The Foundation of Hope: Is It God’s Promise to Us, or Our Promise to Him?

[00:05:49] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]:
Let us pray.

[00:06:07] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Let us pray.
[00:06:14] Let us pray.
[00:06:43] Let us pray.
[00:06:45] Let us pray.
[00:07:18] Let us pray.
[00:07:39] Let us pray.

[00:07:48] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]:
Let us pray.

[00:08:52] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Ah, there it is.

[00:09:16] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_12]:
My house.
[00:09:17] The good old Cleveland Street.
[00:09:19] How could I ever forget it?
[00:09:21] There I am.

[00:09:23] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
The Dumbledore.

[00:09:53] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_12]:
Downtown Holman was prepared for its yearly buccanealia of peace on earth and goodwill to men.
[00:10:56] Higbee's corner window was traditionally high watermark of pre-Christmas season.
[00:11:03] First-nighters packed earmuff to earmuff, jostling wonderment before a golden, tinkling display of mechanized, electronic joy.

[00:11:54] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_13]:
Ah, there it is.
[00:12:02] The holy grail of Christmas gifts, the Red Rider 200-shot range model air rifle.

[00:12:10] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_12]:
And there he is.
[00:12:12] Red Rider himself.
[00:12:15] In his hand was the knurled, stockless, coolly deadly looking a piece of weaponry as ever I had laid eyes.

[00:12:51] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_16]:
I am the worship pastor here.
[00:12:54] You might have thought, did I get to the right place?
[00:12:56] We're watching a movie in church.
[00:12:59] It is Advent at the Movies.
[00:13:01] We are going to prepare ourselves for the coming of Christ in the manger, talking about each of the four themes, but within the movies.
[00:13:11] So hope, love, peace, and joy, and in what we see them in movies.
[00:13:18] When you were watching that, weren't you just thinking, if you're an adult, you might have watched that beginning and thought, oh, there's all this.

[00:13:54] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
For the coming of Jesus Christ.

[00:13:57] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_16]:
And as we prepare ourselves, we're going to sing together.
[00:13:59] We're singing an old hymn called How Long Expected Jesus.
[00:14:03] Sing it a little different twist to it as the praise team is leading us.
[00:14:07] And then we'll light our Advent candle.
[00:14:09] Will you stand as we worship together?
[00:14:11] One, two, intro.
[00:18:15] Continue standing for the lighting of the Advent candle.

[00:18:23] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_15]:
Lord, to you we lift our souls as we eagerly await your coming.

[00:18:29] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
In you, God, we put our trust as we are filled with hope.

[00:19:02] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_15]:
Let us pray.

[00:19:18] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_16]:
God of hope,
[00:19:25] As we wait for you, please send your spirit to renew our longing for the days when all

[00:20:10] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_14]:
Children, come join Pastor Tony Ruth and I up here at the front.

[00:20:20] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_17]:
Y'all come sit on the carpet down here.
[00:20:26] Hi guys!
[00:20:28] Hello, hello, hello!

[00:20:32] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
Did everybody have a good Thanksgiving?

[00:21:04] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_17]:
So, Christmas is so exciting.
[00:21:08] It's my favorite time of the year.
[00:21:09] How about you guys?
[00:21:10] Do you love Christmas?
[00:21:12] I love it because I get to spend extra time with my family.
[00:21:15] And I love it because we get to get some presents.
[00:21:18] And I like getting and receiving presents.
[00:21:21] So, I've got to ask Pastor Wes.
[00:21:23] Pastor Wes, what is the best present you've ever got?

[00:21:27] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_14]:
When I was 10, I got a brand new BMX bike.

[00:21:33] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
It was awesome.

[00:22:04] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_17]:
We have a present here that is about the wonderful gift that God gave us, and I need somebody to open it.
[00:22:12] And Gemma, I'm going to let you open this one.
[00:22:22] He's over there.
[00:22:22] He thinks he's too big for this, but he didn't know there were presents.
[00:22:28] Okay, you got it.
[00:22:28] Can you...
[00:22:30] What's in it?
[00:22:31] It's not a phone guys.

[00:22:33] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
Sorry.

[00:23:03] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_14]:
And now you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.
[00:23:14] He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.

[00:23:22] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_17]:
so mary had a baby she named him jesus and that's the real reason that we celebrate christmas guys that's why we give presents because the bible says jesus is a gift that god
[00:24:09] Well, that's a close one.
[00:24:11] Come on, young man.
[00:24:14] Can you open my other present?
[00:24:16] Okay, here you go.
[00:24:19] Here, we'll put that one on past Wes's head.
[00:24:24] Oh, it lost its tape.
[00:24:25] Hold on, here's the tape.
[00:24:26] Oh, can you get the tape, Jim?

[00:24:31] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
Oh.
[00:24:33] I keep trying to make you a present, but you're not one.
[00:25:05] What is it?

[00:25:05] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_17]:
It's a shell.
[00:25:08] Can anybody read?
[00:25:09] Can you read what it says inside?
[00:25:11] Audrey, can you come around?
[00:25:13] Can you read what it says?
[00:25:14] Say it real loud.
[00:25:15] I have called you by name.
[00:25:26] You are my child.

