This morning’s devotional is offered by Cindy Joy. 

In this very short, extremely busy, and somewhat chaotic Advent Season, one  thing that has stood out to me so much has been the ways I’ve seen people working and serving together! Putting up and decorating the Chrismon Tree;  preparing our sanctuary for special services of worship; children, youth and adults giving of their time to prepare the beautiful music of this season for services and programs; those who have pitched in to help with all kinds of tasks, great and small,  around the church; but most of all, the many, many  ways people reach out to support, love, and care for one another!

In I Corinthians 12, we read about the ‘body of Christ’ which is the clearest statement about teamwork in the Bible.  The ‘body of Christ’ is all of us sharing our time, talents, gifts, skills and abilities as we work together in unity!  It takes many willing hearts and hands to do the work of the church as we build the kingdom of God on this earth!

As we move through the final days of this Advent season, I pray that we will strive to prepare in our hearts a worthy dwelling for this Christ Child.  It is only through this Child, that we can truly experience the eternal hope, deep peace, indescribable joy, and fullness of the love He brings to each one of us!

How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is given.
So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of His heaven.
No ear may hear His coming, but in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive Him, still the dear Christ enters in.

O holy Child of Bethlehem! Descend to us we pray.
Cast our sin, and enter in, be born in us today!
We hear the Christmas angels the great glad tidings tell.
O come to us, abide with us, our Lord Immanuel.
~Phillips Brooks, 1865

This morning’s devotional is offered by Julie Earnhardt. 

Last week baby Jesus went on a journey.  It wasn’t the typical journey you hear about at Christmas.  In fact it was an unplanned journey, prepared and executed by a five year old.  Baby Jesus ventured out to tour the playroom, meet Barbie and her friends, and even slept briefly in a heap of purple playdough.  The very fragile Baby Jesus was carefully protected by the steady hands of a busy little girl, until the excitement of baby Jesus meeting Santa went astray.

For many years our family nativity scene is the first decoration we place in our home as we prepare for Christmas.  Our children know how important this particular decoration is to us.  As a newly married couple, we splurged our first Christmas and bought this beautiful reminder of the true meaning of Christmas.  In fact, we built the stable ourselves out of the leftover wood from our first home.  Each year as we carefully put all of the pieces in the perfect place, we marvel at the intricate details of the characters and retell the Christmas story.  We end by reminding our kids, to only look and not touch. Apparently this year, curiosity got the best of our youngest and she forgot the expectations.

The porcelain baby Jesus suffered a pretty bad fall during his adventure and lost a limb.  In a panic our daughter, used multiple band-aides to try to reattach his leg without informing us. She carefully placed him back in Mary’s arms and did not return to the stable.

Several days later we happened to notice that things didn’t look exactly right in the nativity scene.  After discovering the mishap, we questioned our kids.  Through guilty looking eyes filled with tears, the most precious answer surfaced.  “Mom, I am sorry.  I wanted to take baby Jesus to meet Santa.  It was an accident that his leg fell off.  I asked God to forgive me for breaking baby Jesus and he said, SURE! That’s just how it works, right?”

The process of discovering baby Jesus’ broken leg was a good reminder of how things needn’t be complicated, time consuming or complex for the experience to be joy filled and memorable.   Baby Jesus is now tucked away in the manger at our house, covered in band-aides.  Our nativity scene does not look as perfect as it once did, but now serves as a simple reminder to our family that the story is much deeper than a baby born in a manger.  He is the perfect gift given from God.  The precious Christmas story reminds us of a baby that brought forgiveness and hope.  And because of that we can experience the greatest JOY known, even when things aren’t perfect.

“Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy” (1 Peter 1:8)

This morning’s devotional is offered by Yancey Washington. 

Earlier this month, I had the great opportunity to accompany my son, James, and his Fourth Grade Class on a field trip to the North Carolina Museum of History.   It is a wonderful museum.  The main exhibit does a good job of conveying the state’s history from the prehistoric era up through today.  Of the many things I saw, one part of the exhibit that stood out to me was the first floor of a home from the 1840’s.  It was two rooms and you could walk through it.  We have homes from this period and earlier here in Oxford, but the museum’s signs stated this home was included in the exhibit because it typified a house in eastern North Carolina of the time.   The home was simple and the possessions inside were probably less than fifty items.

