Theological Status: Theological Weakness
Biblical Parallel(Archetype): Laodicea
❓ What do these grades mean?
🔍 Biblical Discernment: The 7 Church Parallels
The Cold Orthodox Parallel
Ephesus
Teaching that upholds doctrinal precision yet parallels the loss of the "first love"—the vital, motivating power of the Gospel (Rev 2:4).
Why strictly "Mark & Avoid"?
We do not issue this rating to attack the speaker, but to protect the listener. This church's overall teaching trend consistently deviates from sound doctrine. As per Romans 16:17, we identify these patterns so believers can guard their hearts.
We do not issue this rating to attack the speaker, but to protect the listener. This church's overall teaching trend consistently deviates from sound doctrine. As per Romans 16:17, we identify these patterns so believers can guard their hearts.
🧐 Overview
Sermon Summary: This Christmas sermon uses the creative 'Grinch Therapy' theme to connect with the real-life stress, grief, and exhaustion many feel during the holidays. It offers a message of comfort and God's presence, but is this comfort built on the solid rock of Scripture or the shifting sands of self-help?
Big Idea: Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. That's the gift of the Christmas season. [00:27:41 ▶️ 📄]
Pastoral Analysis: The sermon is a masterclass in pastoral empathy, using a secular framework (The Grinch) to validate the congregation's felt needs. However, its theological core is anemic. It builds its entire case on a therapeutic model, only bringing in Scripture at the conclusion to support a pre-determined emotional outcome. The diagnosis of the human problem is shifted from sin against a holy God to circumstantial pain, and the solution is therefore reduced from substitutionary atonement to comforting presence. This is a clear example of Therapeutic Deism.
Biblical Parallel(Archetype): Laodicea — The sermon is rich in emotional comfort and self-help but poor in theological substance, presenting God primarily as a means to achieve emotional well-being rather than the object of worship.
🧭 Biblical Alignment Dashboard
Overall Verdict: Theologically Weak
| Category | Status | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Soteriology | ⚠️ WEAK | The sermon presents salvation not as deliverance from the wrath of God due to sin, but as deliverance from negative feelings (grief, stress, cynicism). The solution offered is God's comforting presence (the Advocate), which, while true, is detached from the substitutionary atonement of Christ that makes that presence savingly available. |
| Bibliology | ⚠️ WEAK | Scripture is used as a garnish rather than the main course. The sermon's structure, proposition, and development are dictated entirely by a secular narrative ('Grinch Therapy'). The Bible is only referenced in the final minutes (after 00:24:00 ▶️ 📄) to provide a concluding thought, rather than serving as the sermon's foundation. |
| Hermeneutic | ❌ FAIL | The sermon employs an anthropocentric and therapeutic hermeneutic. It starts with human experience and feelings and interprets the Bible through that lens. The core problem is defined by human experience ('this year stank'), and Scripture is used to provide a solution for that feeling, which is a form of narcigesis. |
| Theology Proper | ⚠️ WEAK | The doctrine of God is presented vaguely as a comforting 'presence' or 'deity' (00:26:52 ▶️ 📄), focusing exclusively on His immanence and therapeutic value. God's holiness, justice, and wrath against sin—the very attributes that make the Incarnation so necessary—are entirely absent. |
| Sacramentology | ⚪ N/A | No sacraments were observed or discussed in the provided transcript. |
📖 How they Handle Scripture & Jesus
Primary Text: Topical/Narrative (Focus on Incarnation and John 14 themes) (Topical (Safe))
Scripture Saturation: Verses Read: 0 | Referenced: 3 | Alluded: 1
Key References: Ezekiel (Heart of Stone/Flesh), Gospel Stories (Life of Jesus), John 14 (Do not let your hearts be troubled/Advocate)
Christological Connection: Redemptive Trajectory: The sermon connects the historical Incarnation (Christmas) to the promise of the Advocate (Holy Spirit/Presence, derived from John 14:27) as the mechanism for overcoming fear, grief, and cynicism. The Incarnation is the prerequisite for the abiding presence.
🧱 Sermon Outline
- Introduction: Grinch Therapy Podcast Setup [00:00:00 ▶️ 📄] : Introduction of the Grinch character and the premise of the podcast/sermon.
- Letter 1: The Overwhelmed Performer [00:04:04 ▶️ 📄] : Reading a letter about Christmas stress, financial strain, and social media comparison, followed by the Grinch's cynical advice.
- Letter 2: The Grieving Heart [00:08:36 ▶️ 📄] : Reading a letter about navigating grief and loss during the holidays, followed by the Grinch's isolationist advice.
- Letter 3: The Pastor's Crashes [00:13:33 ▶️ 📄] : The speaker reads her own letter detailing a difficult year of accidents, financial hits, and emotional exhaustion, questioning where the joy is.
- Theological Pivot: Vulnerability and the Heart of Flesh [00:22:05 ▶️ 📄] : The speaker transitions from the Grinch persona to address the themes of cynicism, vulnerability, and the promise of God's presence (Ezekiel).
- Conclusion: Incarnation and Presence [00:26:01 ▶️ 📄] : Focus on Incarnation Theology and the message from Jesus: 'Do not let your hearts be troubled' through the gift of the Holy Spirit.
🗝️ Key Topics & Themes
- Christmas Stress : The pressure of performance, finances, and comparison during the holiday season.
- Grief and Loss : The difficulty of mourning and feeling sadness when society expects forced cheer.
- Vulnerability : The necessity of being honest about pain and the risk of cynicism when hearts are hurt.
- Incarnation Theology : The concept of God taking on human form and abiding with humanity in its suffering.
✅ Commendations
Homiletics | Exceptional Pastoral Empathy
The speaker demonstrates a powerful ability to connect with the audience's real-world pain, stress, and grief. The use of vulnerable, personal stories creates a strong bond of trust and makes the message highly relatable.
Rhetoric | Creative and Engaging Structure
The 'Grinch Therapy' podcast format is a highly creative and memorable device that effectively holds the listener's attention and frames the core issues of holiday-related emotional struggles.
⚠️ Theological Concerns
🟠 Anthropocentric Redefinition of Sin
Root Cause: Therapeutic Deism: This framework reduces God to a divine therapist whose primary role is to solve human psychological problems and ensure personal well-being, rather than being the sovereign Lord who is to be glorified.
"This year we wrestled financially. This year I just had a hard time finding joy because we have this problem with being vulnerable... cynicism happens in all of us... he got ridiculed and made fun of and that hurt." [00:22:58 ▶️ 📄]
Correction: The Bible defines the fundamental human problem not as emotional pain, but as sin, which is lawlessness (1 John 3:4) and falling short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). While God is the 'God of all comfort' (2 Corinthians 1:3), this comfort is applied to believers who have first been reconciled to Him through the blood of Christ, which satisfied the justice required for sin.
📜 Full Sermon Transcript (Audit)
Use the 📄 icons next to quotes above to automatically jump to their location in this raw transcript.
[00:00:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Welcome to Grinch Therapy.
[00:00:02] Today is our first episode of our podcast.
[00:00:06] We invite you to get warm and cozy in your special seat and just enjoy the morning.
[00:00:13] This is, like I said, called Grinch Therapy and you're going to hear some letters written by some very special people that are seeking very intentional advice.
[00:00:24] We have a very special guest with us this morning.
[00:00:27] And so let me introduce you to our first special guest.
[00:00:31] His name is the Grinch.
[00:00:34] The Grinch holds advanced degrees in isolation studies and a dislike of humankind from the school of hard knocks
[00:00:42] The Mount Crumpit Campus.
