SERMONS: Lo How a Rose; Heaven & Nature Sing; The Babe; Two Turtledoves

Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming (Isaiah 61:10 - 62:3) J G White

This little piece of the big text we call Isaiah is filled with images of hope for the people. We have ‘the garments of salvation’ and a groom and bride all dressed up. (I will see this very thing today, when I conduct a wedding here.) We have ‘a garden’ causing shoots to grow up. We have a bright, ‘burning torch.’ And we have the renaming of the people as a sign of new life and hope. 

In the first part, some prophet is rejoicing in God. In the second, God’s voice is heard, giving various promises. There is so much happening here: a preacher’s head spins! For this reflective moment, let's just look at the earth bringing up shoots and a garden growing. 

Regularly in the pages of Isaiah we come across such images - speaking of a new era for the people and the planet. With the birth of the Messiah, a few centuries later, the promises seem sure. 

An Advent carol we sing starts off, Lo, how a rose e’er blooming from tender stem hath sprung, of Jesse’s lineage coming, as those of old have sung.  Jesus as a rose, blooming in a cold world. He is a descendant of Jesse and his son, King David. So beautiful and filled with life is Jesus Messiah. 

Around the front of our sandstone building, I planted a few bulbs, back in the fall, in a few select places. Won’t it be a fun surprise, in the spring, to see things peeking out, and later discover what grows and what colours bloom? As I get to the end of one year, and the start of the new, I wonder what new things might happen. What things we have been planning will come to fruition. What new steps we wondered about will be taken. Where will the Spirit lead?

Well, that’s our first of four Bible texts, and the first mini- sermon. A few more to come. 

Heaven and Nature Sing (Psalm 148) J G White

The sun and the moon have been lovely over Christmastime. The moon grew full, and many sunsets on cloudy evenings were vibrant pink and orange. I tried a bit more birding yesterday, and saw beautiful winged creatures such as more white-winged crossbills, and otters playing in a slushy Lake. I saw more landscapes than birds - the flats and rolling hills of West Brook, the gurgling of Halfway River, the snow-sparkling red spruce and yellow birch trees.

Every Sunday of each year has a Psalm to recite or sing - or sometimes other Bible poetry. When we turn to Psalm 148, we are getting to the finale of the whole collection, and they are all about praising God. The English words ‘Praise the Lord!’ can also be translated, simply, as ‘Hallelujah!’ 

Like Psalm 98, which inspired the carol ‘Joy to the World,’ Psalm 148 lists many critters and claims they are praising God. After the angels, the sun and moon and stars, and clouds. Sea creatures and waters, and all the dramatic weather above the sea. Mountains and all the timber upon them, and the animals therein, domestic and otherwise. (Even the turtles?) And humans, of every rank and status, age and experience. 

There are many Christmas legends about animals and plants that suddenly flourish when Jesus arrives. I have heard tales and songs about the first poinsettia, the first nightingale song, and the first Christmas tree, of course. You may know the story of the animals in barns, every Chrismtas Eve, bowing down, because of the Christ child. We love these legends. They continue the human experience of not being alone in knowing the Creator, and bowing, and rejoicing!

All this opens our eyes to wonder at our place in the world, a world that also enjoys God. Perhaps you have your own, personal legend about some creature or special place that seems to be sacred and holy, that seems to shout, ‘Hallelujah!’ That cabin in the woods, that waterfall along the stream, that northern cardinal that flies in. Join them in giving thanks for all God’s blessings. 

The Babe, the Son of Mary (Galatians 4:4-7) J G White

OK, my first two homilies were a bit too long. Next, from this small bit of a New Testament letter, some short comments.

‘The babe, the son of Mary’ is celebrated again. He is just like us, and yet not the same at all. Jesus is both. The tradition of two candles on an ‘altar’ can represent these two natures of Christ: human and divine. 

These three little sentences from Galatians 4 say a lot about children and parents. Like many of our relationships, that of Jesus to Mary and Joseph is not simple or normal. But He still belongs. He is still loved. He is still one of them, and one of us. 

All the Bible writers keep getting at this one fact: the arrival of Jesus Messiah changes things in our lives. The author here claims that other people get to be counted as children of Creator, and heirs of all the blessings that we’d expect the Son of God to get. We have millions of people to share an inheritance with!

I wonder now, after all the Christmas gifts I got - chocolates, sweets and cookies, a Bible, two party games, twelve days of cheese, a windshield wiper - what do I inherit with Jesus my brother? What do I value most?

