December 15, 2020

When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. – Matthew 2:10

            Advent Lighting – Light three candles of advent; hope, peace, and joy.

A few years ago, on Christmas Eve night as I was finishing up at the church’s 11 pm candlelight and communion service, as storm came upon us.  It wasn’t the typical winter storm brining snow. Instead it was a strange thunderstorm and all of a sudden the lights went out.  Our power had been lost at the church.  They were only off for a moment, and returned as I said the benediction, concluding the service.  In the back of my mind, however, I wondered about our home.  The parsonage was a couple of block away, but on a different power grid.  The difference often meant that our power would go out when the church did, but hardly ever came back on as fast.

As I locked up the church and made my way home in the dark, I arrived at a suspectedly dark house.  I went in and tried to do my normal Christmas Eve activities of preparing for the morning ahead.  Though some aspects where much more difficult by lantern light, and it was already getting colder in the house with the power out.  I went to bed hoping the next morning would be better and our power restored, but skeptical since it was Christmas Eve.  When the kids woke up the next morning, it was still a little dark outside, and cold because the power was still out. We had the boys put on their winter coats, and sat down by the tree and opened presents. We already had plans to leave the house and visit with family, and Samantha and I decided to go ahead and get out earlier than planned.  We loaded up the car, and were relieved by the heat of warm car as we made our way to Knoxville. The night had been long and cold, but now we were on our way to somewhere warm with family, and warm food waiting, and the joy of Christmas was restored. 

We’ve all had those times that seem difficult as we go through them. The pandemic of this year has made some previous difficulties seem miniscule in comparison. The days seem to have gone by slower, and seem longer.  It seems darker than at other times.  But like the star stopped over the place where the baby messiah resided, so too, this dark journey will end. At that time we will rejoice with great joy. However, we have reason to rejoice even now, as we know that even in dark times, we have our Emmanuel, our God is with us.

Grace & Peace,
Sam

December 14, 2020

December 14, 2020

…the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see – I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people…” – Luke 2:10

            Advent Lighting – Light three candles of advent; hope, peace, joy

At the birth of Christ, we hear of the great pronouncement to the shepherds, who are in the fields watching their flocks by night.  We might wonder why the good news of great joy was given to those who were working the night shift? Perhaps it is because they were the only ones outside at the time. However, I tend to believe the inclusion of the shepherds in this Christmas story is part of Luke’s inclusivity of all.  Luke is the only gospel writer who is not born Jewish.  Luke is a Greek, and so the focus of his gospel has an underlying theme that all are included in the salvation that comes from God through Christ.

The beauty of this message begins even here in the opening chapters as the shepherds, those who would be unnamed, who by societies standards would be consider unimportant, yet, they receive the great announcement of the birth of their and our savior.

The Savior of the world, is exactly that, the one who came to save the entire world, including all people and all creation.  The great joy we have is when we become aware that we are a part of this great salvation.  It is a sign that we are loved by God, no matter our past, because God has plans to give us blessed future of hope in Christ name.  My hope is that we would remember the great joy of our salvation, and in that joy seek to share it with others as we proclaim the goodness of our God.  In such joy we are revived, because we know we are alive in Christ now and forevermore.

Grace & Peace,
Sam

December 13, 2020

December 13, 2020

And Mary said, My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior…
- Luke 1:46-47

            Advent Lighting – Light three candles: hope, peace, and joy.

On this, the third Sunday in advent, we celebrate the joy that is the gift of Christmas. We exclaim with great joy the Savior who is come of Mary and who will reign with peace and justice. 

Mary’s Magnificat has long been seen as Mary’s joyful acceptance of God’s will for her life.  But to magnify (where we get the word Magnificat) means to make something bigger to our eyes. So like a telescope or binoculars might magnify an object that is far away, it doesn’t mean the object is actually bigger, it just allows us to see it more clearly.  Mary’s joy in knowing the good news of the babe she carried was seeing God’s plan more clearly, and knowing her God more clearly.

