"Truth Decay?"-Choosing Your Standards

Guest Sermon Series
Rev. Robert D. Shofner
St. John's UCC- Boonville Indiana

One thing that basically everybody in our society agrees with today ... whether we’re liberal, conservative, Democrat, Republican, Christian, atheist, whatever ... the majority of people today would agree that our nation is in a state of moral decline.

What is the cause of this crisis of values in our society? Two words. Truth decay. The fact is, we no longer value the truth in America. Instead, we value convenience ... is it easy? And we value pragmatism ... does it work? People don’t really care about the truth. In fact, many question, “Is there such a thing as truth?” They say, “What I really want to know is ... does it work and is it easy? And if it works in my life, and it’s easy, I don’t care of it’s true or not ... that’s good enough for me.”

This represents a major shift in values over the last fifty years in our society. Then, there was almost universal agreement about what was truth, what was right, and what was wrong, and what was truth. Today, though, is very different. There are many in our society today who say there is no such thing as right and wrong; there are no standards by which you can evaluate your life or your behavior.

Why is it that we went from general agreement on “This is true” to where we are today? What happened? We were sold a bill of goods. We fell for three very destructive philosophies that have replaced truth in our society.

The first is individualism. Individualism basically says, “I live for myself. Only I can be the standard for my life. Only I can judge what’s really true. Only I can judge what’s right or what’s wrong. And you don’t have any right telling me what’s right or wrong or true.”

This is nothing new. Individualism has gone on in nations for thousands of years. In fact, a long, long time ago, Israel fell into this same trap. Why? Judges 21:25, “In those days Israel had no [authority] so the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.” Does that sound vaguely contemporary?

“I’ll just do whatever I think is right! And since there is no authority, no rules, no standards, no absolutes, I can do whatever I want.” That’s an easy philosophy to hold on to because it means I never have to feel guilty. Because I don’t have to measure up to your standards, and if you say, “This is right.” ... Well, that may be right for you, but ... for me ... I am an individual and I run my own life.

The result of that in the nation of Israel was anarchy and chaos ... and that will be the result in our country if we keep heading off that way. Because anything goes. The only thing that matters is me.

The second philosophy that we’ve bought in to is called secularism. Secularism can be summarized in three words, “God is unnecessary.” It doesn’t mean I don’t believe there is a God ... “Oh, I believe in God” ... I just don't need Him in my life. And we have been systematically removing God from every area of public life. Out of the schools, out of the government, out of the media. God is unnecessary.

Fifty years ago most school rooms had the Ten Commandments hanging on the wall. Fifty years ago most classes began with prayer. Fifty years ago more people went to church than didn’t go to church. Today, it’s exactly the opposite. Obviously there’s no Ten Commandments or prayer in schools. And the majority of people don't go to church. So where are they getting their morals? Jerry Springer? ... where you take the most bazaar creatures found on the planet, put them on stage, and say, “This is normal!”

Drag biker queens from Mars who are Nazi feminists. Amazing. And the audience sits there and says, “Oh, yeah, this is great.” The number one purveyor of values today is not God or the Bible or church or even parents. It’s television.

Secularism, where God is made unnecessary, is talked about in the Book of Romans, chapter 1 where it says, “They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped created things rather than the Creator.” (Romans 1:25) That last part is called “materialism.” When we worship things rather than the God who created everything. That’s why there will be more people at the river or casino today rather than worshipping God. A lot of people worship their boat, or bike, or house, or career ... anything that is created, rather than worshipping the Creator. So God is unnecessary and I live for myself.

The third philosophy that we’ve fallen prey to is called relativism. It can be summarized in two words, “no absolutes.” The idea behind relativism goes like this. “You know, what’s true for me may not be true for you. And what’s true for you may not be true for me. Therefore, what’s right for you may not be right for me, and what’s right for me may not be right for you. And nobody can say what’s right or wrong, because all truth is relative.” Again, that’s a great way to avoid guilt, because we can always say, “Well, that’s your standard.”

This belief is revealed in a lot of familiar phrases, like: “It doesn’t matter what you believe, as long as you sincerely believe it.” Whenever I hear that, I want to say, “Oh, really?”

Let’s say, after church, you head out to Louisville and get on the freeway. And you start up what you sincerely believe to be the “on” ramp. But the truth is ... it’s really the “off” ramp. Now, is sincerity enough to keep you from having an accident? No. Does the truth matter in that situation? Absolutely. So, you’re driving up this “on” ramp, which is really an “off” ramp, and some guy is driving off the freeway ... he rolls down his window, and yells at you, “Wrong way!” And if you believe in relativism, you say, “Well, who are you to tell me what’s wrong? Who made you the judge of my life? It may be true for you, but it may not be true for me. For you, this may be an “off” ramp; for me, it’s an “on” ramp. So, don’t be so judgmental and narrow minded!”

A little secret ... when people tell you the truth, they’re not judging you, they’re being kind. There are very few people today who will level with you and tell you, “Look, you’re going down the wrong track. You keep it up, you’re going to blow it. You’re headed for a major head-on collision.” The people who tell you the truth are those who love you.

Another phrase that’s common to relativism is this: “There are no absolute truths in life.” In one of my college classes, the professor stood up in front and said, “There are no absolutes in life.” I raised my hand and said, “Are you absolutely sure about that?”

Don’t ever let anybody “con” you with pseudo-intellectualism. “There are no absolute truths.” That is not only illogical, it’s irrational. It’s illogical, because that statement in itself is an absolute. “There are no absolutes.” You just stated one, which means it’s wrong. (Think that through, now.) You cannot make an absolute statement that there are no absolutes. That’s illogical. And it’s irrational, because the fact is, the whole world proves that the world is built on things you can depend on because they are absolutely true.

For instance, there is an absolute truth called gravity. What if, say every eight or nine minutes, God turned off gravity? We’d all be floating around the ceiling. One of the reasons we build chairs is because we can depend on gravity to pull us down and something needs to hold us up.

Let’s say you come down with bronchitis. The doctor gives you a prescription, you take it to the pharmacist, and she gives you medicine for schizophrenia. You say, “I don’t need this!” “Well, there are no absolutes, so I thought this medicine would be as good as any other. In fact, you look a little neurotic, so I thought you should take this. And I thought that the dosage was little weak ... it’s prescribed for 80 milligrams ... so I thought I’d up that to 3,000 milligrams. It may kill you, but I don’t really care, because everything is relative, and truth is evasive.”

