Welcome & Introduction.

Good Morning. My name is Tracey Karcher and I am a pastoral candidate

at Grace UMC in Livingston Montana. We are in the Western
Mountains District of the Yellowstone Annual Conference.

Please join with me in our Opening Prayer.

Holy God, we come to you this morning, a broken, imperfect people, to

explore what you see us to be, the perfect, holy, bride of Christ. Remind
us not only of our very human heritage, but also what you intend us to
be, a confident and fearless people. Open our hearts and minds for the
truth you have for us today. Amen.

We have three scripture readings today, from Psalm 27:1-7,13,14,

Luke 1:46-55, from the NASB and Luke 2:10,11 from the Phillips NT.

Psalm 27:1-7 and 13,14

The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the defense of my life; Whom shall I dread?
2 When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh,
My adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell.
3 Though a host encamp against me, My heart will not fear;
Though war arise against me, In spite of this I shall be confident.
4 One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the Lord And to meditate in His temple.
5 For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle;
In the secret place of His tent He will hide me; He will lift me up on a
rock.
6 And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me,
And I will offer in His tent sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.
7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice, And be gracious to me and
answer me.
Psalm 27: 13, 14
13 I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the
goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
14 Wait for the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes,
wait for the Lord.
Luke 1:46-55
46 And Mary said:
“My soul exalts the Lord, 47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
48 “For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave;
For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed.
49 “For the Mighty One has done great things for me; And holy is His
name.
50 “And His mercy is upon generation after generation
Toward those who fear Him. 51 “He has done mighty deeds with His
arm;
He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart.
52 “He has brought down rulers from their thrones,
And has exalted those who were humble.
53 “He has filled the hungry with good things;
And sent away the rich empty-handed.
54 “He has given help to Israel His servant, In remembrance of His
mercy,
55 As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and his descendants
forever.”
Luke 2:10,11
“Do not be afraid! Listen, I bring you glorious news of great joy which is
for all the people. This very day, in David’s town, a Saviour has been
born for you. He is Christ, the Lord. Phillips NT

Devotion:

Advent is the season when we prepare ourselves to receive God's gift of

Jesus. It is a time of "getting ready" for the celebration of Christmas. It is
also the preparation of another “advent,” the great mystery, part of our
communion litany, Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come
again!

All around us we see death and loss, threat of war, disease and famine.
Our people are afraid. We have the “prepper” culture who store food
and supplies, trying to be ready for the global catastrophe that they are
convinced could come any day. We are reminded of our mortality by car,
train, and bus accidents. we read in the news about children who go
missing, and we hold our children’s hands a little tighter. And then wars
and rumors of wars as nations posture and threaten other nations, and
many fear the next global conflict could be the end of mankind.

And yet, we hear the voice of the angel say, “Don’t be afraid, be happy!”
All through the new testament there are at least 3 dozen “Do not fear”
statements, many from Jesus himself, and yet we are afraid.

John wayne is credited with saying, “Courage is being scared to death...

and saddling up anyway.”
When Mary first heard that she was the chosen one, scripture says she
was "greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting
this might be. But the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, take courage,
Mary, you have found favor with God.'" (Luke 1:29-30)

In her song, Mary remembered who God was, what He had done, and
what he had promised to do, and in her remembering, she found
courage, and faith . . . God has been with us, He is still with us, and He
will be with us again! In spite of all the bad things that come our way,
God is with us. He promised that one day, he would return physically, in
the flesh. Like Mary, we wait for that day, pregnant with expectation!
Mary knew her due date, we do not. So we wait, a little nervous, a little
scared, wondering how long O Lord, while we seem to be experiencing
the birth pangs of His return.

But what do we do while we are waiting? What is our response to this

pregnant expectation?

I remember when I was pregnant with my first child. Being a completely

healthy young woman, I did not retire to my bed to await the coming of
my child! I continued on in my normal routine, I prepared with childbirth
classes, I read all the books about natural childbirth, I prepared the
baby’s room, and on the day of her birth, I was actually doing yard work
in the hot Florida summer sun! I was WORKING while I was waiting. I
was a full participant in my pregnancy. When that day came, I was a
stubborn woman, determined to experience ALL that childbirth had to
offer, even the pain. I did not lie back and “let the birth happen to me.” I
was a full participant, even coaching the nurses and the resident
physician who was assisting my doctor during labor and delivery. I was
ready for the coming of my baby, and I was a full participant.

Today, we are in the last few days of our preparations for the
celebration of the first Advent. Let us not forget, that there is a second
Advent yet to come, and we are to be full participants in the waiting, not
allowing fear to possess our minds and hearts, but trusting, with the
faith of Mary, that it’s going to be ok, no matter what happens. We will
be ok. In life and in death, in pain and in sorrow, in good times and bad,
we will be ok, because we have a promise, a promise named Jesus.

Last Sunday, Pastor Dave Greep said something that got my attention.
“Don’t be afraid of what might happen, start being excited about what
might happen!” We need to remind our people, who may be filled with
fear and foreboding of current events, that something exciting is going
to happen, that we have the hope of the world in a little baby, who just
happens to be: “God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God,
begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father. Through him all
things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from
heaven:” The FIRST time. He came to save us from our sins and restore
us to right relationship with God. He gave us purpose, to share the good
news, to “Make disciples,” And He’s coming back to rescue us from this
world, “He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and
his kingdom will have no end.”

Do we have the faith of Mary? God will do what He has always done,
and more! We, unlike Mary, cannot know the “due date.” But we do
know it’s coming. Something exciting is going to happen! We do not
have to live in bondage to fear. Are we in full Participation while we’re
waiting? Prepare! SIng! Act! Participate! Amen!!

Time for Joys & Concerns.

At the bottom of the screen is a ‘Chat’ icon. Clicking on this accesses the
chat window. From here you can share a text prayer joy or concern, or
you can unmute yourselves, and share a prayer concern verbally.

Pastoral Prayer.
O Lord, Life swirls around us, So many things are happening in our lives,
in our neighborhoods, in our country, in your world. We can be so easily
distracted and overwhelmed by fear. It would be easy to give in to the
fear. Remind us again that you are with us, offering compassion,
strength, courage, and hope. Help us to place total trust in you as we
offer our prayers for healing, comfort, and hope this day. Place your
healing hand on our hearts and spirits and encourage us to rise and be
strong in hope for the needs of others. Enable us to be full participants
in ministries of peace and justice in this world of darkness. Bring your
light and power to us, for we pray in Christ’s Name, the prayer He taught
us to pray:

Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
Thank you! Shalom! Go with God!!