Worship Service – November 28, 2021

The 1st. Sunday of Advent. We light the candle of Hope.
Advent Theme; “Faith over Fear”
Scriptures; Psalm 25:1-10, Luke 21:25-28, 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13.
Sermon Scripture; Jeremiah 33:14-16.
Message; “The Days are Coming, declares the Lord”

Psalm 25

(1) To you, O Lord , I lift up my soul;
(2) in you I trust, O my God. Do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me.
(3) No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame, but they will be put to shame who are treacherous without excuse.
(4) Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths;
(5) guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.
(6) Remember, O Lord , your great mercy and love, for they are from of old.
(7) Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you are good, O Lord .
(8) Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.
(9) He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.
(10) All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful for those who keep the demands of his covenant.

Luke 21:25-28
(25) “There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. (26) Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. (27) At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. (28) When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
1 Thessalonians 3:9-13
(9) How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you? (10) Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith.
(11) Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus clear the way for us to come to you. (12) May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. (13) May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.

Jeremiah 33:14-16
(14) ‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord , ‘when I will fulfill the gracious promise I made to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah.
(15) ‘In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line; he will do what is just and right in the land.
(16) In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. This is the name by which it will be called: The Lord Our Righteousness.

This is the word of God, for the people of God. Thanks be to God.


Life is short and full of surprises and I hope you had a opportunity to spend some time with your family for this Thanksgiving. With all the preparation involved, meal preparation, travel, work scheduling and the list goes on and sometimes it almost seems overwhelming. But you know the days are coming when you will no longer have those opportunities.

