FIRST WEEK OF ADVENT - HOPE

FIRST WEEK THEME: HOPE

Light the first candle on your wreath and read together the following meditation:

FIRST READER: This is the first Sunday in Advent. Today we light one purple candle. This is the candle of hope. Advent is a time of waiting and hoping. We wait for the day when we celebrate again the birth of Jesus. We hope that everyone will come to know God and to worship God.

(Light the first candle)


SECOND READER: When we look at the first candle we remember God's promise. God promised to send a Savior to the people. When we listen to our Scripture reading, we learn what the prophet Isaiah wrote about God. God fulfills the promises made to care for people. God is loving and just. God brings peace. This gives us hope. We look forward to the time when everything is fair, when the world is at peace, and all people are treated justly.

FIRST READER:  Read Isaiah 2:1-5

 

DISCUSSION: This Scripture offers us the hope of God's kingdom where there is peace and has the wonderful sentence, "…let us walk in the light of the Lord!"
Who are the people in our world who need hope?
What are the hopes we have for our world today?
How do we help others know that God gives hope?

PRAYER: Dear God: Thank you for your son, Jesus. Thank you for the words of the Prophet Isaiah that remind us that you are the source of our hope. Help us to remember to walk in the light of the Lord. AMEN


DURING THE WEEK


Monday, November 29, 2010: Today read again Isaiah 2:1-5. Pick one verse and memorize it.  How do you think this verse gives hope to people?

Tuesday, November 30, 2010: Is there someone you know who needs to hear words of hope? Make or select a card for that person and mail it today.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010: Hope is something we need in our world. Think about different leaders in the world. Select one world leader. Pray for that world leader today.

Thursday, December 2, 2010: As we get ready to celebrate again the birth of Jesus, we sometimes get very busy. Today, take a ten-minute break. Sit quietly. If it helps you to concentrate, look at your Advent wreath. Pray, asking God's help to bring quiet and calm to a busy world.

Friday, December 3, 2010: Think about your family. Some may live with you. Others may be far away. Who in your family needs God's hope? Pray for this family member today.

Saturday, December 4, 2010: There are people in our neighborhoods, in our church, and in our community who need to know of God's hope. Select someone to visit today. Visit by phone or in person. Go as a family or by yourself. It doesn't necessarily have to be a visit to a home. Maybe there is someone you always see at the library. Stop by today and talk with that person. Tell the person you visit one way he or she helps you feel hopeful.

Homeless Video

Homeless Simulation from Mercy Church on Vimeo.

Homeless Are People Too

It’s a cold November morning here in Kansas City. I have no home, no job, no food, no transportation, no friends, no family, no clothes but what I am wearing and the one extra shirt I am carrying in a plastic bag, and three dirty one dollar bills some man in a suit gave me out front of Starbucks just a little bit ago. I really appreciated that $3 because now I can grab a bagel and a cup of coffee for breakfast. I am hungry.

My main concerns today are where I am going to eat, where am I going to sleep and how I am going to stay warm. It’s hard to think beyond today, because if tomorrow is like today then it’s too much to bear, so I don’t think about it. I have no plan but to survive today. I am sad.

People don’t look at me, oh yes they see me, but they don’t acknowledge me for fear I may hurt them, or ask them for money. I am not a part of society, I am outside of it. Regular people on the streets don’t seem to care; I am a bum, a no-good bum who should just go get a job and work for a living. I am broken.

How can I get a job? I have no clothes, I smell bad, I don’t interact well with others since people won’t dare talk to me I’ve lost practice. What’s normal, me or them? I really don’t know, I have forgotten. I’ve been homeless for four years now, that’s almost 1500 days I’ve been on the streets, it’s almost all I can remember. I am prisoner to the streets. I am scared.

I guess the worst part of being homeless is that I feel so alone. Oh I talk to a few of my fellow homeless comrades when at the soup kitchen, but that is pretty superficial conversation, “Hi, how are you?” crap. I do talk a little to the people that run the soup kitchen, and they are nice, and I really appreciate what they do for me. I understand they are trying to help and they even care about me, but their not my friend, not really. Their like the cashier at a grocery store. I am alone in a crowded city, and it’s the worse feeling ever!

My one wish, even more than the money I panhandle for, is that you would just acknowledge me. Look me in the eye, say “hello” or “how are you?” Treat me like a human being, like a person, a person with a heart, a soul. I have feelings too ya know? I have grown a little callous over the years, but you can soften me up, you can make me feel like a normal person again. Just love me, respect me because I am a person too. I am homeless, but I am a person too.

Jesus and Halloween

I may get some hate mail on this one from the the Hyper-Religious types, but here I go!

I have celebrated Halloween all my life, and I was raised in a Christian home where I never heard my parents cuss, never saw them drink, smoke, chew or go with people who do (lol!) I was at church on Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night, and any other time the doors were open. We loved Jesus, actually still love Jesus and we went trick or treating, and I loved it!

I honestly do not see why Christians (some, not all) get all up in a tizzy about it (yea, yea, pagan holiday ... whatever,) I've never sacrificed a cat, I haven't even been tempted to do that! I have never felt compelled to worship Satan, or do anything of the sort ... I just like the free candy and I like dressing up, since I can only do it once a year and not be looked at as a weirdo! I have seen, firsthand the kids whose parents don't let them celebrate Halloween ... they hate it! Of course the parents don't see it, but the kids miss out on a lot of fun, candy and social activity ... but I guess they won't be guilty of celebrating a pagan-satanic holiday either! Toss up I suppose!