Two Turtledoves (Luke 2:22-40) J G White

I get a kick out of singing ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas,’ and I love the twelve posters an artist friend prepared for me, years ago. I think it is mere coincidence that day two has two turtle doves, which was the simple offering those new parents brought to the Jerusalem Temple a couple thousand years ago. Apparently they couldn’t afford the usual lamb, as a worship gift in honour of their first-born son. 

Our Bible stories are filled with some ordinary, down to earth people. Nothing super special about Joseph, about Mary, or about these old folks at the Temple they met, that day. Old Simeon and Old Anna were very devout Jews, but it seems they too lived very simple lives. 

The stories of infant Jesus end soon, with Matthew’s tales of Magi visiting the toddler, and then of the holy family fleeing danger and becoming refugees in Egypt. This ‘new born King’ takes a very humble approach, from the very beginning. All these centuries later, we are still learning our lessons from this.

Second Day of Christmas Devotional

Tuesday, December 26, Isaiah 9:6  For a child has been born for us, a son given to us;
authority rests upon his shoulders, and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

What’s today? The second day of Christmas. (Ten more to go!) The feast day of St. Stephen. (Good King Wenceslas looked out on the feast of Stephen…) My cousin’s birthday. Boxing Day. 

For many, it is a quieter day than the previous few. I like so much to celebrate twelve days of Christmas. I remember a wise and unusual friend, who lived alone, and would spread out the opening of his gifts over a week or two. He might not even get around to opening one on December 25th! I don’t do this, but I do like to stay in the joys and wonder of the Jesus birth stories. I like to keep the decorations up until January 6th. I like the freedom from all that advertizing and shopping that happened in the six weeks before. Now, I can spend quality time with beloved people, and with puzzles and crosswords and board games. 

So, try it out. Spend twelve days with some time to ponder the Wonderful Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. He’s a newborn. He’s two thousand twenty-eight years old. He’s more ancient than the known universe.

PRAYER: Abba God, Your Child is one of us. Thanks be! Praise be! And in His fragile weakness is a great strength, a beautiful healing, a welcoming kingdom. Now, as years end and begin, may there be some serenity for us all. Amen.

      - Jeff G. White

Christmas Day Devotional

Luke 2:16-18  So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the child lying in the manger. 17 When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them,

By now most of us have shared in the excitement of Christmas day.  The opening of gifts, the festive dinner, visits with friends and family have been parts of the traditions that make up our celebrations.  As we pause to reflect upon Christmas 2023, let us take a few moments to think of those in our church family, community and the world of which we are a part of.  We pray that the message of peace on earth and goodwill to all has some place in this topsy-turvy time in which we live.

The shepherds of old went home to their families and communities to share what they had experienced - the  announcement that God’s child had arrived to give hope to the world.  They didn’t know how it would manifest itself in their lives but they believed in the message of the angels.  May we feel that same presence and excitement in our lives and in our world as we reflect on this another Christmas day.

Prayer: Loving God, may the peace of Christ be in our hearts and actions throughout the year and like the shepherds of old may we share the good news of your love.  Amen.

   -The Rev. Byron Corkum

SERMON: Magnificent Magnification

10:30 am, 4th Sunday of Advent, Dec 24, 2023 ~  FBCA

(Romans 16:25-27; Luke 1:26-38, 46-55) J G White

 We are on the very edge of Christmas now, and we spend the morning with Mary. First, when she is told about her pregnancy by the angel Gabriel. Second, when she rejoices some weeks later, while visiting her relative, Elizabeth. What Mary said got recorded by Luke as a poem, like the lyrics of a song. It has been put to music ever since. Our old-fashioned English versions have Mary sing: “My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.” Here, we read an English translation from the 1960s. Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord. Rejoice, rejoice, my spirit, in God my saviour… 

From the old Latin title, Mary’s song gets called the Magnificat. What on earth could it possibly mean to ‘magnify God?’ As we read other translations, we get the feel: tell out my soul, enlarge, glorify, declare, or, as Peterson put it, I’m bursting with good news! 

Mary - thanks to Luke writing it down - gives a magnificent magnification of God, as she starts her visit with elderly, and also pregnant, Elizabeth. My soul magnifies the Lord. What can this mean for us?

I brought a little tool with me today: a Magnifying Glass. I don’t actually use it much, at all, but we know what it is for. Getting a better look at things - usually words - by making them appear larger. ‘Magnifying’ them: that is the literal meaning of magnificat. 

Our retelling of the Jesus story, with the beginnings, at this time of year, helps us ‘magnify’ Christ in our own lives. Some believers, somewhere back in history, picked this time of year to celebrate the birth of the Messiah, and we rehearse the stories and their meaning every single year. 