[00:25:26] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Isaiah.

[00:25:29] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_17]:
43.1 Is there another one of these?

[00:25:34] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
Can anybody see another one of these anywhere in this room?
[00:26:17] Baptism.

[00:26:19] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_17]:
Did you know, okay, hold on.
[00:26:21] Did you know that baptism is a gift that God gives us too?
[00:26:25] Baptism is a gift just like this one.
[00:26:30] It's a gift.
[00:26:31] And God gives us the gift in our baptism to be made part of God's own family.
[00:26:37] When we are baptized, we are made part of God's own family.
[00:26:41] And this morning, we are all going to be part of baptism here at the church.
[00:26:45] And we are going to pay close attention to God's gifts.
[00:26:49] And so right now, we're going to invite somebody to come up and we're going to baptize.
[00:26:53] But I need you all to stay right here because I want you all to be part of the gift.
[00:26:56] Can you all do that?
[00:26:57] Okay, now listen.
[00:26:58] Hold up.
[00:26:59] After we're done with this, Ms. Holly has in that bag right there a bow for every one of you.
[00:27:06] Now here's, hold on.
[00:27:09] Here's the deal with the bow.
[00:27:11] When you see this bow, you can either give it to somebody else or you can keep it for yourself.
[00:27:15] But when you do, I want you to think about gifts.
[00:27:18] And I want you to think about the gifts that God gives you.
[00:27:21] Not just the gifts that are wrapped up under a Christmas tree.
[00:27:23] Those are wonderful.
[00:27:25] But the gifts that God gives you.
[00:27:26] God gives you
[00:27:29] Jesus and God gives you not shells but baptism God calls you his own child and that's a present too okay all right so everybody stay right here I'm gonna invite Kevin and Ashley to come up here and I got a couple of helpers I'm gonna need Nina can you help my Audrey and Bentley and Caroline y'all can come on up and help me okay thank you Nina
[00:28:21] Okay, so we put these on.
[00:28:24] It's weird, right?
[00:28:25] It looks like a big scarf, okay?
[00:28:28] This is called a stole.
[00:28:30] S-T-O-L-E. Can y'all say that?
[00:28:33] And Pastor Wes and I wear them.
[00:28:37] It's not because I stole it.
[00:28:39] I worked really hard for it.
[00:28:44] You're so silly.
[00:28:46] Stoles mean that we were called by God to be pastors, okay?
[00:28:51] And Pastor Carrie, when she wears her, Pastor Carrie.
[00:28:55] When Pastor Carrie and Pastor Monica wear theirs, they wear them across this way.
[00:28:59] That also means that they were called and that they are ministers just like Pastor Wes and I are.
[00:29:05] So Pastor Mark and Wes and I wear these, that's what that means.
[00:29:08] All right.
[00:29:10] I need my book back.
[00:29:13] Thank you.
[00:29:14] Brothers and sisters in Christ, through the sacrament of baptism, we are part of God's holy church.
[00:29:22] Our story becomes part of God's story of salvation.
[00:29:26] We are given new birth through water than the Spirit.
[00:29:29] All of this is God's what, kids?
[00:29:31] It's God's gift freely offered to us in love.
[00:29:36] Through the reaffirmation of our faith, we acknowledge the covenant of our baptism and what God is doing in us and affirm our commitment to the church.
[00:29:44] Today, I'm excited to present Kevin Cooper for baptism and his new wife, Ashley Cooper, to affirm her faith and join our church.
[00:29:54] And we are so glad that you are here.
[00:29:56] I was getting ready to do their wedding just a few weeks ago.
[00:30:00] We are also glad today to be welcoming, and you'll see them up here in a minute, Amy Borkowski, Philip Hurst, and another Kevin and Ashley, but these are Kevin and Ashley Smith, not Cooper.
[00:30:21] To our church family.
[00:30:22] They've all been baptized into faith and other churches and we are going to be affirming our commitment to them and they to us.
[00:30:30] We're also celebrating today something really cool that Wes is doing this afternoon.

[00:30:34] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_14]:
We celebrate that Russell and Linda Bumgarner are joining the church.
[00:30:38] This will happen this afternoon at their home with a few of us.
[00:30:41] They are unable to be with us in person, but they are connected to us through the Spirit and as part of the body of Christ here at Williamson's Chapel.

[00:30:49] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_17]:
So we're taking a little contingent over to their house and they're going to do the baptism for them.
[00:30:54] So, alright kids, you ready?
[00:30:58] We're going to ask Kevin some questions about his decision to follow Jesus.
[00:31:02] So I want you to be listening to the questions that Pastor West asks to Kevin, okay?