Mary could have magnified her fear of a thousand or more different questions, but instead, she chose to reflect the joy of what she knew to be true. She possibly thought - My God is good. He is kind. He is faithful to His promises. He is answering the prayers of His people. God is merciful. How do I respond when I receive unexpected news? What do I magnify? My circumstances, anxieties and questions – or the Lord? “My spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” Mary didn’t simply accept God’s will with a sense of dutiful determination. “Well, if someone has to bear the Messiah, it might as well be me.” She was overjoyed that God had called her to this unique role in salvation history. But her joy was rooted not so much in her favored status as in God Himself. “My spirit rejoices in GOD my Savior.”

How often our joy springs from position, or the way God seems to be using us. When either of those change, so does our attitude. Mary’s joy was secure, grounded in the never changing faithful love of her God and Savior. “For he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.” Mary had an exalted view of God, not herself. Her response is an example for us because she didn’t consider herself special, unique, or in any way worthy of the honor that God had bestowed on her. She didn’t think, “I must be some kind of woman for God to trust me with this assignment!” No, she understood that God using her was due to His mercy, not her competence. 

I pray that our joy would be found in the truth of our relationship with God, knowing that God is working in us today, as he did in Mary and so many more in ages past.  May we find joy in serving God’s good, pleasing, merciful will.

Grace & Peace,
Sam

December 12, 2020

Sharing from the Congregation – David Petty

            Advent Lighting – Light the first two candles, hope and peace.

And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope; and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love is poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. — Romans 5:3-5

The Bible says a lot of outrageous things.  Granted, those of us who have attended church and read the Bible frequently may have become numb to the outrageousness. If we step back and take a fresh look, though, the shocking nature of the claims is apparent.

This beautifully written passage from Romans contains two outrageous claims.  First, it claims that suffering leads to hope.  Really?  Apparently Paul’s thinking is this: Hope is not something we can make ourselves feel.  It only comes when it is an outgrowth of our character, a character forged by surviving hardship (the Greek word for character also can be used for metal tempered by heat).

I can’t honestly say that have experienced “suffering” because of the pandemic — boredom certainly, and frustration, and perhaps discomfort.  But some people have actually suffered; some physically if they had the disease, and many more that have had true emotional suffering.  To cite just one statistic, a recent study reported a depression rate of 24.3 per cent in June, 2020, versus a rate of 6.5 per cent for a similar period in 2019.  That’s not very hopeful sounding in the short run.  Yet Paul, who surely knew something about suffering, assures us that in the long run it will strengthen us and give us hope.

A similar line of thought is presented, although not as eloquently, in James 1:2-4 and 1 Peter 1:6-7.  If you’re interested, the literary device here — stringing together parallel statements, with each picking up the last word of the one before it — is called anadiplosis.  Another fine example of anadiplosis (also called a cadena) is found in 2 Peter 1:5–7.

The second outrageous claim is that our hope will not be disappointed.  It may be helpful here to recall that the Greek word for hope has a stronger meaning than our word.  For us hope means, roughly, that we would like for a thing to happen, and we’re optimistic enough to believe that it could.  In Greek the word means “expectation,” or near certainty.

I have no proof, here and now, that our hope for the future will be fulfilled, but clearly Paul had no doubt.  Let us pray for that kind of faith.

Gracefully submitted,
David Petty

December 11, 2020

December 11, 2020

Sharing from the Congregation – Ann Hale Troutt

            Advent Lighting – Light the first two candles of advent, hope and peace.

On the occasion of Sawyer’s 6th Birthday, I’m thankful for Ann’s message:
To Heal the Brokenhearted

Read Luke 4:14-21

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; he has appointed me to preach Good News to the poor; he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted and to announce that captives shall be released and the blind shall see, that the downtrodden shall be freed from their oppressors, and that God is ready to give blessings to all who come to him.” - Luke 4:18-19 (The Living Bible)

Sometimes while grieving over the death of a loved one or grappling with a serious illness or tragedy, a person will say, “I just don't feel like celebrating Christmas this year.” Jesus spoke specifically to those who were struggling with such difficult experiences. He proclaimed that he was sent to heal those who were brokenhearted. How comforting to realize that Jesus was born into a world of sadness to bring peace and joy!

