Saturday, February 4, 7:00 p.m., in the sanctuary.

We will watch a movie and have a discussion about it and how it relates to our faith.

Please bring a snack to share, if you are able.

The movie chosen by picking a movie name out of a basket is, Babette’s Feast.  This is a beautiful movie that happens, also, to be one of Pope Francis’ favorite films!  You can read about why by clicking here.
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Jesus Calling
(Isaiah 9:1-4; Psalm 27:1, 4-9; 1 Corinthians 1:10-18; Matthew 4:12-23) 

When I get home and I think other members of the family are home, as I walk into the house, I yell out, “Hello!”  Sometimes, even if there are other family members at home, I don’t get a response, either because they are in my vicinity but focused on something else, or because they are not in my vicinity and so they don’t hear me. 
 
Well, this is kind of what Jesus is doing in the reading from Matthew.  Matthew 4:17 states, “From that time on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near’.”  Jesus returned to Galilee and shouted “Hello!” to get everyone’s attention, except his hello was, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
 
After his first, “Hello!” of “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near,” he continued with other “hellos.”  He saw Peter and Andrew fishing and called out, “Hello!” except this hello was, “Come, follow me.”  And, then, he saw James and John fishing and called out, “Hello!” and invited them, also, to come and follow him.
 
After these hellos, he continued with other hellos:  teaching hellos, preaching hellos, and healing hellos.  He traveled throughout Galilee calling out, “Hello!” 
 
Jesus began his ministry and mission by calling to those around him.  But what was he calling to tell them?  He was calling to tell them he had arrived:  “I’m here!”  And he was calling to tell them that “the kingdom of God is near.”  And he was calling to tell them the central characteristics of the kingdom of God, which are: people are gathered together, people are taken care of, and people are healed.
 
When Jesus calls, he calls us to these things:  1) himself and the 2) kingdom of God, which is brought near through community, care, and healing.  What this all adds up to is discipleship.
 
The dictionary definition of disciple is:  1) one who accepts and assists in spreading the doctrines of another; and 2) a convinced adherent of a school or individual.  How do we become a disciple of Jesus? 
 
First, we have to hear his call.  That happens in different ways for different people. 

• Some are born into a family that attends church and they learn about Jesus through being raised in a church.  These people hear Jesus call and they continue to listen to his call. 
• Some are born into a family that attends church and they learn about Jesus through being raised in a church, but they stop going to church at some point.  Later on in life, something happens and they decide to go back to church.  These people hear Jesus call, they stop listening to the call, but when the need arises, they hear the call again. 
• Some people have not had the opportunity to hear Jesus call.  They may have heard about Jesus, but they’ve never heard him themselves.  But, one day, they hear him themselves and respond. 

Jesus’ call comes to each person differently.
 
After we’ve heard Jesus call and responded positively, like Peter, Andrew, James, and John, we begin our committed relationship with Jesus.  Again, that looks different for different people.  Jesus calls all of us to follow him. 
 
For Peter, Andrew, James, and John, that meant following him literally!  They walked with him throughout the years he had left on the Earth, wherever it was he went:  Galilee, Syria, Jerusalem, South Lebanon, and other places we may not even know about. 
 
Jesus isn’t here in body at this time, so following him isn’t as straightforward as it was for the original disciples!  Instead of walking with him, literally, we walk with other disciples in a church.  You see, Jesus’ actual body is not here on Earth anymore, but his spiritual body is:  the Church.  The Church is the Body of Christ, and each church is a part of that body.  So, Canton Community Baptist Church is a part of the Body of Christ.  When we walk with each other here at CCBC, we are walking with Jesus and following his call.
 
Once we have heard Jesus, responded to his call, and are walking with him, he calls us to particular tasks, which will be different for each person depending on who that person is.  Jesus takes into consideration the gifts of each person as he calls people to follow him.  If we look at who is in our church and what they are doing, we can see this.  Some are gifted musicians.  Some are gifted with stewardship.  Some are gifted with handling money.  Some are gifted with hospitality.  Some are gifted with organizational skills.  Some are gifted with noticing what needs to be done and doing those things.  Some are gifted with children.  Some are gifted with teaching.  And so on.  Jesus calls us to particular tasks based on the gifts we have.
 
He also takes into consideration what each person needs to grow spiritually.  Maybe you’re good at something but don’t have any confidence. Jesus may call you to do that thing so that you have to confront yourself, grow in self-respect, and use that gift to glorify God.  Maybe you don’t think you have what it takes to do something but Jesus thinks you do, so he calls you to it even though you don’t want to do it!  Now you have to confront your willfulness.  Can you follow him even though you’d rather not?
 
How do we know when Jesus is calling us to something?  It can be hard to tell, but a good barometer is whether you continue to feel pulled toward something.  Is there something tugging at your heart, or mind, or spirit?  Do you keep dreaming of something?  Does the same thing keep showing up in your life?  That may just be Jesus calling you to follow him – whether you want to or not!
 
Of course, what Jesus calls you to do can change over time.  It’s not set in stone.  We have to keep listening, which is why we pray, read scripture, worship, sing, study, and so on.  We keep our eyes, ears, hearts, minds, and spirits open.
 
Jesus also calls churches to tasks, based on the gifts and talents in the church and on where it is located.  Who are the members of the church?  What are their strengths and weaknesses?  To what is Jesus calling each person?  Is there someone with a burning desire to move in a particular ministry direction?  What is the community surrounding the church like?  What are its needs and desires?  Who are our neighbors?  Are we being good neighbors to them?  We have discussion and prayer meetings two or three times a year so that we can listen and discuss the ways that Jesus is calling each of us so that we can discern the ways in which Jesus is calling our church.
 
What if we don’t all agree to move in a particular ministry direction?  What if one person feels called to move in a direction with which someone has a problem?  Does that mean we don’t do it?  No.  It means we continue with discussion and prayer, and maybe we even add study into that situation, so that we can learn what the Bible and scholars have to say.  Over time, it will become clear whether our church, as a whole, is being called to that particular ministry. 
 