When you go to a pharmacist, are you interested in absolute truth? Yes. You want just the right amount of just the right medicine, because not every medicine will do, and every medicine is not equal.

Truth is narrow, folks. And God wants us to know the truth.

In our society today, which is dominated by relativism, the highest value is tolerance. And we value tolerance more than truth. We don’t want to say the truth, because we may offend somebody, they may disagree with us. So, what we’re supposed to do is tolerate each other. The worst sin in our society is to be intolerant. The worst thing to be called is “judgmental.” “You’re narrow-minded, judgmental, intolerant.” Friends, it’s not judgmental to tell the truth.

The word “tolerance” has been re-defined by our society. Look it up in the dictionary, and you’ll find, “The capacity for or the practice of recognizing and respecting the beliefs or practices of others.” Even if one disagrees with those beliefs or practices. The Bibles teaches that, as believers, we are to be tolerant. We should never treat people as less than human. Even the worst criminal ... or the person with the most immoral lifestyle ... we are to treat them with love and dignity. Jesus did. Jesus accepted people without approving of their lifestyle. He didn’t say, “Do whatever you want, it doesn’t matter.” It does matter. But He treated them with dignity. So, we’re called to be tolerant ... in the old meaning of the word.

Now tolerance means that every idea is equally valid, equally true, and that every lifestyle is equally right. That is not true. That is false. It is not true that every lifestyle is equally valid. It is not true that every thought or idea or belief is equally true. Because truth is narrow.

The ultimate expression of this new definition of tolerance is called “Political Correctness.” God has something to say about that. Ephesians 4:17-19, “They are hopelessly confused ... Their closed minds are full of darkness; they are far away from the life of God. They don’t care anymore about right and wrong.” They just don’t care. You see, some people are so open-minded their brains fall out. And some open minds need to be closed for repair. They’re not even thinking. Think, people! Don’t be conned by these pseudo-philosophies that lead to a dead end. That’s the cause.

So, what’s the cost? What’s the cost of not having any standards, not having any values, and not even agreeing on what’s true, right, and wrong. The cost is ... our culture is collapsing. And it’s amazing to me that the people who are noticing this are not the religious leaders, but the secular press. A great book clearly addressing all this is The Enemy at Home by Dinesh D’Sousa. In our magazines, a couple of cover stories ... “Everybody’s Lying ... Honest!” “Busybodies and Crybabies. What’s Happening to the American Character?” That’s a good question. The answer is found on another magazine cover, “The Generation That Forgot God.” That’s what happened. And if there is no God, then there is no standard of truth; and if there is no standard of truth, then anything goes.





Ever play Scrabble? Let’s say you invite me over for a game of Scrabble, and I come up with the word “Snipple-fritzer.” And you say, “That’s no word.” I say, “It’s a word to me. And it’s worth 57 points! Because it uses the ‘Z’.” At that point, we have to go to an objective authority called “Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language.” And if “Snipple-fritzer” is in that dictionary ... I don’t care what you think ... I get the points. But, if it’s not in the dictionary ... it doesn’t make any difference if I like it or not, it’s not a word ... I don’t get the points.

The Bible, God’s Word, tells the truth. There’s a lot in the Bible that I don't understand ... there’s a lot that’s not easy to do. But it is the truth. Because it came from God. And if we say something that’s contrary to the truth ... guess who’s wrong?

Isaiah 5:20, “Destruction is certain for those who say that evil is good and good is evil; that dark is light and light is dark.” God is not mocked. Whatever we sow, we’re going to reap. And what we see happening today is the reaping of what we’ve sown over the years. “A nation without God’s guidance is a nation without order.” Proverbs 29:18

To wrap this up, the question is not, “How can I change society?” but rather, “How can I live a life of value in a world that can’t even decide what’s right and wrong? And how can I raise my children with values when their teachers can’t teach basic values of what is right and wrong because of individualism, secularism and relativism? What do I do?” Psalm 11:3 says, “When the foundations of life are undermined, what can good people do?” Here’s the cure ... rebuild the foundation.

Rebuild the foundation of your life, your family, your business. And that means start with God. Why? Because God is truth. What makes something wrong? Because we say it’s wrong? No, because it’s anti-God. It’s against His character. God is honest, so when we’re dishonest, it’s wrong. God is faithful, so when we’re unfaithful, it’s wrong. God is just, so when we’re unjust, it’s wrong. When we are different from the character of the Creator who made us ... it’s wrong. When we are like the character of the Creator who made us ... it’s right. That make sense? That’s how we decide what truth is. Proverbs 2:9, “God shows how to distinguish right from wrong, how to find the right decision every time.”

Just one last thing. Each of us wants to make a choice: What will my standard be? What I think? What the world says? The values of individualism, secularism and relativism? Or God’s Word?

Let‘s bow our heads:



Father, I’m so thankful that You always tell the truth. It’s not always easy to hear, but it’s always the truth. Today, may we be people who say, “My standard for deciding right from wrong, for deciding what’s true, is God. Not public opinion, and not even what I feel is right, or even what’s convenient. Help us to build our lives on values that last.”

And the people said, “Amen.”

"To Care is to Do!

Guest Sermon Series

Rev. Robert D. Shofner, Jr.

St. John's UCC Boonville

Over the past few weeks, we’ve spent time together imagining what this world would look like if God really did bring “up there down here.” And we looked at ways we can start working together to help bring that about, remembering that God is close than we think.

Today is what is known as “Christ the King” Sunday. This Sunday tries to focus our worship on the cosmic character of Christ’s reign over the world. It is a celebration of the kingdom of God.

In the 13th chapter of Matthew, our Lord gives us some very powerful descriptions of what the kingdom of God is really like. He tells us about a man who, plowing in a rented field one day, uncovered a tremendous treasure. He quickly covered it up and gathered everything that he possessed and sold it, so that he could buy that field where the treasure was. Jesus said that the kingdom of God is so wonderful, so attractive, so inspiring, that those who discover it give up everything else to keep it.

