Posted in Ministry

Christmas sermons

Posted on by William Douthwaite

My Christmas Eve and Day sermons are just about done for this year. Writing a sermon for a celebration like Christmas is different than weekly Sunday sermon preparation. The story is so familiar that it seems there’s nothing left to say. The story is so real, that it’s hard to add anything to it. At the same time, the incarnation is big. It must be preached.

Here’s how I approach my message for one of the best attended (Christmas Eve) and worst attended (Christmas Day) worship services.

First, I read through the Matthew and Luke texts of Christ’s birth a number of times, until something jumps out at me or a question occurs to me. (Why did God announce the Savior’s birth to shepherds? Wasn’t it risky for the life of the Messiah to be entrusted to the care of two first-time human parents? Why was the Savior born at this time in the history of the world?)

Next, I link that thought or question to some aspect of our celebration of Christmas. (Who’s hearing the message of the Savior’s birth for the first time this year? Into what culture would the Savior be born in our world?)

Third, I take the idea and run with it, making some applications and offering some challenges. (Where do we need to take the message of the Savior? Why have we been entrusted with this good news? Who will we go and tell?)

This year for Christmas Eve, my “angle” is the birth itself in Luke 2:7. When a child is born, many look to see if he or she has his mother’s eyes or her father’s nose. What did Jesus look like? He’s just like us in every way, yet he’s so much different: sinless, obedient, holy. He looks most like us on the cross, for there he takes our sin and is punished as if he were us. So his birth makes our birth special, too, for we become holy, blameless children of God with a mission.

Christmas Day I’ll talk about expectations. For Christmas, we don’t get what we expect, we don’t get God’s punishment. We get a Savior, and God’s forgiveness. So a Christmas that doesn’t live up to your expectations is a very good Christmas.

Posted in Rant

Would you send a secular Christmas card to your pastor?

Posted on by William Douthwaite

Do you send out secular Christmas cards?

Would you send a secular Christmas card to your pastor? You know, a card that has snowmen rather than shepherds, a winter scene rather than a nativity, or winter birds in the snow rather than angels in the sky?

I get a number of secular cards each year from the members of my church.

Now before I get too preachy, let’s ask, “What are some legitimate reasons for sending a non-religious Christmas card to you pastor?”

  • It’s possible  that some people cut expenses by buying something on sale. Let’s face it, some of the card boxes sold in religious bookstores are pricey. So I can understand that.
  • Or, perhaps most of their friends aren’t Christian, so I get the same as everyone else. I guess I can see that, too.
  • How about this: “He knows what Christmas is all about, so I don’t need to send him a message about the real meaning of Christmas.”

I’m not sounding very convincing. None of those thoughts really impress me as a good reason to send your pastor a “Happy Holidays” card with a cardinal (the bird) or Santa by a palm tree on the front. I spend weeks and months and years preaching Christ and this is what you get. Either I’m not communicating clearly or the seed is hitting some pretty bad soil, which Jesus said would happen. In some ways, I’d rather get a Hanukkah card — at least it’s got a connection to the Light of the World.

Posted in Ministry

Good News Clubs

Posted on by William Douthwaite

Today, I was asked to lead some Christmas carols at the Good News Clubs our church sponsors. So I printed out a few song sheets, tuned up my guitar, and led kindergarteners through 5th graders through “Away in a Manger,” “Silent Night,” “Joy to the World” and a few other classic Christmas carols. Some of them knew some of them. But they didn’t sing anywhere as good as they did for “Jingle Bells.”

For those of you unfamiliar, Good New Clubs are Christian Bible clubs that meet in public school after hours one day a week. That’s right, we teach the gospel on public school grounds, with the blessing of the Supreme Court of the United States of America. About 60 young people attend each week this year (last year’s attendance was higher).

I felt like a superstar. Most of them loved to sing. They all wanted me to hang with their group. They all tuned in to the real story of Christmas. What a great afternoon. I have volunteer credentials for the public schools. But I’ve dragged my feet  getting into the Good News Clubs. I am wary of taking on another commitment. But this was way too much fun. I want to come back. I want to be a part of this.

Posted in Ministry

Christmas letters

Posted on by William Douthwaite

I just got done writing my Christmas letter to send out with some of our cards. I’ve been receiving some, too. Here’s what I think makes a good Christmas letter:

  • Share the good stuff. It’s OK to mention a problem or struggle here and there, but mostly report on how you’ve been blessed. Hit the highlights of your year, including accomplishments, trips, joys and milestones.
  • Give me just enough information. I don’t need to know about every yucky illnesses you’ve had this year. At least not in a letter like this.
  • Get to the point. More than one page and I probably won’t read the whole thing.
  • Use a normal font. I probably won’t try to read that decorative font or that 6 point font you used to fit it all on one page.
  • Use prose. A poem is nice and I appreciate the effort, but it’s hard to get the news that way. Include a poem, but mostly use prose.

As I was writing the letter this year, my wife asked if it was really necessary. After all, just about everyone we send it to is in one of our social networks (like Facebook). They know what we did last year. And they’ve seen lots of pictures. Good point. Are the days numbered for Christmas letters?