[00:31:07] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_14]:
So on behalf of the whole church, I ask you, do you renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness, reject the evil powers of this world, and repent of your sin?
[00:31:17] If so, the answer is yes.
[00:31:19] Do you accept the freedom and power God gives you to resist evil, injustice, oppression in whatever forms they present themselves?
[00:31:28] Do you confess Jesus Christ as your Savior, put your whole trust in His grace, and promise to serve Him as your Lord, in union with the church which Christ has opened to people of all ages, nations, and races?
[00:31:42] According to the grace given to you, will you remain faithful members of Christ's holy church and serve as Christ's representatives in the world?
[00:31:51] If so, the answer is, I will.

[00:31:53] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_17]:
Alright children, now it's our turn to say some things.
[00:31:57] All of us.
[00:31:59] And Kevin is going to need all of us in this room to help him.
[00:32:03] And God made it so we need each other.
[00:32:05] So, Bentley's going to ask some questions, so everybody pay attention.
[00:32:13] It's not on?
[00:32:14] Okay, we're going to turn it on.
[00:32:16] Hello?
[00:32:17] Hello?
[00:32:18] Hello?
[00:32:19] Hey, uh... Speaker 2?
[00:32:23] There we go.

[00:32:27] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
Do you refer both your rejections and your commitment to Christ?

[00:32:31] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_17]:
We do.

[00:32:33] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
Will you take care of each other and help each other love and follow Jesus every day?
[00:32:38] And will you include Kevin and Ashley in your care?

[00:32:41] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_17]:
We will.
[00:32:43] We will proclaim the Good News and live according to the example of Christ.
[00:32:49] We will surround Kevin and Ashley with a community of love and forgiveness that they may grow in their trust in God and be found faithful in their service to others.
[00:33:01] We will pray for them that they may be true disciples who walk in the way that leads to life.
[00:33:09] Okay kids, for over 2,000 years the church has asked people what they believe about Jesus with three questions.
[00:33:15] It's really three very easy questions.
[00:33:18] We aren't just asking Kevin these questions, we're asking everybody these questions.
[00:33:22] Alright Audrey, tell us what you got.

[00:33:25] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
Do you believe in God the Father?

[00:33:28] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_17]:
I believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth.

[00:33:35] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
Do you believe in Jesus Christ?

[00:33:37] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_17]:
I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord.

[00:33:43] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
Do you believe in the Holy Spirit?

[00:33:46] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_17]:
I believe in the Holy Spirit.
[00:33:52] We use water to get clean and refreshed when we're thirsty and baptism is like that.
[00:33:57] God makes us clean from all the yuck of the things that we do wrong and refreshes us so we can follow him.
[00:34:04] So we're going to pour some water in on Kevin today and I need a helper.
[00:34:08] So, Miss Caroline, can you help me pour this water?
[00:34:13] Come step in one more.
[00:34:14] Okay, there you go.
[00:34:15] Ready?
[00:34:17] Ooh, splashy.
[00:34:22] How much water is in there?
[00:34:23] The bowl is almost full, isn't it?
[00:34:25] Thank you, Caroline.
[00:34:27] Now, y'all can go back and sit down if you want to.
[00:34:29] Can you sit down?
[00:34:32] You want to see?
[00:34:33] You want to see?
[00:34:34] You want to see?
[00:34:36] Well, stand up and look in, then.
[00:34:37] Do you want to look in?

[00:34:44] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_14]:
Y'all can come on up here while we pray.

[00:34:47] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_17]:
There you go.
[00:34:48] All right.
[00:34:49] Do you want to see?
[00:34:49] Okay.
[00:34:51] It's just controlled chaos.
[00:34:52] It's all right.
[00:34:54] Okay.
[00:34:55] Oh, she wanted to see?
[00:34:57] Oh, she wanted to see?
[00:34:59] Okay.
[00:35:00] See?
[00:35:01] There's just a little bit of water right there.
[00:35:02] There it is.
[00:35:04] Look, I'll even flick it at you.
[00:35:08] Okay, see?

[00:35:11] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]:
That's a bowl.

[00:35:11] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_17]:
Just a bowl in there.
[00:35:13] Okay.
[00:35:14] All right, Kevin.
[00:35:15] We're almost ready.

[00:35:17] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_14]:
Friends, the Lord be with you.
[00:35:20] And also with you.
[00:35:25] Let us pray.
[00:35:39] The children you brought through the Jordan to the land which you promised.

[00:35:43] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_17]:
Sing to the Lord all the earth.

[00:35:45] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_14]:
Tell of God's mercy each day.
[00:35:47] In the fullness of time you sent Jesus, nurtured in the water of a womb.
[00:35:52] He was baptized by John and anointed by your Spirit.
[00:35:55] He called his disciples to share in the baptism of his death and resurrection and to make disciples of all nations.

[00:36:02] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_17]:
Declare Christ's works to the nations, his glory among all people.

[00:36:09] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_14]:
Pour out your Holy Spirit to bless this gift of water in heaven who receives it, to wash away his sin and clothe him in righteousness throughout his life, that dying and being raised with Christ, he may share in his final victory.