Jesus went on to tell the tale of the merchant who dealt in precious jewels. All through his life he kept looking for that one, perfect, gem, valued above all others. Finally, he comes across a pearl, a perfect pearl, a pearl of great price. He is so excited that he sells his entire inventory … sells everything he possesses so he could buy that one pearl.

That, Jesus says, is the Kingdom of God.

The point is ….. Jesus told us that we are worried about too many things. We worry about what we’ll be having for lunch after church … will Mr. Gatti’s be too crowded and run out of barbeque chicken pizza? We worry about the quality of our tap water … and buy bottled water from somebody else’s tap and pay more for it than a gallon of gas. We worry about what we’re going to wear to that big party … and will someone notice our shirt came from WalMart? We worry about the stock market … will the endowment run out? Will we have enough to retire on? Will we be healthy, wealthy and wise?

Jesus says, “Enough worry! God knows what you need. Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness … and He’ll give you everything else.”

For those who’ve experienced just that … they know it’s true. Just ask the man who bought the field … ask the man who sold everything to buy that one pearl. Ask me! I’ve learned that God is completely faithful and true. I’ve learned that when I seek His kingdom and His righteousness He adds everything I need. I don’t need to worry about anything else. You don’t either. Everything that’s really needful …. anything that’s really worthwhile … God adds to our lives.

That’s a basic rearrangement of all our values, isn’t it? And that happens to us when we give ourselves completely to His kingdom … when we make it our first and top value. And we’ve said before, many times, that what we value determines the course of our life. What happens when we value God’s kingdom and righteousness above all else is that we discover, first hand, the love and grace of God. We come to know that there is not one thing you or I could do to ever make God stop loving us. And how do we respond to that certain knowledge? We love God.

Years ago, the United Church of Christ had a saying that was much better than the recent, “Never place a period where God has put a comma.” To me, that’s theological nonsense. No, years ago the UCC had a saying that was much more appropriate. It was, “To love is to care, to care is to do.” When we love, we care. And when we care, we serve.

There’s a story in the seventh chapter of Luke that makes this point. Our Lord is invited to dinner at the home of Simon, the Pharisee. Jesus rarely socialized with a Pharisee … but it was a free meal, so what the heck! Anyway, they had reclined around the low dinner table in the usual fashion, and as they were eating a woman, a prostitute actually, walked into the room. She came up behind Jesus and bent over His feet. She held those dirty, calloused feet in her hands and wept. She wept tears of remorse and shame. And her tears washed the dirt from His feet. She let loose her long hair and bent over His feet again and dried them with that hair. She brushed her hair back and tied it. She took a small bottle of perfume from under her sash. It was probably the same scent she would wear to entice her customers … and it wouldn’t have been cheap. She bent over His feet once again and began kissing them … kissing them as she poured that little bottle of perfume over the arch of His foot, spilling out between His toes.

Can we imagine the reaction of that stodgy, self-righteous Pharisee? He thought to himself, “This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner!” (Luke 7:39).

And Jesus, who knows our thoughts and hearts and minds, said to His host: “Simon, I have something to tell you.” Simon said: “Say on, Lord.” “Simon, a certain banker had two debtors, one owed him five hundred dollars and one owed him five thousand. One day, he called them in and told them that both debts were forgiven and forgotten. Now, I ask you, Simon, which one of these two men responded with more gratitude?”

Simon said: “I assume the one who was forgiven the greater debt.” Jesus said: “You have spoken correctly.”

He then said: “Look at this woman. She has sinned much, but she loves more. When I came into your house, Simon, you offered me no water to wash my feet, which is just common courtesy. You brought no ointment with which to anoint my hair, which, as a good host, you should have. You gave me no kiss of peace when I entered your house, as you should have. This poor woman has washed my feet, has anointed me, and has not stopped kissing my feet since she came.”

And He looked down at the woman at his feet and said to her, “You faith” – really, her love – “your faith has saved you. You are forgiven. Peace be with you.”

That’s the Gospel. The greater the knowledge of our sin, the more gratitude for the forgiveness of that sin, the more love for our Lord. How do we express that love? To love is to care … to care is to do.

You may remember that in the final chapters of John’s gospel we read of how our Lord Jesus, risen from the dead, made His way about the country-side, and His own disciples – Peter among them – had seen Him risen, glorified, victorious over death – and yet, did nothing about it! They simply went back to Galilee and took up their fishing. One night, just at dawn, after an entire night of fishing, they were coming into shore when they saw a man standing by a fire on the beach.

Peter recognized Him, threw on some clothes, leaped into the surf and waded up to greet his Lord. They sat down and ate breakfast together, and as they were eating, Jesus looked at Peter … Peter who three times – even though he had been warned, cautioned against it – three times had denied his Lord.

Jesus looked across the fire at Peter and spoke. He didn’t use the nickname which Peter loved because the Lord had given it to him – Peter, Petros, the Rock – instead He said, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”

Peter bowed his head in shame and said, “Yes, Lord, I love You.”

Jesus said, “Then feed my lambs.”

After a moment, Jesus said with more emphasis, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”

“Yes, Lord, You know I love You!”

“Then tend my sheep.”

And then a third time – and I’m sure Peter, by that time, realized it must be three times, since his denial had been thrice.

“Simon, son of John, do you love me?”

“Lord, You know all things. You know the thoughts of men’s hearts. You know that I love You!”

“Then feed my sheep.”

That’s the job, little man. What are you doing here fishing? If you love, then you must do. You have a job.

In the 25^th chapter of Matthew, Jesus is speaking about the end of times. He says;

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

"Then the King will say to those on his right, `Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

"Then the righteous will answer him, `Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

"The King will reply, `I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

"Then he will say to those on his left, `Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

"They also will answer, `Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

"He will reply, `I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." (Matthew 25:31-46)

You and I know that there are many hungry, thirsty, naked, imprisoned, sick lambs of God around this world. How can we witness to them? How can we reach them all? The truth of the matter is, we can’t reach them all. But we can touch the lives of many.

This is where the Church of Jesus Christ, this is where St. John’s United Church of Christ gives each of us the opportunity to serve. The long arms of the Church can reach into every corner of the world and feed the hungry, welcome the stranger, minister to the sick, visit the imprisoned. And all that witnesses to our love for Christ. The money I give to this church helps me carry out the command given to Peter … and to all who love the Lord … “Feed my sheep. If you love me, then feed my sheep.”