[00:00:45] He completed his clinical training in a cave approximately 3000 feet above sea level where he conducted extensive research on the correlation between social withdrawal and inner peace.
[00:00:58] He has decided that the results are inconclusive.
[00:01:02] His therapeutic approach has been described as bracingly honest, therapeutically questionable, and literally he's just mean.
[00:01:12] He specializes in helping clients explore their feelings by telling them their feelings are stupid.
[00:01:19] Prior work experience includes small business owner.
[00:01:23] He specializes in Christmas redistribution.
[00:01:27] Organizational consultant, he decluttered an entire town
[00:01:32] In one night.
[00:01:34] And he is a life coach.
[00:01:36] He taught a dog how to pull a sleigh even though the dog had his own concerns.
[00:01:42] His heart now is reportedly two sizes too small.
[00:01:48] The recent cardiac imaging suggests that some enlargement may be occurring.
[00:01:54] We'll see what happens with that today.
[00:01:57] The Grinch is not licensed by any accredited therapeutic board.
[00:02:01] Mostly because he thinks accreditation is a scam designed to make people feel important and have fancy titles.
[00:02:10] He may or may not be real.
[00:02:13] He definitely should not be trusted with your deepest vulnerabilities.
[00:02:17] And yet, today, the Sunday before Christmas, here we are.
[00:02:23] I would like for you to join with me in giving a special warm welcome to the Grinch.
[00:02:28] Welcome to our show.
[00:02:44] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Mr. Grinch, what are you giving out?
[00:02:53] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Well, it is my business, and it's more my business that you use your microphone.
[00:02:58] Thank you.
[00:02:59] We give a special warm welcome to our online guests who are joining with us for our very first podcast.
[00:03:05] Please tell me what you gave to our guests.
[00:03:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Eviction notice, jury duty, blackmail, and an onion.
[00:03:12] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Alright, well, you know, we really are launching a podcast in the year 2026, and so this is a little bit of a dry run for us, so I'm really hoping that today goes well, alright?
[00:03:25] So, what's going to happen is I have three letters.
[00:03:29] Each letters are from real...
[00:03:32] Real people that wanted real advice and they wanted advice from you.
[00:03:39] They say that they are feeling very grinchy and so how this is going to go down, I'm going to read to you the letter and then I want you to dig deep.
[00:03:49] I want you to really think about your response and these folks are going to be watching today so they're going to be hanging on your words.
[00:03:57] This needs to matter, okay?
[00:04:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
I suppose.
[00:04:02] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Alright, here we go.
[00:04:04] Dear Mr. Grinch, Everyone keeps asking me if I'm ready for Christmas.
[00:04:10] And honestly, I want to scream.
[00:04:13] Ready for what, exactly?
[00:04:15] The financial hemorrhaging?
[00:04:17] Any of you out there feel like that?
[00:04:19] You dread the credit card bills that are going to show up next month?
[00:04:23] The family drama?
[00:04:24] The individuals that so and so won't speak to so and so at the kitchen table.
[00:04:30] The soul-crushing realization that I'm supposed to create magic while I also work a full-time job, I manage a household, and I keep tiny human beings in our home alive.
[00:04:43] So, Mr. Grinch, my sister has already posted 47 photos of her perfectly decorated house with her matching pajama family, and they all have made a homemade gingerbread village.
[00:04:56] Her kids are smiling in every picture.
[00:04:58] Her wreaths are even symmetrical.
[00:05:00] She made her own advent calendar out of reclaimed wood and organic cotton from the refillery.
[00:05:06] And meanwhile, I can barely get my kids to put their shoes on without having a meltdown.
[00:05:11] My tree is half decorated because I ran out of energy on Black Friday and last night I served our kids cereal for dinner again.
[00:05:21] It's the third time this week and the other nights have been drive-through McDonald's.
[00:05:26] I used to love this season.
[00:05:28] I have actual memories of anticipation and wonder and that tingly feeling of something special coming.
[00:05:36] Now, I just feel like I'm failing a test that I did not study for.
[00:05:41] My house is not camera ready.
[00:05:44] My cookies came from the grocery store bakery.
[00:05:47] I forgot about the class gift for my son's teacher until yesterday, so I went and panic bought a $50 Starbucks gift card.
[00:05:55] Perhaps it was a little much, but I felt guilty.
[00:05:59] When did Christmas become a performance review?
[00:06:02] When did it turn into this relentless competition where everybody's supposed to be crushing it so we can put it on social media?
[00:06:11] All the time, I'm over here just trying not to cry in the Target parking lot
[00:06:16] because it is literally impossible to get out of it once you get in.
[00:06:22] Why do I feel guilty for not being joyful this Christmas season when honestly, I'm just exhausted?
[00:06:31] I keep thinking, what if I just didn't?
[00:06:37] What if I stopped trying to match everybody else's highlight reel?
[00:06:41] And what if I just admit that this season is hard?
[00:06:45] I am tired physically, I'm tired emotionally, and I'm even tired spiritually.
[00:06:52] And I just don't have it all together.
[00:06:56] Would the world end if I just didn't want to do Christmas?
[00:07:00] Would Christmas still come?
[00:07:03] Signed, Exhausted in Mooresville.
[00:07:07] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Well, I think that's a glorious idea.
[00:07:09] You shouldn't.
[00:07:10] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Shouldn't what?
[00:07:11] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Christmas.
[00:07:12] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Shouldn't do Christmas?
[00:07:14] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
No.
[00:07:14] It's terrible.
[00:07:16] The best idea ever is to not do it at all.
[00:07:20] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
To not have Christmas.
[00:07:21] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Yes.
[00:07:23] And you said you were crying in the Target parking lot.
[00:07:27] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
That's what she said, yes.
[00:07:29] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
I love doing that.
[00:07:30] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
You like to cry in the Target parking lot?
[00:07:32] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
The only thing I like more than crying is yelling at the elderly.
[00:07:36] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Yelling at the elderly?
[00:07:38] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Yes.
[00:07:40] And you said she serves cereal for dinner?
[00:07:44] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Yeah.
[00:07:45] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
She should do that every night.
[00:07:46] As long as it's chunky milk.
[00:07:48] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Chunky milk.
[00:07:50] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
My favorite.
[00:07:51] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
That's disgusting.
[00:07:54] I'm not sure you're giving her the advice she's looking for.
[00:07:57] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Well, why would you even ask me?
[00:08:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
I'm not sure.
[00:08:02] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Moving on.
[00:08:05] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Well, so you're our special guest and no one's going to return if you just leave me hanging.
[00:08:11] These people wrote letters to you.
[00:08:13] So I need you to hang with me.
[00:08:15] It's time for letter number two.
[00:08:17] This one's a little more serious.
[00:08:19] It's not about just someone being overwhelmed.
[00:08:23] So could you like settle in and just sort of chill?
[00:08:28] Thank you.
[00:08:30] This one, she even gave it a title.
[00:08:33] It's called The Empty Chair.
[00:08:36] Dear Mr. Grinch, This is my first Christmas without my mom.
[00:08:41] She died in March.
[00:08:42] She had a sudden heart attack.
[00:08:44] No warning.
[00:08:45] No goodbye.
[00:08:46] And now everyone keeps telling me, Stay positive.
[00:08:50] Focus on the joy of the season.
[00:08:53] Your mom would want you to be happy.
[00:08:55] But here's the thing.
[00:08:56] Those feel like empty words to me right now.
[00:09:00] I don't want to be happy.