[00:36:22] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_17]:
All praise to you, eternal Father, through your Son, Jesus Christ, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns forever.
[00:36:33] Amen.
[00:36:34] All right, Kevin.
[00:36:35] And inside your shell, I have your name and your baptism date.
[00:36:42] Just a reminder that God has called you by name, and you belong to him.
[00:36:47] Kevin Cooper, I baptize you in the name of the Father.
[00:36:52] In the name of the Son, and the name of the Holy Spirit.
[00:37:00] Kevin, the Holy Spirit work within you that being born through water and spirit, you may live as a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ.
[00:37:09] Amen.
[00:37:13] Ashley, I'm going to let you just touch the water.
[00:37:15] I'm not going to pour it on you.
[00:37:17] Remember your baptism and be thankful.
[00:37:20] Ashley, the Holy Spirit work within you that being born through water in the Spirit, you may continue to live as a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ.
[00:37:29] Amen.
[00:37:54] Come on up.
[00:37:54] Y'all can just stand right here next to us.

[00:38:09] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_14]:
Okay, to Kevin and to Ashley Cooper.
[00:38:15] As members of Christ Universal Church, will you be loyal to Christ through the United Methodist Church and do all in your power to strengthen its ministries?
[00:38:22] If so, say, I will.
[00:38:25] To all of you, as members of this congregation, will you faithfully participate in its ministries by your prayers, your presence, your gifts, your service, and your witness?
[00:38:36] If so, say, I will.

[00:38:41] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Members of the household of God, I command these powers to your love and care.
[00:38:45] Do all in your power to increase their faith, command their hope, and help them grow in God's love.

[00:38:51] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_17]:
We give thanks for all that God has already given you, and we welcome you in Christian love.
[00:38:57] As members together with you in the body of Christ and in this congregation of the United Methodist Church, we renew our covenant faithfully to participate in the ministries of the Church by our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service, and our witness, that in everything God may glorify through Jesus Christ.

[00:39:19] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_14]:
The God of all grace who has called us to eternal glory in Christ, establish you and strengthen you that you may live in grace and peace.
[00:39:26] Amen.
[00:39:27] Welcome.

[00:39:27] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_17]:
Welcome.

[00:39:31] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_14]:
Welcome.

[00:39:35] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_17]:
Hey, guys.
[00:39:38] Hi.
[00:39:39] She's just enjoying it.
[00:39:40] It's okay.
[00:39:41] She's welcome in God's house.
[00:39:42] She can be wherever she wants to be.

[00:39:44] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_14]:
She really does a good job.

[00:39:45] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_17]:
You're welcome.
[00:39:49] Absolutely.
[00:39:51] Alright guys, now Miss Holly has bows, so orderly, in an orderly fashion, you can go back and sit with your moms and dads.
[00:39:59] And make sure you get a bow, and remember that God gives you the gifts.
[00:40:20] What we do here is so important, and I just want to thank you for your offerings that make all of this ministry that we do with our children possible, that enable Wes and I and Carrie and Monica and Pastor Mark to lead and pastor and shepherd this congregation.
[00:40:39] We're so grateful for all of you.
[00:40:43] But most importantly, we hope you know that in baptism, your baptism is a gift that God gave you too.
[00:40:49] And your whole life is your thank you.
[00:40:51] Your whole life is your offering.
[00:40:54] And we are grateful for the ways that you all offer yourselves.
[00:40:58] As we prepare to receive our offering here this morning, you can scan the QR code.
[00:41:03] You can also put it in the offering plate as it passes you by.
[00:41:05] Our children are going to be helping us.
[00:41:07] Bentley, go to Miss Holly back there.
[00:41:09] Our children are going to be helping us collect the offering this morning.
[00:41:13] They did this last week at Fuel Your Family and we all melted and so we felt like you all need to get to be part of the children collecting our offering.
[00:41:22] So the children are going to be collecting our offering and what they're learning when they do that, friends, is that they can serve God's church no matter what their age.
[00:41:31] And that's such an important thing to learn.
[00:41:34] My own call to ministry started because I had a pastor that would ask me to help with things like the offering and communion.
[00:41:41] It's so important that we do this for our children.
[00:41:44] So thank you for all that you give.
[00:41:46] Now you may have noticed when you came in a Christmas tree that does not have all the lights on it or all the ornaments on it yet.
[00:41:51] Friends, that's our generosity tree.
[00:41:54] Every year, we started this last year, and last year we did it because we were experiencing a little bit of shortfall, but man, not this year, y'all.
[00:42:02] God has been so faithful, and we are able to expand ministries to do new things because of your faithfulness.
[00:42:08] So we're inviting you to share just an extra gift to the generosity tree at whatever level you want to give it.
[00:42:14] We've got some suggestions on there, but really, you can do whatever you want to do.
[00:42:17] And we are asking you this question, what's your why?
[00:42:23] And I hope that if you go out there today and read the ones, these are only the ones we got through last Monday because the office closed the better part of last week.
[00:42:31] There are more to come, so if you don't see yours on there yet, know that it's coming.
[00:42:36] We are going to fill up that Christmas tree and we are going to fill it up with lights and we're going to shine the light of Christ a little brighter with all of our whys.
[00:42:44] So I hope that you will go out there and read those because oh my goodness how they moved my spirit to hear why you all want to be generous, why you all want to give.
[00:42:52] To the glory and honor of God.
[00:42:54] So whether you're doing that, you can scan that QR code.
[00:42:57] It's also on your ticket that you got today, your movie ticket.
[00:43:00] You can scan and do that.
[00:43:01] It'll take you to a form.
[00:43:03] And this just above and beyond just a normal offering.
[00:43:05] It's just a gift of thanksgiving to God for his faithfulness.
[00:43:09] So however you're giving, we want to say thank you for what you give.