During the discernment process, conflict may occur in the church.  That’s ok.  Jesus had conflict with his disciples (remember “get thee behind me Satan”?) and the disciples had conflict among themselves (remember when they argued over which of them would be the greatest in heaven?).  Wherever human beings are, there is the possibility of conflict!  We can disagree, we can be conflicted, and we can still be the Body of Christ.  Colossians 1:17 states, “He himself is before all things and in him all things hold together.”  The Body of Christ is able to hold all things together.  It is big enough and flexible enough and strong enough to do so, for it is LOVE, and LOVE has the power to transform the negative into the positive.  The challenge is to remember this and to continue to love one another in the midst of conflict.  1 Peter 4:8 states, “Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins.” 
 
Jesus calls us over and over again, as individuals and as churches, to notice him; to notice the kingdom of heaven that is near; to work to make the kingdom of heaven present through community, care, and healing; and to follow where he leads while doing so. 
 
All of this can sound complicated, but it usually happens naturally as we live faithfully as disciples.  Something to keep in mind, however, as we walk our disciple journey, is the imagery of “light” surrounding Jesus.  The Isaiah reading states, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness on them light has shined” (9:2).  Psalm 27:1 exclaims, “The Lord is my light and my salvation . . .”.  And Matthew 4:16 proclaims, “[T]he people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned.”  If we are listening and responding to Jesus’ call faithfully, we will always be working toward light, bringing light, or being light.  If we are working toward darkness, bringing darkness, or being darkness, then we have to examine whether we are following Jesus’ call or someone else’s.  Sure, if there is conflict it may feel or be dark for a time, but the end result should be the illumination of the mind, heart, spirit, or, even, body (in the form of physical healing).  We may walk through darkness, but the destination should be light.  Psalm 30:5 states, “Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning.”
 
Jesus comes to us and calls out, “Hello!”  May we not be too busy or too distracted or too far away to hear him.  May we hear and respond to his call.  May we say with our words and our lives, “Welcome!  We’re glad you’re here.  Now, what would you like us to do?”  Amen.
 
Sermon preached by the Rev. Amy Johnson, Canton Community Baptist Church, Canton, CT, Sunday, January 22, 2017, the Third Sunday After Epiphany.

Image is from http://www.jeremymcquown.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/disciple3.jpg​

Loving Your Enemies
(Matthew 5:38-48)
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Delivered at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, Montgomery, Alabama, on November 17, 1957, by Martin Luther King, Jr.
 
This sermon has been edited to fit the time frame of an hour worship service and to reflect the language of contemporary culture.  For the original, full text, click here.
 
I want to turn your attention to this subject:  "Loving Your Enemies." . . .  In the fifth chapter of the gospel as recorded by Saint Matthew, we read these very arresting words flowing from the lips of our Lord and Master:  "Ye have heard that it has been said, ‘Thou shall love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy.’ But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven."
 
Certainly these are great words, words lifted to cosmic proportions.  And over the centuries, many persons have argued that this is an extremely difficult command.  Many would go so far as to say that it just isn’t possible to move out into the actual practice of this glorious command.  They would go on to say that this is just additional proof that Jesus was an impractical idealist who never quite came down to earth.  So the arguments abound.  But far from being an impractical idealist, Jesus has become the practical realist.  The words of this text glitter in our eyes with a new urgency.  Far from being the pious injunction of a utopian dreamer, this command is an absolute necessity for the survival of our civilization.  Yes, it is love that will save our world and our civilization, love even for enemies.
 
Now let me hasten to say that Jesus was very serious when he gave this command; he wasn’t playing.  He realized that it’s hard to love your enemies.  He realized that it’s difficult to love those persons who seek to defeat you, those persons who say evil things about you.  He realized that it was painfully hard, pressingly hard.  But he wasn’t playing.  And we cannot dismiss this passage as just another example of . . . hyperbole, just a sort of exaggeration to get over the point. . . .  We have the Christian and moral responsibility to seek to discover the meaning of these words, and to discover how we can live out this command, and why we should live by this command.
 
Now first let us deal with this question, which is the practical question:  How do you go about loving your enemies? I think the first thing is this:  In order to love your enemies, you must begin by analyzing self.  And I’m sure that seems strange to you, that I start out telling you this morning that you love your enemies by beginning with a look at self. . . .
 
Now, I’m aware of the fact that some people will not like you, not because of something you have done to them, but they just won’t like you.  I’m quite aware of that. . . .  They’re going to dislike you . . . because of various jealous reactions and other reactions that are so prevalent in human nature.
 
But . . . we must face the fact that an individual might dislike us because of something that we’ve done deep down in the past . . . and we’ve forgotten about it; but it was that something that aroused the hate response within the individual.  That is why I say, begin with yourself.  There might be something within you that arouses the tragic hate response in the other individual.
 
This is true in our international struggle.  We look at the struggle, the ideological struggle between communism on the one hand and democracy on the other, and we see the struggle between America and Russia.  Now, certainly, we can never give our allegiance to the Russian way of life, to the communistic way of life, because communism is based on an ethical relativism and a metaphysical materialism that no Christian can accept.  When we look at the methods of communism, a philosophy where somehow the end justifies the means, we cannot accept that, because we believe as Christians that the end is pre-existent in the means.  But in spite of all of the weaknesses and evils inherent in communism, we must at the same time see the weaknesses and evils within democracy.
 
Democracy is the greatest form of government to my mind that [humans] have ever conceived, but the weakness is that we have never touched it.  Isn’t it true that we have often taken necessities from the masses to give luxuries to the classes?  Isn’t it true that we have often in our democracy trampled over individuals and races with the iron feet of oppression?  Isn’t it true that through our Western powers we have perpetuated colonialism and imperialism?  And all of these things must be taken under consideration as we look at Russia.  We must face the fact that the rhythmic beat of the deep rumblings of discontent from Asia and Africa is at bottom a revolt against the imperialism and colonialism perpetuated by Western civilization all these many years.  The success of communism in the world today is due to the failure of democracy to live up to the noble ideals and principles inherent in its system.
 
And this is what Jesus means when he said:  "How is it that you can see the mote in your brother’s eye and not see the beam in your own eye?” . . . .  [T]his is one of the tragedies of human nature.  So we begin to love our enemies and love those persons that hate us whether in collective life or individual life by looking at ourselves.
 
A second thing that an individual must do in seeking to love [her] enemy is to discover the element of good in [her] enemy, and every time you begin to hate that person and think of hating that person, realize that there is some good there and look at those good points which will over-balance the bad points.
 