On the other hand, if we don’t love Him, I could stand up here and preach stewardship until I’m blue in the face. I could point out the reasonableness of the whole thing, and it will run off us like water off the beard of a left-handed goat. It would mean nothing.

But when we love the Lord, as many of us do in gratitude for the love and forgiveness and grace He has given us, then we have the opportunity of showing that love through our good works … our stewardship … ministering to the lowliest and neediest of His children.

I, for myself, think of the words of that old hymn:

Where the whole realm of nature mine,

That were a tribute far too small;

Love so amazing, so divine,

Demands my soul, my life, my all.

Let’s pray.

Lord of all creation, the sacrifice You made for us is so amazing, so divine. When we think on how wretched we are without You, it brings us to our knees in gratitude and love. And because we love You, we care about your brothers and sisters. And because we care, we serve. May our service bring honor and glory unto You. For that is our purpose, to know You and bring honor to You.

And the people said, “Amen.”

Why is the Resurrection so Important?

Guest Sermon by

Rev. Robert D. Shofner

St. John's UCC Boonville

In the late 1990’s, a group of liberal biblical scholars got together to review the Gospels and determine whether Jesus actually said those things the Gospel writers claimed He said. You know, all those verses in red print. They decided He didn’t say much of anything at all. And although these scholars used highly subjective criteria to make their evaluation … criteria which since has been discredited … the media loved it … naming the gathering the “Jesus Seminar” … and lauding them as the new leading authorities on the Christian faith.

One of the seminar leaders, Marcus Borg, had this to say about Christ’s resurrection: “As a child, I took it for granted that Easter meant that Jesus literally rose from the dead. I now see Easter very differently. For me, it is irrelevant whether or not the tomb was empty.”

Recently, the History Channel announced that its director-for-hire, James Cameron, actually discovered … after all these long two thousand years … the tomb of Jesus … and His body, along with the body of His wife (supposedly Mary Magdalene) and the body of a child, supposedly their son, named Judas. Wow!

A colleague commented to me about the discovery, and pretty much echoed the thoughts of Mr. Borg. To which I replied, in effect, “If that’s really Jesus’ body in the tomb, then I’ve wasted my life. I might just as well as quit my job, close the church, go out and party hardy until I drop dead!”

If that’s really Jesus’ body in that tomb, then the disciples, and generations of Christian martyrs, wasted their lives, too. They faced terrible, painful, excruciating deaths for a lie.

If that’s really Jesus’ body in that tomb, then you’ve wasted your lives, too.

The Apostle Paul wrote: “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins … [and] we are to be pitied more than all men” (1^st Corinthians 15:17,19).

Notice that Paul doesn’t say that if there’s no Heaven, the Christian life is futile. He clearly says that if there’s no resurrection of the dead, then the hope of Christianity is an illusion, and we are to be pitied for placing our faith in Jesus Christ. Because if Christ didn’t physically rise from the dead, we’re still in our sins – meaning we’re bound for Hell, not Heaven. All our faith and striving for the Lord would be in vain. So why bother?

The Apostles’ Creed, the first of the so-called catholic, or universal, creeds, plainly affirms: “I believe in the resurrection of the body.” But do we really? Many Christians tend to spiritualize the resurrection of the dead. They don’t reject it as a doctrine, but they don’t fully realize its essential meaning. As John Updike wrote: “Make no mistake: if he rose at all is was as His body; if the cells’ dissolution did not reverse, the molecules re-knit, the amino acids rekindle, the Church will fail. Let us not mock God with metaphor, analogy, sidestepping transcendence; making the event a parable, a sign painted in the faded credulity of earlier ages; let us walk through the door.”

Two-thirds of Americans who believe in a resurrection of the dead believe that they will not have bodies after the resurrection. But that is a contradiction of terms on at least two levels.

First – Genesis 2:7 says, “The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” The Hebrew word for “living being” is nephesh, often translated as “soul.” Question. At what point did Adam become a nephesh? Answer. When God joined his body (made out of the dust of the ground) and spirit (the breath of God) together. This makes it clear that the essence of humanity is not just spirit, but both spirit joined with body. Our bodies don’t just house our spirits, like a hermit crab inhabits a seashell. Our bodies are as much a part of who we are as are our spirits.

Second – the empty tomb is the ultimate proof that Christ’s resurrection body was the same body that died on the cross. If resurrection meant the creation of a new body, Christ’s original body would have remained in the tomb. When Jesus said to His disciples after His resurrection, “It is I myself,” He was emphasizing to them that He was the same person – in spirit and body – who had gone to the cross (Luke 24:39). His disciples saw the marks of His crucifixion, unmistakable evidence that this was, indeed, the same body.

And think on this. The Romans knew where Jesus was buried … they placed a guard around it. Yet when the disciples started this new religion by claiming that Jesus had risen from the dead … all the Romans had to do to stop this nonsense was to march to that tomb, retrieve the body and put it in the town square for all to see. But they didn’t. Why not? Because there was no body in the tomb. Jesus had risen … He had risen, indeed!

Of course, there are many who would say this is all just wishful thinking on our part. Is it really?

While climbing a cliff one day, two little boys found a nest of eagles’ eggs. They put the eggs under a turkey-hen in the barnyard and in due time, the young eaglets hatched with the chicks. The mother turkey-hen cared for them as though they were her own.

One day after the eaglets had grown, a great eagle swooped down over the barnyard and something stirred within the young birds. Day after day the great eagle came. Day after day something stirred within the young eagles, and their wings felt the awakening of potential strength within them.

Then one day when the great eagle came and swooped down over the barnyard, the young eagles dared - they flapped their wings and flew! Their destiny to be eagles, born within them would not be denied. They were born to fly!

So with us. Most of our days we live in a barnyard we call our world, knowing all the while there is more, because, though we are in a barnyard, we are not of it.

And we may live like turkeys - even sometimes act like turkeys, but we were born at the font to be eagles!

This is not mere wishful thinking. We know this to be true in the deepest part of our hearts. We desire a resurrected life on a resurrected earth. And that desire is planted in our very being by God Himself. It is God who “set eternity in the hearts of men” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). It is God who designed us to live on a resurrected Earth which will contain the presence of glory of God … thus becoming the true and final Heaven.

