear in the land. I wanted to go outside and just rack one of my rifles or a shotgun or something, but I knew I'd go to jail. I mean, it was so tormenting, I just wanted it to stop so I could go back to sleep. But nothing gets done in my slumber and some of us we want peace more than we want to allow God to have that work, or we want sleep more than we want God to have a work in us.
Speaker 1:And I believe that you can have peace in this work in us and I believe that you can have peace in this work. Amen. I think the peace that is offered to us is this understanding that God is at work within us. This is the peace that God is offering us, this new way of living, offering us this advent.
Speaker 1:Here is a message, and so be mindful that when God's messengers show up and we call call them angels here, and there's many understandings like in the book of Revelation when an angel shows up, it is terrifying. They're winged creatures covered with eyeballs, and if a messenger like that showed up for me, I would have a panic attack. But sometimes the messenger shows up in ways that we don't, and maybe we don't see it, but we feel it in a diagnosis or in, uh, in an understanding that, wait, the way that I've been thinking about something. I need a change in my perspective, and that's frightening because I lived my whole life with this one perspective and now allowing that messenger to interrupt us and say this is the new way, this life that you wanted, this life that is the kingdom established. It's going to look like an upending of how everything used to be and it is an invitation into the holy, it's an invitation into the work. That is Christ.
Speaker 1:So it is right that I would feel about all of you, for you have a special place in my heart. You share with me the special favor of God. Pay attention to this. We're talking about disruption. You share with me the special favor of God. Pay attention to this. We're talking about disruption. You share with me the special favor of God and in our minds we would mean like then that would be no trouble and then, if you had special favor from God, you would have everything that you need and you would never, ever, in any way lack and you would probably have some power.
Speaker 1:And he's saying the favor from God is imprisonment. The favor from God is having to defend and confirm the truth of the good news. The favor is work, and it is difficult and many of us don't want that kind of favor. We want something else. We want a placebo, and the invitation that Paul is also offering us is hope, the hope that is Christ, this work that is upending everything. This is because God is building, not a house that like just renovations that we have, but God is building God's kingdom within us, and it's this beautiful invitation into a new way of living.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I would just interject here that I feel like God is inviting all of us to this ascension, even in this life, to rise above just carnal living and to be somebody that can be bearers of God's joy and peace in the world. And by that I mean you distribute it and some of you operate in that. I know that about you. But I wonder if we realize that there is a cost to that. There is imprisonment, there is me deciding to let go of the things that I think are valuable and go ahead and submit to the work being done in me, the transformation, because to ascend I have to let go and off-put some things that I thought were valuable and were the most important things in my life, and so that's a fearful and painful process, but it's holy and beautiful, and so let's don't shy away from it just because it's difficult.
Speaker 2:What God's doing and having God's perfect work in us, that we'd be whole, complete, lacking nothing. That's speaking of maturity, you know, speaking of you know the effectiveness that we can have. I want to be that kind of father and grandfather in this next stage of my life. By the grace of God, that still only happens as I'm willing to shed my stubborn, carnal ways of doing things. Don't shut me down because I'm preaching real good.
Speaker 1:God knows how much I love you and long for you. With the tender compassion of Christ Jesus, I pray that your love will overflow more and more and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. And here is how the church fathers that give us the liturgical season and put these together remind us that this is the intention that we would all embody love, that our love would begin to be not just for us but for the whole world, for everyone, for our enemies, that this would be something overflowing more and more and that you would keep on growing and that you would understand more and that you would increase in this way. And it's an invitation, and I think that it really puts an invitation out there to the people that are young and to the people that are old, and saying for all of us, the invitation is more love, the invitation is a greater and an expansive understanding of how God's kingdom comes, because I want you to understand what really matters and I was meditating on this all week and this particular point was something that just kind of came alive for me. I want you to understand what really matters and that invites us to think that there are some things that don't really matter and very often we prioritize things that do not matter, and the invitation is do the things that really matter.
Speaker 1:In Dennis and our particular life and our family, there has been something that we've been aware of and when it comes to our consciousness, we remind each other of this, but it is our intention to only put the most effort into things that matter in eternity. How your socks are folded will not matter in eternity, and we can get all upset about it and we can tell people they're folding their socks wrong, or we can just say it doesn't matter in eternity, do it how you like it and close the door so no one has to see it, because maybe you like your socks in a certain way. But the idea is what matters in eternity? Beloved people matter in eternity. Relationships matter in eternity.