I’ve said to you on many occasions that each of us is something of a schizophrenic personality.  We’re split up and divided against ourselves.  And there is something of a civil war going on within all of our lives. . . .  There is something within each of us that causes us to cry out with Apostle Paul, "I see and approve the better things of life, but the evil things I do." . . .
 
[T]his simply means this:  That within the best of us, there is some evil, and within the worst of us, there is some good.  When we come to see this, we take a different attitude toward individuals.  The person who hates you most has some good in him; even the nation that hates you most has some good in it; even the race that hates you most has some good in it.  And when you come to the point that you look in the face of every [human] and see deep down within him what religion calls "the image of God," you begin to love him in spite of.  No matter what he does, you see God’s image there.  There is an element of goodness that he can never slough off.  Discover the element of good in your enemy.  And as you seek to hate him, find the center of goodness and place your attention there and you will take a new attitude.
 
Another way that you love your enemy is this:  When the opportunity presents itself for you to defeat your enemy, that is the time [that] you must not do it.  There will come a time, in many instances, when the person who hates you most, the person who has misused you most, the person who has gossiped about you most, the person who has spread false rumors about you most, there will come a time when you will have an opportunity to defeat that person.  It might be in terms of a recommendation for a job; it might be in terms of helping that person to make some move in life.  That’s the time you must do it.  That is the meaning of love.  In the final analysis, love is not this sentimental something that we talk about.  It’s not merely an emotional something.  Love is creative, understanding goodwill for all [humans].  It is the refusal to defeat any individual.  When you rise to the level of love, of its great beauty and power, you seek only to defeat evil systems.  Individuals who happen to be caught up in that system, you love, but you seek to defeat the system. . . .
 
Now for the few moments left, let us move from the practical how to the theoretical why.  It’s not only necessary to know how to go about loving your enemies, but also to go down into the question of why we should love our enemies.  I think the first reason that we should love our enemies, and I think this was at the very center of Jesus’ thinking, is this:  that hate for hate only intensifies the existence of hate and evil in the universe.  If I hit you and you hit me and I hit you back and you hit me back and so on, you see, that goes on ad infinitum.  It just never ends.  Somewhere somebody must have a little sense, and that’s the strong person.  The strong person is the person who can cut off the chain of hate, the chain of evil.  And that is the tragedy of hate, that it doesn’t cut it off.  It only intensifies the existence of hate and evil in the universe.  Somebody must have religion enough and morality enough to cut it off and inject within the very structure of the universe that strong and powerful element of love. . . .
 
There’s another reason why you should love your enemies, and that is because hate distorts the personality of the hater.  We usually think of what hate does for the individual hated or the individuals hated or the groups hated.  But it is even more tragic, it is even more ruinous and injurious to the individual who hates. . . .  There is nothing more tragic than to see an individual whose heart is filled with hate. . . .  Hate destroys the very structure of the personality of the hater. . . .  [I]t destroys the very center of your creative response to life and the universe. . . .  Hate at any point is a cancer that gnaws away at the very vital center of your life and your existence.  It is like eroding acid that eats away the best . . . of your life.  So Jesus says love, because hate destroys the hater as well as the hated.
 
Now, there is a final reason I think that Jesus says, "Love your enemies.”  It is this:  that love has within it a redemptive power.  And there is a power there that eventually transforms individuals.  That’s why Jesus says, "Love your enemies.”  Because if you hate your enemies, you have no way to redeem and to transform your enemies.  But if you love your enemies, you will discover that at the very root of love is the power of redemption.  You just keep loving people and keep loving them, even though they’re mistreating you.  Here’s the person who is a neighbor, and this person is doing something wrong to you and all of that.  Just keep being friendly to that person.  Keep loving them.  Don’t do anything to embarrass them.  Just keep loving them, and they can’t stand it too long.  Oh, they react in many ways in the beginning.  They react with bitterness because they’re mad because you love them like that.  They react with guilt feelings, and sometimes they’ll hate you a little more at that transition period, but just keep loving them.  And by the power of your love they will break down under the load.  That’s love, you see.  It is redemptive, and this is why Jesus says love.  There’s something about love that builds up and is creative.  There is something about hate that tears down and is destructive.  So love your enemies. . . .
 
History unfortunately leaves some people oppressed and some people oppressors.  And there are three ways that individuals who are oppressed can deal with their oppression.
 
One of them is to rise up against their oppressors with physical violence and corroding hatred.  But oh this isn’t the way.  For the danger and the weakness of this method is its futility.  Violence creates many more social problems than it solves. . . .  Violence isn’t the way.
 
Another way is to acquiesce and to give in, to resign yourself to the oppression.  Some people do that.  They discover the difficulties of the wilderness moving into the promised land, and they would rather go back to the fleshpots of Egypt because it’s difficult to get in the promised land.  And so they resign themselves to the fate of oppression; they somehow acquiesce to this thing.  But that too isn’t the way because non-cooperation with evil is as much a moral obligation as is cooperation with good.
 
But there is another way.  And that is to organize mass non-violent resistance based on the principle of love.  It seems to me that this is the only way as our eyes look to the future.  As we look out across the years and across the generations, let us develop and move right here.  We must discover the power of love, the power, the redemptive power of love.  And when we discover that we will be able to make of this old world a new world.  We will be able to make [humans] better.  Love is the only way.  Jesus discovered that. . . .
 
There is a little tree planted on a little hill and on that tree hangs the most influential character that ever came in this world.  But never feel that that tree is a meaningless drama that took place on the stages of history.  Oh no, it is a telescope through which we look out into the long vista of eternity, and see the love of God breaking forth into time.  It is an eternal reminder to a power-drunk generation that love is the only way.  It is an eternal reminder to a generation depending on nuclear and atomic energy, a generation depending on physical violence, that love is the only creative, redemptive, transforming power in the universe.
 
So this morning, as I look into your eyes, and into the eyes of all of my brothers [and sisters] in Alabama and all over America and over the world, I say to you, "I love you.  I would rather die than hate you.”  And I’m foolish enough to believe that through the power of this love somewhere, [humans] of the most recalcitrant bent will be transformed.  And then we will be in God’s kingdom.  We will be able to matriculate into the university of eternal life because we had the power to love our enemies, to bless those persons that cursed us, to even decide to be good to those persons who hated us, and we even prayed for those persons who despitefully used us.   Let us pray.
 