This is like what Mary did, that day, early in her pregnancy. She declared what this God is like who had promised an Anointed King, who had promised to save the people. You notice she talks about herself and what’s going to happen not much at all. She gets all historic - or maybe its personal. She sings about all the kinds of things God has always been doing. Helping poor people and honouring them. Tearing down the empires of the prosperous and powerful folk. Her magnificent poem looks closely at the character of God, as she and her people understood the Lord. Her words magnify; so can ours. We communicate the details of faith, our faith. It’s quite personal. 

Another tool I could have brought in today is a Telescope. In my case, I got rid of my childhood telescope years ago; now, I have Binoculars. I use these quite regularly. (Oh look! I can actually see who is here.) Six days ago I joined a few people for a couple hours of bird watching around Amherst, for the annual Christmas Bird Count. I was so happy to see seventeen white-winged crossbills up near Blair Lake. 

We might think that binoculars are quite different - maybe opposite? - from a magnifying glass. But they both make things bigger, larger, magnified, in our eyes. Bins, or a scope, help things far away appear nearer. 

Why was Mary so spiritually glad about her pregnancy? Well, at long last, the main human helper of the people would come from God to them. I think that’s what those ancient Jews were hoping. She almost said more than she knew and realized: their God was going to be seen a lot closer, closer than ever before. God as a person, a human, a creature within creation. The fancy Church word is incarnation. It means in the flesh, in a body. God gets physical. Not that this had never happened before. But the point was being made in a bigger way. Look. See! God is nearer than we realized. God with us: Emmanuel. Just like Isaiah of old had said. Imagine that!

So you and I magnify God when we do our part to connect with Jesus. I hope your Christmastime does that in you.

(Three point sermon.) A third magnifier I brought is a Loupe. Often used by jewellers, but also by scientists: out in the field, looking closely at the tiny details of plants and fungi and insects and rocks. It is a small little hand lens, and yes, I do use it mostly on lichens that grow on trees and rocks, and on the details of plants. 

Getting into the real details of where meaning in life comes from, and where goodness in life arises, these are important. Again, this is what Mary sings in her poem, the Magnificat. God is like this. God is connecting with me in these ways. God did this, and that, and something else in the past - so we are really expecting this and better again! Things are all going where they are destined to go. Praise God!

I use a tiny magnifier in my hand to get at the wee details my eye cannot see, but I know they are there. We use the tiny details of our lives, and of the scripture story, to rejoice in the abundant life Jesus brings us. Then, with a broader vision, even seeing things far away and on the giant scale, we know the big picture. This thing that happened to us - we see it is part of a huge story that is bigger than us. That huge mess we hear of elsewhere in the world - with the eyes of Faith we discover that history and God’s purposes are even bigger than the terror and trouble at one place and time. 

When the story of God is magnified, the whole picture, and the tiniest personal events, start to fit together. At the centre, connected to it all, is the Christ, this one about to be born again in a little ancient village in the hills somewhere. 

Has it started to fit together? For you? 

Mary had her song of praise, magnifying God. What are some of the lines of the poem your soul sings? 

Keep singing it: this Christmas, and all year long. The world needs your magnificent song. 

Christmas Eve Devotional

Isaiah 9:2  The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness— on them light has shined.

         According to my optometrist I have been walking in darkness, getting deeper and deeper as I age. Although I know that Isaiah was not writing about cataracts when he wrote these powerful lines, but they jumped out at me in this season of light.

As I sat in a hospital waiting area after my first surgery, I shut first the original, then the improved eye. To my amazement, the lights on the ceiling turned from white to yellow before my very eye. So the doctors were right when they said I needed the surgery.  Susan was right when she told me that my Sunday shirt really was white - not yellow. I was wrong in my perceptions of reality.  I think I have been taught a couple of lessons – gratitude towards medical competence and that I don’t see nearly as well as I believe I do.

A couple of prayerful verses from the old Clara Scott hymn won’t leave my head:

Open my eyes that I may see / glimpses of truth Thou hast for me. / Place in my hands the wonderful key t? hat shall unclasp and set me free.

Open my mind that I may read / more of Thy love in word and deed.  / What shall I fear while yet Thou dost lead?  / Only for light from Thee I plead.

Silently now I wait for Thee, / ready my God thy will to see. Open my eyes, illumine me, / Spirit divine!

