As Christians we believe that the Lord speaks to us. We pray, we speak to the Lord and as we read the word he speaks to us. But we believe that the Lord speaks to us in other ways as well. Why would we pray and ask for things if we didn’t believe that the Lord speaks to us. When Jesus died on the cross and rose in newness of life he restored our fellowship with the Father and we can enter into his presence again. The very premise of prayer is that we ask and God hears and answers.

Pray is such an unnatural discipline. We stand, kneel, or sit and talk to the God, a god who we cannot see. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not yet seen.” It appears that we are communicating with someone not seen or heard. Prayer takes faith. After prayer we believe that God who heard us answers us and in someway speaks to us.

Sometimes we pray in groups and sometimes we pray alone. Sometimes we use liturgical prayers and at other times we speak from the heart and at still other times we just groan under the weight of all the burdens we have to carry.

Praying in and of itself is a difficult thing. If it weren’t we would all pray more often. I would venture to say that most people pray when they are in some kind of need and few pray just to commune with God their heavenly Father. I would also say that most people when they pray, pray minutes and not hours at a time. Praying is hard, but talking to God is the easy part.

The hard part I would argue is listening to the voice of the Lord. We pray and ask God to move and then we listen for his reply and the question is how do we discern his voice.

Our Old Testament reading today is the story of the young Samuel who was ministering before the Lord under Eli. We are told that the word of the Lord was rare in those days and there was no frequent vision. It was a low time in the history of Israel. God was not speaking to his people and his people were probably not speaking often to him. Eli the high priest had two sons who were taking advantage of the people who came to worship and Eli was doing nothing about it. Samuel’s parents had brought him to Eli to be raised by the high priest in the temple to serve the Lord.

Eli was getting old and losing his eyesight. It was evening and Samuel was lying in the temple were the ark of the God was. All was quiet when the Lord spoke calling out to Samuel. The young man thought it was Eli calling so he ran to him and said, “Here I am.”

The word of the Lord was rare at this time. He speaks to the young Samuel who was not used to hearing the voice of the Lord and Samuel did not recognize God’s voice. Samuel, thinking it was Eli, runs to him. The word of the Lord was rare at this time. When Samuel runs to Eli the elderly priest did not recognize the voice as that of the Lord.

When you don’t spend time communing with the Lord it is hard to recognize his voice when he speaks to you. Samuel didn’t recognize the voice of the Lord and neither did Eli. Do you?

I just spent five days in prayer with pastors from throughout the city. We got together each morning from 9am to noon for the express purpose of crying out to God over situation regarding churches renting from public schools. It was time well spent, but it was not always easy. You can’t just say the same thing over and over again. You are in communion with God. You speak, you spend quiet time in his presence and you listen for the voice of the Lord. Put do you hear the voice of the Lord and recognize it or like Samuel you think it is coming from somewhere else.

The Lord Called out again, “Samuel!” Again the young man thought it was Eli calling him and like before he did not recognize the voice of the Lord. We are so used to the world that we live in that when God breaks in to speak to us we fail to recognize his voice.

Eli finally realizes that God is breaking through and tells Samuel that when he hears the voice again say, “Speak Lord, for your servant hears.” Samuel went back and laid down.

Again the Lord called and this time Samuel replied, “Speak Lord, you servant hears.”

You need to hear and recognize the voice of the Lord. You are bombard on every side with voice calling to us, asking us to listen and obey. Hundreds of millions of dollars are spent each year to convince you to pay certain products, to eat certain foods, and to wear certain cloths. You hear those voices and dutifully obey. It is what drives the free market. This is an election year and candidates are spending huge sums of money get convince you to vote for them.

Peer pressure is asking you to conform to a certain lifestyle. No one wants to be the odd man out and so you bow to the pressure. This city wants you to fit in. Each area of the country has a certain culture and to survive you must take on that culture. Yet another voice calling you to conform.

Elijah was feeling discouraged at one point in his ministry and the Lord told him to stand on the mountain before the Lord and he, the Lord would pass by. As he stood their waiting upon the Lord a strong wind came that rent the mountain and broke the rocks to pieces, but we are told that the Lord was not in the wind. An earthquake followed splitting the earth open, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake a forest fire broke out destroying everything, but the Lord was not in the fire.

When the fire died down there was the sound of a gentile blowing. When Elijah heard it he wrapped his face his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold and voice came to him, it was the voice of the Lord.

In the craziness of your days you need to stop and listen. All around you the violent winds are blowing. Your boss is making demand s on time. Family members are asking you to do things for them. Your friends want your help and support. The winds of life blow strong. There are always earthquakes. Crisis that spring up that disrupt your world. Things happen that are beyond your control and yet they cry out for you to take action. Fires rage out of control and all you can do is stand on the sideline and watch. Voice both loud and demanding scream for your attention. All diverting you from the one voice you need to listen to.

God is calling you aside this day as he did the prophet. He will not silence the voices all around you. You will not have peace from the cares of this world. But the Lord still calls to you. And the question is are you listening. It the midst of the screams and chaos of life the still small breathe of the Lord can be heard if you listen.

I was reminded again this week as I set aside huge chucks of time for prayer that I have not listened to the Lord, as I should. I have let the cares of this world, the problems in my life, the struggles of the people around me drown out the voice of the Lord.

Luther said that the more he had to do in a day the longer he needed to spend time in prayer. How opposite is this to our way of thinking. The more we have to do the less time we give to God. We might if we think about it through up a quick prayer to heaven before we jump into the day. Luther understood, as did Paul that the day belongs to the Lord and that if we put him first and spend time with him he we help us accomplish what we need to do.

When the Lord calls do you run around looking for who is calling you because it has been so long since you listened to God that you no longer recognize his voice or do you with the young Samuel cry out, “Speak Lord, for your servant hears.”

We are saved by grace alone. It was the battle cry of the Reformation. Paul has spent the beginning chapters of Romans making this case. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Every person is without excuse when it comes to the knowledge of God and sin. Nothing we can do can ever find us favor with God. Our salvation is found in Jesus Christ and his atoning death on the cross. We preach this, we believe this, and in fact our very faith is founded upon these truths.

