Sunday, November 30, 2008 
Scripture reading: Revelation 2:4-5a
But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 5Remember then from what you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.
Sermon Title: "BATTERIES NOT INCLUDED" Sunday, November 30, 2008
PASTOR HUDSON: "Batteries not included"
is a strange title for an advent sermon, but I think
it fits very nicely with an element out of the Book of
Revelation regarding the lament many of us have about
the Christmas season.
We know what batteries not included means. Most
toys these days require some kind of electric
power of one form or another. You need to not
only purchase the toy, but make sure you get a real
large case of the appropriate batteries.
What does that have to do with advent? We come
to the advent season year after year with the longing
and the hope this advent or Christmas is going to be a
special time. It harkens back to what we imagine
being a colorful, picturesque time filled with rich
meaning and significance. There is a part of us
longing for that.
Then you get to December the 26th and the balloon
pops. You feel disillusioned and frustrated because
your larger-than-life image of what the advent or
Christmas season should have been didn't actually play
out. Just like having a new toy, but not having the
right batteries to be able to enjoy it.
We need to understand the magic of advent is not
going to be found in the watercolor Christmas cards
and the picturesque decorations in malls or any other
place. Advent is going to be meaningful when it is
filled with the anticipation of an encounter with
Christ.
A few questions that might get your mental juices
going or your batteries charged up as you now stand on
the eve of the next four weeks: Are you obedient to
Christ out of a sense of obligation? Are you obedient
to Christ out of a sense of faithfulness, whereas if
you're not, then maybe there will be something
punitive coming back your direction?
James tells us that every Christian goes through
a process of faith development in which they begin
perhaps not at a bad point, but just an immature point
where their reason for following Christ has something
to do with a fear of judgment or a sense somehow their
life will be richer and better if they're in the good
graces of God. There is nothing wrong with that,
that's understandable.
Sometimes when we come to Christ we do so out of
the crucible of realizing that we've not done a good
job of managing our own life. We have made mistakes.
We need forgiveness, redemption, grace, and peace.
All that is wrapped up in the message of the gospel.
So we begin our journey with Christ in that way, with
a very much self-oriented-type perspective.
The parallel to advent is all too often advent is
truly about us. Even in the Dickens story, or later
in the story with Jimmy Stewart, the message was
clear, what is significant in the life of an
individual is not that which is inwardly directed, but
outwardly directed. How do we make a difference in
the lives of individuals? How do we engage?
Let me suggest you do a few things over the next
few weeks to make this advent season less about
plastic and more about simply loving God. Now I know
that's abstract, so it is appropriate for a person to
say, yeah, that's fine, but how do I do that?
Not getting caught up in the frenzy of an advent
season where demands and schedules and pressures rob
us of the spiritual peace we really need to make
advent a time of great joy. How many things do you
have on your calendar that are simply things you feel
obligated to do?
Perhaps some could simply be deferred for another
time to allow you to spend time with issues and people
that really matter. Spending extra time with people
you love leaves you feeling empowered, like you've got
fresh batteries, rather than those that are simply
running on empty.
I think it's also important to attend worship,
both public and private. Let me take the public
first. It's not very logical to imagine that the
advent season is going to be a spiritual high if
you've invested only in the secular effort to bolster
the consumer economy. You cannot anticipate God's
richest beliefs if you've factored God out.
Include private devotion and attend worship.
This would be a great time to do some things for
yourself, even if you're not normally given to doing
so. Engage in a spiritual discipline of having some
private worship time. You can shape it in different
ways. There are all kinds of marvelous devotionals
available if you're given to that kind of thing.
You could spend time simply reading God's word
and being in prayer. Do that on a daily basis with
the primary attitude being, Lord, I want the advent
season to be more than just lines at Wal-Mart or at
the mall. Let God enrich you and fill you with his
spirit.
Serve selflessly. Ring a bell for the Salvation
Army. Take time to work the food line. Gather
commodities for a Christmas basket. Do some nursing
home visitation. Find your appropriate advent gift.
Turn this advent season into a spiritual journey, and
as you make that journey, reap the rich rewards which
come from encountering Christ at Bethlehem.
In the name of the Father, the Son, and Holy
Spirit, Amen.