     -Ed Colquhoun

Sat, Dec 23 Devotional

John 1:14  The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

As we all know, a newborn baby can certainly dominate a group of people. It may be asleep in its mother’s arms, but the minute it enters a room full of adults, suddenly it is the focus of conversation. People use baby talk and make strange faces at the baby and speculate as to which parent it looks most like. In effect, the baby is like a magnet, drawing all attention to itself.

This being the case with babies in general, how much more was it true of the Baby born so long ago in Bethlehem. The angels took special interest in His coming; the shepherds searched for His manger; Mary and Joseph rejoiced in the birth of the promised Son; and God Himself looked on with approval. Mary’s newborn Son was very much a dominating presence.

And we, two thousand or so years later, continue to stand by the manger in awe of what God has brought about through the Babe of Bethlehem.

Prayer: Our God, help us to keep Jesus at the centre of our attention each and every day of our lives. We are forever grateful for Your amazing gift to us. In His name we pray. Amen.

- Greg Wilson

Fri, Dec 22 Devotional

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18  Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

      In this world of war, hate, violence, poverty and unrest, we need to show kindness, love, and respect for everyone.  Pray and be thankful for all the blessings God has sent our way.  Especially at Christmas time.  Be thankful for the birth of our Saviour Jesus Christ.

 A poem by Helen Steiner Rice

Thank you God for little things

that often come our way.

The things we take for granted

but don't’ mention when we pray.

The unexpected courtesy,

the thoughtful kindly deed.

A hand reached out to help us

in a time of sudden need.

O make us more aware, dear God,

of little daily graces

that come to us with “sweet surprise”

from never dreamed of places. 

    -Pauline Lusby

Thrs, Dec 21, Devotional

Luke 1:46-48  And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he has looked with favor on the lowly state of his servant.  Surely from now on all generations will call me blessed

         I will be honest, I couldn’t come up with a thought on the scripture given to me.  What came to my mind is how the churches have changed, more acceptance and not so rigid. 

My first experience to the Roman Catholic Church (which had some different rules than the Baptist Church on the “hill”) you couldn’t enter the church without something on your head.  So, my best friend gave me a hanky and all I worried about was, was it used?  Also the service was in Latin, I barely knew English, and sore knees up and down so much.

My other experience with the Catholic Church was my strong Baptist Aunt and Uncle, who lived on the “Hill”.  They had a younger son who was going to marry a Catholic girl, not from the “Hill”.  She was a lovely girl!  But her parents were every bit staunch Catholic as my relatives were Baptist.  On we go to the Highland Baptist Church on the “Hill” but her parents wouldn’t attend the ceremony in the Sanctuary.  They did come for lunch and pictures.  I was quite baffled about this (how things have changed). 

The “Hill” was nicknamed “Sand Hill” and yes, Rev. Jeff, you live smack-dab in the middle!

  -Liz Hickey

Wed, Dec 20 Devotional

Psalm 126 :5-6        

I always love to learn a new lesson.  This is what I learned from Psalm 126 :5-6

 5 May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy. 6 Those who go out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, carrying their sheaves.

Sometimes it seems we have more than our fair share of problems.  We feel so submerged in them it is hard to get out.  We can get out however by believing in the unseen.  We learn to use the leverage of Gods help.  When we use this help, we can see beyond what seems to be. Start with some tasks to unlock your mind from confusion.

What ever happens today we can see it as a challenge that we are able to meet.  If it is good, it can be a gift.  If it is difficult, this too shall pass.  Do not let good make you complacent and not good drown you in despair.  We need to let our life be guided by God’s will.  In quietness and trust shall be our strength.

Prayer:  I pray that I may welcome difficulties.  I pray that I never question God’s plans, but accept them gladly.  Amen.

    -Verna VC

Tues, Dec 19 Devotional

Psalm 126:2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter
    and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then it was said among the nations,
    “The Lord has done great things for them.”

         This verse is often interrupted as a reflection on the joy and gratitude that come with experiencing God’s blessings and deliverance.

When considering this verse in the context of Christmas, it can be connected to the joyous occasion of Christ’s birth. Christmas is a time when many people reflect on the idea of God’s great gift to humanity in the form of Jesus. The birth of Jesus is seen as a moment of great significance, bringing hope, joy, and salvation to the world.

Throughout this Advent season, may God fill our hearts and homes with joy and laughter. And may we be ever mindful of His blessings and the great things He has done.

   -Bev Curry

Mon, Dec 18 Devotional

Isaiah 61:11  For as the earth brings forth its shoots
    and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
    to spring up before all the nations.