When Luther proposed these idea of salvation by faith alone he was speaking to a church that believed that you could free people from purgatory by, praying for them, doing good works and by purchasing indulgences to buy there salvation and grant them entrance into heaven. For the most part we get it. Nothing we can do finds us favor with God. Though we slip into Pharisaic tendencies at times we rest in the fact that we are saved by grace alone.

Most of us wrestle with a different problem, one that Paul addresses in our text this morning. We rest so comfortably in our salvation that we take little thought in how we live. I’m not saying that we revel in the wild life with little of no restraints. We just adopt the world’s definition of good and quite frankly think that that is good enough. We don’t raise the question of sin in our lives because after all we know that it is all under the blood. We confess our sins each week but do little to change our behavior.

We reason as the Roman church did that where sin abounds grace abounds all the more. God’s goodness is magnified when seen in relationship to sin. Therefore if I sin God’s grace is seen that much more clearly.

I’m not saying that people boast about their sins not at all, they tend to hide their sins and put on a good front. What people tend to do is to package their lives into self-contained areas that are reserved for different aspects of their life. There is the work box, the family box, the church box, etc. There are different levels of acceptable behavior in each compartment. They live one life at work, another around family and friends and another at church. People tend to conform to the image of the people around them. There is a need to feel wanted and accepted. People act in a way that will bring them into the inner circle. I hear it all the time. People tell me that what they do outside the church could never be done in the church as if God is not seeing what they do all the time. I don’t get invited to things because it is unbefitting for the pastor to witness yet God is present and watches all.

Paul asks the question, “Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?”

The answer is obvious when stated that clearly, “By no means!”

Our problem is that we tend to muddy up the waters so that we never get the clear answer. We want to have our cake and eat it too. We want to live like the world in the world and still walk in grace.

Paul asks further, “How can we who died to sin still live in it?”

We can’t go on living unchanged lives if we have come in contact with Jesus. If you are one of the baptized then you were baptized into Christ’s death. Your old nature went to the cross with Jesus and you came out of the tomb with him in newness of life. Baptism was your burial. You died. You were united with Jesus in his death. If you were united with Jesus in his death then you are certainly united with him in resurrection life.

Paul is crystal clear. We were crucified with Christ so that the body of death, your body of death, could be brought to nothing. If you have been brought to nothing then you are no longer a slave to sin. Sin died and you are now free in Christ. Therefore you are to consider yourself dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Now you believe that or you wouldn’t waste our time coming to church on Sunday morning. Yet if you really believed that would you be so quick to compromise you beliefs? Following Jesus sets us a part, puts us outside of many of the circles that we move in. This is not easy because we are to be found among sinners as Jesus was but not partaking in the sin. We are to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. That means we are to act differently while at the same time living in the midst of the people around us.

Each week we remind ourselves that we are to live our faith out loud. That means that we are to live the values of the kingdom in the world that we inhabit; but more than that. We are not just to live our faith in the world but we are to live it out loud. There must be some volume to our faith. We are to not live our faith in secret but for the world to see. This is done by being different, in thought, word and deed from the people we live amongst.

We are constantly told by society and pressured to view religion as a personal thing. What you do and what you believe is good for you but keep it to yourself. The gospel though is good news that people need to hear and experience. It is not an insurance policy that keeps us out of Hell, but a new way of living.

We were given new life in Christ. The relationship with the Father that was severed in the garden by our first parent’s act of disobedience has been restored in the resurrection. We have been given life and that life more abundant so then why do we insist on living the old life that was in reality death.

That being the case we have only one option and this is Paul’s point, “consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” If Jesus has conquered sin on the cross we must consider ourselves dead to sin. That being the case repentance becomes an act of contrition not a Sunday ritual. We war against our impulses that Paul will address in the next chapter of Romans. But we live different lives because of the cross. The cross affects every aspect of our lives. What we d we do before God and the watching world. Because of the cross we can and must live our faith out loud.

One simple verse, one statement that gives meaning to the gospel story. At the end of eight day, according to Jewish law and tradition Jesus was circumcised. With this first act of obedience he was sealed with the mark of the covenant and was one numbered with the people of God.

Jesus would go on to live under the covenant. He would be obedient to the law of God in all things. Paul would later write that he was obedient till death, even the death on the cross.

All of history came down to this one life; this one Jewish child was the fulfillment if the promise made to Abraham. All the nations of the world would be blessed because of this child and all would find salvation in him.

Two things happened on the day of circumcision. First the child is sealed with the sign of the covenant and becomes a member of the chosen people. Second the child receives his name. Names were important; they were statements about what the child was hoped to be. Jesus’ name was more than away to identify him it was a statement of his mission on earth.

Almost a year before an angel appeared to Mary to tell her she would give birth to a child who would be the Son of God and that she was to name the child Jesus, Yeshua, meaning savior, because he would save his people from their sins. In this name we understand the significance of this child’s birth. This child is not only a child of the covenant; he is more than that. This child, Jesus, is the savior of the world.

Throughout this Christmas season we are reminded of who this child is. At this time of the year we look again at the scriptures that point to the birth of this child and the fact that he is the promised one, the one who can and will deliver those who believe from their sins.

The angel announced to Mary that she would birth the savior of the world. When Joseph found out Mary was pregnant and he knew the child wasn’t his he wanted to put her away quietly. An angel appeared to him in a dream and assured him that the child in Mary was of the Holy Spirit and he should take her as his wife.

Upon hearing from the angel Mary went to see her aunt Elizabeth who was carrying John the Baptizer. When John in the womb of Elizabeth sensed that Jesus, the savior, in the womb of Mary was present he leapt for joy, one of those magical moments in scripture. Elizabeth was excited that Mary the mother of her Lord had come to see her but John rejoiced in the presence of Jesus himself.

On the night of Jesus birth angels appeared to some shepherds on the nearby hill and announced to them that the savior had been born and sent the shepherds to worship him. They left the manger and went throughout the city telling everyone whom they had seen.

Magi from the east followed a star to the city of Bethlehem to the place where the baby Jesus was. The star announced to them the birth of a king. They came and worshiped the baby Jesus bringing him gold, frankincense and myrrh. They knew this child was special.