By contrast, it is almost a truism that many in America’s present generation, myself included, have more possessions than the pharaohs of ancient Egypt.  An internet search “how many items are in the average American household,” yields as a first response a whopping average of 300,000 items, citing the Los Angles Times and U.S. Department of Energy.   Having nice possessions is truly a blessing, but I find that I spend more time than I would like decluttering and organizing.   I have long known, my 1950’s era home was not designed to hold the spoils of big box retailer style shopping, and sometimes I’m glad of it.

If physical decluttering is necessary, so too is spiritual decluttering.  I believe that is what Isaac Watts meant when he included the line “Let ev’ry heart prepare Him room” in his 1719 carol “Joy to the World.”   In our present era of 24-hour news, social media and on-demand television and entertainment, I wonder if spiritual decluttering is more important than ever?  We certainly have more to distract us, many of us carry computers in our pockets (phones) that allow instant access to more information than dozens of metropolitan libraries combined and which, without proper vigilance, are apt to ring or chime at the most inopportune moments.  Is it harder for us than, generations past to set aside distraction and prepare room in our hearts for the gift of salvation given to us and all of mankind through the birth of Jesus?  Arguably so, but I think the gospel bears out that the world has always been distracting and distracted from the love of God, for Jesus was born into a world without room for him.

My prayer is that advent for each of us is a season to spiritually declutter and make room in our hearts to re-experience the joy of Jesus’ birth.  Merry Christmas!

This morning’s devotional is offered by Pat Cox. 

Forty years ago, we had twenty-one little boys in a big two story cottage on the campus of Oxford Orphanage. In every way, these 10, 11, and 12 year old 3^rd-5^th graders were “our” boys.

Every weekday was pretty much the same and only varied according to the time of year as well as the time of day. If you lived near the orphanage, you remember well the ringing of the campus bell high on the water tower that could be heard several times each day pretty much throughout the town of Oxford. It didn’t take anyone long to learn the routine. And just in case one forgot, the children were quick to remind us of what they (or we!) should be doing.

When we arrived at the orphanage, Susan and I had been married about eight years. The one thing, however, we did not have was a child of our own. Looking back now I don’t seem to recall a lot of time spent wondering if we ever would or why it hadn’t happened yet. We were busy with study hall each evening along with devotions with our kids, a snack time and some television. We loved those little boys and we realized that they loved us as well.

Almost two years with those boys passed pretty quickly and my third year of seminary came to an end and the full time chaplaincy position came open on campus. Then, in the spring of 1981, after surgery in which Susan’s doctors told us that it would “happen quickly or not at all” we were expecting a baby.

On Friday, December 18, 1981, our baby boy arrived in the early morning hours at Maria Parham Hospital in Henderson. At the orphanage the children were leaving that day at noon for Christmas vacation with family or visiting family resources. After things settled down at the hospital, I hurried back to campus to speak with as many children as I could wishing all a Merry Christmas. When most had gone and I went home to finally get a shower and a nap there in the middle of our living room was the school Christmas tree complete with child-made decorations and construction paper garlands. What a welcome surprise! In our preparation for the arrival of a new baby, getting a new home ready and a nursery painted and all that goes with that, we were just too tired to think of a Christmas tree that year. But we will never forget that Charlie Brown Christmas tree as one of the best ever! And although our Christmas baby came one week early the timing could not have been more perfect.

“Behold, I am about to do something new. Can you not perceive it?” –Isaiah 43.19

These words from the book of the prophet Isaiah are among the words that signal change to God’s followers, a change in the way they see and hear God. These words herald some new way of God’s being with us. They linger in our ears and on our lips as we enter the season of Advent, the season of waiting, the season of listening to and listening for the Promise of the Babe of Bethlehem to be made and fulfilled once again.