Five years ago, my sister and I began the task of moving my mother and father from their home of sixty years.  It involved difficult decision making that, at times, was overwhelming for the two of us.  There was also the sorting through many items with attached memories.  After a long and tiring day, we both looked at Mom’s spider plant and said “no” to keeping it.

Last summer we visited our new granddaughter on Vancouver Island.  When I commented on the beautiful spider plant that my daughter-in-law had, she replied, “That is your Mother’s.”  Unbeknownst to me, she had earlier cut some baby spiders from Mom’s plant.  She and my son traveled 6000 kilometers with them in their car from NS to BC.  I asked for a baby spider plant that went into a tiny pot with some garden soil and a plastic bag, which then accompanied us home on the floor of the plane.  I, along with my Mom and sister now proudly have “Mom’s” spider plant back and it is flourishing.

God’s plan for us as Christians is to flourish and spread his love to others.  As the familiar hymn “They will know we are Christians by our love…”

Prayer: Our God, help us to share your love not just at Christmas but throughout the year.  Even small acts can make a difference in the lives of other.  Amen.

 -Sandra Corkum

SERMON: I Am First

10:30 am, 3rd Sunday of Advent, Dec 17, 2023 ~  FBCA

(Is 61:1-4, 8-11; Jn 1:1-9) J G White

Have you ever wished you could talk to someone famous? Meet them, or even just chat on the phone? A great world leader? A famous musician? An amazing author? I have met some famous Christian authors: Brian MacLaren, Dom Crossan, John Spong. And I once shook PM Brian Mulroney’s hand. But who are the top people I want to meet? Hmmm...

Remember last Sunday morning, being second? I’d say it is OK to be ‘second’ when we are friends with the One who is ‘First.’ Jesus, born in Bethlehem. How is He first?

This morning we heard how John’s Gospel begins. Last Sunday Mark started the Jesus story with John the Baptizer and Jesus of Nazareth going public when they were both adults. The week before that, as we lit up our decorations, we heard Matthew begin the whole story with the genealogy of Jesus, His ancestral mothers and fathers. Today, John the gospel writer - not the same man as John the Baptist - starts at the very beginning, a very good place to start. 

It is not by chance that John chapter one starts like Genesis chapter one: in the beginning. John the gospel writer starts with the Creator of creation. And Christ, who is the Word, the Life, the Light, is One with that Creator. (You’ve heard that when everything started, there was baseball?  In the big inning.)

I wish I could show you a picture right now, a photo of me and Marlene Knowles at a little restaurant in Edmonton. ‘The Burger’s Priest’ it is called, and it is filled with little touches from churches, including hymn boards. They serve a ‘Vatican burger.’ Marlene and I had our photo taken in front of a wall in the diner that has a Bible paragraph of Greek text and the English translation. Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος, καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν, καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and without him not one thing came into being…

Jesus, the Cosmic Christ, there at creation. The Father, the Son, the Spirit, all there making a universe! And you know, like I do, how mind-boggling this universe is. 

A celestial sight last week was the Geminid meteor shower. I did not spend a lot of time staring up into the sky, but I did see about the best shooting start I have ever seen. And that was just something in the sky quite nearby - in our atmosphere. Look at all the true stars beyond. And consider the billions of galaxies of stars we are told are out there. The new James Webb telescope is peering deeper and clearer into the universe, and looking far back in time. 

Have you been in awe, lately, over what is out there, how small we are, how much we now know about space, how beautiful it is, and how much we don’t understand?! 

This month, Advent, I have been taking in some webinars about the Cosmic Christ. I find it very hard stuff to understand! Suffice it to say that Christ is about all of time and space. He is the Alpha and Omega, as the Bible says, the A to Z. On Christmas Eve we will hear from Hebrews chapter 1: in these last days [God] has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. 

At Christmastime we celebrate the fact that with Jesus the Christ we have personal access to the Creator of the cosmos. One modern thinker who recently died would speak of God as ‘Reality with a personality.’ (Michael Dowd)

John starts his Gospel, reminding us that it is the CREATOR we meet in a human body, in time and space, limited. Of course, that lifetime is long over, those 33 years in a small part of the Middle East. Now unlimited, the Holy Spirit connects the human God with us all. 

On Friday evening here, Rachel MacLean beautifully sang that Amy Grant song about Mary, the mother, seeking the help of the Spirit during her pregnancy. 

Breath of heaven, hold me together

Be forever near me, breath of heaven

Breath of heaven, lighten my darkness

Pour over me your holiness for you are holy / Breath of heaven

Perhaps the last question about the way we relate to God and the cosmos is to wonder, are they for us, or against us? Good or bad or indifferent? It is said that Albert Einstein posed this question: “Is the Universe friendly?” 

