In the Temple Talk yesterday, George Ohlendorf stated we would be hearing and involved in this focus in 2012.  During the sermon we saw and heard someone with a story to tell and gifts to share. Jeff Bergeron began by introducing himself as a son of Christ Lutheran before he gave the sermon. He expressed gratitude for the nurturing he has received since his baptism when he became a child of God and while growing up in this faith community.  We have been a part of his seminary experience at Wartburg Seminary in Iowa through his letters in the Christ Lutheran newsletter and his visits home when he has shared stories of his life, his commitment to serve, and always his thankfulness for the support he receives from his home congregation.  With joy and excitement in his voice, Jeff announced he has been accepted to serve as an ordained pastor in the ELCA.  There was spontaneous applause (even at the 8 am worship service).  Jeff has connected his story with ours. We all are children of God– we each have different stories and gifts to share. Hearing faith stories and receiving gifts from one another builds up the community of faith in Jesus Christ and brings inspiration in our faith walk and how we might serve God in our community and the world.

Lord, through stories in the Bible and people of today we see more clearly your forgiveness, mercy, and love.  Help us to find ways to relate these stories in meaningful ways in our daily life.  In Jesus’ Name.  Amen.

Composed by:  Betty Wilkens

See the CLC Youth Ministry job description for additional details.

Pastor commented that there is a special relationship between a child and a beloved father, and that Paul used the Aramaic “Abba” to denote our yearning for a personal connection to God.

Our own name is “Child of God,” and we are boldly called to live the name we have been given.

Oh, Lord our God, we are amazed at the mystery of this wonder: that you our God have become Man and that in so doing, you have remained God. We have heard your Word. Help us to live it and to tell it, until every person in every place bows the knee to you.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen

The little children performed a musical drama at the early Christmas Eve service, “Let’s dress up for Jesus.”

This encourages us to reflect on how Jesus “dressed up” for us.  Jesus, the Son of God, put on our flesh.  He stepped down from heaven and became a human being.  He lived our lives, he understands our needs.

We sang together:  “Good Christian friends, rejoice,  With heart and soul and voice.  Give ye heed to what we say: Jesus Christ is born today!”

The fulfillment of the expectation of this season has come: God has been made flesh.  And with the shepherds, we glorify and praise God for all we have seen and heard.

In our joy, we praise you Oh, Lord, for what you have done for us.  We remember the sick, the weary, and the lonely.  As we celebrate with family and friends, help us to show our care to others by our cards, our gifts, our visits.  Now we name those names in our hearts.  In Jesus’ Holy Name.  Amen

Mary challenged the angel, “How can this be?”  Pastor Cheryl asks how we ourselves would react to such a message.  Would we check the angel’s credentials?  Would we call God a liar?  Or would we have enough faith to believe the angel and to yield to God’s will?

We should ask ourselves if we are ready to yield to God every day.  As God’s children, we are blessed, we are favored.  Nothing is impossible with God.  We should be ready to pray with Mary, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”

Oh, Lord, pour forth your grace into our hearts, that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, your Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His passion and cross be brought to the glory of His resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen

John the Baptist brought from God a message of repentance:  “Repent and be baptized.” And, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord.’”

In Pastor’s sermon, we learned that we are going the wrong direction; we are missing the signs that tell us of the other way.  But God loves humanity, and He wants all people to know love, so we must make a full turn and go the other direction.

The way that God allows His love to be known is through us and through what we do and how we behave.  In Ephesians we read, “We love because He first loved us.”

We sang together the familiar words of the old Advent hymn:

“Hark the glad sound! The Savior comes,

The Savior promised long;

Let every heart prepare a throne

And every voice a song.”

Lord Jesus, Son of God, you became a human being. You came from heaven and put on our flesh. We are eternally grateful, and we ask you to help us be more like you in our thinking, in our speaking, and through our deeds.  Help us to love others as you first loved us.  Amen

Lord God, you call us to live our faith not as a set of rules, but as a relationship with you and one another.  Keep our hearts turned to you and may we express what we believe in living service to others.  In Jesus’ Name. Amen

Composed by:  Betty Wilkens

Jesus said, “Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence. This is the most important, the first on any list.  But there is a second to set alongside it.  Love others as you love yourself.  These two commands are pegs; everything in God’s Law and the Prophets hangs on them”  Matthew 22: 37 – 40  (The Message translation)

In the above verses, Jesus was using the question and answer approach with the Pharisees who were bound up in so many rules (commands) they could not see beyond them.  Yesterday Pastor Paul used a question and answer approach with the congregation during the children’s sermon asking how do we show love (toward ones mother) and the answers came popping up with tell her, hug her, give her presents, – but the bell ringer at the 8 am worship service was, to live and act the way she would want you to even when she is not present.  Jesus gives us direction in the way we are to live and the Gospels give us many examples of this.  In our day when there are so many mixed messages of how to be God’s people, peg your daily living on the two that Jesus said were the Most Important.

Lord, your most important command is simple to hear and hard to live.  Help me love people who are difficult and different from me whether they live next door or half way across the world.  In Jesus’ Name.  Amen.

Instead of treating us fairly, God deals with us from the perspective of grace, forgiveness, compassion, and love.  We thank God for not treating us fairly, but for dealing with us from a never-ending supply of generosity.