[00:09:02] I miss and want my mom.
[00:09:06] I want her terrible fruitcake that nobody actually ate but we all pretended to love.
[00:09:11] I wanted her off-key caroling while she wraps presents at the dining room table.
[00:09:17] I want the way she always burns something of Christmas dinner because she'd get distracted doing something else and forget that she had the food on the stove or in the oven.
[00:09:27] I want her laugh.
[00:09:29] I want her hands.
[00:09:31] I want one more Christmas morning watching her cry at the same Hallmark movie
[00:09:36] She cries that every single year.
[00:09:38] Instead, I feel like I'm drowning in a sea of tinsel and forced cheer while everyone around me acts like December is a magical reset button.
[00:09:49] My neighbor had the audacity to invite me to her cookie exchange and looked genuinely upset with me when I told her no.
[00:09:58] My coworkers keep asking what my plans are like I'm supposed to have plans.
[00:10:05] Someone at the grocery store told me it's the most wonderful time of the year and I almost lost it right there in the cereal aisle.
[00:10:14] I'm so tired of pretending, of smiling through parties where everyone's celebrating when all I can think about is the empty space in our family.
[00:10:25] Of nodding along when people talk about their family traditions when my family's never going to be the same.
[00:10:32] I'm tired of acting like everything's fine when actually nothing's fine.
[00:10:37] And I'm not sure it's ever going to be fine again.
[00:10:41] Is there room, Mr. Grinch, for grief at Christmas?
[00:10:47] Or am I supposed to just put it on a shelf until January the 2nd?
[00:10:52] Is it okay to just survive the season?
[00:10:54] Because I sure don't think I can thrive.
[00:10:59] Can I please just skip the joy and still be allowed to exist?
[00:11:05] Right now I would give anything to fast forward through December, to wake up in February when no one expects anything from me except cold.
[00:11:16] When can I just be sad without disappointing everyone around me, signed, barely holding on?
[00:11:26] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Well, first of all,
[00:11:28] That was a lovely sad story.
[00:11:29] I love sad stories.
[00:11:32] Second of all, tell everyone no all the time.
[00:11:37] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
What do you mean?
[00:11:38] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
If they ask you to do something, just say no.
[00:11:40] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Just always say no?
[00:11:41] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Always no.
[00:11:42] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Always no.
[00:11:44] I'm not sure how that's going to help her.
[00:11:47] Well, I don't care.
[00:11:49] Okay.
[00:11:50] Well, that's even better.
[00:11:51] This woman's boring out her arc.
[00:11:56] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Well, she shouldn't go to cookie exchanges.
[00:11:59] Cookies are disgusting.
[00:12:00] I prefer rotten onions.
[00:12:05] And parties are for losers.
[00:12:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Losers?
[00:12:11] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Losers.
[00:12:12] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Losers.
[00:12:14] I mean, I understand she doesn't want to go to a party because she's not feeling happy, but I'm not sure you can just say parties are for losers.
[00:12:21] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Well, they are for losers, and she should say no more often.
[00:12:25] And the best part of Christmas is being alone.
[00:12:29] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Being alone.
[00:12:31] You think that's her answer?
[00:12:33] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Always be alone.
[00:12:35] I love it.
[00:12:38] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
I just think you're missing the mark.
[00:12:41] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
I don't care.
[00:12:41] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
All right, Grinch, it's our last one, and frankly,
[00:12:50] This one is from me.
[00:12:53] I've wrestled with my honesty and I haven't decided.
[00:12:59] I really didn't know if I should be honest or not but then like
[00:13:04] This week we got a letter from one of my family members, one of my cousins that I grew up with and I thought we were close and she sent me this letter and it was a lot.
[00:13:20] Apparently her life is all worked out and sometimes mine doesn't seem like it is so I've got my own letter I'd like you to give me your feedback from, okay?
[00:13:32] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Yeah, sure.
[00:13:33] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
I even have some images to accompany the letter, so I'd like to invite you, when appropriate, to look at the screen.
[00:13:41] I'll show you when.
[00:13:43] Dear Mr. Grinch, I am a pastor, which means I'm supposed to be the one helping everyone else find their Christmas joy.
[00:13:52] I'm supposed to radiate hope and peace and all that good stuff.
[00:13:59] But you know what?
[00:14:00] I'm tired.
[00:14:02] And I'm annoyed and I need to complain.
[00:14:05] Personally, for me, this has been a year, I'd like to call it the year of crashes.
[00:14:13] Literal crashes.
[00:14:15] First, there was the Food Lion parking lot incident.
[00:14:19] I still don't think it was my fault.
[00:14:22] I really don't.
[00:14:23] In fact, I'd like to show you an image of my car.
[00:14:25] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Hold on.
[00:14:28] That's not your car.
[00:14:31] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
It's close to my car.
[00:14:32] It's a 4Runner.
[00:14:33] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Yeah, but that's not yours.
[00:14:36] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
I wanted it to sound worse than it really was.
[00:14:39] I wanted the car accident to sound worse than it really was because you see my insurance doubled after said car accident because the insurance company said that it was my fault and I don't think it was.
[00:14:54] I was turning left.
[00:14:55] I was at a standstill and someone else pelted into me and so $5,000 and I kid you not my car insurance has doubled.
[00:15:04] My salary has not doubled.
[00:15:06] My financial resources have not doubled.
[00:15:09] But we can just add that to the pile of things including cost of groceries, etc.
[00:15:16] that are draining my bank account.
[00:15:19] Tom and I, we were so excited to go to this race in Canada.
[00:15:24] He does triathlons.
[00:15:26] He had been training all year.
[00:15:27] He was so ready.
[00:15:29] He felt psyched.
[00:15:30] And then he had the audacity to have a bike crash right before we left.
[00:15:36] He called me.
[00:15:37] I was trying to check out at Walmart with snacks for our 16-hour road trip.
[00:15:42] And then he calls me.
[00:15:43] He's like, hey, I need you to come home.
[00:15:45] Like, I had a pretty significant accident.
[00:15:47] I mean it really ruined my whole Saturday and then I get home and I notice like his little tri-suit thing half of it was missing think about like putting your skin through a cheese grater that's what he looked like it was road rash everywhere and
[00:16:08] His coach though said, oh yeah, go to Canada.
[00:16:12] So off we go.
[00:16:13] Have you ever tried to ride 16 hours in a car with someone who doesn't have skin on half of their body?
[00:16:20] It was not a pleasant experience.
[00:16:23] Then after all that time and all that preparation, we got there and he had a DNF.
[00:16:30] That means did not finish.
[00:16:34] We went all that way through all of that
[00:16:37] We didn't even finish the race.
[00:16:40] I put in a lot of time and effort into that triathlon and the audacity of him to do two-thirds of it.
[00:16:48] I'm like, dude, all you've got to do is just go run.
[00:16:52] You can finish.
[00:16:53] It didn't matter that he was lightheaded and thought he was going to pass out.
[00:16:56] Several people did.
[00:16:58] I was very frustrated.
[00:17:00] And then there's one more thing.
[00:17:02] Our dog.
[00:17:04] So a year, just over a year ago, we had this German Shepherd that we loved tremendously.
[00:17:09] His name was Axel and he died.
[00:17:11] So then we got a new German Shepherd.
[00:17:13] I saw him on Facebook.
[00:17:15] His name is Fritz.
[00:17:16] We found him.
[00:17:17] He was with the Charlotte Humane Society and we love him.
[00:17:22] But he is the biggest klutz ever.