Our Christian answer is ‘yes.’ Our Christmas answer is ‘yes.’ Romans chapter 8 declares, with a rhetorical question: “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (8:31) 

People need this good news. For many people today, it is not very believable: that the world and its greatest Power is actually good and is for them not against them. So many folks are beaten down, hurt and hurting, violated, have lost their way, or are troubled. The sadnesses and struggles of the whole year can pile up now, in December, in the face of all the happiness that is supposed to happen. 

Christmastime does not have to be wonderful and joyful. Sometimes it is hard. But the Christ of Christmas is still good, thru the pain and problems. I want Christ of the cosmos to be close at hand. 

Look at our new carol. I live into the hope that this is true. Words, mostly from Cynthia:

Our very first gifts were wrapped in light

The very first light was sent with love

The very first love was shining bright

Those words take me back, not just to Bethlehem, but to creation, the very beginning, with Christ. 

John said, poetically, What has come into being in [Christ] was life, and that life was the light of all people. The One who is First, the Light, is touchable, reachable, relatable. Shining in us. And beautifully good.

Jesus started his preaching, at about age thirty, saying: “Make a turn around, the Kingdom of the Heavens is at hand!” If you need to refocus and find Christ, the One who is First, may you do it. And as you bless someone else with some little bit of the goodness of God, all the better. May the great goodness of the universe, of all creation, come to a point in Jesus, this season, and in our New Year!

Sun, Dec 17 Devotional

Isaiah 61:1  The spirit of the Lord God is upon me
    because the Lord has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,
    to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives
    and release to the prisoners.       

Good News, these are the two words that I, and maybe others, notice when reading Isaiah 61:1.  The news we get today...TV and printed sources has been a bit heavy as we enter this Advent Season.  Yet, the promise is there...a promise foretelling the birth of Jesus, seven centuries before Jesus was born.

Jesus actually made reference to this passage (Luke 4:18-21); essentially affirming he is the Good News.  The oppressed, and broken-hearted will experience relief. Captives and prisoners will be freed.  This is the Christmas gift.  The Christ gift!

As I was considering this idea of this gift, I realized we must be part of the giving.  We cannot expect this gift will be given..without us also giving.  We must be there to comfort a neighbour, or possibly providing a meal for a homeless person.  We must speak out when people whose faith, or life style is different than our own are being demeaned or threatened. We must live the life of a Christian.

Prayer: Dear Lord, the celebration of the Good News is almost at hand.  Jesus has shown us the path.  Humans tend to be slow learners and strife, wars, and hateful behaviours seem to cloud our vision as to what can be possible.   Maybe we simply need to make the first words of the prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi our goal.  Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.  Jesus came to teach us to love.  Help us understand his teaching.  Amen.      

-Shirley Ann Hallee

Sat, Dec 16 Devotional

Mark 1:1-2 The beginning of the good news[ of Jesus Christ. As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, “See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,  who will prepare my way.”

In Bethlehem's stall, a tale unfolds,

Mark's words echo  the story to be told,

Isaiah said and Mark did too, 

A fresh beginning, a journey anew.

John the Baptist has a path to ford, 

"Prepare ye the way of the Lord."

It happened on a  wintry night, A

ngels and a celestial light,

Stars adorned the midnight sky, 

Guiding shepherds, drawing nigh.

A babe found in a manger low,

wrapped in love, the Saviour's glow.

So as snowflakes dance and carols ring,

Let joy and peace their chorus bring.

In Mark's prelude and Christmas cheer, 

The timeless tale we hold so dear.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, in this season of anticipation, help us prepare our hearts to receive the light of Christ.  May the peace that passes all understanding  fill our lives and guide us in  the way of righteousness.  Amen.

      -Karen Fraser

Fri, Dec 15 Devotional

2 Peter 3:14  Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things,  strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish,.

         The Wait

Humming that tune we hold to the phone.

Fingers a-drumming we wait the green light.

Sighing then frowning we fidget and shift.

- The wait and the waiting are endless.

But what of The Wait

For the Promise of Life?

For the Peace of all things?

and the Land always green?

Not humming nor drumming nor fidgets will do it!

But  knowing  the worth

 in all of God's kin -

The grand and the low, equal gifts held within-

In  striving for wholeness we make the new earth.

Prayer: Advent God, every moment you arrive anew. Use  my hands, my thoughts, my actions - my offering to effect the coming new earth.  Amen.

