Catalyst Church - Pendleton, IN

One of the great benefits of prayer is that it can be an oasis in the hustle and bustle of life. Clearly, Jesus understood this and made intentional times for quiet places and solitary prayer. It is a necessity in the believer’s life today. In this weeks sermon, Pastor Roland Daniels reads from the book of Mark 1:36-37 and explains why we must learn to make time for reflection, reprioritization and restoration. If not, our hearts can become calloused and brittle as we make our way through the break neck speed of life. The habit of prayer makes our hearts pliable to the new things God has for us and open to the new ways of responding to His love.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow composed the words to to this carol originally as a poem entitled "Christmas Bells". In many ways, the poem was written in response to heartbreak as Longfellow's wife died and his son sustained a crippling injury from war wounds. In the midst of his grief and pain, he penned these words of hope, "God is not dead, nor doth He sleep." Words befitting the hope that Micah's words in 5:2-5 offer the children of God in difficult and trying times. For all of us, there are times that seem overwhelming but Micah conveys to us another possibility and that is to wait and trust expectantly that our God is at work.

Seven hundred years before the sleepy sheherds were awakened that night on the plains, Isaiah the Prophet offered a prophetic description regarding the coming Messiah. Charles and John Wesley took that passage, Isaiah 9:6, and penned the words to the great carol, "Come Thou Long Expected Jesus." As the Wesley's penned this carol, the burning question in their hearts was this; Does the biblical text speak to what is currently going on in your life? As we listen to Pastor Rolland Daniels' teaching today and sing the words of this wonderful carol, we will discover that the ancient words of Isaiah speak with clarity to every person today about their personal need for a Savior.

The song was first performed on Christmas Eve 1818 at St Nicholas parish church in Oberndorf, in present-day Austria. A young priest, Father Joseph Mohr, had come to Oberndorf the year before. He had written the lyrics of the song "Stille Nacht" in 1816 at Mariapfarr, the hometown of his father. The melody was composed by Franz Xaver Gruber, schoolmaster and organist in the nearby village of Arnsdorf. Before Christmas Eve, Mohr brought the words to Gruber and asked him to compose a melody and guitar accompaniement for the Christmas Eve mass. Together they performed the new carol during the mass on the night of 24 December.

The original manuscript had been lost. However, a manuscript was discovered in 1995 in Mohr's handwriting and dated by researchers to c. 1820. It states that Mohr wrot the words in 1816 when he was assigned to a pilgrim church in Mariapfarr, Austria, and shows that the music was composed by Gruber in 1818. In 1859, the Episcopal priest John Freeman Young, then serving at Trinity Church, New York City, wrote and published the English translation that is most frequently sung today.

In this weeks sermon, Pastor Daniels continues the sermon series of "Unwrapping the Carols of Christmas" with a scripture from Luke 2:10-15 about a silent night observed by shepherds who would be witness to the birth of Jesus Christ.

Away in a Manger is a Christmas carol first published in teh late nineteenth century and used widely throughout the English-speaking world. Although it was long claimed to be the work of German religious reformer Martin Luther, the carol is now thought to be wholly American in origin. No matter its origin, Away in a Manger is perhaps the most fitting carol for Christmas not the gold or the glitter. Chrstmas is neither the wrappins nor the trappings. It is the story of God humbling himself to become a bby. Born in a very crude manger yet sent to save a world. The simple story of Away In A Manger could not be more apropos to begin this series. So in keeping with what I would call the simplistic fram of the manger, the teaching this morning comes from two simple verses found in the Gospel of Luke 2:6-7.

Generosity has the amazing power to change the context in which it is diplayed. It can change the heart of the person who displays it, it can change the circumstances of the person who receives it and it can change a church and its community when they reciprocate its benefits and blessings.

What God has offered us in Christ is greater than anything we could ever imagine. It cannot be purchased, earned, or inherited. It is free, yet it costs us everything. When we decide to follow him, everything we are and everything we have become His. But, it is worth all that and so much more.

A compass ceases to function properly when it loses its true center. The result is that the person following the compass often ends up going in the wrong direction. Christ instructs us to check our inner compass regarding money and wealth in our lives. Failing to do so can cause us to lose our way as believers. Some of the questions Jesus quizzes us on regarding money are: Is it our master, does it cause us worry and is it what you see first in your life? These are critical questions that, in many ways, determine the direction of our lives.

God desires to make a Kingdom difference by the way we build relationships with others in the normal routine of life. In the final week of the "How to Live Like Sent People" series, Pastor Rolland Daniels shares simple relationship building tips from Paul's words in 1 Thessalonians 2.