Can you perceive it? We hope when all is said and done we can say yes this year along with Mary and Joseph. We hope too that the glory of the Lord shines round about us some too, perhaps even enough to make us sore afraid and then send us off to try and describe it to someone. We hope that when the angels begin to sing we can join in with as much joy as we can muster. We hope that when something happens again this year we might perceive it.

This morning’s devotional is offered by Natalie Aho. 

As you can imagine, this has been a strange Advent season for us this year. I apologize I do not have the emotional energy needed to write as much as I would like. Therefore, I’d like to share a devotional reading with you from a book I was reading last week that has been particularly poignant to me this year. It comes from “Living in Hope Advent Meditations” from the writings of Henri Nouwen.

 

Seeking and Finding the Peace of Jesus

“God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God.” 

1 Corinthians 1:28-29

 

Keep your eyes on the prince of peace, the one who doesn’t cling to his divine power; the one who refuses to turn stones into bread, jump from great heights, and rule with great power; the one who says, “Blessed are the poor, the meek, those who mourn, and those who hunger and thirst for righteousness” (Mt 5:3-6). Keep your eyes on him who becomes poor with the poor, weak with the weak, and who is rejected with the rejected. That one, Jesus, is the source of all peace.

 

Where is his peace to be found? In weakness. Few people are telling us this truth, but there is peace to be found in our own weakness, in those places of our hearts where we feel most broken, most insecure, most in agony, most afraid. In our weakness, we are forced to let go from doing much, thinking much, and relying on our self-sufficiency. Right where we are most vulnerable, the peace that is not of this world is mysteriously hidden.

 

Jesus, teach us to rely on you, on our heavenly Father, and on the Holy Spirit rather than on our own self-sufficiency.

This morning’s devotional is offered by Betty Fudge. 

Psalm 46:10 Be still and know that I am God

Secular Christmas roars on the scene each year in October like a herd of charging rhinos, ushering in the “season of busyness.” The mood is festive, the malls are decorated and crowded, calendars bulge with holiday events and our pace quickens as we strive to enjoy this season of music, food, family, church and more. Oh, the fun! The merriment! The joy!

In the words of the Grinch, “Oh the noise, Noise, NOISE!”

1 Kings 19:11-12 provides an image. The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.

Unlike the Grinch, I adore the sounds, lights, celebration and even busyness of this season, but I need to be mindful of the need to embrace another rhythm. A slower rhythm.

Advent invites us to draw near to God, and into the stillness of His presence. Each day we can find time to slow down. Quiet our minds. Turn down the lights. Listen for His still, small voice. By making it a daily priority we can experience Christ’s presence and peace. Let us listen, with anticipation, as He speaks into our hearts and lives this season, and into the New Year.

Today’s devotional is offered by Richard Pulsifer

“Mary Did You Know?” is wonderful song sung by popular singers but also our men’s chorale a few years back. It is one of my favorites. Its clever lyrics ask Mary the questions about Jesus ministry. For example, “Did You Know that your baby boy would give sight to a blind man? It goes on to question her about many of the accomplishments in Jesus ministry. We know Mary through the gospels and to this day Mary plays a major role in the Roman Catholic Confessional. There are other sources about Mary granted with less reliability and acceptance than the gospel, but nevertheless at one time there was acceptance by the early Eastern Church. So today I would like to review the gospel story of this advent season and Mary, followed by other less reliable materials particularly drawing attention to works of art in the medieval time frame. To me, a visual kind of person, I love to see paintings of Christian history. For example, in a recent art exhibit in Durham there was a breathtaking painting from El Greco school of the crucifixion with lifelike people lifting Christ from the Cross. (If I had better computer skills I would share these paintings on line with you but I do not. I will reproduce them and store them in our church library for your review.)

Mary of the Gospel — Lets first look at Mary as she appears in the gospel using the Synoptics of the Four Gospels and the New Scofield Study Bible — New American Standard. The entire portions of some verses are not referred to but have selected and, in a few cases, somewhat modified a few verses.