After her time of purification Mary brought Jesus to the temple and as the holy family entered and old man named Simeon ran to greet them. Simeon was told that he would not see death until he saw the Lord’s anointed. Simeon grab the child and lifting him toward heaven said to God that he could now die in peace because his eyes have seen the salvation of the Lord for all people.

An old prophetess, Anna, who spent all of her days in the temple fasting and praying recognized in Jesus the savior of the world and went around to everyone present making know who this baby was. And we still gather each year around the events of this child, Jesus’ birth not because he was a good man, for there have been many good men born into this world, but because this child is the savior of the world, our savior.

It is fitting that we end the old year and start the new considering the birth of Jesus. We end the old year remembering Jesus has come to save us from our sins. All the things that we went through in the past year, both good and bad fade in importance when we remember that Jesus has come and in him we find salvation and meaning to our lives. Our sins are forgiven and we end the year in peace.

We turn now to 2012, the new year. It’s like starting over with a clean slate. People gathered at midnight to wish each other well and resolution are made to bring about wanted changes in our lives as we go forward seeking to correct some of the mistakes we make last year. But it is all talk unless we understand who Jesus is. He is the one who makes all the difference in the world. As we look forward to the new year it is important that we remember that Jesus is not only the center of history and the redeemer of all mankind, but that he is our savior, your savior and that because of him life for you is different. We need to focus on Jesus because he brings all of life into perspective for us.

So as we begin this New Year let us refocus on Jesus. Let us remember that this child we have been considering was not just another baby but he is our savior. With John let us leap for joy at his presence among us. When we gather in his name it is certainly a solemn occasion but it is also a joyous one. Allow yourself the freedom to celebrate the incarnation, God with us.

With Joseph let us put aside our fear of others, the scandal of being a Christian in a post-Christian world. This child is the savior whether people recognize him or not. Go boldly into the city to live your faith out loud.

With the shepherds and the Magi let us gather to worship the king and let us leave his presence to declare to the world in darkness that we have seen and been with the Christ. And with Simeon and Anna let us rejoice openly with our clear understanding of who Jesus is and let us again tell all we meet who this child really is.

This is the beginning of the New Year. Some of the old problems are still with us but they don’t rule the day. Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulders, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, the Might God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.

Nothing has changed but all things are new. If faith let us leave this place to declare to the lost that we have been with the savior, come and see.

The day has finally come, its Christmas. The hustle and bustle is at its end. It started before Thanksgiving. We call it the holiday season. There are parties through out the season. Plans are made to visit loved ones or to accommodate their visiting you. Houses and apartments are given a deep cleaning and of course there is the shopping. List are made and agonized over. You have to fight the crowds in the stores.

It’s not all bad. It’s good to see family you haven’t seen for some time. There are also those special moments; caroling in Times Square for me is always a memorable event. The city seems to be a little brighter at this time. But good events as well as bad one’s are all stressful and if this season is anything it is stressful.

But it’s Christmas. The rehearsal is over and the curtain is up and whatever is done is done and whatever is still undone is well, left undone. This is Christmas and our focus turns from the preparation for the day’s events to the remembrance of the birth of our savior Jesus.

Christmas celebrations have gotten caught up in the culture. They are almost a part of Americana. The tree in Rockefeller Center, the skaters under the tree, the snowflake on 57^th Street, the colored stars hanging in the Time Warner Center are all an expected and anticipated part of the holiday experience. The Messiah is performed throughout the city and choirs are showcased in different venues. And Santa Claus is seen in every department store. Everything turns toward the holiday making this an exciting time to be in New York.

But this is Christmas and while we enjoy the festivities of the season something greater has taken place. “Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulders and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, the Might God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.” The long promised savior has come to dwell among us. The whole Old Testament pointed to his coming. The prophets rose up in declaring that at the appointed time he would arrive and deliver his people from their sins.

One day as an elderly priest was burning incense in the temple and angel appeared to him to announce that his barren wife Elizabeth would have and son and his name would be John. He would go before the savior and announce his presence.

Six months later the angel would appear to a young virgin named Mary and announce that she would bear a son who would sit on the throne of his father David and he would be the savior of the world.

Nine month later after a long slow journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem in order to fulfill the requirements of a law to register in the town of your family’s heritage Mary gave birth to Jesus in a barn where he lay in the feeding trough of the animals. Shepherds came from their fields after being sent by an angel to worship the baby Jesus. Wiseman from the east followed a star that led them to the child and they to brought gifts, gold, frankincense and myrrh.

It was not the picture book scene we like to recall around the Christmas tree. Herod was incensed about the news of a newborn king and had all the male children in the city, under the age of two years old, killed. The holy family had to flee to Egypt and live as refugees flee for their lives. When Herod died they return to Nazareth but avoided Jerusalem for fear of Herod’s son who sat on the throne.

Joyful, but sad, fairytale like but real. In spite of the fact that few people understood the significance of what took place and the fact the it was a time of unbelievable tragedy for the families of the murdered children this day was good news for the world and for all of mankind.

This baby Jesus is the savior of the world; the Wonderful Counselor, the Might God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Mankind dead in their sins now had hope. The longing expectation had finally become a reality. The dead would live and death would at last be conquered once and for all.

But this is not just an event to remembered. We have not come together this morning just to remember an important historic event. We have come to worship the King of kings and the Lord of lords. We have come again to embrace the salvation that this baby has brought to us but it doesn’t stop there.

We have come to receive so that we can go forth. When Andrew met Jesus he ran and told Simon, “Come and see whom I have met.” The shepherds left the manger and spread the word throughout the city that they had seen the savior. Simeon lifted the child in the temple and declared him to be the savior of the whole world. Anna also in the temple gave praise to God and told everyone that Jesus was the long awaited one. And now in the relay race to eternity the baton has been passed to us. We have been entrusted to take the message to our generation, to the people of our city.

Hear the words of the prophet Isaiah, “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns.’”

Are those feet your feet? Are you the one who announces good news, publishes peace and happiness? Are you the town crier who calls out in the streets, “Our God reigns”?