Oh God, help us in our lives and in all of our attitudes, to work out this controlling force of love, this controlling power that can solve every problem that we confront in all areas.  Oh, we talk about politics; we talk about the problems facing our . . . civilization.  Grant that all [people] will come together and discover that as we solve the crisis and solve these problems -- the international problems, the problems of atomic energy, the problems of nuclear energy, and yes, even the race problem -- let us join together in a great fellowship of love and bow down at the feet of Jesus.  Give us this strong determination.  In the name and spirit of this Christ, we pray.  Amen.
 
 
Sermon preached by Rev. Amy Johnson at the Canton Community Baptist Church, Canton, CT, on Sunday, January 15, 2017, the Third Sunday After Epiphany and Martin Luther King, Jr., Sunday.

This Sunday, Januray 8, 2017, we will remember the magi, who followed a star and journeyed to the baby Jesus.  In honor of their journey and the gifts they presented, we will each receive a gift that will take us on a journey with God:  a Stargift.  We will select a star on which a word has been printed, without seeing which word is on the star we are selecting.  Each word represents a quality, talent, skill, or aptitude.  It may be something we possess in abundance.  It may be some thing for which we seek.  It may be something we would like to develop.  Whatever is the case for each of us, we will let the Stargift we select take us on a journey with God.  May we trust God to guide us through our stars.  May we let the experience be a reminder of the new birth that comes through the light of Jesus Christ.
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Stargifts are available for those not present, also.  They can be delivered to shut-ins or mailed to someone who is not able to be present.

Image is from ​https://dioknox.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/epiphany2.jpg

A Savior in All Our Distress
(Isaiah 63:7-9; Hebrews 2:10-18; Matthew 2:13-23)
 
The last few weeks, as we have prepared for and then celebrated Christmas, we have been hearing about the events surrounding Jesus’ birth.  Right around the time that Jesus was to be born, Joseph and Mary had to travel in order to fulfill a decree given by Caesar Augustus that all people be registered in their own town.  Joseph, coming from the line of David, had to travel to Bethlehem, the city of David, with Mary, his betrothed, to be registered.
 
So, here is poor Mary, at the end of her pregnancy, traveling.  It doesn’t sound like much fun.  And, then, when she and Joseph reach their destination, there is no place to stay because so many people have traveled to be registered.  As we know, they finally find a place to stay in a stable.  And this is where Jesus is born, as our nativity scenes depict, surrounded by the animals.
 
Shepherds, who have seen the star above his birthplace and heard the angel chorus sing, come to worship him.  Magi, who have, also, seen the star, come to worship him.  Together, all celebrate the birth of the one proclaimed Messiah.
 
And, then, they all leave.  Mother, father, and baby are left alone to be a family.  But, they do not have long to rest, for Joseph has a dream in which an angel of the Lord appears to him and says, “Get up, take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him” (Mt 2:13).
 
Joseph listens to the angel.  He, Mary, and newborn Jesus travel to Egypt to escape the persecution of Herod.  Herod has heard that the new King of the Jews has been born.  He is disturbed, as he doesn’t want a new king; he is the king!  So, he plots to kill Jesus.  He kills all the boys two years old and under in Bethlehem and the surrounding area.  Jesus, of course, has escaped, because of the message from the angel in Joseph’s dream.  Even so, there is a slaughter of innocents, with much weeping and mourning.
 
These are the events surrounding Jesus’ birth.  We sing of a bright star; an angel chorus; shepherds quietly watching their flocks by night; grand magi coming from far off with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh; a silent and holy night; but the reality is much darker and disturbing:  a young woman forced to travel at the height of her pregnancy who finds no place except a stable in which to give birth; a king who calls the magi to him so that he may find the newborn king and murder him; magi warned in a dream to travel home a different way so that they do not have to participate in Herod’s plot; a new father warned by an angel in a dream to escape, quickly, with his family to a distant land; a young mother, fresh from her first labor, gathering her baby in her arms and fleeing persecution; the needless slaughter of innocent young toddlers and babies to satisfy the greed and wrath of the current king.  Over two thousand years later, we can sing of star, angels, shepherds, magi, and gifts, but, as the events were occurring, there was no time to sing; there was only time to survive in the midst of difficult and deadly circumstances.
 
Why does it matter that we acknowledge the difficulty and deadliness of the actual events?  Why can’t we just sing of the silent and holy night, the peace and calm, the joy and gladness? 
 
We must acknowledge the reality because it was into that reality that God chose to be born into our world.  God did not choose to be born into peace and plenty, safety and security, wealth and well-being.  God chose to be born into discomfort and danger, anxiety and angst, struggle and strife.  The fact that this is how God chose to come into our world and be with us defines our faith, our religion, our spirituality.  God is present in every circumstance of our lives, even – and particularly – when those circumstances are hard.  And they are often hard, because our world contains sickness, war, unemployment, hunger, violence, homelessness, and death.  God in Jesus is our savior in all our distress.
 
God is our savior in all our distress, in all of the circumstances of our lives, and will work to bring us through them.  The magi were warned in a dream to go another way, and they did.  Joseph was warned in a dream to escape to Egypt, and he did.  The Bible doesn’t tell us what God did for those parents whose toddlers and babies were slaughtered when Herod was trying to kill Jesus, but I trust that God worked to bring them through their grief, too.  Jesus is Emmanuel, God-with-us, in all times and all places and all circumstances:  both the good and the bad, the joyful and the sorrowing, the celebratory and the grieving.
 
One last word about this:  When we look for God in our world, let us remember to look for Him in the lost, the lonely, the grieving, the sick, the ugly, the homeless, the poor, the hurting, the enemy, and so on.  The next time we see someone who repulses us for some reason, let us remember that there were those who would have looked on Mary as someone to be rejected because she was an unwed mother; who would have looked on Joseph as someone to be rejected because he was marrying that unwed mother; who would have looked on Jesus as someone to be rejected because he was born out of wedlock; who would have looked at all of them as a family to be rejected because they were homeless in Bethlehem; who would have looked at all of them as a family to be rejected because they were immigrants in Egypt; who would have looked at all of them to be rejected because they weren’t wealthy; and so on.  God chose to be born among the “least of these,” and it is to the “least of these” that we should look to find God today.  As we begin 2017, let us remember to honor the God in the “least of these” wherever we find them, and remember that, at any time, we may become the “least of these,” too, and need others to find God in us.  Amen.
 