Speaker 1:This is our father's world and eternity reminds us that God's intention is that God will dwell here, that love will dwell here, that the spirit is still hovering over the chaos. But it says I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ's return. Advent is, for us, a practice of listening to the ancient saying how long will you be, oh Lord, till you come. And for us, now, jesus has come. And now we're also with the rest of the world who say how long, lord Jesus, until you come again. And here we are reminded we are to live about what really, truly matters, and we are to live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ's return.
Speaker 2:You know, and this takes real intention and practice, you know, for me as a father, there are things when my sons live at home, there are things that they do that I can allow to aggravate me and not that they're not wonderfully perfect, but it's just that I have a way that I think things ought to be done, and if they're done outside of that way, then I can let that escalate me or distract me, or I can begin to focus on that, and really what I've tried to do is will that matter in eternity? The thing that I'm worried about, and sometimes I can try to justify it, but the truth is, you know, I can ask myself, and sometimes I can try to justify it, but the truth is I can ask myself how can I serve them? And then I try to figure out a way to serve, and I'm not always successful at it. But I got to tell you that Heather and I it wasn't lost on us today that our rhythm section in the band were our sons, and not only did they play, but they wanted to be here playing with each other and with us, and I think that I could win some battles at home that aren't necessarily worth anything, but I could feel a victory. You know, I told them and you know this is the way it's going to be by God, and it'd be that way, but at what cost, you know, because none of that matters in eternity.
Speaker 2:But I think what matters to me is that when I'm gone and they're going, I remember when we used to jam with Dad. Now, I remember when he used to kick us out of the house because we didn't fold our socks right. So I think that if you could make this stuff real for you and practical, you know, then it then uh, there's, there's. For years my pet peeve was that they wouldn't wash, and not just those two, the rhythm section, but the whole, the whole band. Well, couldn't seem to rinse a plate off, you know, and then you'd be all stuck when it was put in the and so for years of preaching how just a little rinsing of a plate can make it come off the dishwasher so much easier, and all that ineffective preaching that I did. Now I just wash the plates in the sink and I serve my family and I shut my mouth.
Speaker 1:We follow the path of Zechariah. Sometimes you just be quiet about it. You don't have to say the thing.
Speaker 2:And I'm telling you and the craziest thing has happened, not that all of a sudden now they're all rinsed, but all of a sudden I realized how fortunate I am that there are people in my house that I can wash dishes of. So something shifted. So, instead of a focus of this thing that, by God, I'm going to make happen at all costs and all whatever, now something shifts in me where I become a servant, which is what I'm called to anyway, right, and all of a sudden the joy of having a family is overtaking me. So who loses in this situation?
Speaker 2:My pride, probably, maybe my ego, but what matters in eternity is being sustained and being and I'm not saying that my kids are messy all the time, but I'm just trying to use some little example to explain that you're going to have when you live with people. You're going to have something that's going to rub you the wrong way and if we can work in that, let God bring a transformation. He can be turned around in you and be a place of really celebration and joy and just what matters the kingdom, the love.
Speaker 1:Amen. May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation. May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation. What is the fruit of your salvation? What is the spirit? Be filled with the Holy Spirit. That's the invitation for all of us Be filled with the Holy Spirit. To be filled with the Holy Spirit means our lives are going to look different, the righteous character produced by your life in Jesus Christ. For this will bring much glory and praise to God. I remind you, beloved, that saying praise God is not bringing praise to God. I remind you, beloved, that saying praise God is not bringing praise to God. Living like Jesus lived, that is bringing praise to God. Doing the works of mercy that we see Jesus did, that is praise to God.
Speaker 1:Silas is not here this morning. He is recovering, and so I share this about him. We have been at Outreach and it has been a part of his life since he was tiny. He has been a part of this church for 24 years. We go to Outreach and he met the grandson of somebody at Outreach and they are fast friends Ashton, a little boy his age, and they talk about things that little boys talk about, like video games, and this one boy talked to him about this video game and said I really love this, it's the best ever.
Speaker 1:And he said have you played it? And the boy said no, I don't own that game. And he goes, but I know it's the best and he's heard the things and he and Silas have this big conversation about it. But this boy, ashton, does not own it. So Silas crushes cans for us and then gets the money. And he crushed all these cans and he got the money for it and he said this money is for Ashton to have that game. Can you take me to the store so I can buy for Ashton the game that he does not have now?