Traditionally after New Years people go into a period of depression. The holiday expectations never reach fulfillment. The adrenalin rush is over and depression sets in for many people. That’s because the hope of the holiday is in the events and not the coming of the savior. For those of us with eyes to see and ears to hear our response is different.

With the prophet we lift up our voices together and sing for joy. In this baby in the midst of all the confusing situations we see the savior returning to Zion and so we break forth in singing. We are comforted by his presence for he is our redeemer. In us the nations shall see the salvation of our God.

Following the holiday season is not a time of disappointment but rather one of joy. This is Christmas and everything is different. This is Christmas and the savior has come among us. This is Christmas and the devil cannot win. This is Christmas and the Prince of Peace is among us.

Christmas is not the end but the beginning. Christmas is about the coming of the savior, the incarnation, God with us. As the city comes down from its holiday high let us break forth in singing. As they recover from the holidays let us bring them news of peace and happiness.

Times are hard but the savior has come. Money is tight but the savior has come. Jobs are uncertain but the savior has come. The future of the nation seems uncertain but the future of the church is bright because the savior has come.

The message we have is the one the world needs to hear. Let your feet be beautiful on the streets of this city as you announce the good news that the savior has come.

We all have the desire to build something. I don’t know about you but I want to be remembered when I am gone. I don’t want to pass through this life only to be forgotten. I don’t want it to be as if I never existed.

We are eternal beings. We were created to live forever with God our creator. Ever since our first parents appeared upon the earth eternity has been in our hearts. God never intended for Adam and Eve to die. He created the perfect garden for them to dwell in. He gave them all that the needed to live content and fulfilling lives in relationship to their creator. The warning was that if they ate the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, in that day they would die. Death was not the intention of the creator it was the consequence of sin. They ate and we died, but from the beginning the hope of eternity was still imprinted on the hearts of us all.

In the midst of declaring judgment for sin upon our first parents God promised a deliverer. Even in the midst of disobedience the promise of God was that he would save his people. “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and here offspring; he shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heal.” The first promise of messiah found in Genesis 3:15.

Ever since that time God has been heading toward the ultimate deliverance of his people, while we have been striving for permanence. The urge for permanence is seen throughout the scriptures.

Cain after being confronted by God for killing his brother Abel went out and built a city for safety and protection. We get to Babel and we see people building a tower that reaches into the havens, and attempt to establish them selves and connect with their creator. Fast forward to the Promised Land. The people finally make it to the land the Lord promised Abraham, they defeat their enemies and begin to settle in. God is leading them. When trouble arises God raises up judges to lead the people and all is going well. God is directing the people and they are reaping the benefits of having God as their king. He had led them through the wilderness and established them in the land. This didn’t work for them though. They want to be a real kingdom with a real king just like the nations around them. We are not content to have God lead us. We want to be like everyone else. We want institutions and permanence.

After warning the people that there would be a cost to having a king God consents to their request and rose up Saul as the king of Israel. The cost was taxes to cover the cost of the government. Sons would be conscripted to serve in the army. Work would have to be done to sustain the king and government workers. Still the people wanted it. The biggest thing is that God would no longer be their leader. His leadership would be mediated through the king. Saul doesn’t work out. He gets caught up in the trap of being the king and moves into the place of God. God removes him and David is raised up.

Up until this time God is living in a tent. The tabernacle represents the presence of God among his people. Where God goes the people go, and where the people go God goes. The tabernacle represented the presence of God among the people of God. They traveled the world together. God was always in their midst. This is the message God wanted the people to have. It is the message he wants us to carry still. “Lo I am with you always, even till the end of the age.”

But we read in our Old Testament text today that David wanted to build something permanent. He wanted to make God a house, a temple. The message of the temple would be the exact opposite of what God wanted to communicate, as was the presence of the king.

God wanted to be king of his people and he wanted them to understand that he is always in their midst leading them. But we want something more. We want to see and feel the presence of God. We want to touch something that represented God. Just as God compromised by raising up a king, he would compromise and let Solomon build a temple for him.

The urge to build continued. On the mount of transfiguration Peter seeing the glorified Jesus speaking with Moses and Elijah wanted to build three tabernacles to honor them.

Even today we get caught up in building churches and institutions to set down permanence and a lasting memory of God’s presence in a time and place.

As our desire to build kept getting us sidetracked from the promised deliverer God continues to declare his faithfulness and continued to point people to his coming Son our deliverer. The problem was the institution and the buildings took the peoples focus off the coming deliverer.

The prophets of God kept speaking the word of the Lord to the people and they kept calling the people away from the institution of religion and back to a relationship with God their creator but the institution kept getting in the way. God was clear that he was not to be found in buildings and locations, that he inhabited eternity and held everything together.

Finally at the appointed time the angel, Gabriel appears to a virgin in a backwater town in Nazareth to tell her that messiah was entering into the world through her womb.

David was promised that one of his descendents would sit on the throne of Israel forever. At the time no one was sure of that. The nation was in captivity to Rome. No descendant of David has sat on the throne in Israel for a long time. The temple practices had for some time turned into a business that no longer was turning people to God. They were practicing a form of religion but where no longer hearing an obeying the creator.

But this is Advent. The angel announces the savior is coming and oddly enough God was being true to his word and his promises. David and Mary as it turns out were descendants of David. They were not living a palaces and their royal heritage was hidden from view. Joseph was a simple carpenter living in the north end of the country far from Jerusalem. But God was at work. Mary would give birth to Jesus who would sit on the throne of David for eternity. Not in the earthly Jerusalem, but in the heavenly one.

The temple, the house of God was steeped in corruption. Jesus our high priest would come to us but not through the corrupt temple system, he would come to dwell among us. The baby Jesus was born in a barn among the animals. He would spend his life ministering outside the temple system among the people and he would send us out among the people to declare his kingdom.

We celebrate the coming of the king but he is not found in the palace, and the coming of our high priest but not in the temple. God is fulfilling his promise to us but not the way we anticipated it or even look for it now. Jesus gave the people a king to satisfy them but his desire was to lead from among them. Jesus told us he would never leave or forsake us. He is with us now, wherever we go. He travels with you to work and school, he is with you when you sit with your family or do whatever you do. They King of kings and the Lord of lords is with us and guiding us always.