This past week Bonne and I had the great opportunity to have our granddaughter, Harlie spent a few days with us. And it just so happened that the old movie “The Wizard of Oz” was on TV. I have always loved that movie, so I turned it on thinking that my granddaughter would enjoy it also. But when Bonne, happened through and saw what I was about to watch, see looked at me with that loving yet “are you stupid” smile, and said, ”Are you sure that’s a good thing to be watching right now, you know the theme is all about being home sick. What are you thinking. She’s only six and for the first time away from home without her parents for three days”.
Seeing her wisdom in that situation, I changed the channel, but inwardly I thought to myself, ”Wouldn’t this be a good time for her to learn to overcome that fear. Our love for her is stronger than any fear she might have of being away from home”. Not wanting another one of those loving looks, I kept it to myself.
That event happened after I had previously started my research on our theme for this Advent season, “Faith over Fear”. And one of the illustrations I found to use in my message for this, “First Sunday of Advent”, was about an event that happened during a live performance of, “The Wizard of Oz”.
Every actor deals with the fear that something will go horribly wrong when they step out onto the stage. Forgetting a line. Tripping over your own feet. A wardrobe malfunction. Fortunately, actors are taught to think on their feet and improvise if something were to go wrong in a scene.
Actress Jennifer Laura Thompson recalls how her cast mates in a stage play of “The Wizard of Oz” tried to improvise when the set machinery didn’t work. Thompson was playing the role of Glinda, the Good Witch, who is supposed to descend to the stage in a large bubble. As Thompson began her descent, the bubble stopped working. She was stuck 40 feet in the air as her cast mates down below ad-libbed, “She’s coming . . . it’s Glinda . . . she’s coming . . . Glinda’s coming .
Can you imagine being in those poor actors’ shoes having to act excited as they waited . . . and waited . . . and waited for Glinda to arrive? If you can imagine such a scenario, then maybe you can have a little sympathy for the prophet Jeremiah as he tried to point the nation of Israel to the coming of their Messiah. Israel was hurting. Israel needed a Savior. That Savior was coming. But they couldn’t wait. They needed hope now. In the last days of his ministry, Jeremiah gave them that hope.
This first Sunday of the Advent season, as we light the,”Candle of Hope”, I thought it appropriate to read the four scriptures we read today. Because like in Jeremiah all of them could have the message title, “The Days are Coming, declares the Lord”, inserted into them.
(Psalm 25:3) “No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame, but…(“The Days are Coming, declares the Lord”)…they will be put to shame who are treacherous without excuse.”
(Luke 21:25-28) “The Days are Coming, declares the Lord”…. “There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea……”.
(1 Thessalonians 3:13) “May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father ..(“The Days are Coming, declares the Lord”)…when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.
Let’s read Jeremiah 33:14-16 again.“The Days are Coming, declares the Lord”, when I will fulfill the gracious promise I made to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line; he will do what is just and right in the land. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. This is the name by which it will be called: The Lord Our Righteousness.”
It’s sad that Jeremiah is remembered as “the weeping prophet.” He always seemed to be on the unpopular side. Why couldn’t he keep his mouth shut, we wonder. His inability to hold his tongue cost him dearly. He was banished for a time from the priesthood. He was physically beaten and publicly humiliated on more than one occasion for expressing his unpopular convictions.  Why couldn’t he keep quiet?
After all, he could have enjoyed a peaceful life, a relatively comfortable life. He had the heart of a poet. He observed with joy the blossoming of the almond in early spring. He wrote of the migratory impulse of the turtledove, the swallow and the crane. He understood that animals have to obey their impulses. But he also knew that humans don’t. Why couldn’t he check those red-hot impulses that so often got him in trouble? Why couldn’t he just sit back and enjoy the beauty of nature? He could cultivate a garden—enjoy the blessings of marriage and family. Why didn’t he? The answer is simple. There was a voice within that would not let him alone.
Why couldn’t his countrymen see the folly of their ways?  He tried to warn them about the consequences of their greed, their disobedience, their disregard of right living. But they wouldn’t listen. And because they wouldn’t listen, God had forsaken them.  His country was now surrounded by armed forces and forcing them to surrender.
This lonely, sensitive prophet could have scolded them saying, “I told you so! I told you so, but you wouldn’t listen.” It would be easy for Jeremiah to do that and he would be justified, but that wasn’t the message the Lord had put into his heart.
When we first meet Jeremiah, he is a preacher of righteousness. By the time we encounter him in this chapter of his book, he speaks words of comfort. Some would say that he had mellowed. Perhaps so, but the situation had also changed. Before, his people needed to be confronted, now they need to be comforted. Before, they needed words of judgment, now they needed words of grace. Before, they deserved condemnation, now they needed hope. So instead of offering a word of punishment, Jeremiah offers a word of promise:
“The days are coming,’ declares the Lord , ‘when I will fulfill the gracious promise I made to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah. ‘In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line; he will do what is just and right in the land. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. This is the name by which it will be called: The Lord Our Righteousness.”
Sixteen times in his book he uses the phrase, “the days are coming.” Jeremiah is announcing the coming of Jesus. Oh, he didn’t realize when he made this prophecy just how God would fulfill the messianic promise, but it was an announcement of Christ’s coming just the same. And like all of God’s promises, it would be fulfilled. It took 600 years, but what’s 600 years to God? A thousand years is but a day for God. The important words are these: The Days are Coming. The days are coming. There is an inevitability about those words: the days are coming. Does it mean that they are right around the corner? No, but the days are coming. Does it mean that there won’t be heartaches yet ahead? It doesn’t mean that either. But etch it in stone where it will never be forgotten: The Days are Coming, and that is what this first Sunday in Advent is all about: The Days are Coming.
The Days are Coming,declares the Lord”, where there will be justice. That is the first promise Jeremiah makes about the coming of the Messiah. There will be justice. This world needs more justice, doesn’t it?
We have an natural need for justice, don’t we? We want to see bad guys punished and good guys rewarded. There is something built into the very fabric of our being that yearns for justice. Until the Jesus returns, what is our role in creating justice? Because it is all too easy for us to turn a blind eye to injustice, even to benefit from it.
We all squirm when we hear those words. Prophetic words are meant to challenge us. They are meant to wake us up. Life is not fair. Nevertheless, the days are coming, says Jeremiah, when the playing fields of this world will be leveled. The days are coming when that which is unfair will be set right. For when the Bible speaks of justice, it is not merely talking about individual justice. God’s call is for a just society. God’s call is for basic fairness for all people. God’s call is for a new kind of society—a society where all persons will live in dignity and freedom. That is what justice is all about.
At the end of, ”The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard”, Jesus said the days are coming when the last shall be first and the first shall be last. (Matt. 20:16) During Advent we need to take those words seriously and ask ourselves whether we are contributing to a just society or whether we are one of those who are contributing to the status quo. The days are coming when there will be justice.
“The Days are Coming, declares the Lord”, when there will be righteousness. Justice refers to the state of our society. Righteousness refers to the state of our individual souls.
Think of righteousness, things being made right as Jeremiah put it, in this way.
Suppose your cars fuel injection system was having a problem. So you take it to a mechanic and he listens to it then carefully takes it apart and thoroughly cleanse each individual part then reassemble‘s the whole system. Starts the engine and everything works perfectly. Just as the engineers who created it intended it to work.
That’s what God wants to happen in each and everyone of our lives. His will is that each of us look carefully into our lives, take it to Christ and he will clean up every part and put it back to its original design. So that we will be righteous in his eyes. Because, “The Days are Coming, declares the Lord”, when we will no longer have that opportunity.
It is revealing that these two terms are so rarely linked—justice and righteousness. It is that old division in western Christianity between those who advocate a social gospel—the gospel of civil rights, concern for the poor, and social justice—and those who advocate a personal gospel of piety, prayer and high moral conduct. The days are coming when such a false division or contrast will be forever dispelled. Both justice and righteousness are attributes of God and are essential to live in his eternal Kingdom. They are an essential expression of God’s character. We don’t have the luxury of taking our choice. We must have both.
“The Days are Coming, says the Lord”, when justice and righteousness will prevail. Justice and Righteousness.
It is not enough on this First Sunday of Advent to think of the trappings of this season, like lights and candles and trees and cookies. We need to think about the very heart of the Advent message. The coming of the Messiah, and with his coming, justice and righteousness. The redemption of society as well as the redemption of individual souls.
“The Days are Coming, declares the Lord”. You can count on it.” That was Jeremiah’s message more than 2000 years ago. And it is the church’s message still today. Jeremiah the prophet was a lonely man. He had a fire burning in his bones. Jeremiah had a passion for righteousness and justice. He announced the coming of One who would bring righteousness and justice into the world. That One is Christ. We are Christ’s disciples. On this first Sunday in Advent we need to ask, does righteousness and justice burn within us as well?
“The Days are Coming, declares the Lord”, No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame.
“The Days are Coming, declares the Lord”, when God will, strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father.
“The Days are Coming, declares the Lord”, There will be signs in the sun, moon and star of His return.
“The Days are Coming, declares the Lord”, I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line; he will do what is just and right in the land.
At the start of this Advent season, are these words, words of condemnation or words of hope? Like Jeremiah I have a voice within me that keeps telling me not to be quiet.
“The Days are Coming, declares the Lord”, when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.
In His Service,
Pastor Joe
Listen To Audio: Sermon 20211128
Listen To Audio: Service 11282021