And all this because of what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross. All this because Jesus Christ, the perfect, sinless, God-man, took on the Curse of all our sins upon Himself, satisfying the righteous judgment of God. God, therefore, removes the Curse, the penalty for our sin, not only from us, as individuals, but also from the entire creation.

Isaac Watts’ magnificent hymn, “Joy to the World” sings:

No more let sins and sorrows grow

Nor thorns infest the ground;

He comes to make His blessings flow

Far as the curse is found.

How far does Christ’s redemptive work extend? Far as the curse is found!

And all of this is made possible by Christ’s resurrection … His bodily, physical resurrection … His victory over death!

As Paul writes to the Corinthians (1^st Corinthians 15:20-22): “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.”

And Paul warns of us the dangers of belittling this resurrection of the body. He continues in his letter: “Now if there is no resurrection, . . . why do we endanger ourselves every hour? I die every day--I mean that, brothers--just as surely as I glory over you in Christ Jesus our Lord. If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for merely human reasons, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised, ‘Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.’ Do not be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character.’ Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God--I say this to your shame.” (1^st Corinthians 15:29-34)

Norman Vincent Peale tells of sharing a crowded taxi on the way to preaching a sermon at a large conference. The taxi driver was complaining about all his problems and troubles. He was convinced that the whole world was filled with crooks, and everything and everybody was rapidly going to hell.

"Tell 'em that at your rally, reverend," the cab driver said.

Beside Dr. Peale there was a heavy-set, jolly lady with a big happy face. She leaned over to Dr. Peale and said, "Don't do it. We all know that. Tell them instead about Jesus and how he came to give us all God's gift of a resurrected life."

Then the lady reached over and tapped the complainer on the shoulder, saying, "Young man - what you need is to get resurrected!"

To those who would deny the physical resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ, I would repeat the warning of Paul: “Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning.” And add the sage advice of the jolly lady, “You need to get resurrected.”

Thank God that we are! So, let’s act like we know it’s true.

He is risen! He is risen, indeed!

Seeing the Positive in our Problems

Guest Sermon Series

Rev. Robert D. Shofner, Jr.

St. John's UCC Boonville

Many people think that when they have problems, God is angry with them. And that's just not true. Many think that when they're having problems, they're out of God's will. And that's not necessarily true.

There are preachers on the TV and radio today that preach that God wants everybody to be healthy and wealthy. And when we're not healthy and wealthy, then they say we must be out of God's will. There’s a theological term for that way of thinking; “Baloney.”

1 Peter 4:12,19: "Don't be surprised at the painful trials you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. . . . Those who suffer according to God's will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good." Notice that phrase, "those who suffer according to God's will." Problems are sometimes God's will for our lives. Yeah. That's right. So today we want to look at seeing the positive in our problems. We don't want to try to explain suffering, because there's no way that we could. But we want to learn to look at our problems from a new perspective.

How many of us had a problem this past week? All right. God uses that problem you're going through in five ways.

#1 - God uses problems to direct us. He often uses problems to point us in a new direction. To motivate us to change. To get our attention.

The frustrated teacher brought the little boy into the principal's office. "This boy is absolutely impossible!" she exclaimed. "I can no longer manage him. He is constantly causing trouble with the other kids; he doesn't pay attention; he gets into fights; and he constantly talks back to me. There must be some way to help him change his ways, but I just don't know what to do."

"Now, now, Miss Higgins," the principal replied. "You must remember that each child is a precious gift from God. We must practice love, patience, and understanding."

At that moment the errant young lad grabbed a book off the principal's desk which caused a potted plant to fall off onto the floor which set up a chain reaction that ended with the principal slipping in the mud and falling on his behind.

The boy started laughing at all the trouble he had set in motion as the principal got up and seized the child. He put the boy across his knees and paddled him.

The teacher gasped, "But you just told me that we must show children love, patience and understanding."

"How right you are, Miss Higgins," replied the principal. "But first you must get their attention!"

Proverbs 20:30 (GN), "Sometimes it takes a painful experience to make us change our ways." How many would agree with that verse? Usually we change, not when we see the light, but when we feel the heat. C.S. Lewis once said, "God whispers to us in our pleasure, but He shouts to us in our pain." He gets our attention real quick when problems come upon us.

There are many example of this in the Bible. Take Elijah. One time Elijah was hiding out in the desert. He had everything he needed. Fresh water from a brook, birds bringing him food. He was safe and content and not about to leave. But then ... one day the brook dried up! Ever have a brook dry up in your life? All our resources dry up? Elijah thought, "What gives? God's been taking care of me, and all of a sudden the resources aren't there. God must not love me anymore." And God answered him, "No, that's not it at all. I just want your attention here. I don't want you to stay where the brook is. It's time to move on. And as long as you are comfortable in that situation, you're not going to change." The brook dried up so that God could direct Elijah to a new situation.

Sometimes a job dries up, a relationship dries up, a situation dries up ... why? God says, "Because I don't want you hanging around there anymore. I want you trying something new."

Remember the story of Jonah? God told Jonah to go to Ninevah. That way. He went to Tarshish ... as far that way as you could go. So God arranged a little Mediterranean cruise for Jonah. In the belly of a fish. Fish says, "Jonah, you're going in the wrong direction." And when the fish spits him out, guess which way he's headed?

God uses problems to direct us. To prod us, to push us. We would rarely change if we didn't have any problems. So we want to ask the question: "Where is this problem leading me?" Because problems never leave you where they found you. When we go through a problem we always end up someplace different from where we started off. God uses problems to direct us.

#2 - God uses problems to inspect us. To check us out, to see what we're like on the inside. To test us. Somebody once said that people are like tea bags. You never know what's really inside them until you drop them in hot water.

Deuteronomy 8:2, "The Lord God led you all the way into the desert these 40 years ... to test you in order to know what was in your heart ..." Notice that word "test." The Bible says that when Moses led the people of Israel through the Red Sea , they were to stop at Mt. Sinai , then move on to the Promised Land. Now, the walk from Egypt to Israel really shouldn't take more than a couple of weeks. But it took them 40 years! Why? God wanted them to wander around for a while so that He could test them. Seven times God tested them to see what was inside of them. Remember that story about Marah? That was one of the 7 tests. And every time they blew it, God said, "Okay, one more lap around the desert!"