[00:17:25] We brought him home and one Saturday I was having the best day.
[00:17:29] It was like Labor Day weekend, gorgeous day, and I hear this huge pop.
[00:17:36] And then I hear this huge yell out from the dog.
[00:17:41] I look up and I kid you not, I spared you the pictures of this.
[00:17:45] You would have liked it, but our listeners would not have.
[00:17:48] His leg was literally dangling from his joint.
[00:17:52] I could see his bone and all his tendons.
[00:17:55] It was nasty.
[00:17:57] I didn't know what to do.
[00:18:00] Tom wasn't home, so I did the only thing I knew to do.
[00:18:03] I called my daughter and I asked her to go down to where he works on his cars to go get him, to have him come home.
[00:18:11] It looked like we had slaughtered people on our back porch.
[00:18:14] It was horrific.
[00:18:17] And now here we are four months later and there is Fritz.
[00:18:22] You see him lying with our other dog with his cone of shame because he continues to eat his leg.
[00:18:30] He likes to lick it.
[00:18:32] and four months later lots of medication lots and lots and lots of vet bills here we are still nursing his leg for the longest time we couldn't even leave him alone we had to dog sit 24 7. that has been another huge hit to my lovely bank account my energy and my patience so here i am it's advent
[00:19:02] It's Christmas.
[00:19:04] Supposed to be preaching about joy.
[00:19:06] Supposed to talk about how God breaks into the darkness.
[00:19:11] And all I can think about is where is the joy in this?
[00:19:15] Where's the joy in my bank account being very small?
[00:19:18] Where's the joy in 16 hours of driving for absolutely nothing?
[00:19:22] Which was actually 32 because we had to come home.
[00:19:25] Where's the joy in watching my dog suffer?
[00:19:28] Where's the joy in this entire year feeling like one crash after another?
[00:19:33] I know what I'm supposed to say.
[00:19:35] I know what I'm paid to say.
[00:19:38] I know the theological answers.
[00:19:40] I've written sermons about the exact thing about how joy isn't dependent on circumstances and about how God shows up in the hard stuff and blah blah blah.
[00:19:49] How the Christmas story is messy and difficult and nothing like the Instagram version.
[00:19:55] But right now, I don't really care about any of that.
[00:19:58] I just want to complain.
[00:20:00] I would like to have some affirmation that my year has stank and I do not feel joyful.
[00:20:08] It's hard and I'm tired and I'm the pastor and I don't get to really say how I feel out loud except I just did.
[00:20:18] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Wow.
[00:20:22] You sound like a real Grinch.
[00:20:26] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
I was just trying to be human.
[00:20:28] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Well, I'm not human, so.
[00:20:30] Normally, I would say that I'm proud of you for being so grinchy.
[00:20:38] But you should look at what you have.
[00:20:43] People, these people, they like you.
[00:20:47] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
That's debatable.
[00:20:49] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
You have a great life.
[00:20:52] Sure, the dog hurt his foot.
[00:20:53] You crashed your car.
[00:20:56] But you've got a wonderful family.
[00:20:58] And when I look at your life, I get these feelings.
[00:21:05] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Oh, really?
[00:21:06] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
And I don't like feelings.
[00:21:09] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
You don't like feelings?
[00:21:11] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
I don't like feeling feelings.
[00:21:18] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
But maybe it's okay to feel them?
[00:21:21] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
I can't do it.
[00:21:23] It's too warm.
[00:21:24] I can't do it.
[00:21:26] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
hmm all right so maybe that's how we can feel at Christmas like so many different people come to Christmas from so many different places on Friday morning I had the privilege to celebrate the life of someone and it was a powerful service at the VA cemetery in
[00:21:53] Salisbury and part of the words that I shared with the family is that right now is when grief and gratitude goes hand in hand.
[00:22:05] You know, Christmas, we've talked for the last three weeks, Am I a Grinch If?
[00:22:09] And we've talked about different things.
[00:22:11] We've talked about being overwhelmed and the pressure that we put on ourselves to measure up to other people.
[00:22:17] I wasn't kidding.
[00:22:19] Like, when I talked about my letter, Tom and I were talking about it this week, and I didn't mean to trash on him, but he did know that was coming with the triathlon.
[00:22:27] He actually did amazing that day and I was so proud of him for having boundaries around what his body could do and couldn't do and not make bad decisions just because he wanted some title or something to finish.
[00:22:41] But we got a letter from one of my family members and their life just seemed perfect.
[00:22:46] And I'm like, why don't we ever write the letters that say, this year stank.
[00:22:52] This year was hard.
[00:22:53] This year we lost people that we love.
[00:22:58] This year we wrestled financially.
[00:23:00] This year I just had a hard time finding joy because we have this problem with being vulnerable.
[00:23:07] And that's what happened with the Grinch.
[00:23:11] You know, cynicism happens in all of us if we're not careful, and that's what the Grinch wrestled with.
[00:23:20] He was cynical.
[00:23:21] Not because he was a jerk.
[00:23:24] Because he had opened his heart up, which you saw at the beginning of the movie, and showed love and generosity.
[00:23:34] And what happened?
[00:23:37] He got ridiculed and made fun of and that hurt.
[00:23:43] If we're not careful that's what happens to us in our lives when we open ourselves up with vulnerability and then we get hurt over and over again.
[00:23:54] If we're not careful our hearts get hard and we get cynical.
[00:24:02] There's a passage in Ezekiel and the prophets were trying to get the people of Israel to not give up hope on God.
[00:24:13] But the people of Israel, despite knowing the promises and the amazing things that had happened to their ancestors, like when life would happen and would get hard, they would say, God, where are you?
[00:24:24] And God would not show up in a way that they would see or understand.
[00:24:29] So they'd start to doubt God and be angry and cynical.
[00:24:33] And Ezekiel says to them, God is going to turn your heart of stone to a heart of flesh.
[00:24:40] and that happened a couple thousand years ago and we will celebrate that that transformation and that change on Christmas Eve.
[00:24:49] Will you let your heart be open and will you be willing to acknowledge that sometimes life just hurts and sometimes life is hard and sad and we wrestle with things that just don't make sense
[00:25:10] and the pain doesn't make any sense.
[00:25:14] It's interesting and on Christmas Eve we'll read the Christmas story and it'll be a service that you can invite your friends to.
[00:25:22] Not anything we're going to beat them over the head with but we'll just talk about the hope that comes with Christmas.
[00:25:31] But I think it's interesting when we're here this Sunday
[00:25:36] Because we know that that gift has already come and even though we're waiting for it to come on Christmas Eve, we get it.
[00:25:44] We get that like it did happen a couple thousand years ago.
[00:25:50] And wherever you are in your understanding of what happened and how it happened and all that, there's just this coolest message that comes in it and that's what I want to leave you with today.
[00:26:01] So, this baby comes and some people believed it early on that there's something special about this human being, this tiny human.
[00:26:15] And then if you read the gospel stories, you see what his life looked like.
[00:26:19] You see that he was fully human.
[00:26:20] He got mad and sad.
[00:26:22] All the feels, like the Grinch would say, like we have.
[00:26:28] But then right before his life ended, he was with those that were closest to him.
[00:26:36] And he gave them a message.
[00:26:39] And it's that same message he would have us hear today wherever we are in our own lives in relation to feeling joy and hope at Christmas.
[00:26:52] It's called Incarnation Theology.
[00:26:55] When God, something, some presence, some deity that people couldn't understand put on human form.
[00:27:05] And that human form was born and then grew up and then said, I'm not going to be here much longer.