Perhaps this year you are one of those persons in need of healing of the heart. If so, remember that Christ came especially for you and he continues to come daily. Let his healing love draw you toward an observance of the Christmas event even if you do not feel like celebrating in the usual manner. Quietly let his inner peace fill your being with assurance and strength.

If you have not experienced heartbreak during the past months, offer yourself to God to be used to encourage someone in need of understanding and hope. Reach out to someone who has had a tough year. Like the Master, bring good news to the poor in body and spirit and proclaim the promise of healing for the brokenhearted. Express the possibility for release from the captive emotions of depression and hopelessness. Declare the promise of spiritual insight and freedom from the oppressors of grief and pain. Offer the assurance that God is surely ready to comfort and bless each of us.

May we each experience the coming of Christ anew in our lives and may we in turn be channels of God's love and peace.

Ann Hale Troutt

Worship Online Only Update

St. Mark Church, 

When we made plans to reopen late summer, St. Mark Church Council was required to create a protocol plan for reopening and have that plan approved by our District Superintendent. The protocols in that plan set metric numbers at which we would move church online only.  In addition, we had set in that plan a protocol that we would follow Knox County Schools guidance, and if they went to a district wide 'red' mode of learning (all students virtual) we would also move all activities online for that period of time. 

 Given these approved protocols, St. Mark will be online only for the next 2 Sundays, December 13 & 20.  Myself, and church leadership will speak soon about plans for Christmas Eve and we will notify you of any changes to those planned services. I know this is hard news for us all, and it is heartbreaking the number of traditions that this year has taken away from us. However, the memory of what we have already experienced in years past cannot be taken away. The hope of a better tomorrow cannot be taken away.  Let us remember that Christ makes all things new, and though we will remain apart, the love of Christ unites us.  

 Stay safe, stay well, and let the grace of God lead us on.

December 10, 2020

…for God is a God not of disorder but of peace. – 1 Corinthians 14:33

            Advent Lighting – Light the first two candles of advent, hope and peace.

Life can feel pretty chaotic, hectic, disordered at times, but when it does, I realize that it is probably all my fault.  I know, it’s hard to admit when we are at fault for our own situations.  We love having someone else to blame with things are not going as smoothly as planned.  Occasionally, we might have a leg to stand on in blaming someone else, but it is, as Jimmy
Buffet sings, “…my own dang fault.”

The same is true for not finding a way to be at peace.  Yesterday, we learned together about how peace begins with us; but how? Many Church fathers throughout the centuries have taught that finding peace within is about finding ones center in Christ.  There are a number of practices to help with this, the utmost of which is prayer. These practices are to help us move our focus from the things which seek to disorder our lives, and focus on the One who makes order out of chaos.

If find during this season, is a great time to practice such teachings, as we typically are simply moving from task-to-task, place-to-place, event-to-event.  However, this year is already something different.  We have already slowed down a bit, the hard part is using the extra time we may have found for something beneficial.  It takes a bit of dedication to get started, but it’s worth the effort.  Simply find a quiet space, read a passage of Scripture, if you wish, to get your mind focused on God.  Then, sometimes, I just begin with talking to God about all that is going on in life, as if he were sitting right next to me.  It doesn’t take long, but the peace of knowing God is listen tends to come over me. Sometimes there is nothing more that needs to be said, but ‘thank you.’  Sometimes, I fall asleep, but that’s okay too, because what better place to sleep than in the arms of the heavenly Father?

The point is, when we make that time for God in our lives, we find that God wants to put our chaos into order, wants to help us find that peace within, so that we can be at peace with all. I hope you will find some times to rest secure today, and in the days ahead.

Grace & Peace,
Sam

December 9, 2020

December 9, 2020

If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. – Romans 12:18

            Advent Lighting – Light the first two candles of advent, hope and peace.