Has God ever tested you? You bet He has. And we want to ask the question, "What does this problem reveal about me?" James 1:2-4, "Consider it pure joy whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance ... so you may be mature and complete ..."

The Bible often compares suffering to a refining fire. You take silver and heat it up to burn off the impurities. God does that with people ... through problems. Isaiah 48:10, "I (God) have tested you in the fire of suffering, as silver is refined in a furnace." God uses problems to burn off the excess in our lives, the stuff that's not needed, to purify us. Asked a silversmith once, "How do you know when silver's pure?" He answered, "When I can see my reflection in it." When God sees His reflection in our lives, He knows that He's burned off the impurities.

#3 - God uses problems to correct us. Psalm 119:71, "It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your statutes." Hear that word "learn." He's saying that life is a school and our problems are the curriculum. Now why is it that some lessons we only learn through failure? Some things we only learn by blowing it. I remember being a kid and having mom say, "Now, Bobby, don't touch that hot stove." Do you think I touched it? Count on it. Did I ever touch it again? Nope. I learned by being burned.

Have you ever learned by being burned? Ever get burned in a relationship? Financially? Ever get burned by a bad decision? God uses problems to correct us when we're going off in the wrong direction. Living Bible paraphrase of that verse from the Psalms: "... it was the best thing that could happen to me, for it taught me to pay attention to your laws!" It seems that it's just human nature that we have to learn through pain.

Hebrews 12:7 (LB), "Let God train you, for He is doing what any loving father does for his children. Whoever heard of a son who was never corrected?" Do we discipline our kids? Yeah, sure we do. Why? Because we love them. This verse tells us that God's discipline of us is proof that He loves us. (God knows He must love me a lot, right?) Problems don't mean that God hates us, problems mean that God loves us! He allows the circumstances that are the natural consequence of our behavior to occur.

Now we want to get this above anything else this morning. Many people say, "I made a bad decision, I blew it. So I'll just confess my sin to God and ask Him to forgive me." Does God forgive me? Yes! Instantly, I'm forgiven. It's wiped out. No condemnation.

But that does not mean that God cancels out the cause and effect of that situation. We are forgiven, but He doesn't withdraw all of the circumstances. I could go out and recklessly race my Corvette down Main Street , crash into a car, hurt someone else and break my own arm. When I ask God to forgive me, He would forgive me ... but I'd still have a broken arm and a lawsuit. See what I'm saying?

God forgives us, but He often allows the effects of our sin to stay in order to teach us not to do it again. If every time we did something bad, and we could get away with it by just saying, "God, forgive me. " ... we'd keep right on doing it! But the Bible says we reap what we sow. And God allows that to happen, we reap what we sow, not because He hates us but because He loves us. He wants us to learn. "... it was the best thing that could happen to me, for it taught me to pay attention to your laws!" God's discipline proves that we are His children.

So when problems come, we don't want to ask "why." We want to ask, "what?" What does God want to teach us? God uses problems in our lives to teach us about Himself ... His power, His love, His grace. The fact that He can handle anything, that He knows everything about us ... the good, the bad and the ugly, and He still loves us. He also uses our problems to teach us something about ourselves. God may use a situation to reveal a weakness, to show up a blind spot, a character fault. So He uses these problems to correct us.

#4 - sometimes God uses problems to protect us. Sometimes God allows problems in our lives for our own benefit. Many times a problem is actually a blessing in disguise. It may prevent us from getting involved in something more harmful. 1 Peter 3:17, "It is better, if it is God's will, to suffer for doing good, than for doing evil." He says, "You're going to have problems in life. So you might as well have problems for doing the right thing, rather than problems for doing the wrong thing." He's saying that it's safer doing what's right, what's honest, and suffer for it ... than to compromise our values, do what's wrong, and suffer for that.

When I think of this verse, "It is better, if it is God's will, to suffer for doing good, than for doing evil." I think of Joseph. We've talked about his story before. Remember how his master's wife accuses him of rape because he won't sleep with her? And he gets put into prison for doing good. I'm sure Joseph sat in that prison and thought, "What gives, God? What are you doing?" Sometimes you do the right thing and everything falls apart. Joseph was in prison for doing the right thing. But if he wasn't in prison, he wouldn't have met the men who introduced him to the Pharaoh who eventually put Joseph in charge of the whole country! And two nations were saved from seven years of famine because he ended up in jail. God knew what He was doing, even if Joseph didn't. So remember, we don't see the whole picture, but God does. And He's faithful to us.

So we want to ask, "What is it about this problem that's protecting me? How is this helping me to trust God?"

#5 - Last one - sometimes God uses problems to perfect us. To develop us. Romans 5:3-4 (LB), "We can rejoice when we run into problems and trials (I'm kidding, right?) for we know that they are good for us - they help us learn to be patient. And patience develops strength of character in us and helps us trust God more each time we use it ..." It's like the old illustration about the uncut diamond. We are an uncut diamond. And God wants to chip off our rough edges, to polish us up and make us a beautiful gem that glistens and reflects His glory. And so He uses problems to chip off the rough edges in our lives. He comes along with a little chisel and hammer, and sees that rough edge, and goes "chink." Then He sees another rough edge, and "chink." Sometimes there's a great big rough edge, and He gets out a bigger chisel and hammer and goes, "CHINK!" Sometimes He may have to use dynamite ... because it takes different kinds of things to get our attention. But God is trying to shape us into something for His glory and use.

God wants to make us like Jesus Christ. And He does that two ways. Through the Bible, and through circumstances. When we read the Bible, He helps make us like Christ. As we go through circumstances, He forces us to become more like Christ. You see, the easy way is this. God says in the Bible, "Be patient." And we're patient.

But when we don't learn it that way, God will just put us in a traffic jam, force us to learn patience. We read the Bible and it tells us, "Be humble." So we can do it the easy way and just do what God wants. But if we don't, that's okay, because God will teach us the hard way. He'll humiliate us. God will get His message across.