Speaker 1:This is simple and silly and I would tell you that nobody needs a video game. That's just my very. I know. I know I need to be healed of things too, but I would tell you that to another 11 year old boy. This is what needs to be done. And so what does he do? He takes the money that is his. That's all the money he has. He doesn't have another job and says this is for someone else.
Speaker 1:Immediately recognize this is not for me. This is not so I can hide more, have more. This is here because I see a problem and I can remedy this. This also involves me because, as you know, he doesn't drive. He's 11, and so in my day I have to go to the video game store, which, again, not on my agenda. But am I going to tell this person, no, it's. I don't have time for you to do these acts of mercy, for you to be generous in your life. No, this means now. It's my job too. Now I'm making sure and now I'm waiting at Best Buy.
Speaker 1:And, lord, that is a type of hell. It really is, at least it is for me. It is not the work of Christ there. The kingdom is not there, and maybe I need to go there more with more light and love, but there's no one to be found and I can't find this thing and I feel in me and in patience and beloved. That is not Christ, though we know that love is patient, and so what I needed was a baptism in my mind of going what my job right now on the earth should be, to inconvenience myself on behalf of an 11-year-old boy who wants to do what is right.
Speaker 1:All of us. How are we being people who say what I need to do is make sure that little people, that young people, in the faith, that people all over know that my agenda, my ego, my plans do not run the show. Love runs the show. We went to outreach last month. This is the last one and we have an outreach coming and you can be a part of it On the 18th right, On the 18th and we went there last month.
Speaker 1:We were handing out all the food and then Silas said to him Ashton, I have something for you. And he gave him that little card that said that this was the video game. And he goes why are you showing this to me? And he goes because I bought it for you. And that little boy's eyes opened up. He goes Silas, you bought this for me. And he said, yeah, he goes. Did your mom do it? And he said no. He said this is what I want to give you.
Speaker 1:And that boy threw his arms around Silas like he had given him a gift. And why do I tell you that? Because this is what the scripture says when somebody else receives the gift, that they will begin to thank God. They will see this is bigger. This is not your mom making you do something. This is an invitation to expanding your heart toward generosity, toward life, toward paying attention to other people's needs and listening to them.
Speaker 1:And in these practices of service, listen to Zachariah's father say this is the way of the Lord. And now Zachariah's father can't sleep at night because he's got a baby in the house, you know. And now, zachariah and this was before washing machines and disposable diapers. There was a lot of work to be done and and this, this is the work of the Lord. Now he's at the temple. He's probably late in the morning because the baby decided that it was going to do something else and this is the preparing of the way, it is the upending of our lives. This is the hope for all of us that the status quo would be leveled and that Jesus would be allowed to reign in us. This is the hope of the world. This is Advent. This is where peace comes, where we clear the path, where we get our minds off of the things that they've always been on and say baptize me in this new way of living, in this hope that is coming and embodying real love.
Speaker 2:You know, there's a practice that I found here the past couple weeks. Something shifted in me and my understanding. And here it says may you always be filled with the fruit of the spirit of salvation. You know, and I always thought you know, like maybe you know I knew what that was. You know, like Heather said, being at the Best Buy, she recognized something that wasn't the fruit of the Spirit. Yes, you know that impatience and that's something that shifted in me over the past few weeks, that I've began to realize within myself when I am experiencing fruits of the Spirit and when I'm not. And my will, you know, the who I am, the me that gets to make a decision, not just experience his life, but that one stops being an observer and starts making some decisions and follow me here. I'm probably not communicating this super clear, but it's because it's kind of a new principle to me that I just I kind of have been realizing wait a minute, that's not a fruit of the Spirit that I'm demonstrating right now. And so if it's not a fruit of the Spirit, it's bad, it's carnal, it's worldly and fleshly and I don't want any part of it. So I'm realizing, ooh, the anger came up, not just all that anger? No, I don't want that energy, I don't want that. I want joy, god, I'm asking, and so I think that a practice for you and I could be to to recognize cause we're we've.