[00:27:12] But don't be afraid.
[00:27:17] Where I go, you cannot go.
[00:27:18] But let me tell you this.
[00:27:24] Do not let your hearts be troubled.
[00:27:28] And do not be afraid.
[00:27:32] And I'm going to give you my presence through the gift of the Advocate, the Holy Spirit that's going to come and be with you.
[00:27:39] Don't let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
[00:27:45] That's the gift of the Christmas season.
[00:27:51] No matter how big your grief, your pain, your anger, your sadness, your disappointment, your loneliness,
[00:28:01] that presence of not being afraid that there is a presence that's bigger than we are that we don't understand but abides within us it's something we can all hold on to I hope you'll hold on to that this Christmas season let us pray gracious God it is so cool that we can see the whole story
[00:28:29] and know that on that night when the shepherds saw the light and were invited to be the first observers of the story that story came and it changed people's lives it gives us hope when it seems like there's only darkness it gives us peace when it seems like all we can do is mourn
[00:28:53] And it gives us the assurance of knowing that we are not alone in this world and you show up in and through other people in our lives so we don't have to be lonely.
[00:29:04] We don't have to be afraid.
[00:29:10] God, turn our own hearts of stone into hearts of flesh.
[00:29:15] Give us the willingness to be sad or angry or scared.
[00:29:23] Knowing that if we will allow ourselves to feel our true feelings, you meet us where we are and you carry us in and through all things.
[00:29:36] We offer ourselves to you in Christ's holy name.
[00:29:40] Amen.
[00:29:41] I invite you to stand and sing.
[00:29:48] So thanks for being here today.
[00:29:49] If you're worshiping with us for the first time, we're glad that you came today.
[00:29:53] Normally I don't wear pajamas, but we've done the Grinch all year, so it just felt fun and festive.
[00:29:58] And these are absolutely the best bedroom shoes you could ever purchase.
[00:30:02] They're so cozy.
[00:30:03] So anyway, we're glad that you're here.
[00:30:05] If you're worshiping with us online, we're really grateful that you chose to experience Christmas with us.
[00:30:12] We're excited about our Christmas Eve services.
[00:30:15] Last year we polled the people, we polled you to see which service would you come to?
[00:30:20] What time would you like for the service to be actually?
[00:30:23] And you were dead split down the center for five and seven.
[00:30:27] and since I go to bed at 8 30 that really pushes me and I was like oh my gosh okay we'll have two and then we'll figure out the best time and we'll go back to one next year you came so much to both services so we're having two I hope you'll invite your friends it will be a non-threatening service but one of meaning and hopefully transformation
[00:30:49] This is a great time of year, and it's a hard time of year.
[00:30:53] So many people wrestle with so many different things that you heard us talk about today.
[00:30:58] These were real stories.
[00:31:00] The letters were a little elaborate, but the stories were real.
[00:31:05] People experiencing loss of loved ones, people worried about their finances, health concerns.
[00:31:11] There's just so much.
[00:31:14] But what I told that family on Friday is true.
[00:31:17] Grief and sadness and fear and all those things can walk hand in hand with gratitude.
[00:31:24] It's about how we look at it.
[00:31:26] And so I invite you over the next three days when you start feeling icky or anxious, take a different perspective.
[00:31:34] and remember that you're never alone and a light that permeated the darkness in such a way that two thousand plus years later we're still talking about it that light's real and lives in you may you go and if i don't see you on christmas eve may you have a merry christmas and if not i look forward to seeing you wednesday go in peace
Welcome to Grinch Therapy.
[00:00:02] Today is our first episode of our podcast.
[00:00:06] We invite you to get warm and cozy in your special seat and just enjoy the morning.
[00:00:13] This is, like I said, called Grinch Therapy and you're going to hear some letters written by some very special people that are seeking very intentional advice.
[00:00:24] We have a very special guest with us this morning.
[00:00:27] And so let me introduce you to our first special guest.
[00:00:31] His name is the Grinch.
[00:00:34] The Grinch holds advanced degrees in isolation studies and a dislike of humankind from the school of hard knocks
[00:00:42] The Mount Crumpit Campus.
[00:00:45] He completed his clinical training in a cave approximately 3000 feet above sea level where he conducted extensive research on the correlation between social withdrawal and inner peace.
[00:00:58] He has decided that the results are inconclusive.
[00:01:02] His therapeutic approach has been described as bracingly honest, therapeutically questionable, and literally he's just mean.
[00:01:12] He specializes in helping clients explore their feelings by telling them their feelings are stupid.
[00:01:19] Prior work experience includes small business owner.
[00:01:23] He specializes in Christmas redistribution.
[00:01:27] Organizational consultant, he decluttered an entire town
[00:01:32] In one night.
[00:01:34] And he is a life coach.
[00:01:36] He taught a dog how to pull a sleigh even though the dog had his own concerns.
[00:01:42] His heart now is reportedly two sizes too small.
[00:01:48] The recent cardiac imaging suggests that some enlargement may be occurring.
[00:01:54] We'll see what happens with that today.
[00:01:57] The Grinch is not licensed by any accredited therapeutic board.
[00:02:01] Mostly because he thinks accreditation is a scam designed to make people feel important and have fancy titles.
[00:02:10] He may or may not be real.
[00:02:13] He definitely should not be trusted with your deepest vulnerabilities.
[00:02:17] And yet, today, the Sunday before Christmas, here we are.
[00:02:23] I would like for you to join with me in giving a special warm welcome to the Grinch.
[00:02:28] Welcome to our show.
[00:02:44] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Mr. Grinch, what are you giving out?
[00:02:53] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Well, it is my business, and it's more my business that you use your microphone.
[00:02:58] Thank you.
[00:02:59] We give a special warm welcome to our online guests who are joining with us for our very first podcast.
[00:03:05] Please tell me what you gave to our guests.
[00:03:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Eviction notice, jury duty, blackmail, and an onion.
[00:03:12] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Alright, well, you know, we really are launching a podcast in the year 2026, and so this is a little bit of a dry run for us, so I'm really hoping that today goes well, alright?
[00:03:25] So, what's going to happen is I have three letters.
[00:03:29] Each letters are from real...
[00:03:32] Real people that wanted real advice and they wanted advice from you.
[00:03:39] They say that they are feeling very grinchy and so how this is going to go down, I'm going to read to you the letter and then I want you to dig deep.
[00:03:49] I want you to really think about your response and these folks are going to be watching today so they're going to be hanging on your words.
[00:03:57] This needs to matter, okay?
[00:04:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
I suppose.
[00:04:02] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Alright, here we go.
[00:04:04] Dear Mr. Grinch, Everyone keeps asking me if I'm ready for Christmas.
[00:04:10] And honestly, I want to scream.
[00:04:13] Ready for what, exactly?
[00:04:15] The financial hemorrhaging?
[00:04:17] Any of you out there feel like that?
[00:04:19] You dread the credit card bills that are going to show up next month?
[00:04:23] The family drama?
[00:04:24] The individuals that so and so won't speak to so and so at the kitchen table.
[00:04:30] The soul-crushing realization that I'm supposed to create magic while I also work a full-time job, I manage a household, and I keep tiny human beings in our home alive.
[00:04:43] So, Mr. Grinch, my sister has already posted 47 photos of her perfectly decorated house with her matching pajama family, and they all have made a homemade gingerbread village.
[00:04:56] Her kids are smiling in every picture.
[00:04:58] Her wreaths are even symmetrical.