Our high priest is also not confined to the temple but is out in the streets. When Greg Finke was here in November he challenged us to open our eyes as we walk through our lives and see what God is doing in the world around us. God didn’t call us to come and save this city. God is and has been at work in this city for longer than you are I have been alive. He has invited us to join him in the work he has already begun here.

This is Advent. The king has come among us. We have an inner urge for eternity. We think it is found in people and institutions but in fact it is found in one man and his name is Jesus. The God who came as a baby born in a barn and found among sinners is alive and well. He is still calling us to follow him and he is still found in the streets of this city among the sinners.

We have not been called to build a kingdom or an institution. We have been called to follow the savior and to connect to a person. Our thinking is often confused. We think this building is the church when in fact we are the church. We think God has called us to establish an institution when in fact he has called us to befriend sinners. In their efforts to build a kingdom and establish a religion the people of God got it wrong. But in his grace God put up with his people until the time was right and then he called some of those same people to follow the Jesus whose kingdom is not of this world, into the world to lead sinners to join us in worshiping him in all that we do wherever we are.

This is Advent and we look for the coming of the Savior. Years before the prophet Isaiah wrote, “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, the voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” And the people waited. Time passed.

They predetermined what they expected from Messiah and tried to fine him. At the time surrounding the birth of Jesus messianic hope was high. The time felt right for the fulfillment of God’s promises. The problem was that what the expected and what happened were not the same thing. The messiah was to be royal figure the thought so they were looking for him in the palace. The messiah was to be a religious figure so they looked for him in the temple.

Mark tells us that at the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ. John appears in the wilderness, calling people to a baptism of repentance. The people wanted deliverance not repentance. They felt victimizes but John was naming them guilty. They wanted to rise up in rebellion and John was calling them to bow in humility. They saw themselves as righteous but John was calling them sinners. They missed the point.

Many of the people flocked to John who was an oddity. He was a bit eccentric in his presentation. John wore camel’s hair clothing and ate locusts and wild honey. He was an “out there” prophet. He was so strange maybe he was from God. The people went out to him to find the savior.

Where do you find God this Advent season? It’s and important question. Advent is a time of anticipation, of waiting for the savior. Where do we find him this busy season?

Like the people of the first century we too have our preconceived ideas where we find God. This is a difficult time for many. The economy is bad. I know people who are out of work or about to lose their jobs. Family budgets are tight and the pressure is to spend. Schedules are tight as the year comes to a close people want too wrap things up for the year and the season is filled with many extra activities. We look for Jesus in all kinds of places.

Many want a savior who comes to deliver them from all of our problems and concerns. They look for him in the whirlwind of events that carry us through this holiday season. The prophet looked for God in the storm and in the wind but found him in the still small voice.

Some people make their yearly appearance at church hoping to find Jesus. The elders of the Jews looked for God in the temple rituals but Jesus was found among the hookers and the swindlers

We look for a Jesus that somehow will make it all right but the catch is that we want him to make it right on our terms. The crowd followed him for the fishes and the loaves. Jesus asked them to sacrifice all and follow him.

Most of the people in Jesus day were looking for a king or a great religious leader. What they got was a man in camel hair clothing announcing the coming one. That was not what was expected by the people of the day.

We can find Jesus this season, but he will come to us in the most unlikely places. He will be announced in our wilderness. Job met God in the conflict of his experience. Job was overwhelmed by what he was going through and when he came to the end of himself he met God.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 25 that we meet him in the hungry, the homeless the sick and imprisoned. We meet Jesus in “the least of these.”

We face many difficult situations in our lives. Some are separated from family and friends at this time and are feeling lonely. Others are wondering what will happen when they are laid off of work. Some are feeling the financial crunch with the extra expenses of the season. As a church we are struggling to get through the difficulties we are facing. But this is Advent.

We wait for the coming of the savior. This is Advent and we read again the promises that the king is coming. This is Advent and we rejoice in retailing the story of his first coming. This is Advent and we draw strength in knowing that Jesus promised to come again and take us to himself.

This is Advent so in the midst of our struggles and we all have them we wait, confident that the savior Jesus will come to us. We pray his kingdom come and as we do we are asking that it come to us, in the here and now. “They kingdom come, they will be done.” As we walk through the city this holiday season, as we reach out to those around us, as we bend to help those in need we usher in the kingdom in answer to our prayer.

This is an encouraging season for the church. Not because of the parties and the gathering of families as nice as that is. Not because of the decorations and the singing of carols in the street. Lets not get side tract with the incidentals. This season is encouraging because Jesus came to earth in the past. This is encouraging because he will come again in the future to take us to himself, but also because he comes to us now in our struggles in the here and now.

The first century Jews missed the savior because they were looking for him in the wrong places. He was in their midst laying in a manger amidst the animal in the barn. He was eating with the sinners and walking through questionable neighborhoods like Samaria.

Jesus comes to us this season. He is found we you least expect him. Pray that the Holy Spirit open your eyes and draw you afresh to the king of kings and the Lord of Lords.

The king is coming. Mark has no birth narrative. His jumps right into the ministry of Jesus and move rapidly from event to event until he reaches the cross. Yet the anticipation is that the kingdom of God has come among us. As Mark unfolds his gospel story what is clear is that the kingdom had come when Jesus arrived on the scene, but what is also clear in Mark’s gospel is no one really gets it. The crowd knows Jesus is special, he is the healer, the disciples don’t seem to get it at all, always misinterpreting what was taking place, in fact the only one’s who seem to know who Jesus is are the demons who always react to his presence.

Today’s reading is from Palm Sunday. Jesus is entering the city on the back of a donkey. Not what was expected or anticipated. The people wanted a warrior king, someone to deliver them from the Roman oppressors. They get Jesus on a donkey. They wanted a triumphal entry and they get the scene before us.

The crowd is quite animated, shouting hosannas and throwing their cloaks in front of Jesus and he moves toward the city. The leaders of the Jews are quite angry and tell Jesus to have the people stop. Jesus informs them that if the people stop praising him the very rocks would cry out his praise.