[00:43:23] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Come, O come, Emmanuel Come, O come, Emmanuel Come, O come, Emmanuel

[00:44:15] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]:
Rejoice!

[00:44:41] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Rejoice!
[00:44:41] Emmanuel shall come to thee Israel

[00:44:47] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]:
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
[00:45:01] Amen.
[00:45:33] In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

[00:45:50] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Amen.

[00:46:03] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]:
Rejoice!

[00:46:27] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Rejoice!
[00:46:28] Rejoice!
[00:46:28] Rejoice!
[00:46:28] Emmanuel shall come!
[00:46:28] Emmanuel shall come!
[00:46:29] O Israel, divide me wide!
[00:46:32] O come ye far on the land of the new

[00:47:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]:
Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
[00:47:36] Praise Him,
[00:47:40] Let's pray.

[00:48:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_17]:
Dear God,
[00:48:10] Read after me.
[00:48:10] Dear God, thank you for all your gifts.
[00:48:16] Thank you for Jesus.
[00:48:19] Thank you for baptism.
[00:48:22] Thank you that we are all your children.
[00:48:27] Bless our gifts, Jesus.
[00:48:30] Amen.
[00:48:32] All right, guys.
[00:48:33] Thanks so much.
[00:48:34] High five all around.
[00:48:35] Good job.

[00:48:46] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Today's scripture comes from Isaiah 2 verses 1 through 5.
[00:48:59] The word that Isaiah son of Ammo saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
[00:49:05] In days to come the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills, all the nations shall stream to it.
[00:49:17] Many people shall come and say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways.
[00:49:28] and that we may walk in his paths.
[00:49:31] For out of Zion shall go forth instruction and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
[00:49:37] He shall judge between the nations and shall arbitrate for many peoples
[00:49:44] They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.
[00:49:50] Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.
[00:49:57] O house of Jacob, come let us walk in the light of the Lord.
[00:50:01] The Word of God for all people.

