Advent 1 - The Gift Exchange - Week # 1

Advent! Can you believe it? We begin a new liturgical year and a new primary Gospel writer,

Luke. With it we also begin a new message series - The Gift Exchange.

This Lord’s Day we begin a new message series called “The Gift Exchange”. Nobody would argue that the holidays are the busiest time of the whole year. And every year it seems to get worse. It can even be hard to enjoy them, when there is so much to do, so many expectations to manage, so many demands to be met.

The Advent and Christmas seasons are all about growing in love for God, and preparing a bigger place in our hearts for our Saviour. Saying yes to God's presence and plan for our lives. That yes is the best one we can make, the best one ever. But it can get crowded out by all the other “yeses” we’re making. How do we make our “Yes” the best. Our message series will be all about setting priorities for the season and celebrating Christmas well.

Are you frightened by the ride or will you freely give this Advent Season to Him and exchange let Him do the work while we wait?

Warm-Up: 

·         What do you love about this time of year? What do you find difficult about this season?

·         What are some of the things (the other yeses) that distract you from “the Yes” to God?

Your may wish to listen again to the Audio of the Lord’s Day Message

At this point please use the video Message for this series – Week # 1

The message sounds very familiar to one we heard 2 weeks ago from Mark. Remember, it is not about doom and gloom, but the need to be vigilant, to be prepared, to turn our lives around. There is no better time to do that than over these next 4 weeks.

Isn’t that really what this season and this Gospel is all about? Our life is the journey. Our destination is Jesus, waiting at this point as a baby in a stable. Like any journey, preparation is the key to success. Every year the Church gives us these four weeks. With so many options during this time of year to take a detour, let us pray we can stay focused on our real destination and say, “We are truly Stable-Bound.”

Please discuss these two questions as a family:

1. Why do you look forward to this time of year—the month of December?

brief video on Advent.

Christ the King - More Than Survive (Week # 3)

We are in our message series called “More than Just Survive”. If you want to know what it is about…well…check out the video link below….and feel free to share it with others:

Video Link

You may wish to listen again to the Audio of the Lord’s Day Message

We all lead and live busy lives. We are constantly rushing from one thing to another - and in the hustle and bustle, at the end of the day - we ask ourselves: “what I am chasing?” We began by looking at the lives of the saints, and they had to make choices which led them to not just survive but in fact in three ways: to Rest, to Resist and to Reflect become rooted and thrive.

Warm-Up: 

·         What do you think the word “reflect” means?

·         What do you think influences our society today in establishing what it chooses to reflect?

You know of people whose identity is so important that they must always remind others of who they are. It’s what defines them. Every degree is important. Every email must include a list of titles. Every possession must be flaunted.

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. It is fitting that this is the last Sunday in the Liturgical Year. This celebration is the culmination of all the messages we have heard over the past 12 months. Pilate asks Jesus if he is King of the Jews to entrap him so that he might be put to death. Jesus knew who He was. He didn’t have to have business cards printed to remind himself or others of his title. His legacy was His message—a message of service and love, mercy and compassion. His call to follow him was a call to humility, not arrogance and power. So, who is your king? Who do you follow? Who impresses you? Are any of your answers willing to die for you?

Who is this King of Glory? Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.

Please discuss these two questions as a family:

1. If you were to ask your closest friends to describe what defines you, what would they say?

2. Would you be pleased with their answer and, if not, what changes would you make?

More Than Survive: Rest in the Lord (Week # 2)

We began last Lord’s Day (All Saints) a Message Series called “More than Just Survive”. If you want to know what it is about…well…check out the video link below….and feel free to share it with friends and neighbours:

We all lead and live busy lives. We are constantly rushing from one thing to another - and in the hustle and bustle, at the end of the day - we ask ourselves: “what I am chasing?” So last week we looked at the lives of the saints - who didn’t live life in a bubble - they lived real lives and they too had to make choices. Choices about who is first and how they must thrive not just survive- in fact they chose in three ways: to Rest, to Resist and to Reflect - so these next three weeks we are looking at each of these and asking ourselves - what I am rooted in as I seek to more than survive

Warm-Up: 

·         What do you find attractive about “Discipleship” – being a follower of Jesus?

·         What do you find at times challenging about “Discipleship”?

·         Group action last week was to try not to chase but rest, resist, and reflect. how did it go?

You may wish to listen again to the Audio of the Lord’s Day Message

 

At this point please use the video Message for this series – Week # 1 

The widow in the Gospel mirrors, in many ways, the plight of the widow of Zarephath (1^st Reading). She, too, was destitute, without protection or resources. Yet, she trusted in the blessing of God and gave all that she had. All that she had! That, indeed, was an act of faith. With humility she came before God, recognizing Him as the source of all grace and blessing, trusting in the providence and benevolence of God. She hoped for the impossible and the improbable, that God would provide for her.