Speaker 2:Last week we talked about hope and how that's such a gift from God, and how peace, you know. And when I'm not experiencing peace, what am I experiencing? Anxiety, what is anxiety? It's fear about an uncertain future. Wait a minute, church, your future is certain. You're in Christ. There is certainty for us, there is peace for us. Now, you know, I can't worry about an outcome, because, no matter how the outcome is about an outcome, because no matter how the outcome is, I'm still in christ, I still, I still win. You know, I get, uh, um, to have peace. And so if, if you can kind of see where I'm going with this, there's, there's just a, if you will allow it, just as you begin to have these emotions, just recognize and affirm within you oh man, the spirit of god is here right now. Yeah, I don't, can't even explain it, but I'm just. You know, heather and I are walking around and you feel that joy, just feel god's presence. Thank you, lord.
Speaker 1:And then a value it go ahead and it's just quick as changing your mind that's's it right. It is as quick as that, I always said the best buy. And again I will tell you I judged it as it's a hellscape.
Speaker 2:The whole thing is.
Speaker 1:And really, when you listen to me say it that way, you understand that that's my ego speaking, because I judge everything about that store. I judge the way that they staff that store. We need more people in there. That place is huge and huge and you can't see anybody because it's stacked really high and you don't need to hear about my judgments. But when I recognize in myself that I am impatient at what I judge is inefficiency, oh my gosh, oh, you will just pray for me people. This idea of efficiency is something that has to be uprooted in my life, because one of the things that Advent will teach you is it's not about efficiency. We're not here to produce a product. We are here to live in love and to be in love. But in this store, I recognize in myself an impatience and I can feel it like right here. I don't know where you feel impatience, but I feel it right here. It almost feels like it's choking me. Let's get someone. Let's get someone to help us right now. Stop whatever you're doing and help me. To just call it what it is. I do not need to be served by the best boy or the best by or however. I need to serve other people. So when I recognize I can feel it right here like this, impatience is coming. It's as quick as going. This is not my place to stand here and judge people for not doing it right.
Speaker 1:I can be a beacon of love. I can be patient. I can choose to be light here. I can be a beacon of love. I can be patient. I can choose to be light here. I can encourage the generosity in someone else. I can do all these things. I don't have to be.
Speaker 1:A lot of times we're dictated by a clock. One of the things that is dictates and we need to just leave them at the altar. We are people who are dictated by love and sometimes love takes a long time and I sometimes wish it didn't, but it does. It even has shown us in our raising of our babies. I mean, zachariah's legacy is John, not his efficiency at the table or at the temple. And so this invitation into living in love and bringing ourselves to Christ. It just takes a moment to change that thought and go. I am here to love, I am here to be light and not just light. You know, this is the Advent story. It's the light of the Gentiles for the whole world. This is the invitation that everyone would see the light of Christ.
Speaker 2:And so it's just a practice that we could, you know, maybe start to consider being aware. Like what? What am I just maybe giving over to or surrendering? I'm just allowing myself to be agitated, you know, allowing myself. I've been noticing too that, uh, cause it's a rabbit hole, you know, the the deeper you go here, you've been noticing too that I want to tell negative stories, bad things that happen, and I'll hear myself doing it and start to cringe.
Speaker 2:The other day, somebody did something and I was thinking about it and I started to say to Heather why do you think they would do that? And I go, why do you think they would do that? And I, just I go. Why do you think, never mind, and she knew that we're working on this, you know and she goes yep, we got to let it go.
Speaker 2:I'm doing the same thing and we're just laughing because it's like, do I really want to trade my joy for a little bit of gossip or a little bit of venting? Because all that did is bring me back to this energy and moment from which I was wounded, you know, and then I'm back to feeling anxious and upset, or I could just you know what I'm giving, that to God, I'm not going to rehearse that. I'm going to live in this joy that God has given me. And so it is. It's a conscious choice. Now some of you might say I don't know how to do that. I mean you, you know, I think it's the elephant deal. I mean we just got to train ourselves. You know, we train ourselves to think negatively all the time, you know, and just kind of be in that place. But there's a joy for you and I. Let's train ourselves to walk in that gift that God has given.
Speaker 1:And the invitation is for us to think about things that are lovely, kind, beautiful of a good report. The best report that was ever given is Jesus has come. The light of the world is here. There is peace on earth because Jesus has come. We hope you've enjoyed this week's sermon. If you would like more information about us, visit us online at firstlovechurchorg.