The Annunciation, Luke 1:26-38
The angel Gabriel speaks to Mary  “Hail, O favored one, the Lord is with you. Do not be afraid for you have found favor with God. And behold you will conceive in your womb and bear a son and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end. —The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.” —- Photo 1 Botticelli The Annunciation 1493 Typical of paintings of the time there is little depth in the painting and holy figures always have a symbolic halo.

Mary’s visit to Elizabeth Luke 1:39-56
In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country to a city of Judah(Judea) and she entered the house of Zacharia and greeted Elizabeth (her relative). (Remember from previous scripture Zacharia was unable to speak until after the birth and naming of John the Baptist) And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in here womb, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! Mary then spoke the Magnificat — verses 47-55. And Mary remained with her three months (presumably until the birth of John the Baptist). The Sanctuary Choir will be singing a song based on the Magnificat soon.

The Birth of Jesus Matthew 1:18-25 and Luke 2:1-7
Matthew: An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream — “Joseph son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus  for he will save his people from their sins.”
Luke: And all went to be enrolled, each to his own city. And Mary this time with Joseph also went up from Nazareth in Galilee to the city of David called Bethlehem in Judea. And while there she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger because there was no place for them in the inn.
Comment — Mary is thought to be in her early teenage years and to have found favor she would have lived a life close to God. The trip to a city in the hill country of Judah (Judea) was possibly near Jerusalem. Zachariah had priestly duties in the Jerusalem temple. The first trip was when Mary was pregnant only one month and return when she was four months was a taxing one but not nearly as hard as the journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem — a journey of nearly 100 miles and probably in the range of 10 to 14 days. She was also eight months into her pregnancy. The distance is similar to Oxford to Richmond. Mary and probably the women of that time were very hardy!

I am a protestant, but nevertheless have an interest in church history, some of which is not so well accepted. There are many paintings of Mary that I would like to show you and comment on as we proceed. These paintings appear in the Oxford Illustrated History of Christianity (IOIHC), Edited by John McManners.  The Child Jesus (TCJ) by Adey Horton. In IOIHC Photo 2 page 139 The Virgin of the Don, Theophilus the Greek 1392 – The Eastern Church attaches crucial significance to Mary’s role as Theotokos (Godbearer). Without her human consent the incarnation could not have taken place. Photo 3 IOIHC, page 10 Adoration of the Shepherds by Ingres in the 19th century, the Virgin Mary focuses on the Eucharist while shepherds on either side hold two lit candles for light. Apocryphal sources reference the mother and father of Mary as Anne and Jehoachim a godly herdsman. The two were barren until the angel of the Lord appeared to Jehoachim telling him of the coming birth of Mary (TCJ) Photo 4 p. 18 Stained Glass Window, Annunciation to Jehoachim, France 16th Century, Photo 5 Jehoachim awakened from his dream by the angel, TCJ) p. 41 Fresco in the Capellio Scrovgni, Paqdua, by Giotto around 1305

Conclusion   I have tried to limit this advent message to the scriptures the Annunciation, Mary’s visit to Elizabeth the Birth of Jesus. I also to complemented the scriptures with art from various periods. I have limited the photographs and explanations about Mary’s parents to just a few. There were many other photos and much other apocryphal textual information.  I believe in the “gospel truth” — we can depend on the gospels because in many cases they complement each other. As far as apocryphal literature I think it is interesting, but I would not have to wager on their accuracy. Baptist aren’t supposed to wager anyway. The entire birth narrative probably took place in around 7 BC according to some scholars. This would fit with the timing of Herod the Great’s Death in March, 4 BC and the massacre of the innocents up to two years old (5 BC?).  Referenced paintings will be available in our church library on Sunday, Dec 15th.

 

This morning’s devotional is offered by Margaret Shanley. 

Several years ago I asked God what the point could be of all the celebrating, baking, cooking, and eating at Christmas time. I was feeling a bit overwhelmed and pressured. God lead me right to this passage which is found in Mark 2:18-20: Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. And people came and said to him, “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day.