But guaranteed in their lives, there were moments of “groan”. Occasions when the struggle of life seemed insurmountable. When a marriage blows, when you go to hospital and visit people we love, see their suffering and we think “it is just not right.” When we meet someone who has no sense of meaning or purpose in their life or you run into someone when there is loss in their life - and see emptiness in their eyes. Or when we talk to someone about having God in their life and they use the church as venue for a Sacrament and nothing else and walk away saying “I don’t need you.”

In these times, the trial, the test, the turmoil seems more than what we can handle, no matter how must hustle or bustle we take on. If this is where you are at – survival mode – well you are correct it is more than you can handle – it must be what God can handle. The busyness and demands of today are more than we can handle. But when we put all that “needs to be done” in the perspective of “what God needs to do”, we finds ourselves relived of the stress and strain and our lives replaced with the serenity and sanctity of a “Good, Good Father”in our life.But we must trust He will.

Here is where the first element of “more than just surviving” comes in…to rest. To rest in the Lord – is to rely upon Him. To rest in the Lord means to live with the knowledge that it is through the Groan we Find Glory! The widows in the readings knew and lived that - it was their faith that told them - this groan will bring me to the Glory of God, because God is handling it – I don’t need to do it all, He will. If I rest in the Lord - find time for Him, rely upon Him, Trust Him - that relying upon the Lord will bring me to Glory.  This takes surrender and trust to accent that God has a plan and He will make the provision, I need only bring my best and He will do the rest.

For here is a truth - The road to glory is through the groans of the present, but if you forget the glory - you are just left with the groan. Painfully that is what happens in our life - we are surviving and not thriving because all we have is the groan and we have not made time to rest in and see the glory. We are at it so hard, groaning away, trying to do everything and be everywhere that in the end we are nowhere further and feel like a no body.

So here is what the widows taught us - two things - which bring glory - Give and Know. They gave of their most precious and believed that God would do the impossible and improbable in and through them. For us today, the most precious of to us is our time - give it to Him. Adoration, Daily moments of prayer and especially time on the day that is His Day. Secondly, the widows - they knew His word. Here we have the power of Small Groups who support each other rooted in His word. Not a series of what we want to learn (because that is our agenda and even our groans) but His word – which helps us share and see His glory.

We can’t expect we will understand that God is good all the time if we don’t make time for God all the time.  Rest in Him, Rely Upon Him. Trust in Him. Don’t Live just with the Groan - strive for the Glory by not just surviving but thriving!

Message this week – Before concluding – listen once again in mediation to this beautiful song which will be our “theme song” during this series – it is called “Good, Good Father” by Chris Tomlin. Don’t only listen to the tune, but examine the words. In particular listen for the words…..”and I am loved by you…its who I am.” There it is – the secret to being a saint – and not just surviving!

More Than Survive - Week # 1

We begin this Lord’s Day a four part Message Series called “More than Just Survive”. If you want to know what it is about…well…check out the video link below….and feel free to share it with friends and neighbours:

Most often, when we hear of Saints, we think of those of long ago, perhaps our Patron Saint, the Saint whose name we took for Confirmation, or that of our Parish School or Church. Because they may seem so 'far off' from here and now, we can tend to think of them as people whose lives were a breeze, who never had hardship or suffering, who walked a meter above the earth. This separates us from them, and 'gets us off the hook' in terms of thinking about being a future Saint in the Church of God.

But the Saints actually teach us how we can become like them, not in leading lives of idealism, but real lives faced with challenge. Even in the hustle and bustle of life, they make us ask the question – “what are you chasing?” Put another way, they make us take a long hard look at where we are rooted and where we get our strength and significance from.

Over the next four weeks we will take a look at these who questions:

·         What are you chasing?

·         Where are you rooted?

You may wish to listen again to the Audio of the Lord’s Day Message

The Beatitudes reflect the heart and mind of Jesus the Lord. This is what a Christian looks like, because this is what Jesus Christ looks like. We are called to resemble – reflect Him. These values and virtues should distinguish us as followers of Jesus, 'saints' in the making! They make us people who are not “running around”, chasing that which we can not even name, but rather people who – Rest in the Lord, Resist the World, Reflect our God. These three are the attributes of the saints and they are counter-cultural but they are also firmly implanted in the fact that (1 John 3:1-3) “we may be called children of God.”

Over the next three weeks will examine these three aspects of being saints and being people who don’t just want to survive. For the world will ask - who wants to be poor in spirit, or mourn, be meek, be hungry and thirsty for righteousness, be merciful, be clean of heart, be peacemakers, or be insulted or persecuted for the sake of righteousness? Whereas we see these as positive, our society sees them as negative - for losers and the weak. These are the values and virtues that saints are made of. These are the extra-ordinary gifts that they shared with others and with the Church, and continue to share with us. They not only unite us to God, but bring us into harmony with one another. They lead us away from “the rat race” into a rootedness which allows us not to “survive” but to “thrive.”

Message this week – Before concluding – listen in mediation to this beautiful song which will be our “theme song” during this series – it is called “Good, Good Father” by Chris Tomlin. Don’t only listen to the tune, but examine the words. In particular listen for the words…..”and I am loved by you…its who I am.” There it is – the secret to being a saint – and not just surviving!