Mark lays out the scene before us and as is always the case in Mark no one gets it. Jesus enters the city and by the end of the week this same crowd is calling for his execution and he is nailed to the cross and dies only to raise again on the third day. God announces his plan and raises expectations. He executes his plan and no one understands. Mission accomplished and the sinner is drawn to salvation.

Here we are at Advent. The calendar of the church is back to the beginning. We start to tell the old, old story one more time. We decorate our homes and our churches. The communities where we live hang lights and the city takes on the air of a festival. Everyone seems a little happier and there are parties galore. Churches and families set up manger scenes to remind those who enter the reason for the season. For the next four weeks everyone is waiting for the glorious celebration and each year the expectations are high. We shop, we cook and we plan for the day. A day to gather with family, return to church in some cases for the yearly visit, all with the hope that things this year will be different.

The story of Jesus is read. The stores play carols that tell the story of the manger. The king is coming just as was promised. The plan has been announced. The king is coming let us rejoice.

The plan is executed; well in fact it was executed over two thousand years ago but we live out the story once again. Yet even though it is known, so very familiar to many, it is misunderstood. The day arrives and we all hope that everything will be different. The children rise early and open their presents, the guests arrive and the party begins. Everything is just as planed and somewhere the story of the baby born in a manger is retold.

The hope is that some how all of our problems will dissolve and the world will finally be at peace. The myth is told and believed. It is somehow wrapped around the real story, but it has no substance. We wake up on the 25^th and nothing seems to have changed. Or has it?

You see, “unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulders and his name shall be called, wonderful councilor, the might God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.” Everything has changed because Jesus has come.

Advent is a time of remembrance, of preparation, a time to relive the story of the incarnation, when God took on flesh. We forget. The purpose of the church calendar is to call us to remember. The pressure is to conform to this world.

The story is the start of the battle that will bring sin to its knees. The baby is born to a virgin and all the misunderstanding that that would entail. The pregnant mother has to travel a long way to comply too the Roman census. When she arrives at Bethlehem there is no rooms left to rent so she is forced to give birth in a barn. King Herod wants the baby killed so he ends up ordering the murder of every male child under the age of two forcing the Holy Family to flee to Egypt for safety. The struggles would continue until the crucifixion of Jesus. This is war, tat will only end when Jesus conquers death and rises from the grave.

This is the most glorious story, but it gets co-opted and it happens every year. It is replaced by the idea of joy and happiness that is not founded on the defeat of sin, but on the hope that the joy of the holiday will somehow make everything right. Santa Claus becomes the focus not Jesus. The presents take center stage not the incarnation. The holiday festivities replace the somberness of the incarnation.

It’s easy to get side tracked during this time. The fun and excitement of the season can easily take over. I love this time of year and I will enjoy its every moment. But come away with me from time to time and remember what we celebrate. It is not the goodness of man, quite the opposite. This holiday is a reminder of the sinfulness of man, but it also points to the goodness of God.

This Advent season we are reminded that, “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son.” This season we stop to remember his first coming as we prepare for his soon return.

“The words of this Gospel are in themselves clear and lucid. They have been given both for the comfort and encouragement of believing Christians, and for the warning and terror of others. If perchance, they might be of help to them. While most lessons almost exclusively teach and inculcate faith, this one treats only of the works, which Christ will examine at the last day, that it may be seen that he wishes them to be remembered and performed by those who wish to be Christians and be found in his kingdom,” Martin Luther.

The good doctor here tells us that our works matter because they matter to Jesus. How you live the Christian life is a reflection of what you believe. Our lives should reflect our faith in action. When you stand before the throne of Christ, and all of us will, you will have to give and account for our actions.

Your actions reflect your faith and they should be a marker for you to gage your walk with the Lord. On the Day of Judgment neither the sheep nor the goats remembered doing anything for Jesus. Neither group was setting out to do works that pleased the Lord so that they could enter into his salvation. Nothing we do puts us in a right standing with our heavenly Father. Salvation is by grace alone through faith it is a gift from God Paul tells us.

Jesus is not teaching a works righteousness in our text this morning. If on our good deeds rested the hope of our salvation you and I are in trouble this morning. “All our righteousness is filthy rags before the Father.” Your best is never good enough. The message of the cross is that Jesus died for sinners of whom I am the chief.

So what is happening in our story this morning? The end of the age has come and all, every person whoever walked this planet, are called before the judgment seat of Christ. Christian and non-Christian alike are present. Jesus separated the sheep from the goats, the believers from the unbelievers, the saved from the lost.

He turns first to the sheep, the believers, the Christians and says to them “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” What a glorious pronouncement. The fulfillment of a life long hope that one-day they would stand before the Father and hear the words well done. It is also the fulfillment of God’s promise to his children that they would enter into the kingdom prepared for them from the beginning of time.

Jesus goes on to tell them why they are receiving this reward. “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.” They were receiving the kingdom because they were already living out the values of the kingdom in this life. This group of people were living the second great commandment, “Love your neighbor as your self.”

People want to know how to fulfill the commandment of the Lord, well here it is. Not real difficult is it? See someone hungry feed them. Do you do it so that you win points with God? No, not at all. You feed them because they are hunger. If you were hungry what would you want someone to do to you? See someone thirsty, give them drink, naked give them clothes and visit the sick and those in prison. Love your neighbor as yourself. You are not to do these things to become a Christian you do them because that is what Christians do.

We live in a city of hungry, thirsty, under clothed, sick and imprisoned people. If you are a follower of Jesus what are you going to do?

We know these people were not trying to impress Jesus with their actions by the response they give to him. If they were trying to impress him or win his favor they would have acknowledged the work that they did. So Jesus you noticed all or our good work. Your right, those people doing all those good deeds, that’s us.

But that is not what happens. They question Jesus. Are you sure you have the right people? When did we see you hungry or thirsty, naked or sick? Lord when where you in prison that we visited you? You see they were just living their lives in response to the fact that they were washed in the blood of the Lamb and they were living out the values of the kingdom of God. They were caught off guard. Jesus tells them that when they did it to the least of these they did it to him.

