10:30 am, Sunday, Nov 3, 2024, FBC Amherst ~ J G White

Psalm 25:1, 2, 5, 7 Creche

This year, we start the ‘greening of the church’ with our ‘creche’ or ‘nativity.’ So think of this as our destination, this month. We look ahead to this scene; then we take a spiritual journey to get there, once again.

From Psalm 25 we just said, “you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long.” Even though all the festive, Christmas stuff happens from now until December 25th, in the Church there is waiting. We take time to dwell upon the meaning of ‘salvation.’ We certainly face the facts that so much we need and want from God still seems in our future and somewhere in the future of our beloved ones.

We also tend to look back a lot in December. We remember. We get traditional. We get nostalgic. We also miss people who are gone, and we miss the way some things used to be.

The Psalm prays that the sins of years ago be forgotten, as God kindly loves us deeply. Let us seek that steadfast love in Christ.

Advent Candle Sherrill & Roy Pettigrew

The first candle of this season is called the “Hope Candle” and the “Prophet’s Candle,” symbolizing the anticipation of the coming Messiah and the hope that He brings to the world.

Malachi (Mal-ah-KI) was an ancient Hebrew prophet, one of the very last. He probably lived about four hundred years before the birth of Jesus. His message we just heard gave the hope of a messenger who will prepare for the Lord to appear, suddenly, in the Temple.

One of our own hopes, at this season of the year, can be that the Spirit of Jesus will be clear and be here, when we gather, and when we are on our own.

Jeremiah 33:14-16 Jesse Tree

Family and genealogy was so important to those Jewish people of long ago. ‘There would be a King for you, from the family of King David.’ They kept saying that, over and over. Like Jeremiah today: “I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.”

One of the Church Advent decorations you may have never had here yet is a Jesse Tree. Here, I made one out of white birch. A Jesse Tree is decorated with symbols of the family tree of Jesus, and many stories from the Bible.

Why is it called a Jesse Tree? Who was Jesse? Jesse was the father of David, King David. Each day of Advent we can have a symbol of someone who went before Jesus. Each Sunday we can put up a few of these decorations, called Chrismons. Let’s start…

Luke 1:68-71, 78-79 Evergreens

This poetic praise is here, spoken by Zechariah, after his son, John, was born, a few months before Jesus was born. This ‘song’ sometimes gets called for its Latin name, the Benedictus. Thirty years later, John would be known as John the Baptist, not because he was a Baptist Christian - we had not been invented yet - but because John baptized a lot of people, out in the Jordan River.

But when he was a newborn, his father celebrated Abba God, saying: “Because of the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to shine upon those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."

We say that evergreen branches remind us of everlasting promises and provision from God. Light to brighten our souls, from the inside out. Hope in the face of hardship and even death. Guidance for this challenging life, leading us into deep peace. Peace within us, and peace among us. May our evergreen boughs and their lights lift our spirits to the God of inner light and shared peace.

Luke 3:1-6 Poinsettias

Here we have John, Jesus’ cousin, all grown up, exercising his ministry of preaching and teaching and baptizing. It gets called a baptism of repentance, for the forgiveness of sins. This ritual of turning away from the wrong things of life was preparation to receive the Saviour. A Saviour who saves by living and dying, and yet going on to live.

Often, when we have our ceremony of bread and the fruit of the vine, we get in touch with the forgiving and healing power of God. We remember that a real human, God as a human, shed His lifesblood. No wonder the deep red star of the Poinsettia plant became a Christmas decoration. For two thousand years, there has been such power in the retelling of this story, of the life of One, poured out for many.

You likely have noticed that a Poinsettia plant bleeds easily, whenever a leaf or stem is broken or injured. But the blood, the sap, is white. May these plants remind of us a real God, who lived a physical life among us, that was broken and bled.