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Preaching Notes for Nov. 30 to Jan 4

Advent to Christmas 2

December 14 (Advent 3)

Lection
Luke 3: 7 - 18
       John's preaching to the children of Abraham
       What shall we do? Ethical calls from the riches of Israel .
       Baptism  and its symbolism . Wheat and chaff.
Isaiah 12: 2 -6
       God is my salvation
       So give thanks to God
Zephaniah    3: 14 - 20
       A song of great joy!!!
       Thanksgiving for God¹s grace.
Phil. 4: 4 - 7
        Rejoice in the Lord
        Let your gentleness be known
        The peace of God is with you.

Call to Worship
        Look for the child in your neighbour;
        See the anticipation build
        even the world that heeds not the call
        Is captured by the love of God.
        Come, let us rejoice and celebrate together.

Prayer of approach
God of Grace, the wonder of the revisited story gathers momentum and
we can scarcely wait for the preparation to end and the event begin.

Reminders are at every hand as the promise nears fulfilment.

We come with anticipation and expectation,

we come with hope and with recollection,

we come with our fears and our joys, and offer you ourselves in worship.

RECEIVE US, LORD, WE PRAY.

With reminders of the past and memories of the nativity plays of
other years we come prepared yet fearful that our expectations may not be met.

Capture our hearts afresh, Lord.

Hold us in the arms of our families,

Open our eyes to the travellers who relive the Bethlehem experience.

WALK WITH US, MERCIFUL GOD.

Let the starlight of old reveal the wonder of your love that we might
know, show and share the grace of your compassion.

     AMEN

Prayer for Others
In the warm anticipation of Christmas we become mindful of the needs of
those who have no security and we offer our prayers for them.

O God, we pray for the children of all the world, that they may be
allowed to skip and dance with joy, to play and laugh and sing; to be children
We remember the multitude of infants whose only expectation is the poverty
of powerlessness and the humiliation of desperate need.

AS WE WOULD CARE FOR THE CHRIST-CHILD SHOW US HOW TO CARE FOR THEM.

We pray for the mothers of every land as they struggle to provide what is
good, what is best, what is loving, for their children.
We remember those who suffer the anguish of grief as their children die and
the devastation of those who cannot provide for the children they bore.

AS WE WOULD CARE FOR THE CHRIST-CHILD SHOW US HOW TO CARE FOR THEM.

We pray for parents everywhere as they strive to equip their children
for life in a world of competing demands.

For those who sacrifice their own comfort and well being for the sake of
their children;

for those who have lost the struggle and drift in life without hope for the
present, or the future, victims of forces they do not understand,

AS WE WOULD CARE FOR THE CHRIST-CHILD SHOW US HOW TO CARE FOR THEM.

Suggested Hymns:
         Let all the world, in every corner sing
         Angels from the realms of glory
         O little town of Bethlehem
         The advent of our God

Sermon Notes
"God has no grandchildren" a somewhat harsh but thought provoking challenge. John sought to disabuse the people of his day of the comfortable belief that  they were O.K. simply because long ago Abraham was accorded favour. John's preaching was uncompromising. Contrast  verse 9  The axe is already laid at the root of every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down with the message of Luke 13 verses 6 - 9.  Here is judgement and destruction. This is talk of death where the power of the parable is the hope for a new beginning a new fruiting, new life nurtured by the care of the wise gardener.

This preaching of John's does not give us the right to offend or judge or exclude for John speaks from the Jewish not the Christian view. What he does however is to remind his listeners of the responsibility of the well dressed, comfortable, wealthy, to share their good fortune with those less blessed. Similarly he treats with the tax collectors - calling them to honesty and away from greed. The soldiers, seeking guidance are likewise called to act with restraint, being themselves subject to the law and the exercise of justice. Here we seem to have some internal evidence for the reality of John's preaching. It adds nothing of any significance to the narrative but clearly reflects [as was no doubt the writer¹s intention] the best of the law of Israel. It is however simply rules to be kept. Because it is just and right. It is not a matter of love but a matter of duty.  Good advice and fair but lacking the essential ingredient that would allow it to survive in the hard world of greed and self interest.

His ethics are sound enough but there is no power to change lives.
John is demonstrably clearing the path for what is to come. It is preparation, not fulfilment, for he looks for the one who is to come.