The Christian caught up in the resurrected life does good to those around him because he cannot do otherwise. Freely you receive, freely give. To whom? Anyone in need. This quality of service is found in the life of the believer. It is not put on, but comes naturally.

The goats on the other hand are sent to Hell because they did not act correctly to the needy before them. They saw the hungry and like the priest, in the parable of the Good Samaritan, they crossed over to the other side of the street. I’m not walking to church along 9^th Ave because that homeless guy who always sits there disturbs me. The city should do something. They saw the thirsty and like the Levite in the same parable scurried past because he was too busy to help, after all he had temple duties to attend too. Who has time to visit the sick or go to Riker’s Island? They weren’t bad people; they might have been good church attendees. They didn’t love their neighbor as they love themselves.

They too were surprised at the master’s voice. They asked the same question as the sheep, “When did we…” and Jesus replies in a similar way. “When you failed to do it to the least of these you failed to do it to me.” No one can truly serve their neighbor with out the Holy Spirit indwelling them. Like the sheep the goats were doing what they do, living life as they do. The sheep were moved to compassion and the goats were not.

Life and death are set before us. You are all goats by nature. The fear of death hangs over you driving you to the cross. At the cross one receives life, a change of heart. The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is life through Jesus.

Who knows what the goats were thinking. Did they think they were good people? Maybe some were churchgoers? We aren’t told they did anything bad they just didn’t do anything good. They saw the needy and they walked on by. They might have thought they were being responsible. The commandment says, Love your neighbor as your self.

The sheep went to the cross and found life. They walked away changed. They were so grateful that they received mercy that seeking someone in need they sprang into action. No time to pass judgment. James is clear on this. “If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” Sheep understand this. It is the evidence of a changed heart.

The goats remained unchanged. Caught up in the cares of this life they failed to notice the needy. They went along blind to the struggling people around them. They took no thought of what they had received freely from Jesus and they refused to show kindness.

This morning turn your eyes upon Jesus and let the grace of God sink in. Having experienced the grace of God how can you not share his love with those around you.

In today’s text Jesus approaches a subject that no one every wants to address because it is considered off limits and personal: money. We confuse talents here with abilities but Jesus is speaking money. It is believed that what you earn is yours to do with as you please. Your money is no one else’s business. In our society where a person’s worth is tied to how much they earn and own we keep a tight reign on how that information gets out and to whom.

We buy big houses, drive big cars and plan our careers on our earning potential. Too often it becomes and matter of self-worth.

There is nothing wrong with making a lot of money or of having a lot of stuff. But you first have to deal with Jesus who has called you to follow him. When some one approached Jesus asking to be allowed to follow him Jesus told him, “Foxes have dens and birds have nest but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” To the rich your ruler he said, “Sell what you have, give to the poor and follow me.”

Jesus tells this parable. There is a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. He gave one man $5,000, another $2,000 and to another $1,000. While he was away the first many doubled his money as did the second. When the man returned the first gave him back $10,000 and the second $4,000. The third man did nothing with the money. When the man returned he gave him back his $1,000.

Notice how this parable starts. A man going on a journey calls his servants and entrusts them with his money. Not their money, but his. He is the not giving them a present; he is giving them his money to invest for his good.

As we unfold this story we are not thinking about our money, but God’s. If we understand the man who goes on a journey as God then the resources we have been given belong to him. If all that you have is a gift from God than the money you make belongs to God.

We pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.” Luther understood that to mean all of life that sustains us. Good weather, good crops, the farmer that harvests the crops, the people that bring it to market, the store that sells it to us, good health that allows us to work and the job that gives us the ability to earn the money to buy the food and the very money itself are all gifts of God in answer to our prayer, “Give us this day our daily bread.” All that we have belongs to God. When Job lost everything his prayer was, “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord.

I would imagine that most of us here thank God for the things that he has given us. We are grateful for our health and in these hard economic times for our jobs. The question is do you ask God how he would have you spend the gifts he has given you for his glory and the furtherance of his kingdom. Is you top priority your own betterment or is it the spreading of the kingdom of God?

The first two servants double the money they are given and return it to their master. They hear the words well done good and faithful servant. They understand that the money was not given them for their own use but for the work of the master. In our case what we receive is for the spreading of the kingdom of God. The third man hid the money. He did not invest it for his master, but hid it in the ground. For us that could mean using it on ourselves exclusively and not investing in the kingdom. In the end the third man was reprimanded by his master and cast from his presence.

The problem with today’s text is that it confronts us with the demands of the kingdom of God. God’s values bump up against the values of the kingdom of this world and we have to consider how we live our lives in this place.

In this city what you earn determines your value or at least that his how it is presented. The rich and self-indulgent are splashed across the magazine covers that we see all around us. The actions of reality stars that are famous for being famous capture our attention. We blame the power and admire the rich with the hope that someday we will be counted among their numbers. Bigger and better is the goal. We are taught that in numerous subtle and non-subtle ways. Unless we take the time to stop and ask God how we are to invest what he has entrusted to us we will get swept along.

You are not your own. You have been brought with a price. Therefore you are called to serve God with your whole being including the resources that have been entrusted to you.

The challenge before you during these economic times is to decide where you will put your resources. Will you invest in the kingdom? The first man who invested the most received even more. Or will you play it safe like the third man. The little that he had was taken away.

Faith is a dangerous walk. It requires reading and understanding the will of God found in his word. It means spending time in prayer asking God how you should spend what he has lent to you. It means at times stepping out and making risk investments in the work of the Lord believing that he will sustain you in this life. It could mean altering your lifestyle so that more can be invested in the kingdom.

In the Old Testament the people of God were required to give a tenth of what they earned to the work of God. In the New Testament people went way beyond that selling property and given the proceeds to the apostles for the work of the ministry. What you give to God is a reflection of how you value his kingdom.

What you give is between you and God but this morning’s text is a challenge to our values and where we invest the gifts that God has given us.