The husband and wife song writing team of Sy Miller and Jill Jackson-Miller, in 1955, were tasked to compose a piece of music for a newly formed choir retreat held in the mountains of California.  The group, now known as the International Children’s Choir,  was formed of a group of selected teenager. The young people were purposefully selected from different religious, racial, cultural, and economic backgrounds, brought together to experiment with creating understanding and friendship through education, discussion groups, and living and working together in a camp situation.  In his own words, this is what Sy Miller wrote about what happened:

“One summer evening in 1955, a group of 180 teenagers of all races and religions, meeting at a workshop high in the California mountains locked arms, formed a circle and sang a song of peace. They felt that singing the song, with its simple basic sentiment – 'Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me,' helped to create a climate for world peace and understanding.”

The song, Let there be Peace on Earth, has gone on to inspire peace in many places ever since that summer in 1955.  We may not always see peace active in our world, but there are those who wish to inspire it, who desire to have it, and would love to see peace everywhere. Yet, we all know that peace must start with ‘me.’

In Paul’s letter to the Roman church, they don’t know peace in their world either, they have conflicts about the mixing of Jews and gentiles, they are not at peace with their political powers, they are struggling even to find the peace of a Christian lifestyle.  However, they are reminded that peace depends on them.  It is not always possible to have peace around us, but when possible, as it depends on us, we can live peaceably with all. Let the peace of Christ live in us today, and let the peace that comes to the earth inspire us to live at peace within, and with all.

Grace & Peace,
Sam

Christmas Eve Service Online Only

Join us online this year!

After listening to your church council, and watching the COVID numbers continue to rise in our area over the weekend, we have decided that it is in the best interest of the church and community to hold our Christmas Eve service ONLINE ONLY.  The worship team is working to make this online service extra special with special music and communion.

We want everyone to be able to participate. If you would like to pick up a premade communion packet here at the church you may do so this week or next in the office.  Please just call ahead to make sure there is someone in the office to prepare your packets.  In addition, there will be a later scheduled time for ‘drive thru’ communion pick up the week of Christmas Eve. Even if you are not able to pick up a packet, you are welcome to join in the service and sharing of Christ’s holy liturgy and meal on Christmas Eve with us online. 
The service will be made available at 4 p.m. on Christmas Eve, and can be shared in your house with your family any time thereafter. 

I know these continue to be challenging times, but allow me to remind us all that even in the dark challenging times of life, the light of Christ shines brightly in us.  Christ light is eternal, and we hold hope that Christ light will shine brighter and brighter in the days and months to come.

December 8, 2020

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. – Matthew 5:9

            Advent Wreath – Light the first two candles, the candles of hope and peace.

Who are the peacemakers in your life? We might have a simple answer to that, and know with whom we are most at peace. However, to really understand how to answer the question we might need to know what makes someone a peacemaker.

We might think of a peacemaker as someone who has a calm demeanor, who never seems rattled, and helps us find calm in every situation. We might think of a peacemaker as one who is an activist, working for the rights of the marginalized and the outcast. We might think of a peacemaker of the negotiator who brings compromise in all situation.

A peacemaker might do all of these things, however it is what brings them peace that allows them to find peace and bring peace to these situations. John Wesley believed that peace was active, and one should work at it at all times.  Thomas Merton, a catholic monk worked and taught an active peace in his life as well.  Merton, like Wesley both saw active peace as something that stemmed from the inner peace of knowing God. 

They both taught the importance of knowing God intimately, of finding time and space to be still, and allow the voice of God to move you. They both knew that in order to be a peacemaker, sometimes a situation would have to move to and through chaos first before there can be peace.

This might sound odd to us, but there is a great truth that when we are struggling with sin, regret internally, or externally working in activism we find times when the struggle is real and might cause us internal or external turmoil.  Yet, in either case, when the peace of Christ moves in and through us, we find that peace anew, and that peace begins to spread.

The peacemakers, says Jesus, are blessed, they are children of God. This is because the peacemaker understands that God is a God of peace, and his will is for us all to know His peace.

May we all learn to be peacemakers within, with those around us, and in this world that all might know the everlasting peace of Christ.