I have to say I laugh when I get the sucker that's taped to a Religious Track, I shouldn't, but I do! Don't judge me for that, I am just being honest, and honesty is missing too much from Christian culture! 

Now, everyone has a right to do what they feel is right, no shame or judgment from me! I mean that, but this is my blog and I share my opinion ... if you don't like it, start your own blog!

The Friend We All Want

What is a friend? Friends are people with whom you dare to be yourself. Your soul can be naked with them. They ask you to put on nothing, only to be what you are. They do not want you to be better or worse. When you are with them, you feel as a prisoner feels who has been declared innocent. You do not have to be on your guard. You can say what you think, as long as it is genuinely you. Friends understand those contradictions in your nature that lead others to misjudge you. With them you breathe freely. You can avow your little vanities and envies and hates and vicious sparks, your meannesses and absurdities, and in opening them up to friends, they are lost, dissolved on the white ocean of their loyalty. They understand. You do not have to be careful. You can abuse them, neglect them, tolerate them. Best of all, you can keep still with them. It makes no matter. They like you. They are like fire that purges to the bone. They understand. You can weep with them, sing with them, laugh with them, pray with them. Through it all--and underneath--they see, know, and love you. A friend? What is a friend? Just one, I repeat, with whom you dare to be yourself.

C. Raymond Beran, in Bits & Pieces, September 19, 1991, p. 3-4.

Your Best Life Later, Maybe

I was talking to a friend of mine who had just finished reading all the Self-Help books written by all the best Motivational Speakers and not too long after all that has was thrust into the worst year of his life (up to this point!) We were trying to find the humor in the midst of the sadness and we thought the title of this blog entry was not only funny, but painfully true at times!

Life can definitely throw us a curve ball! It's rather ironic that right now at Mercy Church we are in a study on the book of Job, speaking of problems, issues and suffering! Wow, Job went through it!

Please don't get me wrong, I am still an eternal optimist! And believe we should hope and pray for the best! Definitely! But the older I get, now just a mere 41, I am coming to understand that we don't always have the "Best Life Now" ... sometimes it's "Later, Maybe." I guess the real question is what is a "Best Life" anyway? Is it stuff? Healthy? Happiness? Money? Friends? Success? Family? Love?

I would imagine it's different for each person, but when I think of the message of Job is that happiness is not found in "things" but found in Trusting God in and through it all; the good the bad, the ugly and even in the indifferent.

Letters to Juliet

So last night I watched Letters to Juliet, and yes I did cry a couple times, and also laughed at the cheesy scene towards the end. I do recommend it! It had a powerful message of "LOVE being timeless." I do not want to spoil the movie for you, so just rent it and watch it with someone you love, or want to love.

Cyber-Bullying

I guess you don't realize how big a problem is until it happens to you, or your kid. My daughter has recently become the victim of Cyber-Bullying and it angers me that kids could be so hateful, mean, dirty, nasty and evil (or maybe just ignorant) to send texts like; "I hope you die," "I will punch you in the face," "I will put you in the hospital" and dropping the "F" bomb like it's the word "the."

I did a little research on this and I found out that it's taken very serious by the authorities when this kind of stuff happens ... like we could press charges. We aren't going to do that at this point, but I just wanted to post this so that parents will teach their children to A) Report this stuff to parents when it does happen, B) Never bully someone even by text, C) Report this to school authorites when it does happen, D) This kind of stuff really hurts people.

So all that said, parents please sit down with your kids and help them understand the importance of proper use of computers and cell phones. 

Hate

Hate is a very powerful and dangerous emotion! We all have felt it's power burn in us. Hate is an emotion that we need to keep a tight grip on, because I have seen people, unknowingly, allow it to control them, directing their every decision. And it is so destructive!

Hate not only destroys others who are getting the brunt of our hate, but it destroys the person who is wielding it! It's like a cancer.

1 John 4:7 "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and he who loves  is begotten of God and is coming to know and understand God."

Challenge:


Search your heart today, and if there is HATE in there, get it out ... and walk in love!

Following God part 2 of 2

I personally feel that we complicate the whole "God's Will" and "Following God" thing. I am not saying it's just easy, but I think we over-think it too many times. At least I do on occasion.

Here are some simple straight-forward guidelines I follow that have proven to be very helpful:

1) If it's wrong, don't do it!

2) If it's right, you don't have to pray about it, just do it! (this isn't to mean that everything that is right or good is something that you are to be doing ... but you should be able to figure that out)

3) Seek wise counsel (the key word there is "wise")

4) If it's God today, it will be God tomorrow. (patience is a virtue)

5) Follow peace.

6) Life is a journey not a destination. (life has it's ups and downs ... roll with it)

7) Always ask God for guidance.

8) If it's questionable, don't do it.

9) If you are unsure, wait! (#4)

10) Ask yourself, "is this the wise thing to do?" and if it is, then do it.

In my over 41 years on this planet, 36 years that I have memories of (don't remember much before I was 5 years old) many, if not all the decisions I have had to make over my life thus far, have been pretty clear cut. I have made them difficult, or convoluted because the bad decisions I have made have made even easy decisions difficult because I had to dig myself out to see clearly.

Example: You steal something (bad decision) now the police are after you, so you run (another bad decision) you do whatever you need to do to get away (many bad decisions) then you lie to cover up (yet another bad decision) ... on and on it goes that your life is spiraling out of control.

I say, stop the cycle! Just stop, come clean, tell the truth, start making right choices right now, right where you are, and eventually those choices will begin to change your life.