I had a counseling professor that had an intriguing approach for marriage counseling.  He said that when a couple came to him for pre-marital counseling, he would sit down with them and try to talk them out of getting married.  He figured if he could “succeed” then they weren’t ready for marriage…. 

You say you want to be a Christian?  Do you know the personal sacrifice asked of you?  Maybe becoming a Christian is more than you can really handle! 

Jesus’ mother had something to say about the matter.  Even while Jesus is growing in Mary’s womb, Mary’s concern is not gathering little boy clothes, a nice crib…Mary turns to the future and sings a revolutionary Holy Spirit inspired song of why Jesus was sent to earth.  While most parents dream of rocking the cradle, Mary sees her son rocking the world!  

God Thinks you are amazing! This message is for all who feel inadequate. Who hold back their feelings, go through life with a foot on the brake, afraid to make a full commitment to God, a full commitment to other people. Maybe you are from a family with conditions you could not meet, your best efforts were not enough, you learned to sell yourself short, learned to live with a protective shell to find safety.... This message is for you: God. Thinks. You. Are. AMAZING.  Allow God to love you!

In 2005 SACC had a restart year in which we asked our purpose for existing. The thought came clear to me from the title of a book that was popular years earlier. I believe this is as true today as it was then: what are people's greatest needs? Love, Acceptance and Forgiveness. 

(note: the message for this Sunday, Dec. 15, was 10 minutes long in order to make room for the Christmas program, "Christmas Letters.")

I have an uncle I never met. My mother has a brother she never met. His name was Bruce. Bruce Alexander. I visited his grave in the Nooksack Cemetery probably 10 years ago, almost certainly one of the few people to visit in the past 50 years! I have a napkin ring that bears his name. My mother has a few photographs of him as a young man. We actually have a photograph of his mother in our new display cabinet ~ take a look at the bottom left corner, the photo with Elder Carmen seated with his wife Emma and a child. That baby is Ethyl Carmen, who later married Artie Alexander. They had one child named Bruce. Bruce, never married, no children, died in a mining accident as a young man. After Artie died, Ethyl then married Alvin Lobb when I was about three years old, my grandfather. That makes Bruce my mother's step-brother, my step-uncle. Few of you have ever heard of Bruce. Few of you will even remember Bruce this afternoon. Few of you will go on to other thoughts even the second half of this sermon. I'll probably wander over and see his grave a few more times in my lifetime. Maybe not. I doubt if anyone else will.

Memories fade. The person that knows the most about graves and cemeteries that I know is Rod Perry. Rod tells me that studies have shown that after 40 years after a person dies few people remember their story. Just a name on a grave, a genealogical list in a family archive, but who they were, what they did, their personality. In the past five years in our community there have been an abundance of early deaths of young adults and teenagers. It's sad. I've been to many of those funerals and what do I hear: “we'll remember you forever.” “you'll always be in our hearts.” And the sentiments are real and wonderful and important. The feelings of affection last the first generation. Then they are gone. The same thing will happen to my memory and your memory.

Nothing. On this earth. Is. Forever.

Compare what is said of Jesus Christ.... “His. Kingdom. Will. Never. End.” An angel, out of the blue, visits a young teenage girl in a remote insignificant corner of the Roman Empire and makes a most startling series of announcements: You will conceive a child by the Holy Spirit, you will name him Jesus, he will be great, he will be call the son of the most high, he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, his kingdom will never end.”

Think of it. Heb. 12:2 says God is going to establish “a kingdom that cannot be shaken.” Everything that is of this world is shakable. We would have more photographs in our display cabinet, but a flood got into my parents basement in 1989 and 90. The stuff that is gone. Our world crumbles. Our cars wear out. Our homes fall into disrepair. Our stories fade. Our bodies wear out. But the kingdom of God lasts forever.

You have a choice: you can live for this world. Or you can live for the Kingdom of God. God establishes in Jesus a kingdom that will last into eternity. That kingdom will be made up of men and women who have decided to live by God’s eternal values. It's kind of interesting. When the angel first announced to Mary the list of astounding events about to happen, the list was so overwhelming, Mary only asked about having a baby: “How will this be, since I am a virgin,” Mary asks. Mary's world is shaken. Who can blame her for not getting her mind around the rest of the world changing pronouncements? But we can ask.... An everlasting Kingdom? How can this be, since I am a sinner that deserves nothing?

Only God's Kingdom will last forever. Everything else will fade. Mary cannot get past the idea of being supernaturally pregnant.... The answer to the promise about an everlasting kingdom unfolds in the rest of the book of Luke as we find out who Jesus is and what he came to do. The problem began back in the Old Testament, in Genesis, with creation. We need to try and see History from God's point of view. Truly History is. His. Story. The Story of God intersecting with our story of sinners who rejected God and how God never gave up on us, loved us beyond measure, cares for us, sent his Son Jesus Christ as a baby, born of the virgin Mary, lived a perfect life, died, rose again, ascended to the Father and is coming again to establish his Kingdom forever. This is His Story. The only way to find ultimate meaning is to abandon our own ideas of making a name for ourselves, building our own kingdom that will mean something, and to accept the invitation to live as a member of the Kingdom of God. You can live for this world or you can live for the kingdom of God.

All earthly kingdom's will be shaken. The Kingdom of God lasts forever. No longer live for yourself, your reputation, but join forces with Jesus Christ, and follow him as your Savior and Lord. Jesus wants to include you in His Story. Amen. 

Television interviewer Larry King was asked if he could only interview one person in history, who would it be.
Larry said, "Jesus Christ."
"And if you could only ask Him one question, what would it be?"
"Were you really born of a virgin?"
The reporter asked, "Why would you ask that question?"
King replied, "Because that would define history for me."

I've got news for Larry King: Jesus Christ was born of a virgin, and, history is defined by the birth of Christ! The virgin birth of Christ is a game changer!

The virgin birth of Christ is as radical as the fault line of an earthquake ~ in Point Reyes, California stands a fence that is offset a good ten feet from the 1906 earthquake (a replacement fence). The shift of the earth was so great... the virgin birth is like a shift in history, told simply, straight-forward, the simple acceptance of a young girl named Mary...

(I know this is a silly joke and women aren't shallow like this joke suggests!)

A young woman hears about a store in NY that caters to single women who want a reliable way to find a potential life partner. It's called "The Husband Store", and it comes with excellent references. So, she decides to give it a whirl. Upon entering, she is in a hallway with stairs leading up to 5 different floors of available men, all with various characteristics that appeal to single females.
      Hmm, she thinks, as she reads the 1st sign: Once you enter a floor, you cannot go back or  to any other floor. Thank you for your cooperation.
     With that she proceeds to the 1st floor, where she sees another sign: On this floor are nice guys with good jobs. She decides to try the next one.
     On the next floor, the sign reads: On this floor are good-looking guys with good jobs and nice cars. "Not bad" she thinks, but decides to try the next floor anyway.
     On the next floor, she sees: On this floor are good looking guys with great jobs, nice cars and they all love kids. She's impressed, but goes up to the next floor anyway.
     On this floor, the sign says: on this floor are great-looking guys with fabulous jobs, love kids, have expensive cars and are very passionate and romantic. "Wow" she exclaims. She hesitates for a bit, but then takes the plunge to go up to the final floor.
     Upon reaching the top, there is a door, which she opens. Inside, the is a sign which reads: "Hello, you are visitor number 1,269,135 so far, and are further proof that women are IMPOSSIBLE to please. Have a Nice Day."