Grace & Peace,
Sam

December 7, 2020

I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world! – John 16:33

            Advent Candle Lighting - Light the first 2 candles of advent, hope and peace.

Humanity has a profound ability to build, destroy, rebuild and repeat the process all over again.  Some might say that this is what makes the world continue to spin.  We desire to take what we have learned from a previous generation and build something we think is better.  However, our ideas of better aren’t always so. Sometimes our ideas of improvement makes things harder on others, or don’t work out as planned. For the Christian, we must realize that what we build should bring honor and glory to God first. No matter what is build, it is God who consecrates.

God knows that we will struggle, and have trouble, and that we will most likely bring it upon ourselves. However, if we are his people, humble ourselves and pray, seek His face and turn back to God, we will find forgiveness and peace.

As Jesus spends some of his final hours with his disciples, according to John 16, he tells them of the promise of the Advocate. Jesus knows that the disciples will have trouble in the ministry they will build in his name, but God is with them, and through the Holy Spirit, God will remain with them.  It is for this reason, that even in trouble, they can have peace.

In our world, today, we see all kinds of trouble. Some it we have brought on ourselves, or society has shifted and caused pain. However, we who believe, know God is still in control.  We believe that the Holy Spirit of God is alive in us as it was in the disciples generations ago.  We believe in the hope and peace Christ brings in our lives, and have good news to share.  I pray we build on that Good News, we build and rebuild for the glory of God, living with all in the peace of Christ.

Grace & Peace,
Sam

December 6, 2020

December 6, 2020

To join our online worship service please visit: stmarkknox.org/sermons

For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. – Isaiah 9:6-7

            Advent Wreath at home – Light the first two candles, the candles of hope and peace.

One of the beautiful names given to our savior by the prophet, Isaiah, is “Prince of Peace.” Aside from the catchy literation of calling him the ‘prince of peace,’ I wonder what it means for our Savior to be a prince?  When we think of hierarchy we probably consider ‘king’ to be on top, followed by queen and they perhaps prince.  Yet, as I understand the role of a prince they are often the ones to create peace with countries outside their own, or even within groups of people in their own country.  The prince works as the advocate of the king to ensure peace within and round the kingdom. 

With this in mind, Jesus is truly our Prince of Peace.  Jesus is our advocate before the throne of God.   Jesus is the Emmanuel, the God who is with us, and does not bring law and order, but liberation and sustaining hope even in our darkest times.  The peace of God, through Jesus, gives us an expectation of a better way of life, that allows us to live into God’s righteous peace even now.

On this second Sunday in advent, we prepare for the light of Christ is our lives, but understanding the peace that is coming as we await with hope for the coming of Christ anew.  May we find peace within and offer peace to all whom God has called us to interact. Let us seek peace for all in the name of Christ, our Lord.

Grace & Peace,
Sam

December 5, 2020

But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. – Romans 8:25

            Light the first candle of advent, the candle of hope

We might recall that old mantra ‘seeing is believing.’ It has been used by advertisers for years to help the potential customer have proof of whatever deal is being offered.  The phrase, itself, dates back to the 1600’s meaning that only concrete proof is convincing enough to help others understand a truth.

For the Christian, however, we would see this going back even further.  In John 20, we know that Thomas, says he would not believe in the resurrection until he saw the resurrected Jesus himself.  Later in that chapter Jesus appears before Thomas, and has him place his hands where the nails once were. Jesus says to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

Many might suppose that the phrase of believing in seeing comes from Thomas’ need to have proof of the resurrection.  However, when we see Jesus response, and the response of Christians to believe and have that great hope of a resurrection life, we must realize that faith in such hope is even greater than seeing.

This season of advent is, for us, an opportunity to renew our hope in the one who came among us, and will return to us.  Our Emmanuel is the one whom we believe came as a child, taught us how to live and love through is life, died for our sins, and rose again that we would have life everlasting.  We have not seen him, yet we believe that he will return to us again one day.  Advent allows us to place our hope in that day of his return. It allows us to have a hope that helps us be patient, even through our current circumstances. Hope that allows us to have faith in what we cannot see.