Paul learned that lesson. He talks about his thorn in the flesh. We don't know what it was. It was some type of irritation, maybe physical, maybe emotional. It says three times he prayed desperately, "God, take this situation out of my life." And God said, "No way, Jose." Why? Because the purpose of the problem is greater than the pain of the problem. If God took it out of the way, Paul wouldn't learn the lesson that God wanted him to learn. So God sometimes says "no" to the removal of a problem, because He wants us to learn something first.

In Hebrews it says that Jesus was made perfect through suffering. How do we think we're going to be made perfect? The same way. 1 Peter talks about how there are seasons in life. In life we have good times and bad, things change. There are springs and summers and falls and winters. All sunshine and no rain makes a desert. All rain and no sunshine ... you need an ark. We want balance in our lives. We want seasons in our lives to season us, to prepare us to be what God wants us to be.

Now, the question we ask for this is, "How can I grow from the problem? How does God want to perfect me through this problem?"

Let's wrap up. Our problems are not the problem. The problem is the way we respond to our problems. When do problems become real problems? They become real problems when we get a bad attitude about them. When we lose our perspective, when we let go of our values. They become real problems when we lose our sense of humor, when we start holding pity parties. When we start blaming other people for our circumstances.

(Saw a bumper sticker that said, "It's not whether you win or lose, but how you place the blame.")

I was teaching a class once and we talked about our problems in life, and I explained that God always gives us the strength to bear any burden He may place upon us. And He gives us the grace to overcome all evil with His help.

And I asked, "Are there any comments?" A hand slowly rose in the back of the room, and the person said, "Pastor, I know that God doesn't cause us evil. And I understand that He only tests our faith to give us a chance to grow stronger as His children. But, you know, I still think that sometimes He overdoes it."

What do you think? I think this. Romans 8:28. "We know that in everything God works for good with those that love Him, who are called according to His purpose." In everything, even our problems.

Let's pray:

Now, let's think about these questions as we pray. Just ask, Lord, are you using this problem to direct me? If so, which way do you want me to go? Lord, are you using this problem to inspect me? If so, what does it reveal about me? Lord, are you using this problem to correct me? If so, what should I change? Father, are you using this problem to protect me? You know what's best. God, are you using this problem to perfect me? If so, chip away, Lord! Make us more and more like your son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Help us to see that the pain of the problem is a lot less than the purpose, that you are teaching us and perfecting us and that in all things you work for our eventual good. And for that we give you praise and call you good.

And the people said, “Amen.”

Guest Sermon..."Making Christmas Last!"

Rev. Robert D. Shofner, Jr.
St. John's UCC Boonville

Well, my friends, eight days after Christmas. Are we still having fun?

I read that between Thanksgiving and New Year’s that the average American will gain six pounds. I've acquired the official holiday diet. Here are the rules. They might help you out next year, so save them.

Number one - if you eat something, and no one sees you eat it, it has no calories.

Number two - if you drink a diet soda while you eat a candy bar, the calories in the candy bar are cancelled out by the diet soda.

Number three - if you eat with someone else, the calories don't count if you don't eat more than they do.

Number four - food used for medicinal purposes never counts; things like hot chocolate, toast and Sara Lee cheesecake.

Number five (this is Debbie's favorite) - if you fatten up everyone else around you, then you look thinner.

Christmas time is a magic time. Everybody smiles more. They make the attempt to be friendlier. People seem to be happier. And yet an amazing thing happens just days after Christmas. The atmosphere changes from "Ho-ho-ho" to "Ho-hum." Why doesn't Christmas last?

There are a lot of factors. Relatives go home. Decorations come down. Presents get returned. Diets start. But there's one factor that many people miss. The music stops. When we want to sustain the spirit of Christmas into this new year ... carry the songs of Christmas in our hearts all year.

Did we know that there were songs at the very first Christmas? There are at least five songs recorded in the first two chapters of Luke. Mary sang a song. Zachariah sang a song. The angels sang a song. The shepherds sang a song. Simeon sang a song. Let’s look at three of them.

Mary was a young teenager. And of all the women God could have chosen to be the instrument by which He would come to the earth, He chose Mary. I bet she had no idea what she was getting into!

Mary's response to that awesome responsibility was to sing. Luke 1:46,48,49, "Then Mary sang, 'My heart is overflowing with praise of my Lord. My soul is full of joy. For He has taken notice of His humble servant girl. . . . People will call me happy because of the great things the mighty God has done for me. He shows mercy to those who reverence Him.'"

We can call this song, "Amazing Grace," because Mary gives us four great example of grace in her song.

First, she says, "He notices me. He knows me." She sings, "He has taken notice of His humble servant girl." Then she says, "God loves me. He's done great things for me." She says, "God forgives me. He is a God of mercy." Then she says, "God wants to use me. I'm just a humble servant girl, but He wants to use me."

When we want to keep the spirit of Christmas alive in our hearts all year, then we want to remember these four truths that Mary sings in her song.

First, God knows us. He knows every single thing about our lives ... the good, the bad and the ugly. He knows the heartaches, the stresses, the pain, the problems, the pleasures, the joys, the sorrows. He knows it all. In our society today, in order to get noticed, we have to be weird, or a criminal, or do something unusual or real special. What about the average person? The decent person, who's just out there trying to do the right thing in life. Does anybody notice that person? God does. God knows us.

Not only that, God loves us. Christmas says that we are worth coming to earth for. And we want to know that we matter to God. We really do.

And God wants to use us. God used Mary, just a humble, poor, peasant teenage girl. Yes, God uses even teenagers. And when God can use Mary, He can use us.

So, what do we do to keep Christmas alive? We keep the song of Mary in our heart. Amazing grace.

There's a second song. The song of Zacharias. Zacharias was an old man of about 80 years. He was the father of John the Baptist. And when he heard about the coming of Jesus, this is what he sang. Luke 1:68,69, "Let us praise the Lord. He came to the help of His people and set them free. He has provided us a mighty Savior." We can call this song "The Amazing Gift." He sings, "What an amazing gift God has given us. God has come to visit us! He came to the help of His people." This tells us that God is not only with us, He's for us! And that's Good News.

It says He came to set us free. What does Jesus set us free from? From worry, from guilt, from fear, from bitterness, from misunderstanding and meaninglessness in life. From the fear of death. Zacharias said, "What an amazing gift. God has sent us a Savior." What's that? It means somebody who came to help us, because we all need help.