Sermon preached by the Rev. Amy Johnson, Canton Community Baptist Church, Canton, CT, Sunday, January 1, 2017, the First Sunday After Christmas Day.

Image is from https://evanlaar2013.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/cropped-blog-jay.jpg​

We Do Not Walk Alone
(Isaiah 35:1-10)
 
I’d like to begin with the Isaiah passage today.  I want to bring your attention to the life-giving words in the passage:  glad, rejoice, blossom, joy, singing, glory, majesty, leap, strong, firm, springs of water, open, unstop, redeemed, sing, gladness.  The passage is filled with words that represent life overflowing.
 
Those words that represent life overflowing, that are life-giving, however, are mixed in with words that represent life as a struggle, that are life-taking:  wilderness, dry land, desert, weak, feeble, blind, deaf, lame, speechless, burning, thirsty, haunt, swamp, unclean, ravenous beast, sorrow, sighing.  The passage is filled with words that represent life as a struggle.
 
The Bible contains some of the most beautiful writing ever written, and Isaiah has some of the best of that beautiful writing.  Part of the reason that it is some of the best of the beautiful is its poetry, the way it weaves together the challenge of life with the joy of life, using language that allows us to see and feel the reality the words are describing.  It tells the truth about life in a way that we can understand, almost viscerally. 
 
The truth about life is that it is hard.  Psalm 23 talks about the “valley of the shadow of death.”  Usually, we think about the valley of the shadow of death as the hard times we go through while living, but I want to suggest that ALL of life is the valley of the shadow of death.  From a young age, we are aware that we will, someday, die.  The whole time we are alive we live with the awareness that we will die.  So, throughout life we are walking in the valley of the shadow of death.  Life IS the valley of the shadow of death.  While on the Earth, we are walking in the valley of the shadow of death: struggling, yet hoping we survive.
 
This is what Isaiah expresses with those words above:  wilderness, dry land, desert, weak, feeble, blind, deaf, lame, speechless, burning, thirsty, haunt, swamp, unclean, ravenous beast, sorrow, sighing.  The passage is filled with words that represent the struggle of life against death that we are caught in while we walk the Earth. 
 
BUT – and this is a big but – the passage also expresses the other half of the “walk[ing] in the valley of the shadow of death” reality of living.  The other half is, “I will fear no evil:  for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”  Life IS the valley of the shadow of death, but while walking in that valley, we are not to fear, for God is with us.  God’s rod and staff comfort us. 
 
This is what Isaiah expresses with those other words above:  glad, rejoice, blossom, joy, singing, glory, majesty, leap, strong, firm, springs of water, open, unstop, redeemed, sing, gladness.  The passage is filled with words that represent life overflowing, the victory of life over death that we can experience on Earth IF we turn to God while in this valley, IF we depend on God’s rod and staff to comfort us.
 
While alive here on Earth, we ARE walking in the valley of the shadow of death.  We WILL suffer and struggle; that is a given.  But, we don’t have to suffer and struggle in fear, and we don’t have to suffer and struggle without hope.  God is with us, and He has sent Jesus to be the rod and staff to comfort us.  We do not walk alone.
 
A year-and-a-half ago, a clergy colleague, Nancy Butler, was diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.  I first met Nancy when she led a workshop at an ABCCONN Annual Meeting.  The workshop she led was about the church she had founded.  It was kind of a “how to” about planting a new church.  I attended because I was interested in finding out what it took to do that.  It seemed like an enormous task to start a new church. 
 
Nancy was particularly qualified to plant a church.  She had an MBA and had worked in marketing and human resources for many years.  Eventually, though, she felt called to plant a new kind of church:  a progressive evangelical church that was also welcoming and affirming to those who identify as LGBTQ.[1]  She broke ground, religiously, in that her church combined what was historically conservative – Evangelical Christianity – with what is currently progressive – welcoming and affirming the LGBTQ community.  Any time two seemingly opposing things come together in love and unity, God is revealed.  Her church made God known to many who had not known the love of God before.
 
Obviously, it was a blow to be diagnosed with a terminal illness.  In fact, the diagnosis was a death sentence.  This past week, Nancy died.  I attended her funeral yesterday.  But, true to who she was, Nancy faced her death sentence faithfully, trusting Jesus all the way.  From the moment she made the announcement, publicly, about her diagnosis, she shared the journey with all who cared.  She wrote about it in a blog, she spoke about it in interviews, and she shared about it on Facebook.  Her journey from diagnosis to death became a testimony.  She testified to the power of faith in Jesus regardless of what comes our way.
 
One of the posts on her Facebook page after her death was from a mother who is a member of the church Nancy founded.  She posted an image of a portion of a letter Nancy had written to her son, Kayden, who was having a difficult time.  Nancy wrote,
 
“I heard about the loss of your half-brother.  Many people have told me that emotional pain is much worse than physical pain.  It breaks my heart that you are experiencing emotional pain.  The only thing that cheers me up is knowing that you have great parents, grandparents, and church family who love you very much.  Oh, and I hear your two new foster sisters love you very much, too!  I hope these people help you get through each day, one day at a time.
 
I am also so happy that you have decided to get baptized at my house on June 14.  Why?  Because I know from personal experience that when life gets tough, a relationship with Jesus and God can help you rise above the storm.  When I feel like giving up, I remember that my life is not about feeling happy every minute.  My life is about following in the way of Jesus.  My life is about serving other people with the gifts God has given me.  Keeping my eyes on Jesus, when the waves crash around me, keeps my life simple and afloat.
 
I love you very much.”[2]
 
As Nancy’s muscles stopped working and atrophied, as she lost one body function after another, as she became more and more dependent on others and machines to keep her alive and functioning, she kept her gaze on Jesus.  She allowed the rod and staff of Jesus to comfort her in the valley of the shadow of death.  She did not fear, for she knew God was with her.  Through it all, she did not stop sharing her faith journey with all who cared.  Nancy lived what she wrote to Kayden.  She accepted that she would not feel happy every minute.  She embraced following in the way of Jesus.  And, she served other people with the gifts God had given her, right to the very end:  death’s door.
 