I said something like this: “Wow, God. You are right. The church gets to celebrate the birth of our Bridegroom, Jesus—the savior of the world!” Christmas is the time to do that! Since then I have really embraced Christmas, especially as a time to gather with friends and family, have different decorations around the house, eat food I only make or buy once a year, and revel in the moment. Remember, Christmas actually lasts for 12 days. As a side note, did you know that Ethiopians celebrate for 3 days whenever they have a wedding? So we have plenty of time to make memories and to wish each other Merry Christmas.

This revelation about Christmas came back to me in full force this year as my family mourns the passing of my dad. He always enjoyed Christmas with the special music at church and gathering with family and friends. My mother really wants to decorate for Christmas this year but wonders if it would be appropriate as she wants to be sure to remember dad. I said that Christmas means Jesus is coming into the world to conquer death and we would see all our loved ones again because of Jesus’ gift of eternal life!

I pray that we all can celebrate Jesus’ birth as we are led whatever the circumstances and what this past year has brought. I am going to rest in Jesus.

This morning’s devotional is offered by Rob Blackwell. 

This past week, you heard a sermon from Chris on how God prepares us; and up next (spoiler alert), Chris will be preaching on how God overwhelms us.  I thought about how those two could be combined and saw a lot of overlap into my own life: God prepares us to be overwhelmed. I am living that life right now of both preparation and feeling totally overwhelmed.

I was fortunate enough to get engaged 6 weeks ago with the goal of getting married next April. And as you are reading this, I will hopefully be closing on a house next week. Never did I think I would be juggling termite inspections at noon followed up by picking out a florist at 4.  Simply put, I have experienced a lot of preparation and a lot of overwhelming in what is already a busy season. However, in the midst of it all, I know God is with me. And I take great comfort in that; finding a peace that is crucial during those exhausted moments.

Reflecting on the Christmas story, I have thought a lot about how Mary and Joseph were in a similar situation; both prepared and overwhelmed as they waited on Jesus to enter into the world.  They had done everything they needed to, but when the time came, there wasn’t a place for them to stay. Preparation gave way to a feeling of being totally overwhelmed. And yet, God was with them and saw them through and we know how the story goes from there! My hope is that in the midst of this time of year, when it seems like the list of things to do will never end, and everyone has so much going on, that you remember you are not alone, and God is with you throughout!

This morning’s devotional is offered by Alicia Young. 

I absolutely love this time of year. I love Advent. I love drawing near to Him through the study of His Word with other believers; with other lovers of Advent. I love all of the Church gatherings that are both beautiful and full of wonder. I love to watch my children get excited with every passing day; with every Advent craft and devotional. I love every evening that we are able to spend reading together as a family. I love that through the study of Advent we get to see God’s majesty and splendor. He is beautiful. And at Advent, we are most intentional with our time. It’s really one of the sweetest times of the year, albeit, it’s also one of the busiest times of the year.
This year leading up to Advent, God has brought me to the book of Psalms. I love Psalms. I love to see just how much God loves David. God loves David with all of his flaws; and David, in all of his sin, loves God with everything in him. This love that God has for David gives me confidence that God loves me fervently, just as He says He does. The love that David has for God shows me that all God really wants from me is my heart. And for my heart to long for Him. This advent season God has given me this scripture to reflect on:

“Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud; be gracious to me and answer me! You have said, ‘Seek my face.’ My heart says to you, ‘Your face, Lord, do I seek.’” Psalms 27:7-8

There is no long to-do list from God on how I can please Him. He does not have these lofty expectations for me as His daughter. He is a tender, compassionate, faithful Father to His children. And He just wants me to seek Him; to seek His Face.

At this time of Advent, when I am filling my time with so many lovely engagements and activities, I am convinced that the best and sweetest way to do this is to find precious time with Him; however that may look. Some days I pray that it is time alone in a quiet house spent in the pouring out of my heart to my God. While at other times I hope it is finding Him in the midst of spending time with His people. However it looks, I pray I can be ever so intentional that this time of Advent is a time where I hear God’s voice because I have sought His face. I pray this for His Church. He is a good God. To Him be the glory forever, Amen.