            -Cynthia McCarthy

Thrs, Dec 14 Devotional

2 Peter 3:8   But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day.

   Time travel has always fascinated me. I’ve enjoyed science fiction, and movies like “Back to the Future,” “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure” and “I’ll FollowYou Down” stir my imagination about all the fun – and danger – of time travel.

As if. We have no time machines. We are walking through time in one direction, at one speed. Though it does not always seem quite like this. So, I guess my ‘science mind’ sometimes wonders about the God I relate to, as if my Master can be everywhere and every time at once. A friend sometimes prays for people with this phrase, asking Jesus to “reach back through time and….” Indeed, God touches our past: heals, reveals, and makes sense of things.

Looking to the unknown future, Peter and other early disciples understood that God’s life in time is not like ours. A thousand years like a day, and vice versa. The promises of good things for the world are still holy promises, no matter what our watches and calendars tell us today.

PRAYER: Alpha and Omega – Timeless Christ – to You we turn in this season of waiting and preparing. Show us how scripture is full of special time, not simple chronology in order. Give us patience, day by day.  Amen.

      -Jeff G. White

Wed, Dec 13 Devotional

Psalm 85:10  Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet;
    righteousness and peace will kiss each other.

      Just think about those words “steadfast love”.  Not just love, but steadfast love.  Love we can count on in a way that even health can’t be counted on, but God’s love is always steadfast.

He is always faithful when so much is failing around us.  God never fails those who trust in him.  Steadfast Love and  Faithfulness meet in God. 

Righteousness and Peace.  They kiss each other.  What a picture of God’s affection for us and how beautifully his righteousness and peace go together.

Prayer: God of steadfast love and faithfulness of righteousness and peace, we praise You.  Amen.

    -Jean Harrison

Tues, Dec 12 Devotional

Psalm 85:8 Let me hear what God the Lord will speak,
    for he will speak peace to his people,
    to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts.

         Centuries ago, the Israelites heard that the LORD would speak peace to them. This saying has a special resonance in these troubled times when conflict seems perpetual in the “Holy Land.” We have seen a number of faithful people who sincerely reach out to the “other side” only to be disappointed again and again. It appears that there are those whose hearts are turned towards the LORD and towards peace, but their attempts to share the land are thwarted by others who can see no way of reconciliation. {This is not totally unlike the Ukrainian war which drags on for another year.}

There are a couple of things that we who are outside the conflict can do in this season of peace. First, we can seek out credible media – written and other – that explain the deep and complex roots of the ongoing hatred. We can then listen with understanding to the deep hurt that underlies these conflicts. Our conviction is that the God of both Palestinians and Israelis who showed himself 2000 years ago wishes to speak peace to His people.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, who was a Jew who lived in Palestine, give us understanding of these difficult issues. Bring peace to all who need it so desperately.  Amen.

    -Ed Colquhoun

SERMON: I Am Second

10:30 am, 2nd Sunday of Advent, Dec 10, 2023 ~  FBCA

(Is 40:1-11; Mk 1:1-8) J G White

When her daughters were small, a woman painted a ceramic nativity set, complete with the holy family, sheep, shepherd, donkey, camel and magi, and an angel. It was nicely painted and antiqued. 

Years later, she gave it to her older daughter, at her wedding shower. But by then, the little Baby Jesus did not quite match the rest. You see, just a few years before, the woman had met a friend with a similar nativity, but that lady had lost the Baby Jesus - the smallest figurine. So the mother gave away the Baby from her hand-painted set. Now hers was missing the Baby Jesus. Sharon had to get a new one, and paint it. Did not match, exactly. 

Yes, it was Sharon White, who gave away her hand-painted Baby Jesus, just because someone else needed one. That’s the way she does things!

Today we read the start of another of these Bible books called the Gospels. Mark. We heard the first words of the story: The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. And Mark has no Baby Jesus. He starts with grown up John the Baptizer and grown up Jesus of Nazareth. No birth stories at all. 

What a character, John is, eh? This cousin of Jesus (maybe a second cousin?), son of an old Jewish priest who works in the Temple, but John heads out like a wild man to the shores of the Jordan River to exercise his ministry. He draws a crowd, and baptizes people in the river, but do you hear what he preached? 

‘I’m not it. I’m not number one. Me? I’m not the one you’re looking for. He’s going to arrive soon. I’m not worthy; not worthy to touch Him. I’m doing this for you, but what He’ll do for you: Wow!’

‘I am second’ is John’s attitude. He’s getting people ready for Number One.