We can do the same.  God offers his love, forgiveness, mercy, redemption, renewal, and peace to all.  Regardless of the circumstances of our lives, we can enter into kingdom of God by receiving these gifts from Him. 
 
For example:  I feel hated, but the reality is that I am loved by none other than God.  I feel judged, but God has forgiven me through Jesus Christ.  People are harsh to me, but God’s mercy is raining down upon me.  I feel damned, but Jesus Christ has redeemed me.  I am worn out, but the Holy Spirit is here to inspire me.  I am conflicted, but I can receive God’s peace that passes understanding. 
 
This can be done on the personal level, as the examples illustrate, or the universal level.  For example:  The world feels hateful, but God is Love and created the world out of love, so love is in the world.  God judges His world, but He has also forgiven it through Jesus Christ.  The world is harsh, but God’s mercy is raining down upon it.  The world is damned, but Jesus Christ has redeemed it.  We are worn out, but the Holy Spirit is arriving to inspire us.  Wars abound, but we can receive God’s peace that passes understanding even as wars rage around us.
 
Yea, we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, but we need not fear any evil:  for God art with us; his rod and his staff they comfort us.  In our wildernesses and deserts, we shall rejoice and blossom, like the crocus.  Our weak hands will be strengthened; our feeble knees will be firm.  Our blind spirits will be opened.  Our deaf spirits will be unstopped.  Our lame spirits will leap like deer.  Our mute spirits will sing with joy.  Streams of living water will break forth in the wildernesses and deserts of our souls.   We shall be baptized anew in pools of living water.  Our spiritual thirst will be quenched.  A way will be set before us, the highway of our God, a holy way.  Jesus will lead us on it.  Our gaze will be upon him as we walk through the valley, and he will lead us with joy and gladness to the kingdom of God, which is at hand even now, for we do not walk alone. Amen.
 
Sermon preached by Rev. Amy Johnson, Canton Community Baptist Church, Canton, CT, Sunday, December 11, 216, the Third Sunday of Advent.

[1] Biographical information about Nancy Butler is from http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/hartfordcourant/obituary.aspx?n=nancy-jane-butler&pid=183020187&fhid=4281.

[2]https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10155040738517697&set=a.10150576892897697.403354.500937696&type=3&theater

Image is of the Rev. Nancy Butler at the church she founded, Riverfront Family Church, and is from http://1aon88369c3gtkxjg19cnprs.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/webRNS-SILK-COLUMNa-121216-771x578.jpg
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Cleaning House
(Matthew 3:1-12)
 
It’s time for a confession:  The Johnson family does not have a neat, tidy, and clean house free of dog hair most of the time.  We are too busy working, going to school, and participating in activities to spend much time cleaning.  This means that when we’re going to have people over, we clean the house in preparation.  As a matter of fact, when I’m cleaning, my kids will ask me who’s coming over!  They associate cleaning with having guests at our house! 
 
It’s Advent, and that means it’s time to prepare for a very special guest:  Jesus Christ.  Advent is a time of preparation for the birth of Jesus that we celebrate on Christmas Day, and a time to reflect on Jesus’ second coming.  Today, we’re going to focus on what we do to clean house and prepare for him.
 
God sent John the Baptist to prepare the way.  Many people came out to John in the wilderness of Judea to repent and be baptized in preparation for the messiah.  Among those who were present were Pharisees and Sadducees, who were members of the ruling class of Israel.  There were differences between the Pharisees and Sadducees economically and theologically, and they were often in conflict with each other, but they were all in conflict with Jesus and his teachings.  If Jesus succeeded, they would lose their power and prestige, and their religion would change, so they were against him.  The Pharisees and Sadducees wanted to keep things as they were.  Jesus came so that all “could have life, and have it abundantly” (Jn 10:10).  In order for that to happen, things had to change. 
 
When John saw the Pharisees and Sadducees, he chastised them and warned them what would happen if they did not repent and bear fruit worthy of that repentance.  The messiah would come and baptize them with the Holy Spirit and fire.  John warned, “His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire” (Mt 3:12).  In other words:  If you don’t clean house, Jesus will, and it might not feel so good when he does it.
 
Jesus is coming, and it’s time to clean house, or Jesus will do it for us.  The difference between cleaning house ourselves and having Jesus do it for us is the difference between what it feels like when we do something willingly and what it feels like when we are forced to do something.  When we do something willingly, we go with the flow and are supported by the Holy Spirit along the way.  When we are forced to do something, we fight the flow and the Holy Spirit has a hard time supporting us because we are resisting his power!  It’s like swimming with the current or swimming against it.  I swam against the current in the St. Lawrence River this summer and I didn’t get anywhere.  Seriously.  I thought I was moving forward, but when I looked at the island to my left, I hadn’t moved at all past the point I had been at before!  The only reason I made it to the boat is that the boat was coming toward me on the current.  All I managed to do by swimming against the current was stay in place.  The lesson:  When we swim against God’s current, all we manage to do is stay in place – or, go backward!  When we swim with God’s current, we move ahead with ease and grace.

Now, when I say to clean house, I don’t mean to clean our literal houses; I mean, clean our spiritual houses.  The Bible tells us that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit:  “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own . . .” (1 Cor. 6:19).  We house the Holy Spirit, which means that we house God!  Each of us is a temple that houses God.  This is why Jesus could say, “Whatever you do to the least of these, you do to me” (Mt. 25:40), and why he said, “I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you” (Jn 14:20).  Once we are disciples of Jesus Christ, we are not our own.  We are temples of God.  And it’s time to clean those temples.

It might sound like a lot of work to clean house in preparation for the very special guest, Jesus.  But it’s not as hard as it sounds.  Once we remember and honor the fact that we are not our own but are temples of God, we’ve already started cleaning because we’ve already begun repenting, which really just means that we’ve turned back to God, which means that we’re paying close attention to God, and when we pay close attention to God, we learn and grow.  Inventory is taken.  Closets and cupboards are opened and the contents reviewed.  Things that aren’t in line with God’s will and God’s way are set aside.  Things that are in line with God’s will and God’s way are taken out and put into use.  Those closets and cupboards are dusted and cleaned.  We’ve turned back to God and the Holy Spirit can get to work, a little bit like Mary Poppins when Jane and Michael had to clean the playroom!  All of the sudden, our spiritual lives are back in order and we’ve even had some fun!  We are ready to welcome our very special guest.
 