[00:50:15] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_14]:
It's really tempting to sit in that chair.
[00:50:20] But anytime Daniel runs the camera, he complains that I move too much.
[00:50:33] And so I don't think I could actually sit in the chair and preach a sermon.
[00:50:39] But anyway, before I begin, let us go to the Lord together in prayer.
[00:50:44] Let us pray.
[00:50:47] Gracious and holy God, we thank you for this day given to us for the blessing of church family, the blessing of children, the blessing of baptism.
[00:50:55] And now as we hear your word proclaimed, God, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts be acceptable in your sight.
[00:51:03] Oh Lord, our rock and our redeemer.
[00:51:06] Amen.
[00:51:08] All right, so we open worship with a clip from a Christmas story, the very beginning of that.
[00:51:14] Now for some of you, that's a...
[00:51:16] That's a real familiar movie.
[00:51:20] And I know the past few years that TBS basically does 24 hours of a Christmas story on Christmas Eve into Christmas Day.
[00:51:29] But it's actually, for me and Daniel, it's actually our Christmas Eve tradition.
[00:51:36] Tony Ruth and Mariana will come to the, Tony Ruth will lead the 11 o'clock candlelight service, while me and Daniel are at home in our pajamas watching a Christmas story.
[00:51:47] and it began and a good for a good reason Daniel was too young to go to an 11 o'clock service and so we just kind of that became our thing it's a fun movie and it captures late childhood surprisingly well the main character Ralphie the one with the glasses and the blonde hair a lot of the movie is him daydreaming
[00:52:08] But he also deals with bullies, we see interactions with his friends, just the day-to-day moments of growing up, and I'll put my water right by my chair, and dealing with his family, and the love, and that's with his family, but also the confusion, arguments, forgiveness, getting in trouble, all stuff about late childhood.
[00:52:31] The movie captures it.
[00:52:33] And like most Christmas movies, I wouldn't say that it's all that deep.
[00:52:37] But there's a warmth that I appreciate more as I get older.
[00:52:43] I've also come to love the thread of hope that drives the plot of the movie, which we saw at the very beginning of the movie, a scene we watched earlier during the credits, with all the kids' faces smashed up against the glass, that look in Ralphie's eyes, that look of joy and wonder and longing, the look of hope.
[00:53:07] Ralphie's hope for a Red Rider carbine-action 200-shot range model air rifle is worn away bit by bit over the course of the movie, mainly by people he trusts.
[00:53:23] And they'll say, probably the most famous line in the movie when Ralphie says what he wants, they say, you'll shoot your eye out.
[00:53:32] You'll shoot your eye out.
[00:53:34] Now our focus this morning is not really on what Ralphie hoped for, but the humorous and relatable way that this movie handles his hope.
[00:53:44] That's a great jumping off point for us on this first Sunday of Advent as we think about hope.
[00:53:50] And while the fulfillment of Ralphie's hope for that Red Ryder BB gun seems more and more impossible as the movie goes on,
[00:53:58] The book of Isaiah begins with a hope that is infinitely greater and seems even more out of reach.
[00:54:07] Out of reach in Isaiah's time and in our own time as well.
[00:54:13] What Nino read to us from chapter 2, that seems impossible and impossibly naive.
[00:54:22] The nations, that means when we read in the Old Testament, the nations, that means all people.
[00:54:29] The nations come together in shared worship, seeking and teaching the guidance of God.
[00:54:35] The armies of the world laying down their weapons, repurposing guns to use as gardening tools, defusing missiles and bombs, and using scrap materials to repair farm equipment.
[00:54:52] Refusing to study war tactics and strategies.
[00:54:57] And instead, learning the weaknesses of neighboring states not to gain an advantage or to exploit, but to help and strengthen one another.
[00:55:07] That sounds naive, doesn't it?
[00:55:10] Impossible.
[00:55:12] And it would require some kind of miraculous intervention that's far beyond human ability.
[00:55:21] That certainly seems too much to hope for, but there it is in chapter 2 of Isaiah.
[00:55:26] which is very different from chapter 1, by the way.
[00:55:29] Chapter 1 of Isaiah includes vivid descriptions of harsh judgment, the consequence of the sins of God's people, those people who were meant to bear witness to God's holiness and power and mercy.
[00:55:45] And Isaiah has visions of judgment, that they're judged for their idolatry, their hypocrisy, their corruption, their oppression and mistreatment of the poor and vulnerable.
[00:55:55] Now there are some hints of restoration, but only after what seems to be utter destruction.
[00:56:01] There's a dramatic shift in chapter 2, and that kind of reflects the back and forth in Isaiah between judgment and mercy, threat and promise, and despair and hope.
[00:56:14] But it ultimately ends with messages of hope at the very end of Isaiah, hope for renewal and redemption and new creation, only made possible by God's power.
[00:56:25] The hope expressed in chapter 2 is rooted in the power of God and the nature of God.
[00:56:31] Our hope, friends, our hope today, our hope for the future, our hope for eternity is not rooted in our ability.
[00:56:40] It's not rooted in our righteousness.
[00:56:44] And the hope we have in God, it's not about recreating some glorious and golden past.
[00:56:53] God's work is not to take us backwards.
[00:56:58] And, you know, to be honest, much like the movie A Christmas Story, most of the visions of the past, they're always seen through this filter of nostalgia.
[00:57:08] And you know this already.
[00:57:13] It wasn't as glorious and golden as we imagine, right?
[00:57:18] We tend to remember the good parts.
[00:57:22] Our hope, our hope as Christians is for new creation, for reconciliation of what has been broken, for redemption, for resurrection, for the shalom, the peace and wholeness of God to be made real in us and in the world.
[00:57:41] And apart from God's power, it ain't happening.
[00:57:45] It's not happening.
[00:57:50] We might say that, that's part of our scripture.
[00:57:54] But again and again, we humans keep putting our trust and our hope in things that are not God.
[00:58:03] We somehow believe that more violence will lead to more peace.
[00:58:10] We somehow believe that money and possessions will lead to spiritual fulfillment.
[00:58:17] We somehow believe that more earthly power will lead to greater righteousness.
[00:58:24] So we put our hopes in violence and war.
[00:58:26] We put our hopes in wealth and privilege.
[00:58:29] We put our hopes in the promises of the powerful who reassure us that they can fulfill our hopes and solve our problems.
[00:58:37] Has it worked out yet?
[00:58:44] When these hopes are not fulfilled and we are inevitably disappointed, we are so often left feeling disillusioned and cynical.
[00:58:56] And that can erode or diminish our faith.
[00:59:02] It's kind of surprising that another scene in the movie A Christmas Story helps to illustrate this point.
[00:59:09] So if you roll that second clip.

[00:59:13] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Mark is hereby appointed a member of the Little Orphan Annie Secret Circle and is entitled to all the honor and benefits occurring there too.

[00:59:22] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_12]:
Little Orphan Annie.
[00:59:23] Countersought Pierre André in ink.
[00:59:27] Honors and benefits already at the age of nine.

[00:59:31] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_14]:
Ralphie gets a decoder ring based on the Little Orphan Annie show.

[00:59:37] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_12]:
Come on, let's get out of it.
[00:59:38] I don't need all that jazz about smugglers and pirates.