Seeing the crowds Jesus went up on the mountain and when his disciples came to him he taught them. The Beatitudes are a teaching for the disciples. Jesus gathers those closest to him and teaches them what it means to be a disciple. The blessed are those who exemplify what a member of the kingdom is like. It stands in direct opposition to what it means to be a resident of this world.

Kingdom people, as N. T. Wright points out in his book Simply Christian, are those whose lives are the place where the realm of God intersects with the realm of this world. We live in the present, but we also live in the kingdom of God at the same time. Our call is to live out the values of the kingdom in the present in response to our prayer, “thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” In order to do that we need to understand what it means to be a part of the kingdom of God. If the values of the two kingdoms are different how are we to act? Paul tells us not to be conformed to this world but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Our prayer is, “Holy Spirit teach us to walk after Jesus.”

The kingdom of heaven belongs to the poor in spirit, those who know their sin. Pride rules the day in the kingdom of this world. It seems everything is about self-image. Every thing is about being positive and looking on the bright side of things. Concentrate on your strengths and not on your weaknesses. Put out a good image of yourself and never show the kinks in your armor.

Jesus on the other hand calls us to recognize our vulnerability. “Nothing in my hand I bring, simple to the cross I cling,” goes the old hymn. The kingdom of heaven belongs to those who do not deserve it and acknowledge that fact. God resists the proud but give grace to the humble.

Last week was Reformation Sunday and we were reminded that we are saved by grace alone. Those who understand their spiritual poverty get the kingdom of heaven.

Those who mourn will receive comfort. The acknowledgement of sin is not enough. When the weight of sin is felt the natural response is to feel sorrow. In the garden Jesus sweat drops of blood. The anguish he experience was the weight of our sins. Those who are aware that they have defied a holy and just God feel sorrow and shame for their sins. The promise is that God will comfort them.

I was told of a conversation that took place at a Bible study where they were studying the exodus. We read that because of the sins of the people God wanted to destroy them. This person said he couldn’t serve a God that could get so angry. Isn’t God a god of love? This is not about God it is about the seriousness of our sin. God owes us nothing and our sin is an offense to a holy God. We are so used to the friendly, good guy Jesus that we forget that God judges our sin. Sin is no small matter. They are not innocent mistakes. Sin is an affront to God. The wages of sin is death. The cross reminds us of sins seriousness. The sorrowful will be comforted.

The meek will inherit the earth. The powerful seem to run the earth at the moment. They take center stage and reap the benefits. The meek are set aside, stepped on and walked over. Meekness is confused with weakness. Power is what we pride ourselves in as a culture. The self-made man who lifts himself up by his own bootstraps. Meekness is not a virtue in our culture because it does not push itself forward.

To believe that the meek will inherit the earth is and act of faith, faith put into action. One humbly walks around understanding that the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof and we are heirs and joint heirs with Jesus. Because of him the earth belongs to the meek.

Those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, will be satisfied. Our Christian walk is a journey. Sometimes we live on the mountaintop where Jesus feels so near and at other times we experience the dark night of the soul. Our hope does not rest on our feelings or emotions. Faith is always a factor when things are not going the way we desire that they do. It is in the dark night of the soul that we are to take courage knowing that our longing for righteousness will be satisfied. We pursue doing and being what is right because it is what we are called to. Our reward is in knowing that at sometime we will be satisfied.

The merciful will receive mercy. How we are treated effects how we treat other people and how we treat other people effects how we are treated. Those who show mercy receive mercy. Mercy is grace and kindness. The second commandment is to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. This is something we say all the time and repent of each Sunday during the confession, but is often hard to practice. It involves asking ourselves at every point when dealing with someone else if we were in his or her shoes how would we want to be treated.

We are use to dealing with others based on our own convenience or desires. Does this person interfere with or enhance my life in anyway. What does it cost me to have to deal with this person and do I gain any reward or benefit. Mercy calls us to ask how can I serve no mater the cost to me as an individual because I no longer belong to myself, but to Jesus and he calls me to self-sacrifice for the good of others. Jesus came among us as a servant and he calls us to the same. “When Christ calls a man he bids him come and die,” Bonheoffer reminds us.

Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God. We are not to carry any malice toward anyone. Understanding what we receive from God we then proceed to love those around us. When we sin we confess to God and seek forgiveness. When wronged we forgive as we have been forgiven. We hold no grudge, and we seek no revenge.

Peacemakers are called the children of God. Jesus is the Prince of Peace. He came to restore us to the Father. Sin separated us from God and Jesus, on the cross, brought peace to that relationship.

We live in a world of conflict. There is constant strife in relationships. Families are divided. Communities are divided. The question of race is a constant struggle in our communities. People speak of class warfare as if it is a new thing in our nation. It seems at every point there are divisions that need to be healed and Jesus calls us the church to be people who work for peace.

It is interesting that the next thing that Jesus says seems almost a contradiction. God’s children are peacemakers yet they will suffer persecution. Our efforts at peace will at times be efforts in futility. We will work to bring people together and in return we will be opposed. The world longs for peace, but on its own terms. God brings peace to the earth on his terms. As they rejected Jesus the Prince of Peace they will reject us. You have been forewarned.

This is not to discourage you from being a peacemaker because the kingdom of God belongs to you. Your life becomes a place were heaven and earth intersect and the glory of God is revealed whither or not it is recognized and accepted.

We have played it to safe. We want the kingdom of God and this world at the same time. We have taken and embraced the values of this world and deceived ourselves into thinking there is no conflict with the values of the kingdom. America for many has become synonymous with the kingdom of God. The love of God and country have become one. But Jesus calls us to walk on a different path. His kingdom is not of this world. We have to learn a different way of doing things.

Christians are not simply good citizens of this world. They are not simply the good neighbors everyone wants to live by. Christians are citizens of a different kingdom. Christians live life the way it was supposed to be lived and it is in conflict with the ways of this world. Our goals and ambitions are no loner centered a round our own plans and desires. We are no longer our own, but have been bought with a price. We are slaves to Jesus. It is a journey we have embarked upon and it is a constant learning process.

Jesus, at the start of his ministry called his disciples together and taught them what it means to be a disciple because it was going to be different than they could have ever imagined. And it is different for us as well.