Whenever I read the judgment passages in the Bible, I think of something Kathleen Norris wrote about judgment because it felt so right to me when I read it.  The judgment passages of the Bible can make us fearful – “What if we’re not faithful enough?” – or judgmental – “This applies to others but not to me; thank God I’m a good Christian!”  But, fear and judgment are not on the list of the fruit of the Spirit that we are hoping to bear; you know, the fruit that is worthy of repentance?  So, I don’t think fear and judgment are appropriate responses to the judgment passages.  Norris has a whole other take on these passages.  She writes, “I began to see God’s fire, like a good parent’s righteous anger, as something that can flare up, challenge, and even change us, but that does not destroy the essence of who we are.  The thought of all my weeds burning off so that only the wheat remains came to seem a good thing.”
 
When we clean house, we just let God burn off all the weeds and chaff in our lives so that only the life-giving wheat remains.  We don’t need the weeds and chaff, anyway; we’ve just gotten used them.  It might be uncomfortable to let them go and embrace our wheaty selves, but once we feast on the life that wheat brings, we’ll long for the weeds and chaff no more.  Repent, let God help you clean house in preparation for the Christ to be born anew in you, then sit down for a wonderful feast on Christmas morning.  Amen.
 
 
Sermon preached by Rev. Amy Johnson, Canton Community Baptist Church, Canton, CT, Sunday, December 4, 2016, the Second Sunday of Advent.

Image is from http://images.knowing-jesus.com/w/900/46-1%20CORINTHIANS/1%20Corinthians%203-16%20You%20Are%20A%20Temple%20of%20the%20Holy%20Spirit%20gold.jpg​

HANGING OF THE GREENS*
 
Introduction
About two thousand years ago, some simple shepherds were watching over their sheep on the Judean hillside in far-off Palestine.  It was night, and it was very still.

Suddenly the darkness was filled with a strange light.  The stillness was broken by the sound of angels singing: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and good will to all." So began the event that inspired one of our most beautiful and meaningful religious festivals:  Christmas.

Christmas, like a great cathedral, has been developing through many centuries.  It is still changing and continuing to grow as old customs are refined and new traditions begun.
Christmas is celebrated in home and church.  Some of our celebrations have their origin in pagan customs, and have little to do with the biblical account of the birth of Christ.   Converts to Christianity brought these celebrations to Christmas.  But we have no qualms about using these customs – for the customs, along with the people, were converted to Christianity.  These ancient celebrations are being laid at Jesus’ feet, as gifts for the Christ child.  They enrich and gladden the hearts of believers as they bring their best before the newborn king in solemn dedication.

Today our church will begin to wear its Christmas apparel.  We will change the appearance of the church in order to make ready for the birthday of our King.  The preparation for this beautiful occasion is not something that we hire out to be done for us, to be performed by others.  Instead, it is something we do ourselves, each individual and family sharing in the furnishing of this house for the celebration of Christmas, the birth of the Christ.

In this spirit, we invite each of you to share in this occasion with gladness of heart at the anticipation that you, too, are making it possible for the Christ to enter in.  As we decorate the church and wreathe it with song, we will explain the history of the symbols, and dedicate them and ourselves to the glory of God, and his son, Jesus Christ.
 
Explanation of the Star
We place the star in a central place in our worship setting.  The star is central in our thoughts as we recall that it was under the light of the stars that the first announcement of the birth of the Christ was made to the Judean shepherds.

It was the light of a star that guided the strange visitors from the East to the Christ child.  The gospel of Matthew tells us:  ". . . And lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.  When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy."

In some lands, including Spain, Italy, and Russia, the people wait until the first star appears in the sky on Christmas Eve before beginning their celebrations.  It is fitting that the star of Bethlehem be the first of our Christmas decorations, and that it occupy a special spot in our church.

The star will be put in place as we sing the hymn #182, “Brightest and Best of the Stars.”
 
Explanation of the Poinsettia Plant
Next we place our poinsettia plant(s).  The bright poinsettia has become the most popular Christmas flower.  Many churches are decorated with it during the Christmas season.  The poinsettia is a tropical plant.  Contrary to general belief, the red leaves are not the blossoms.  Rather, the small yellow flowers in the center of the clusters are the blossoms.
Dr. Joel R. Poinsett first discovered the poinsettia in Mexico in 1828.  The Mexicans have a legend that when blood fell on the earth from the broken heart of a young girl, a poinsettia grew from each drop.  The star-shaped formation of red leaves is a reminder to us of the star that shone over Bethlehem's stable.  We will now decorate our church with poinsettia plants.
 
Explanation of the Greens
The greens that we use for Christmas decorations found their way into early festivities because of certain virtues attributed to them by ancient peoples.  Many of them that adorned pagan seasonal rites were later to grace the ceremonies and celebrations of Christmas Day.  This custom has its roots in the profound reverence of the ancient peoples for all natural phenomena.  One thing is certain:  They were never sought merely for their decorative capabilities as is apt to be the case now.  We should think of garlands, ropes, and wreaths in a sacramental way, as carrying with them a blessing into the home and the church.

The laurel and the bay symbolize victory and triumph.  The yew and the cypress symbolize eternal life.  Mistletoe is regarded as a symbol of peace.  And Christians came to see, in the prickly leaves and the bright red berries of the holly, symbols of the crown of thorns and the sacrifice that the Christ child would make on Good Friday on Calvary.

God is everywhere in nature – in sky and water, mountain and valley, grove and meadow.  Let us honor and praise our God as we hang the greens and sing “Deck the Hall,” which is on an insert in your bulletin.
 
Explanation of the Christmas Tree
Traditions concerning the Christmas tree are centuries old.  An old German legend tells about Saint Winfred, a missionary to the Scandinavians in the eighth century.  The people, led by their Druid priests, had gathered in the forest under a great oak to offer a human sacrifice.  Saint Winfred, shocked by such brutality, and with surprising courage, hewed down the oak.  As it fell, a young fir tree appeared, as if miraculously, in its place.  Saint Winfred proclaimed the fir tree holy, saying it was a symbol of endless life because its leaves are evergreen.
 