[00:05:00] She made her own advent calendar out of reclaimed wood and organic cotton from the refillery.
[00:05:06] And meanwhile, I can barely get my kids to put their shoes on without having a meltdown.
[00:05:11] My tree is half decorated because I ran out of energy on Black Friday and last night I served our kids cereal for dinner again.
[00:05:21] It's the third time this week and the other nights have been drive-through McDonald's.
[00:05:26] I used to love this season.
[00:05:28] I have actual memories of anticipation and wonder and that tingly feeling of something special coming.
[00:05:36] Now, I just feel like I'm failing a test that I did not study for.
[00:05:41] My house is not camera ready.
[00:05:44] My cookies came from the grocery store bakery.
[00:05:47] I forgot about the class gift for my son's teacher until yesterday, so I went and panic bought a $50 Starbucks gift card.
[00:05:55] Perhaps it was a little much, but I felt guilty.
[00:05:59] When did Christmas become a performance review?
[00:06:02] When did it turn into this relentless competition where everybody's supposed to be crushing it so we can put it on social media?
[00:06:11] All the time, I'm over here just trying not to cry in the Target parking lot
[00:06:16] because it is literally impossible to get out of it once you get in.
[00:06:22] Why do I feel guilty for not being joyful this Christmas season when honestly, I'm just exhausted?
[00:06:31] I keep thinking, what if I just didn't?
[00:06:37] What if I stopped trying to match everybody else's highlight reel?
[00:06:41] And what if I just admit that this season is hard?
[00:06:45] I am tired physically, I'm tired emotionally, and I'm even tired spiritually.
[00:06:52] And I just don't have it all together.
[00:06:56] Would the world end if I just didn't want to do Christmas?
[00:07:00] Would Christmas still come?
[00:07:03] Signed, Exhausted in Mooresville.
[00:07:07] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Well, I think that's a glorious idea.
[00:07:09] You shouldn't.
[00:07:10] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Shouldn't what?
[00:07:11] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Christmas.
[00:07:12] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Shouldn't do Christmas?
[00:07:14] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
No.
[00:07:14] It's terrible.
[00:07:16] The best idea ever is to not do it at all.
[00:07:20] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
To not have Christmas.
[00:07:21] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Yes.
[00:07:23] And you said you were crying in the Target parking lot.
[00:07:27] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
That's what she said, yes.
[00:07:29] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
I love doing that.
[00:07:30] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
You like to cry in the Target parking lot?
[00:07:32] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
The only thing I like more than crying is yelling at the elderly.
[00:07:36] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Yelling at the elderly?
[00:07:38] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Yes.
[00:07:40] And you said she serves cereal for dinner?
[00:07:44] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Yeah.
[00:07:45] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
She should do that every night.
[00:07:46] As long as it's chunky milk.
[00:07:48] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Chunky milk.
[00:07:50] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
My favorite.
[00:07:51] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
That's disgusting.
[00:07:54] I'm not sure you're giving her the advice she's looking for.
[00:07:57] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Well, why would you even ask me?
[00:08:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
I'm not sure.
[00:08:02] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Moving on.
[00:08:05] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Well, so you're our special guest and no one's going to return if you just leave me hanging.
[00:08:11] These people wrote letters to you.
[00:08:13] So I need you to hang with me.
[00:08:15] It's time for letter number two.
[00:08:17] This one's a little more serious.
[00:08:19] It's not about just someone being overwhelmed.
[00:08:23] So could you like settle in and just sort of chill?
[00:08:28] Thank you.
[00:08:30] This one, she even gave it a title.
[00:08:33] It's called The Empty Chair.
[00:08:36] Dear Mr. Grinch, This is my first Christmas without my mom.
[00:08:41] She died in March.
[00:08:42] She had a sudden heart attack.
[00:08:44] No warning.
[00:08:45] No goodbye.
[00:08:46] And now everyone keeps telling me, Stay positive.
[00:08:50] Focus on the joy of the season.
[00:08:53] Your mom would want you to be happy.
[00:08:55] But here's the thing.
[00:08:56] Those feel like empty words to me right now.
[00:09:00] I don't want to be happy.
[00:09:02] I miss and want my mom.
[00:09:06] I want her terrible fruitcake that nobody actually ate but we all pretended to love.
[00:09:11] I wanted her off-key caroling while she wraps presents at the dining room table.
[00:09:17] I want the way she always burns something of Christmas dinner because she'd get distracted doing something else and forget that she had the food on the stove or in the oven.
[00:09:27] I want her laugh.
[00:09:29] I want her hands.
[00:09:31] I want one more Christmas morning watching her cry at the same Hallmark movie
[00:09:36] She cries that every single year.
[00:09:38] Instead, I feel like I'm drowning in a sea of tinsel and forced cheer while everyone around me acts like December is a magical reset button.
[00:09:49] My neighbor had the audacity to invite me to her cookie exchange and looked genuinely upset with me when I told her no.
[00:09:58] My coworkers keep asking what my plans are like I'm supposed to have plans.
[00:10:05] Someone at the grocery store told me it's the most wonderful time of the year and I almost lost it right there in the cereal aisle.
[00:10:14] I'm so tired of pretending, of smiling through parties where everyone's celebrating when all I can think about is the empty space in our family.
[00:10:25] Of nodding along when people talk about their family traditions when my family's never going to be the same.
[00:10:32] I'm tired of acting like everything's fine when actually nothing's fine.
[00:10:37] And I'm not sure it's ever going to be fine again.
[00:10:41] Is there room, Mr. Grinch, for grief at Christmas?
[00:10:47] Or am I supposed to just put it on a shelf until January the 2nd?
[00:10:52] Is it okay to just survive the season?
[00:10:54] Because I sure don't think I can thrive.
[00:10:59] Can I please just skip the joy and still be allowed to exist?
[00:11:05] Right now I would give anything to fast forward through December, to wake up in February when no one expects anything from me except cold.
[00:11:16] When can I just be sad without disappointing everyone around me, signed, barely holding on?
[00:11:26] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Well, first of all,
[00:11:28] That was a lovely sad story.
[00:11:29] I love sad stories.
[00:11:32] Second of all, tell everyone no all the time.
[00:11:37] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
What do you mean?
[00:11:38] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
If they ask you to do something, just say no.
[00:11:40] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Just always say no?
[00:11:41] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Always no.
[00:11:42] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Always no.
[00:11:44] I'm not sure how that's going to help her.
[00:11:47] Well, I don't care.
[00:11:49] Okay.
[00:11:50] Well, that's even better.
[00:11:51] This woman's boring out her arc.
[00:11:56] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Well, she shouldn't go to cookie exchanges.
[00:11:59] Cookies are disgusting.
[00:12:00] I prefer rotten onions.
[00:12:05] And parties are for losers.
[00:12:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Losers?
[00:12:11] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Losers.
[00:12:12] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Losers.
[00:12:14] I mean, I understand she doesn't want to go to a party because she's not feeling happy, but I'm not sure you can just say parties are for losers.
[00:12:21] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Well, they are for losers, and she should say no more often.
[00:12:25] And the best part of Christmas is being alone.
[00:12:29] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Being alone.
[00:12:31] You think that's her answer?
[00:12:33] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Always be alone.
[00:12:35] I love it.
[00:12:38] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
I just think you're missing the mark.
[00:12:41] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
I don't care.
[00:12:41] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
All right, Grinch, it's our last one, and frankly,
[00:12:50] This one is from me.
[00:12:53] I've wrestled with my honesty and I haven't decided.