A letter to Santa Claus. "Dear Santa. There are three boys in my house. There is Jeffery; he is two. There is David; he is four. There is Norman; he is seven. Jeffery is good some of the time; David is good some of the time; Norman is good all of the time. I am Norman."

Fact is, we're not Normans. I'm not, and neither are you. None of us does good all of the time. So we all need help. We all need a Savior. The Bible says, "For unto you is born a Savior." Unto you. You, personally. Unto you is born a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. That's an amazing gift. Verses 78&79, Zacharias sings, "God will bring the rising sun (S U N ... he's giving an illustration of light) to visit us, to give light to those who live in darkness and the shadow of death. And to guide us in the way of peace."

Now, notice that word "visit." God has come to visit us. He came down to earth. The infinite became the definite. God became like us.

Now, what did God come to do? What did Jesus Christ come to do? Look at what Zacharias says, "He will send the sun to visit us, to give light to those who live in darkness, and to guide us in the way of peace." He says, "God sent Jesus for two reasons. To light up your life, and to direct your life." Jesus said, "I am the light of the world." What does that mean? Let me be as clear as I can be. When we don't have Christ in our lives, we're living in the dark. We're missing out on so much that God has planned for us. He's the light of our lives. And all of a sudden things take on new meaning and significance and we finally realize why we're here on this earth! And He came to guide and direct our lives. So when things are confusing and we don't know which way to go and we're discouraged and depressed and everything seems dark, Jesus says, "I'll guide you."

There's a third song we want to remember ... that's the angels' song. Luke 2:13,14, "All at once there was with the angels a great company of the heavenly host, singing, 'Glory to God in the highest heaven and on earth, His peace to men on whom His favor rests."

We can call this song, "Amazing Glory." Heaven and earth came together. God came down to visit us. And the angels could see the whole plan unfolding. Jesus Christ came to earth to give peace to those whose hearts were open to Him. Peace on earth.

Where do we need peace on earth? Everywhere. Even right here in the fait town of Boonville, in the great state of Indiana. The Bible says, "Glory to God in the highest." How do we glorify God? How do our lives bring glory to God? Jesus said, "By your relationships." Peace among all people. Be a peacemaker, that brings glory to God. Treat other people the way Jesus would. Be kind, be loving, be patient. When we make peace with God, then we get the peace of God in our hearts. And when we are at peace with God, then we can be at peace with other people. That will make Christmas last.

Let's wrap this up and make it practical. Three steps to make Christmas last.

Number one - remember God's grace. When we want Christmas to last, we want to remind ourselves all year how God is so good to us. Remind ourselves daily, "God knows me, God loves me, God forgives me, God wants to use me." That's what Mary sang. She remembered the grace of God.

Number two - we receive God's gift. We accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior. Can we imagine getting a gift and never opening it? How about if you bought me a present, and I took it home and put it under my tree, and about a month from now, you come over and say, "Hey, Bob, how did you like my gift?" And I answer, "Well, I'm sure I'm going to like it, but frankly, I just haven't had time to unwrap it yet." You'd think that was kind of strange. You'd say, "Why haven't you unwrapped it?" "Well, I intend to. One of these days I'll get around to accepting your gift. But right now I'm just a little busy." That just doesn't make any sense, does it?

Yet we know people who live Christmas after Christmas after Christmas and never do receive the gift that God sent them. They miss the very reason we celebrate. They celebrate Christmas after Christmas, but they never unwrap God's gift to them, Jesus Christ. "Yeah, well, one day I'll get around to it. One day when I'm not so busy I'm going to open up my life and I'm going to say, 'Thank you, God. Jesus, come into my life. Be my Savior. Help me live the kind of life that you want me to live.'" That doesn't make any sense.

So, we remember God's grace ... we receive God's gift ... and ...

Number three - we reflect God's glory. Now, for us to reflect God's glory is kind of like trying to capture Niagara Falls in a tea cup. Awesome task. But let's think about this.

What can we give Jesus for Christmas? Well, we think, He's God. He's got everything. What do we give the God who has everything? We give Him our life. Because He doesn't have it unless we give it to Him.

He gave His life for us. And the greatest gift we can give God this year, in gratitude for what He's done for us, is to simply pray, "Jesus, I want to live everyday of my life this next year, 2011, in your will. I want to be the kind of person you want me to be, I want to live for your glory.”

How about another present? Tell God, "Father, in this coming year, help me to bring one other person to know you." That would be a great gift for Jesus!

Will Christmas last for us? We can make it last forever when we say "Yes" to Christ ... when we receive God's gift ... when we reflect His glory ... and when remember His grace. That God loves us, God forgives us, God wants to use us. That we matter to God ... that we count.

Several years ago on the day before Christmas, I was delivering large boxes of clothes, food and toys to some sad homes of the poverty-stricken areas of New Haven, Connecticut. I stood with such a box in the vestibule of a ten-story building ... one of those high-rise slums that our enlightened government built for its down-trodden masses. And as I was seeking the location of the apartment to which the box was to go, I noticed a little African-American boy standing next to me ... his eyes wide with excitement at the sight of all that food and those toys.

"Gee," he gasped, "Where ya taking that? To my house?"

"No, I think not," I replied. "This is for a little girl named Rhonda White."

"Oh," he replied. "I know where she lives ... she's in my class."

He led me to the elevator, and as we rode up together, he asked, "How come Rhonda gets all that stuff?"

"Well, she's been very sick ... and her family is very poor."

"I had the measles last month! Does that make me count?"

"No, I'm sorry ... I'm afraid not."

Dutifully, he led me down the hall to the proper door, and then he said 'goodbye' and left. But a moment later his little face reappeared around the corner, and he called out:

"Hey, mister! If you decide that I count, remember that I live in number 807!"

God has decided he counts. He counts, you count, I count. That's what Christmas is all about!

Let's come to our Lord in prayer.

Lord, You have brought us here to this place at this time so that You could say to us, "You matter to me." Open our hearts that we may receive the greatest Christmas present ever, the gift of your Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. May this new year we face bring to our minds the songs of Christmas ... the song of Amazing Grace ... the song of Amazing Gift ... the song of Amazing Glory. And as we journey on in our lives, help us sing to you these songs in our hearts, that the meaning of Christmas will see us throughout the year.

And the people said, “Amen.”