First Reader:  Bryan George
These, we are told, were Winfred's words:  "Take up the fir tree and carry it to the chieftain's hall.  You shall go no more into the shadows of the forest to keep your feasts with secret rites of shame.  You shall keep them at home with laughter and songs and rites of love, gathered around the fir tree, to rejoice in the birth night of Christ."
 
Second Reader:  Lyla O’Connnor
The use of the pine, fir, and cedar is generally to be believed of German origin and ascribed to Martin Luther.  Remembering Luther's tender interest in children and the Nativity, the inspiration may well have proceeded from him.  The great reformer, it is said, wandered out one Christmas Eve and became entranced with the wonder and beauty of the starry sky.  Looking up, he thought of Jesus, "who, for our salvation, came down from heaven."  On his return home, he set up a tree for his children and decorated it with candles to represent the gracious heavens that had sent forth the little Lord Jesus.
 
Third Reader:  Lucy O’Connor
But how did the Christmas tree find its way into the church?  On Christmas Eve in 1851, a young minister, Pastor Henry Schwan, newly arrived from Germany, created an uproar in the Zion Church of Cleveland, Ohio, by bringing a lighted Christmas tree into the sanctuary.  His act was declared sacrilegious, "a plain case of idolatry," and "groveling before shrubs."  The pastor was given to understand that the town's decent citizens would not tolerate pagan practices.
 
Fourth Reader:  Tula Johnson
Pastor Schwan set out to prove that the decorated tree was not a pagan practice or an innovation, but a thoroughly Christian custom.  After long and weary research, he proved to his congregation that it was a custom known even in America.  It was this young pastor who first gave the Christmas tree its traditional place beside the altar in many an American church.

Pastor
We read in the words of the prophet, Isaiah, "The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee – the fir tree, the pine tree and the elder tree together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary."  Let each of us, as we look upon the Christmas tree, turn to the God who touches earth with beauty, and pray, “O God, like the straightness of the pine tree, let me upright be."  Let us decorate the Christmas tree as we sing “O Christmas Tree,” which is on an insert in your bulletin.
 
Explanation of Giving
The tree stands in our midst as a reminder of the completely pure and entirely unselfish love of God.  It was this love that prompted God to give us Jesus.  Even as the snow falls on everyone and everything, making no distinctions among any, so the tree is a reminder of the grace of God and of God's unlimited love.

The tree reminds us that giving for others, not just getting for ourselves, is the greatest lesson that Christmas teaches us.  The custom of giving to the members of one’s family is accepted as a matter of course.  But the tree speaks of something more than this.  It proclaims the truth that Jesus taught, "if you salute your brothers and sisters only, what more do you than others?  Be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect."
 
Offertory
Let us now give our tithes, gifts, and offerings to God.
 
Doxology & Prayer of Dedication
O God: we bring here our treasures and gifts.  Some of them are gold, some of them are frankincense, and some of them are myrrh.  For some of it has come from plenty, some from joy, and some from the deepest sorrow of the soul.  But you, O God, know that we bring them with love, as our pledge of peace, our promise of good will.  Accept our treasures and gifts, and all the life we bring.  Amen.
 
Explanation of Light
Light is a Christian symbol so old that it has the sanction of Jesus himself, who probably told his disciples not just once but many times, "You are the light of the world."  Thus, every time a Christian lights a candle, he or she is in effect declaring their Christian faith and belief.

The first-century church did not commonly use candles, for the long days of the Mediterranean region stretched to embrace part of the night.  It was when persecution drove the worshippers to the catacombs that they found it necessary to use lamps and candles.  After Christians were allowed to worship openly, the custom of using candles in worship became well established.
 
Explanation of the Candles
At Christmas, the use of candles reflects our mood of quiet reflection and flaming joy.  The worship services at Christmas are frequently held in a candle-lit church.  The mystery of the softly gleaming light reminds the worshiper of that strangely illuminated sky with its great star that guided the Magi that first Christmas.

We light our candles as a symbol of that Christian faith and joy that have continued for over 2,000 years.  May it be a sign that our Christmas this year will be a happy and blessed one in heart and home, church and community.
 
Pastor
Now let us light the candles and the Christmas tree to signify that we pray for the coming of Christ into our hearts this Christmastide as never before, and to testify to all people of the True Light which it is the privilege of the church to bear.  (Light candles on the altar – instead of at the beginning of the service.)
 
Lighting of the Advent Candles
Today we begin the Advent journey to Bethlehem.  For Joseph and Mary, it was an arduous journey from Galilee to Judea, from Nazareth to their ancestral home in Bethlehem.  But just as God is with us in the journeys of our lives, God was with them – giving them hope, preparing the way, even as the prophet had predicted.
 
A voice cries out:  "In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.  Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken."  (Isaiah 40: 3-5)
 
We light this candle to proclaim that Christ is the Light of the World; to announce that by bringing light into the world, Christ has brought hope, reminding us that good will ultimately triumphs over evil, and that by living in the Light of Christ, we, too, can bring hope to the world.  (Designated person/family lights the first Advent candle.)
 
Let us pray.  O God, who gave us the Light, thank you for giving us hope in the form of a child at Bethlehem. As we prepare to celebrate the birth of this holy child, may we be willing to be your servants, lighting the candle of hope in the darkness of despair.  Amen.
 
Pastor
Let us sing hymn #158, “Break Forth, O Beauteous Heavenly Light”
 
Pastor’s Prayer of Dedication
Let us pray:  O Jesus, Prince of Peace, we now dedicate these symbols.  O God, we now dedicate our lives anew to the service of Christ, and pray that our lives may be filled with your love, so perfectly revealed through his birth, life, and ministry.  Amen.
 
WORSHIP CHOIR SINGS
 
Christmas Poem
I am the Spirit of Joy!  Here at the Christmastide,
Where our hearts are united, I come to abide.
 
Let your candles be lighted, Your holly be hung,
Your hearth fire be merry, Your carols be sung!
 
In this of all houses, The Christ child will bide;
Make room for his coming; Throw the door wide!
 
Hang greens for his welcome; Trim gaily your tree;
Put wreaths in your windows; Follow me!  Follow me!
 
The end of the Hanging of the Greens portion of the worship service. 
 
*This service was handed down to the Rev. Amy Johnson while she was Pastor at the United Church of Stonington, Stonington, CT.  It is believed to have been written by the Rev. Steven Burt.
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