[00:12:59] I really didn't know if I should be honest or not but then like
[00:13:04] This week we got a letter from one of my family members, one of my cousins that I grew up with and I thought we were close and she sent me this letter and it was a lot.
[00:13:20] Apparently her life is all worked out and sometimes mine doesn't seem like it is so I've got my own letter I'd like you to give me your feedback from, okay?
[00:13:32] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Yeah, sure.
[00:13:33] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
I even have some images to accompany the letter, so I'd like to invite you, when appropriate, to look at the screen.
[00:13:41] I'll show you when.
[00:13:43] Dear Mr. Grinch, I am a pastor, which means I'm supposed to be the one helping everyone else find their Christmas joy.
[00:13:52] I'm supposed to radiate hope and peace and all that good stuff.
[00:13:59] But you know what?
[00:14:00] I'm tired.
[00:14:02] And I'm annoyed and I need to complain.
[00:14:05] Personally, for me, this has been a year, I'd like to call it the year of crashes.
[00:14:13] Literal crashes.
[00:14:15] First, there was the Food Lion parking lot incident.
[00:14:19] I still don't think it was my fault.
[00:14:22] I really don't.
[00:14:23] In fact, I'd like to show you an image of my car.
[00:14:25] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Hold on.
[00:14:28] That's not your car.
[00:14:31] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
It's close to my car.
[00:14:32] It's a 4Runner.
[00:14:33] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Yeah, but that's not yours.
[00:14:36] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
I wanted it to sound worse than it really was.
[00:14:39] I wanted the car accident to sound worse than it really was because you see my insurance doubled after said car accident because the insurance company said that it was my fault and I don't think it was.
[00:14:54] I was turning left.
[00:14:55] I was at a standstill and someone else pelted into me and so $5,000 and I kid you not my car insurance has doubled.
[00:15:04] My salary has not doubled.
[00:15:06] My financial resources have not doubled.
[00:15:09] But we can just add that to the pile of things including cost of groceries, etc.
[00:15:16] that are draining my bank account.
[00:15:19] Tom and I, we were so excited to go to this race in Canada.
[00:15:24] He does triathlons.
[00:15:26] He had been training all year.
[00:15:27] He was so ready.
[00:15:29] He felt psyched.
[00:15:30] And then he had the audacity to have a bike crash right before we left.
[00:15:36] He called me.
[00:15:37] I was trying to check out at Walmart with snacks for our 16-hour road trip.
[00:15:42] And then he calls me.
[00:15:43] He's like, hey, I need you to come home.
[00:15:45] Like, I had a pretty significant accident.
[00:15:47] I mean it really ruined my whole Saturday and then I get home and I notice like his little tri-suit thing half of it was missing think about like putting your skin through a cheese grater that's what he looked like it was road rash everywhere and
[00:16:08] His coach though said, oh yeah, go to Canada.
[00:16:12] So off we go.
[00:16:13] Have you ever tried to ride 16 hours in a car with someone who doesn't have skin on half of their body?
[00:16:20] It was not a pleasant experience.
[00:16:23] Then after all that time and all that preparation, we got there and he had a DNF.
[00:16:30] That means did not finish.
[00:16:34] We went all that way through all of that
[00:16:37] We didn't even finish the race.
[00:16:40] I put in a lot of time and effort into that triathlon and the audacity of him to do two-thirds of it.
[00:16:48] I'm like, dude, all you've got to do is just go run.
[00:16:52] You can finish.
[00:16:53] It didn't matter that he was lightheaded and thought he was going to pass out.
[00:16:56] Several people did.
[00:16:58] I was very frustrated.
[00:17:00] And then there's one more thing.
[00:17:02] Our dog.
[00:17:04] So a year, just over a year ago, we had this German Shepherd that we loved tremendously.
[00:17:09] His name was Axel and he died.
[00:17:11] So then we got a new German Shepherd.
[00:17:13] I saw him on Facebook.
[00:17:15] His name is Fritz.
[00:17:16] We found him.
[00:17:17] He was with the Charlotte Humane Society and we love him.
[00:17:22] But he is the biggest klutz ever.
[00:17:25] We brought him home and one Saturday I was having the best day.
[00:17:29] It was like Labor Day weekend, gorgeous day, and I hear this huge pop.
[00:17:36] And then I hear this huge yell out from the dog.
[00:17:41] I look up and I kid you not, I spared you the pictures of this.
[00:17:45] You would have liked it, but our listeners would not have.
[00:17:48] His leg was literally dangling from his joint.
[00:17:52] I could see his bone and all his tendons.
[00:17:55] It was nasty.
[00:17:57] I didn't know what to do.
[00:18:00] Tom wasn't home, so I did the only thing I knew to do.
[00:18:03] I called my daughter and I asked her to go down to where he works on his cars to go get him, to have him come home.
[00:18:11] It looked like we had slaughtered people on our back porch.
[00:18:14] It was horrific.
[00:18:17] And now here we are four months later and there is Fritz.
[00:18:22] You see him lying with our other dog with his cone of shame because he continues to eat his leg.
[00:18:30] He likes to lick it.
[00:18:32] and four months later lots of medication lots and lots and lots of vet bills here we are still nursing his leg for the longest time we couldn't even leave him alone we had to dog sit 24 7. that has been another huge hit to my lovely bank account my energy and my patience so here i am it's advent
[00:19:02] It's Christmas.
[00:19:04] Supposed to be preaching about joy.
[00:19:06] Supposed to talk about how God breaks into the darkness.
[00:19:11] And all I can think about is where is the joy in this?
[00:19:15] Where's the joy in my bank account being very small?
[00:19:18] Where's the joy in 16 hours of driving for absolutely nothing?
[00:19:22] Which was actually 32 because we had to come home.
[00:19:25] Where's the joy in watching my dog suffer?
[00:19:28] Where's the joy in this entire year feeling like one crash after another?
[00:19:33] I know what I'm supposed to say.
[00:19:35] I know what I'm paid to say.
[00:19:38] I know the theological answers.
[00:19:40] I've written sermons about the exact thing about how joy isn't dependent on circumstances and about how God shows up in the hard stuff and blah blah blah.
[00:19:49] How the Christmas story is messy and difficult and nothing like the Instagram version.
[00:19:55] But right now, I don't really care about any of that.
[00:19:58] I just want to complain.
[00:20:00] I would like to have some affirmation that my year has stank and I do not feel joyful.
[00:20:08] It's hard and I'm tired and I'm the pastor and I don't get to really say how I feel out loud except I just did.
[00:20:18] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Wow.
[00:20:22] You sound like a real Grinch.
[00:20:26] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
I was just trying to be human.
[00:20:28] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Well, I'm not human, so.
[00:20:30] Normally, I would say that I'm proud of you for being so grinchy.
[00:20:38] But you should look at what you have.
[00:20:43] People, these people, they like you.
[00:20:47] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
That's debatable.
[00:20:49] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
You have a great life.
[00:20:52] Sure, the dog hurt his foot.
[00:20:53] You crashed your car.
[00:20:56] But you've got a wonderful family.
[00:20:58] And when I look at your life, I get these feelings.
[00:21:05] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Oh, really?
[00:21:06] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
And I don't like feelings.
[00:21:09] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
You don't like feelings?
[00:21:11] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
I don't like feeling feelings.
[00:21:18] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
But maybe it's okay to feel them?
[00:21:21] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
I can't do it.
[00:21:23] It's too warm.
[00:21:24] I can't do it.