Do you know about the ‘I am second” campaign? It started about fifteen years ago. It has a series of short interviews with celebrities, each one confessing they are Christians. All saying, ‘I’m not number one: Jesus is my number one. He’s First; I am second.’ From musician Michael W Smith,  to author Anne Rice, to NHL player Mike Fisher, they all testify to how life is better when Christ takes preeminence. TV personality Kathie Lee Gifford:

Kathie Lee Gifford - YOUnique (youtube.com)

I have been working in the entertainment field since I was ten years old. To be a young woman in that business is brutal, because of the rejection, and its nonstop: boom, boom, boom.  

I got riiipped one time on an audition for Charlie's Angels. And I'm sitting there, and the casting agent goes, "Let me tell you right now why you're not 'right' for Charlie's Angels.'

And I go, "Oh, ok."

"We're just looking for a 'pretty' girl." And then she said, "and a this, and a that," it was like getting beat: hit em to the left, hit em to the right. 

And as I was walking out the door, I leaned back in and I went, "When you're casting a cartoon... let me know!" And I left laughing. God made me that way. At the end of her monologue, her testimony to Jesus, Kathie Lee Gifford says, “I am second.”

There is a gift in being ‘second,’ not first, not having to be number one. John the Baptizer knew this. He had a very important role, yes, but he was not the Messiah, a Saviour. He pointed the way, prepared the way, which is what the Jewish people, & others, needed. 

The start of the Good News, the Gospel, for many people today, is preparation. Someone - or many people - prepare the way for Christ to meet a person. Quite often that is your role, and mine. It is not up to me or you to convert a person, to trans-form someone, to fix them. But it is up to us to discover how we shepherd others along. Your task is unique in this, as is mine.

As is the overall task of First Baptist. Even we don’t have to be first. I have a colleague, he is the lead minister of First Baptist Edmonton. He also is the lead shepherd of a church that worships with deep tradition, with broad-minded teachings, and seeks to include a wide variety of people from their city. Ryan is only half joking when he sometimes calls his church Last Baptist Church. For some, its their last chance to stay Baptist and still fit in, find a home. 

Part of our role, at First or Last Baptist Amherst, is to build a spiritual community that feels like home to a wide range of thinking people, a wide range of personalities, a wide range of creative folk who still want to be Christian. We get to be a wide variety as we hold onto Christ Jesus, from many points around a circle, and discover the freedom He brings us. 

We don’t have to be number one. My way of doing things, or your way of explaining things, does not have to be number one. Your life is not all about you; it is part of a greater picture. One important thread in a gigantic tapestry; one musical phrase in a dramatic symphony. 

Often, when we are trying to be number one, ‘looking out for number one,’ this means Jesus is missing. At least, on the back burner. We actually flourish best when we are well-attached to the Vine - to use Bible imagery. I am the best me with Christ in me. When I fail at this, I remember these poetic words from the Second letter to Timothy. 

If we have died with him, we will also live with him;

if we endure, we will also reign with him;

if we deny him, he will also deny us;

if we are faithless, he remains faithful—

he cannot deny himself.

So, it is OK to be still waiting and searching for Jesus, for more of Christ. Noticing that Jesus is missing is a good starting place. To be looking for the One who seems far from us is a good search. Like the person who gave up on God and decided not to believe, but keeps writing letters to God, or sending up prayers, ‘in case you are there.’ We’re on the right track! & we’ll find those who help point the way.

This is what I want a congregation to include: to be a group that welcomes the searchers, those on a spiritual quest. First Baptist - or Last Baptist, whatever we are - a family of seekers and finders.

To celebrate Advent - the arriving of Christ into the world - is to celebrate the fact that things are not complete, not finished. This is not as good as it gets. It gets better! There is more! So we keep waiting, we keep watch for Christ Jesus in our day and age. 

Mon, Dec 11 Devotional

Isaiah 40:11  He will feed his flock like a shepherd;
    he will gather the lambs in his arms
and carry them in his bosom
    and gently lead the mother sheep.

         Yesterday we had the opportunity to sing about preparing for our lord as he extinguishes our iniquities and bring us closer towards hope, peace, joy, and love. As I was reading this scripture, I am reminded that our Lord is my shepherd, and he leads me when I struggle in times of trouble. I think of the hymn that gets lost in time in many churches that don’t get sung often during the Christmas season, and that hymn is The King of Love. The text reminds me that even in our darkest moments, God will always be with us by our side so we may not fear anything that comes before us except our lord Jesus Christ. 

Just as before, let’s get out our phones, iPad, or computer, and type in the link below to hear this beautiful hymn. The text can be found in the video. Happy Holidays!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLdPoQnylnA

     -Kevin Dupuis