Prayer of Confession:   It is never easy for us to confess our sins.  Forgive us when we have lost our way.  Teach us your truth, so we might be able to keep your Word revealed to us in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Amen.

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Pastor Joe will be available at the church on Thursday afternoon from 2 to 4.  If you need to speak to him, contact Pastor Joe at570-267-4570 (cell) or Email: joe.s.travis@gmail.com

Loose change goes to General Fund

Sunday School starts at 8:30am

Martha Denkenberger and Jean Starzec will be presenting an Advent organ/piano meditation today at 3:00 in the Montrose Presbyterian Church.

Choir practice will be on Thursday at 1:00! 

Our mission for the Children’s Home in Binghamton (Bill’s Kids) ends next week.  Monetary gifts only.  The staff will buy presents.

Christmas Greeting – If anyone would like to put a Christmas Greeting in the December Messenger, please give a handwritten note to Carolyn White or E-Mail her at whisperpines@frontiernet.net by Tuesday November 30th.

Newsletter Deadline – Tuesday November 30th, 2021.

LADIES’ CHRISTMAS TEA at the Montrose Bible Conference, December 7th 2021.  Christmas music, devotional thoughts with our speaker, a light lunch, assortment of seasonal goodies and teas.  11am to 1 pm

PW will meet on December 9th at 11:00 A.M.

The PW is selling Franklin Hill Presbyterian Cookbooks called “Recipes From The Hill” at $10.00 each.  All proceeds go to missions.  See Debbie Stalker.

Please sign up to host one of the social hours on the Sunday after Communion Service on the first Sunday of the month. 

 

 

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