[00:21:26] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
hmm all right so maybe that's how we can feel at Christmas like so many different people come to Christmas from so many different places on Friday morning I had the privilege to celebrate the life of someone and it was a powerful service at the VA cemetery in
[00:21:53] Salisbury and part of the words that I shared with the family is that right now is when grief and gratitude goes hand in hand.
[00:22:05] You know, Christmas, we've talked for the last three weeks, Am I a Grinch If?
[00:22:09] And we've talked about different things.
[00:22:11] We've talked about being overwhelmed and the pressure that we put on ourselves to measure up to other people.
[00:22:17] I wasn't kidding.
[00:22:19] Like, when I talked about my letter, Tom and I were talking about it this week, and I didn't mean to trash on him, but he did know that was coming with the triathlon.
[00:22:27] He actually did amazing that day and I was so proud of him for having boundaries around what his body could do and couldn't do and not make bad decisions just because he wanted some title or something to finish.
[00:22:41] But we got a letter from one of my family members and their life just seemed perfect.
[00:22:46] And I'm like, why don't we ever write the letters that say, this year stank.
[00:22:52] This year was hard.
[00:22:53] This year we lost people that we love.
[00:22:58] This year we wrestled financially.
[00:23:00] This year I just had a hard time finding joy because we have this problem with being vulnerable.
[00:23:07] And that's what happened with the Grinch.
[00:23:11] You know, cynicism happens in all of us if we're not careful, and that's what the Grinch wrestled with.
[00:23:20] He was cynical.
[00:23:21] Not because he was a jerk.
[00:23:24] Because he had opened his heart up, which you saw at the beginning of the movie, and showed love and generosity.
[00:23:34] And what happened?
[00:23:37] He got ridiculed and made fun of and that hurt.
[00:23:43] If we're not careful that's what happens to us in our lives when we open ourselves up with vulnerability and then we get hurt over and over again.
[00:23:54] If we're not careful our hearts get hard and we get cynical.
[00:24:02] There's a passage in Ezekiel and the prophets were trying to get the people of Israel to not give up hope on God.
[00:24:13] But the people of Israel, despite knowing the promises and the amazing things that had happened to their ancestors, like when life would happen and would get hard, they would say, God, where are you?
[00:24:24] And God would not show up in a way that they would see or understand.
[00:24:29] So they'd start to doubt God and be angry and cynical.
[00:24:33] And Ezekiel says to them, God is going to turn your heart of stone to a heart of flesh.
[00:24:40] and that happened a couple thousand years ago and we will celebrate that that transformation and that change on Christmas Eve.
[00:24:49] Will you let your heart be open and will you be willing to acknowledge that sometimes life just hurts and sometimes life is hard and sad and we wrestle with things that just don't make sense
[00:25:10] and the pain doesn't make any sense.
[00:25:14] It's interesting and on Christmas Eve we'll read the Christmas story and it'll be a service that you can invite your friends to.
[00:25:22] Not anything we're going to beat them over the head with but we'll just talk about the hope that comes with Christmas.
[00:25:31] But I think it's interesting when we're here this Sunday
[00:25:36] Because we know that that gift has already come and even though we're waiting for it to come on Christmas Eve, we get it.
[00:25:44] We get that like it did happen a couple thousand years ago.
[00:25:50] And wherever you are in your understanding of what happened and how it happened and all that, there's just this coolest message that comes in it and that's what I want to leave you with today.
[00:26:01] So, this baby comes and some people believed it early on that there's something special about this human being, this tiny human.
[00:26:15] And then if you read the gospel stories, you see what his life looked like.
[00:26:19] You see that he was fully human.
[00:26:20] He got mad and sad.
[00:26:22] All the feels, like the Grinch would say, like we have.
[00:26:28] But then right before his life ended, he was with those that were closest to him.
[00:26:36] And he gave them a message.
[00:26:39] And it's that same message he would have us hear today wherever we are in our own lives in relation to feeling joy and hope at Christmas.
[00:26:52] It's called Incarnation Theology.
[00:26:55] When God, something, some presence, some deity that people couldn't understand put on human form.
[00:27:05] And that human form was born and then grew up and then said, I'm not going to be here much longer.
[00:27:12] But don't be afraid.
[00:27:17] Where I go, you cannot go.
[00:27:18] But let me tell you this.
[00:27:24] Do not let your hearts be troubled.
[00:27:28] And do not be afraid.
[00:27:32] And I'm going to give you my presence through the gift of the Advocate, the Holy Spirit that's going to come and be with you.
[00:27:39] Don't let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
[00:27:45] That's the gift of the Christmas season.
[00:27:51] No matter how big your grief, your pain, your anger, your sadness, your disappointment, your loneliness,
[00:28:01] that presence of not being afraid that there is a presence that's bigger than we are that we don't understand but abides within us it's something we can all hold on to I hope you'll hold on to that this Christmas season let us pray gracious God it is so cool that we can see the whole story
[00:28:29] and know that on that night when the shepherds saw the light and were invited to be the first observers of the story that story came and it changed people's lives it gives us hope when it seems like there's only darkness it gives us peace when it seems like all we can do is mourn
[00:28:53] And it gives us the assurance of knowing that we are not alone in this world and you show up in and through other people in our lives so we don't have to be lonely.
[00:29:04] We don't have to be afraid.
[00:29:10] God, turn our own hearts of stone into hearts of flesh.
[00:29:15] Give us the willingness to be sad or angry or scared.
[00:29:23] Knowing that if we will allow ourselves to feel our true feelings, you meet us where we are and you carry us in and through all things.
[00:29:36] We offer ourselves to you in Christ's holy name.
[00:29:40] Amen.
[00:29:41] I invite you to stand and sing.
[00:29:48] So thanks for being here today.
[00:29:49] If you're worshiping with us for the first time, we're glad that you came today.
[00:29:53] Normally I don't wear pajamas, but we've done the Grinch all year, so it just felt fun and festive.
[00:29:58] And these are absolutely the best bedroom shoes you could ever purchase.
[00:30:02] They're so cozy.
[00:30:03] So anyway, we're glad that you're here.
[00:30:05] If you're worshiping with us online, we're really grateful that you chose to experience Christmas with us.
[00:30:12] We're excited about our Christmas Eve services.
[00:30:15] Last year we polled the people, we polled you to see which service would you come to?
[00:30:20] What time would you like for the service to be actually?
[00:30:23] And you were dead split down the center for five and seven.
[00:30:27] and since I go to bed at 8 30 that really pushes me and I was like oh my gosh okay we'll have two and then we'll figure out the best time and we'll go back to one next year you came so much to both services so we're having two I hope you'll invite your friends it will be a non-threatening service but one of meaning and hopefully transformation
[00:30:49] This is a great time of year, and it's a hard time of year.
[00:30:53] So many people wrestle with so many different things that you heard us talk about today.
[00:30:58] These were real stories.
[00:31:00] The letters were a little elaborate, but the stories were real.
[00:31:05] People experiencing loss of loved ones, people worried about their finances, health concerns.
[00:31:11] There's just so much.
[00:31:14] But what I told that family on Friday is true.
[00:31:17] Grief and sadness and fear and all those things can walk hand in hand with gratitude.
[00:31:24] It's about how we look at it.
[00:31:26] And so I invite you over the next three days when you start feeling icky or anxious, take a different perspective.
[00:31:34] and remember that you're never alone and a light that permeated the darkness in such a way that two thousand plus years later we're still talking about it that light's real and lives in you may you go and if i don't see you on christmas eve may you have a merry christmas and if not i look forward to seeing you wednesday go in peace