[00:59:41] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Listen tomorrow night for the concluding adventure of a black pirate ship.
[00:59:47] Now it's time for any secret message for you members of the secret circle.
[00:59:53] Remember kids, only members of any secret circle can decode any secret message.
[00:59:59] Remember, any is depending on you.
[01:00:03] Set your pins to B2.
[01:00:06] Here is the message.
[01:00:08] 12, 11, 18, 21, 14, 11, 18, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 25, that's a message from Annie herself, remember, don't tell anyone.

[01:00:33] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_12]:
You're on the only room in the house where a boy of nine could sit in privacy and decode.
[01:00:40] Ah, B. I went to the next.
[01:00:44] E. The first word is B. S. It's coming easier now.

[01:00:51] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
U. Oh, come on, Tom.
[01:00:53] Be a girl, Mom.

[01:00:56] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]:
I'll be right there, Mom.

[01:00:58] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
You will.

[01:01:03] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]:
Oh, be sure to, be sure to what?
[01:01:07] What was the Lord Manny trying to say?
[01:01:09] Be sure to what?

[01:01:10] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
Manny has got to go.

[01:01:11] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Will you please come out?
[01:01:13] All right, Ma.
[01:01:14] I'll be right out.

[01:01:16] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_11]:
I'm getting close now.
[01:01:18] The tension was terrible.
[01:01:19] What was it?
[01:01:20] The fate of the plan may hang in the balance.

[01:01:23] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]:
No!
[01:01:24] Mandy's gotta go!
[01:01:26] I'll be right back!
[01:01:27] We'll find out now!

[01:01:29] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_13]:
She's almost there!
[01:01:31] My fingers flew!
[01:01:32] My mind was a steel trap!
[01:01:34] Free, poor, vibrated!
[01:01:36] It was almost clear!

[01:01:38] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Yes!
[01:01:38] Yes!
[01:01:39] Yes!

[01:01:39] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Yes!
[01:01:40] Be sure to drink your Ovaltine!
[01:01:47] Ovaltine?
[01:01:51] A chronic amour?

[01:01:53] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_14]:
A grummy commercial.
[01:02:03] And desperately check the mailbox every day and it's a commercial.
[01:02:08] Psalm 146, 3-5 gives biblical voice to Ralphie's humorous introduction to annoying marketing strategies.
[01:02:18] that can lead us to distrust and to cynicism.
[01:02:21] Hear what Psalm 146, 3-5 tells us.
[01:02:25] Do not put your trust in princes, in mortals in whom there is no help.
[01:02:31] When their breath departs, they return to the earth, and on that very day their plans perish.
[01:02:38] Happy are those whose help is in the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God.
[01:02:44] Our hope is in God, the Creator, the Eternal One, the One whose arrival in a manger in Bethlehem we wait for and long for during this season of Advent.
[01:02:57] Now I think I need to give a spoiler warning for a movie that was released 42 years ago.
[01:03:03] That as most of you know, Ralph's hope is fulfilled.
[01:03:08] His father, often grumpy,
[01:03:10] but ultimately kind and loving and the one character in the movie I really relate to now at this point in my life.
[01:03:18] His father, often grumpy but really loving, surprises Ralph and Ralphie's mom with a Red Ryder Carbine Action 200-shot range model air rifle.
[01:03:28] We won't talk about what happens when Ralph uses it for the first time.
[01:03:33] I'll let you watch the movie if you haven't already seen it.
[01:03:36] But the hope is filled.
[01:03:38] Our Advent hope.
[01:03:40] Our longing, our expectation is also filled in Jesus.
[01:03:45] But we might still have some questions.
[01:03:49] Every year we read and hear the story of the birth of Jesus, or we hear the promises of Isaiah 2.
[01:03:53] Like Mary in Luke chapter 1, when the angel tells her that she's going to give birth to Jesus, we join Mary in asking, how can these things be?
[01:04:02] How can this be?
[01:04:06] We begin this Advent season with hope, a hope that exists alongside our questions, with the weight of cultural or family expectations, with the fatigue of busyness, maybe some cynicism, maybe even some fear.
[01:04:23] For us who follow Jesus, the Prince of Peace,
[01:04:27] For us who put our trust to God's goodness and grace, Isaiah's vision is not just an impossible night dream.
[01:04:33] It's an invitation.
[01:04:36] This vision is an invitation.
[01:04:38] An invitation to walk in the light of the Lord.
[01:04:41] To know that the light of Jesus shines in the darkness.
[01:04:45] An invitation to turn away from violence and do the things that make for peace.
[01:04:50] An invitation to no longer dismiss or neglect the most vulnerable among us, but to care for them and share out of our abundance so that the hungry may be fed, the weak may be strengthened, and the stranger may be welcomed.
[01:05:05] And it's an invitation for us to live in hope, not in violence or the power to dominate, not in money or possessions, not in our strength, but in the hope, the power and mercy and steadfast love of God.
[01:05:19] Walking together in the light of the Lord.
[01:05:23] In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
[01:05:27] Amen.
[01:05:32] I'm going to take just a moment of reflection.
[01:05:36] So I'm going to invite you to just simply close your eyes for a moment.
[01:05:42] Take a deep breath.
[01:05:46] And I want you to think about
[01:05:49] This next week, maybe even this afternoon and this evening, think about the places you will walk.
[01:06:00] The places you will go.
[01:06:01] Where will your feet carry you?
[01:06:08] Who are the people that you see?
[01:06:11] The people that will talk to you and that you will talk to them?
[01:06:17] What are the things that
[01:06:20] Maybe you have to do or get to do in the coming week as you walk.
[01:06:28] Now think for just a moment.
[01:06:31] How might you walk in those places, speak in those places, interact with people in those places, shining the light of Christ?
[01:06:46] How might you share the hope that you have in Jesus?
[01:06:51] at your feet carry you through this week.
[01:06:53] Just a moment to reflect and pray.