Even when we cannot see, we have a faith that allows us hope in something better. This hope gives us the energy and desire to do good for those around us, and to offer them the hope that the days ahead are brighter because of Christ Jesus our Lord.  May this season of advent, and beyond enliven our souls to share such hope that in us, people may see the goodness of God and believe in something better.

Grace & Peace,
Sam

December 4, 2020

December 4, 2020

…and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. – Romans 5:5

            Light the first candle of advent, the candle of hope.

What happens when we place our hope in the one who can do more than we ask or imagine?

There’s a story that’s told of a little boy who had fallen in love with music.  One day while walking downtown with his parents, he stopped at the window of the local music store. There in the window was an old upright piano. The boy couldn’t wait to convince his mom to come look at it.  He ran to catch up to her, snagged her coattail, and asked, “mom come and see, I found what I want for Christmas.”

The boy’s mother went with him to see the piano, he begged and exclaimed how great a Christmas present it would be.  His mother simple remarked, with no expression on her face, “we’ll see.”  The boy hoped and prayed that his mom would understand his love for music and get him this perfect gift.  Even if the piano was old and ‘previously owned’ it didn’t matter to him. He really wanted that piano.

On Christmas morning, the boy woke up with great excitement at what might be waiting for him downstairs, as he made his way out of his room and started that way, he heard the sounds of his older sister already tickling the ivory keys.  The boy almost fell down the stairs he was so excited.  When he saw it, however, it was not the old upright brown lacquered piano he has shown his mom in the store window.  Instead, what was there was a brand new piano! It was as big as life itself, a rich mahogany beaty with a bright red bow on top. The boys wish had come true, but it was even better than he had asked or imagined.

God’s love is like that as we place our hope in Him. We may ask and hope for something, but the gift God gives is bigger than life itself, and better than we can ask or imagine. Even when things don’t seem to be going our way, God has a way of giving us hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. May we rely on the Holy Spirit to give us a hope that does not disappoint in this season as we wait, with great anticipation, what God has in store for our future.

Grace & Peace,
Sam

Worship Online Only This Week

St. Mark Family,

During this season of Advent, I had great hope we would see the numbers of COVID cases decrease, that we would feel more comfortable to gather together and worship.  However, as the weeks progressed, here in East Tennessee, we have seen the exact opposite. As of today this week has seen our highest number of new cases to date in Knox County. On our metrics we are watching, Knox County has increased to 62.4 new cases per 100k in population. This is the highest we have seen in our area. As hard as it is to say, we will be online only this Sunday, December 6, 2020.

I am praying for all of you, hoping you remain safe. Please remember, if you must go out, to wear your mask, wash your hands, and keep your distance. I hope you will join me in praying that these case numbers will decrease so that we can be back in-person soon.  I have this great hope, that even in these weeks apart, God will continue to connect us through prayer, and as we celebrate this season of hope, peace, joy, and love.  May Christ give us all light in these dark times. 

Grace & Peace,
Sam Ward

December 3, 2020

December 3, 2020

Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you. – Psalm 33:22

            Light the first candle of advent, the candle of hope.

Is it possible for the love of the Lord to be on us even when we are unaware? Even if we find ourselves with little or no hope, does God’s steadfast love remain with us?  I hope that we would answer with a resounding, YES!

So often we feel that hope and love are feelings that are with us when life is good, when things seem to be going well.  However, the truth of hope and love in the Bible is that they are ever present with those who need them, because they are aspects of our God.  When our true hope is in the Lord, we know that present situations, or circumstances have no real effect on how much God loves us.  Even when we are deep in sin and regret, even when we are as far away from God as we think we can get, we need be reminded that the love of the Lord is steadfast for us.  God’s love has the power to overcome any darkness, and I believe that is something in which we can and should place our hope.

The psalmist reminds us that even when we find ourselves in a place of waiting, like we are during the season of advent, the steadfast love of the Lord helps us to rekindle and know such hope.  This year, waiting has become more common. We wait on a better news of a slowing pandemic, we wait on approval and distribution of a vaccine, we wait for the day we can gather with friends and family without fear, some of us wait, longing to return to church.  Still, even in this time of waiting the steadfast love of the Lord is with us. 