Posted in Ministry

On the road again

Posted on by William Douthwaite

I tried running again today. I had taken a month off since my heel started feeling like it was bruised. I did a lot of bike riding instead. Finally, today, I thought it was better enough for a gentle three-miler. I took some ibuprofin and iced it just in case, and it felt pretty good. In fact, it felt better throughout the day than it has for a long time.

Four weeks is probably the longest I’ve gone without running in the past 30 years. I try to go out 3 times a week now. I need a day of recovery in between workouts. I just run better that way. When I was younger, I could run seven days a week. In fact, when I go back and look at some old running logs, I am shocked to see that I ran 70-100 miles a week sometimes. I would run twice a day several days a week. An easy run was 5 miles. I guess you just can’t do that forever. I enjoy it just as much even though it’s just 3 days and 9-15 miles a week.

As I’ve mentioned before, I am my most creative when I run, and I pray my best when I’m walking. I’m not sure why, but it works.

Posted in Ministry

Jesus laughing

Posted on by William Douthwaite

Today’s Advent candle was pink. On this Sunday the theme of joy resonated through the lessons. So I wondered out loud today, is joy a common response to God’s presence with us?

David danced for joy when the ark came back to Jerusalem. Unborn John the Baptist jumped for joy when the unborn Son of God showed up at his mom’s house. The magi rejoiced with exceeding joy when they saw the star. When God shows up to save, joy follows.

Even God rejoices. He rejoices to be with his people, to be reconciled to them, to see their lives restored. I wonder how many people picture God as a happy, joyful God rather than a stern, angry God.

We have a picture of a laughing Jesus in our house. I brought it for the children’s sermon today and asked, “Why do you think Jesus is so happy?” One young man, probably about five, said, “I think Jesus is laughing because someone just told a joke.” I really liked that answer. I like to think of God as someone with a sense of humor. If the Son of God can experience grief, why not joy?

In John15 Jesus wants his disciples to have the same joy that he has, so he must be joyful. Every time someone could see or hear again, got up and walked, or even came back to life, I like to picture Jesus filled with joy, seeing his creation restored.

Posted in Life

Crash

Posted on by William Douthwaite

We had a computer crash at our house last night. I was minding my own business, scanning some pictures and listening to Pandora, when suddenly, the computer burped and I got the SOD (Screen of Death.) “Windows has shut down…” I couldn’t reboot. Couldn’t reboot from an emergency boot disk. Couldn’t do anything.

Today, I just reloaded Windows XP, thankful for having done some good backups and not losing anything but a few pictures. But it’s a pain to have to reinstall software. But not as much of a pain as it used to be. Most of what we do is in the “cloud.” I use Google Docs more than I use resident word processors and presentation programs. So everything I use the most is always there, somewhere for me.

I had to take the machine apart, too. Change the CD player from slave to master. Unhook the DVD drive. And wait a long, long time for about 60 updates to be loaded. But in the end, everything works good. In fact, it was a blessing, since we had some Google redirect virus somewhere in the bowels of the machine that no program could find and deal with. No problem now. Kind of like a clean slate.

Posted in Ministry

What they didn’t teach me at the seminary (part 2)

Posted on by William Douthwaite

I am still leaning that I have to do a lot of things around the church I didn’t realize were part of the job description. For example:

  • Changing batteries in smoke detectors that are chirping and driving you up the wall.
  • Compiling the list of who gets offering envelopes, which includes active members, those who regularly attend but are not members, and excludes those members who don’t use offering envelopes.
  • Pick up dead bugs in the chancel.
  • Reassemble chapel Advent wreath that was disassembled to make a Good Friday tenebrae candle holder.
  • Retrieve loaner key from drop box where a black widow spider is living.
  • Fetch new roll of toilet paper for “stranded” parishioner.

A lot of these things end up on my plate just because I’m around just about every day. Try as I might to delegate these jobs, new ones, different but similar will find their way to me.

Posted in Grace, Ministry

House cleaning

Posted on by William Douthwaite

Today in my sermon I asked if anyone cleaned up their house before their cleaning person came to clean their house. Just about all who had cleaning people admitted to that practice. Which is a little mind-bending for me, but I think I get it. You really don’t want anyone to see your mess, even if that someone is your cleaning person.

I brought it up as we were talking about confessing our sins rather than covering them up with denial, excuses, or justification. Do we have to try to clean up our lives before Jesus comes to clean up our lives (Malachi 3)? We can’t actually do that, since he knows what’s going on with us anyway. It’s better to confess, knowing that he’ll forgive and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. It’s better to confess, get it out on the table, knowing that he’ll clean it up.

I also talked about the importance of voicing your confession. To God. To each other. To a pastor on occasion. Getting it out there goes a long way towards appreciating his grace. It’s hard, but it’s worth it.

One of the boldest prayers of the bible is at the end of Psalm 139 where David invites God to poke around in his life and see if anything needs fixing or straightening out. How many of us would have the guts to pray that prayer?