[01:07:21] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_16]:
We're going to teach you the refrain to it.
[01:07:33] The refrain is, Sing hallelujah, sing hallelujah, sing hallelujah for the things he has done.
[01:07:40] And just like we were just reflecting.
[01:07:42] Come and adore Him.
[01:07:44] Bow down before Him.
[01:07:46] We're in our lives coming up in this coming week.
[01:07:50] Hopefully all of the places.
[01:07:52] Can we sing Hallelujah?
[01:07:54] Can we bow down before Him?
[01:07:57] Can we acknowledge the goodness of God?
[01:08:00] And so Landon's going to sing for us the refrain so you can get a hold of it in your head and then we will all sing it together.
[01:08:07] Will you stand please?
[01:08:11] Go ahead Landon.

[01:08:13] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
Sing hallelujah, sing hallelujah for the things he has done.
[01:08:24] Come and adore him.
[01:08:26] Sing hallelujah to the light of the world.

[01:08:36] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_16]:
Let's all sing it together.
[01:08:37] Sing hallelujah.
[01:08:39] Sing hallelujah.

[01:08:42] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
Sing hallelujah.
[01:08:46] Sing hallelujah for the things he has done.
[01:08:53] Come and adore him.
[01:08:56] Amen.

[01:09:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_16]:
We're going to sing together.

[01:09:14] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
Light of the world, treasure of the world.
[01:09:23] In the wintery sky Joy of the Father Reach through the darkness Shine across the earth Sing the shadows to fly

[01:09:48] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]:
From the beginning the tragedies of time were no match for your love From great heights of glory you saw the story of you entering and became one above
[01:10:39] You're the light of the world You're the light of the world Light of the world Crowded in a manger Born for the cross to serve
[01:11:39] Hallelujah to the light of the Lord.

[01:11:59] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
The Father of the world Soon will be coming With fire in His eyes He will rest on His throne

[01:13:05] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_17]:
So, just a few ways that you can live in hope in the coming weeks.
[01:13:26] First of all, next Saturday evening at 6 o'clock,
[01:13:31] 5 o'clock, I'm sorry, 5 o'clock's right there.
[01:13:34] 5 o'clock, our kids are having our kids' Christmas program.
[01:13:38] And I don't care if you have a kid in our children's choir or not, I hope you'll be here.
[01:13:43] We are going to get to hear the story of the coming of Christ through their eyes.
[01:13:48] It's beautiful, they've worked so hard on this.
[01:13:50] So 5 o'clock here, and as an incentive, there will be hot cocoa and cookies after.
[01:13:55] Who doesn't love hot cocoa and cookies?
[01:13:57] Other ways, friends, that you can pierce darkness and live in hope.
[01:14:01] Share Christmas gifts need to be back next week.
[01:14:04] So Share Christmas is coming up on the 13th of December.
[01:14:07] We adopt as a church, just a reminder, 300 children from our local community from 130 approximately families.
[01:14:15] There are still about 213 gifts to be bought for Share Christmas that you can find on, excuse me,
[01:14:24] You can find on the registration opportunity.
[01:14:27] So you scan that to donate.
[01:14:29] So we need 213 more gifts.
[01:14:31] We do that because we want to be able to have some variety.
[01:14:34] What is not given away here, we will give to other agencies.
[01:14:38] Yes, Kevin?
[01:14:39] So the dignity of choice, friends, is important.
[01:14:46] Being able to pick out the gift you want to give your child, that's important.
[01:14:50] And so that's what we try to provide for people, and it is an act of hope, piercing the darkness.
[01:14:56] And one more thing, after this service, down in the fellowship hall, Kevin will be down there, and Carrie, we're having an interest meeting.
[01:15:03] If you are at all interested in attending or going to Acres of Hope in Uganda next summer, if you're like, you've been thinking about it, and there's this little nudge that you keep feeling,
[01:15:13] Go down to the fellowship hall.
[01:15:15] You're not commending anything.
[01:15:16] You're just getting more information.
[01:15:17] And that, friends, is just another way that you pierce the darkness.

[01:15:21] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_14]:
Let us go with this ministry.
[01:15:24] Now may the Lord bless you and keep you.
[01:15:26] The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you.
[01:15:29] The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.
[01:15:33] In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

[01:15:36] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]:
Amen.
[01:16:11] of Christ.