May the steadfast love of the lord rekindle in us the hope of Christ today, knowing that better days are to come. May we keep our hope alive in the One who is and was, and is to come.

Grace & Peace,
Sam

December 2, 2020

December 2, 2020

For in hope we were saved… - Romans 8:24

            Light the first candle – the candle of hope.

There is a scene near the end of Return of the King, the third in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Ring series. Samwise Gamgee, the traveling companion, friend, and person charged with taking care of Frodo Baggins, encounters the great wizard, Gandalf.  Gandalf, who had though Samwise dead, asks a simple, yet profound question: “Is everything sad going to come untrue?”

Within this question, we find one of the main messages of Advent. We have a real, tangible hope, and we long for the coming of our King who will come and make all things new. Pain, confusion, sadness, even sickness and this pandemic – all things will be made new.

We do not take this great hope as a way to undervalue the life that we have now, but is can help us to have a greater context. Our hopes and expectations anchor us in a greater reality that is both transforming and transcending. Current pain or hardship doesn’t become less real, or less important; rather, because of the great hope we have in Christ it becomes finite, whereas eternity is infinite. We know that no matter what we face in this world, it will at some point “come untrue.”

Paul anchors the believers in the church of Rome in this certainty of hope. They are called to wait for the King who will make good on His primes. The end of the current age will come, everything sad will come untrue, but until then, we must trust in God and wait with great hope.

Advent has the potential to create in us a transforming anticipation because of the hope it offers for something better. Because Jesus came, we can walk through the difficulty of life with a very real hope. A hope that Christ will come again. A hope that one day, we will no longer have a need for hope because on that day we will stand face-to-face with the One in whom we have placed our hope.

May we seek the hope of Christ’s coming as the child of heaven, as the savior of our souls, as the King who will return to us one day.

Grace & Peace,
Sam

December 1, 2020

December 1, 2020

For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from him. – Psalm 62:5

            Light the first candle of advent – The candle of hope.

When the world around us seems chaotic, the best place to find hope again is to find silence. I cannot speak to how many of you have found silence, or perhaps have tried to distract yourselves from it this year.  I can only speak from my own experience which I imagine is very different. 

Our children came home from school, a day early for the beginning of Spring Break in March of this year.  They have not been away from us, or family, since.  If you have ever known the blessing of children in your life, then you probably know that this blessing comes with a lot of noise.  I don’t ever think the noise in intentional, but as the children play with one another, it seems to get louder with each passing moment. Then, when it’s time for them all to go to bed, after the hour or so of fighting to get them to sleep, there is that moment of silence.

Silence, while possible to find, has become difficult to find this year. However, I’m aware that others long for such noise again, and I am sure that Samantha and I will feel the same when silence becomes more common. 

King David is living in a time of chaos when this psalm is written. He is facing another battle with the Philistines, with more giants like Goliath (see 2 Samuel 21), but David is now an old man, not the young person we remember who took down the previous Philistine warrior.  David has been through so much in life at this point, and now understands the realities of who God has been and is for him.  Much the same way, the more we have been through in this life, the more we have placed our trust and hope in God, we find the reality that God is there with us, leading us through it all.

We might even call out in those times of silence:

Rest, my soul, don’t worry anymore.  Don’t be frightened.  Do not fear what we cannot see with our eyes because we have a great hope that comes from the Lord.  We have a great hope that something good will come because we have seen good come from times of trials and tribulation.  We have seen the sun rise and the sun set even in the midst of battle and this proves that our God is sure and true.  So be at peace, be at rest my soul because our hope comes from Him who makes all things happen according to his plan.

For God is my rock and my salvation.  I have hidden in him so many times, so many different times when I was full of fear and dread.   I could only find a proper hiding space in my God.  He protected me like a mighty rock and He was never shaken.  Though I lay in his embrace shaking with fear and doubt. My rock saved me before, and my God is never shaken. God remains our hope now and forever.

Grace & Peace,
Sam

November 30, 2020

November 30, 2020

And now, O Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in you. – Psalm 39:7

            If you are participating in Advent at home, light the first candle – the candle of hope.

This year, more than a season, or a momentary thought, hope has been on our minds.  With all that this year has brought, we have needed hope in which to cling, in which to get through, in which we might believe something better is on the horizon.

Still, today, we wait with great hope for the day that this pandemic becomes a memory, and we can embrace the ones we love without fear or hesitation.  Hope, however, is more than the sense of what might be. We might ask where does hope originate? How long have people had hope, and seemingly it has been since the beginning of time that hope can be seen as a needed element in our lives.

Even if we look at the biblical story of Adam and Eve, who had all that they could imagine, paradise in the garden. After they were deceived by the serpents, and ate of the forbidden fruit, however they lost the innocence of having all their needs provided. It did not stop their lives, but it did make it more difficult. I wonder if when their first children were born, they began to have hope that life would be better for them?

We always hope life is better for those who come after us, many of us strive and toil that we can make life better for our children. We always hope that tomorrow will be better than today. I cling to this type of hope even now, even though days are moving along fine, I can still have that hope that tomorrow will be better.  

In this season, we wait with great anticipation the coming of Christ, we know that Christ has already come among us, but in Christ and with Christ’s forgiveness in our lives, we have a hope that is enduring and everlasting; a hope that will see us through our waiting times. For what does your heart hope for today? May you wait on the Lord, with great hope, for he will secure you in his arms, bring his wisdom and truth, offer forgiveness, and give you a better tomorrow.

Grace & Peace,
Sam

November 29, 2020

November 29, 2020

To join the online worship service, please visit: stmarkknox.org/sermons

11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.” – Jeremiah 29:11-14

• If you are participating in the advent wreath at home, light the first candle

Sometimes, we find it hard to accept our present situation.  We believe that there should have been something better in store for us than the current set of events, or where we find ourselves in them.  We might even want to believe, that we don’t deserve this situation, and it needs to be over with as soon as possible. 

We all fall into this line of thinking, sometimes, especially when we are in time of hardship or trouble.  It would be nice to believe that times of difficulty are fleeting, but even if they are, it seems as though it just makes way for new hardships to come our way.  The only way we truly overcome the situation of life is to keep hope.

In the 100 years, give or take, that we get in this life, In the scheme of eternity, they really are fleeting, and our hope, the hope that we focus on especially in preparing for Christmas, is the hope that Christ brings to give us a future that is now and everlasting.

During the lifetime of the prophet, Jeremiah, the people of God lost their homes, their possessions, many loved one, and essentially every part of their way of life because of the conquest of the Babylonians over Jerusalem.  They were a people in exile, and having lost everything, even a very day can feel as though it is eternity.  More than anything, they wanted to have your homes restored, to have back their possessions, to have back loved one, and to go back to the life that they enjoyed.  When someone lives in exile, they want it to be over.  In this case, the people, wanted their God, who never fails, to come and to rescue them, to overturn the Babylonians and to restore them as the people of God.

They wanted to believe the false prophets who say: “this is only temporary, don’t worry about settling or rebuilding, life is going to get better for you.  You can count on it.”

However, this is not what Jeremiah, the true weeping prophet, says to the people. 

Jeremiah has heard from God, and it’s going to be a while.  Seventy years to be exact.  Of those who were currently living, only the children would have a chance at seeing Jerusalem be restored in their life time.  This seems like even more terrible news than having been banished or exiled in the first place, to now know that God has said you’re not going back either.  Yet, God has a plan for his people even in Exile. 

The hope Jeremiah brings to the people in this time is that God has a plan for us even when we can’t see it, even in the midst of exile, and for us even in the midst of a pandemic. We can be reminded to place our hope in the One who is coming and has overcome the world. Even in the midst of trails, or exile, or in our current situation, the people of God can have hope because God is with them through Christ who connects us to a community through faith. We will see each other through to the other side, and on that, we have hope.

Grace & Peace,
Sam