​First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood
21 E. Church Street
Blackwood, NJ 08012
Sermon Notes (Christmas Day, Sunday, December 25, 2022)
Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pastor
 
“The Birth of the King!”
Luke 2:1-7
 
I have always asked myself how we as Christians should celebrate Christmas.  In other words, away from the commercialized, materialized, and secularized Christmas, what is the proper way to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior? In our own culture, Christmas means parties, gifts, carols, big meals, a decorated tree, and of course last-minute shopping.
 
While I would venture to say that these things are not objectionable in themselves, none of them has anything to do with the circumstances surrounding the birth of Christ.  Yet the principle of celebrating the coming of Christ to the world is certainly a good idea.  So how should we celebrate Christmas?  How should we celebrate this great day?  The simple and most obvious answer is this. You should celebrate Christmas by becoming a Christian.  After all, this is why Jesus came to the earth.  He was born to be a Savior.  And until you can call Him “my Savior,” you will never fully understand what Christmas is all about.
 
Fortunately, there are some Scripture passages that give us some insights of how we should celebrate the birth of our Lord.  One of those passages is the shepherds’ encounter with the newborn King in Like chapter 2.  This is a story that most of us know by heart.  So on this Christmas Day I would like to share very briefly three responses of those who first heard the news that Christ had been born.  Each verse tells of a different response, and the three responses together tell us how to celebrate Christmas—not just in December but all year long.
 
First: Proclaiming
Luke 2:17 states, “When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child.”  Luke tells us that the shepherds “spread the word.” They heard and saw the spectacular angelic revelation. Then when they went to Bethlehem they discovered the Savior of the world.  They couldn’t keep silent.  They did what all Christians should do. They told others what they had seen and heard. They “spread the word” about Jesus. When you get down to it, that’s all evangelism is. It’s telling the good news about Jesus Christ to someone else.  Good news is for sharing. That’s what the shepherds did. That’s what all of us are called to do. This is the first way we can all celebrate Christmas.
 
Second: Wondering
Luke 2:18 tells us, “And all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.”  I’m sure that “amazed” is a mild word to describe the reaction of those who heard the shepherds.  The story itself would sound incredible—the part about hearing an angelic choir in the middle of the night, not to mention finding the Son of God in a manger.
 
Wondering or amazed here describes a kind of awe that comes from seeing God at work in the world. In the deepest sense all the acts of God are grounds for holy wonder since everything he does has the stamp of the divine on it. From Genesis to Revelation, God’s acts call us to wonder, yet, chief among them is His incarnation.
 
Christmas is indeed a cause for holy wonder. How can it be that God should become a man?  How can a King be born in a manger?  How could the world ignore His coming?  You ought to be amazed at Christmastime.  If you managed to go through this Christmas season without ever pausing to think about the wonder of it all, then you have missed the reason we celebrate Christmas in the first place.  I think regaining that lost sense of wonder is important.
 
Third: Glorifying
Luke 2:20 continues to say, “The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.”  Luke tells us that the shepherds were profoundly changed by what they had experienced. What a difference a day makes. On the day before Christ was born, they were in the fields tending their sheep. On the day after he was born, they were back in the fields once again.  Only this time their hearts were filled with praise to God.  
 
The shepherds were overwhelmed by God’s power, his grace, his goodness, his wisdom, and the amazing miracle of the Incarnation. They simply couldn’t stop talking about what they had seen and heard.  And note where they did it.  The text does not say that they glorified God in the temple, though that would have been appropriate.  No, it says they “returned” to where they had been. Back to the tiring and unappreciated work of caring for sheep.  They were back where they were when the angel found them in the first place.  
 
The shepherds did so must we.  Christmas eventually ends for all of us. Soon enough we will take down the tree, pack away the ornaments, and either use our gifts or take them back to the store to be exchanged. In a few days the children will go back to school and life will return to normal.  But will we be changed by Christmas? For the shepherds, the work was the same, but they were different.  They went back with new zeal, new joy, and new love for God in their hearts.
 
Friends, people sometimes wish they could keep the Christmas spirit all year long.  I truly believe that the greater truth of Christmas is meant to warm our hearts all year long.  Would you like Christmas to last all year long?  It can if you will do what the shepherds did.  Go back to where you came from.  Back to your office.  Back to your classroom.  Back to your factory.  Back to your neighborhood.  Back to your job.  Back to your family duties.  Go back to your daily routine.  And as you go back, spread the word, ponder the great works of God, and give glory to God in your daily life.  Do these things and you will have Christmas all year long.  Merry Christmas, Church Family.

​First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood
21 E. Church Street
Blackwood, NJ 08012
Sermon Notes (4th Sunday in Advent, December 18, 2022)
Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pastor
 
“The Wonders of God’s Love!”
Psalm 17:6-9; 1 John 3:1-3
 
A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8-year-olds: “What does love mean?”  The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined.  These are some of the children’s responses to the question: What does love mean?
 
Rebecca, age 8, said: “When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn’t bend over and paint her toenails anymore.  So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love.”  Billy, age 4 said, “When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.”  Danny, age 7, said, “Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.”  Elaine, age 5 says, “Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.”  Mary Ann, age 4 says, “Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.”  Jessica, age 8 said, “You really shouldn’t say ‘I love you’ unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.”
 
Today is the Fourth and last Sunday of Advent, the season in which we prepare ourselves to celebrate the birth of Jesus.  The Season of Advent takes us from hope, to peace, to joy, and this week to love.  So our worship today is centered around the theme of God’s love for us.  This is the solid foundation of our Christian faith.  God is love.  Someone said that sometimes we need “a gospel reset.”  And if we are hitting that reset button, we need some kind of “truth” or “main idea” or “start screen” that sets us straight and tells us where to go.  I truly believe this Forth Sunday in Advent takes us to that start screen.  It takes us to the magnitude and wonders of God’s love.
 
If the birth of Christ tells us one thing about God, it tells us that our God is a loving God.  When we failed to reach God because of our spiritual blindness, God reached out to us.  When humanity failed to find God, God left His glory in heaven and came down to earth to search for us.  When we couldn’t figure God out, He revealed Himself to us; he lived among us; walked down our streets; our eyes have seen Him, and our hands have touched Him.  The incarnation of Jesus Christ reminds us that God absolutely loves us.  So as we ponder God’s love on this Fourth Sunday of Advent, please allow me to underscore two short observations:
 
First: Let’s Be Assured of God’s Love
The Apostle John speaks of God’s love not as much as an attribute of God, but as part of God’s very nature.  “God is love,” says 1 John 4:9.  John wanted his audience to capture this transforming truth and to be assured of God’s love.  He writes in 1 John 4:16, “We have known and believe the love that God has for us.”  John says I’ve known this love and believe in it.  I wish that you would do too.
 
For some people, this truth may sound elementary, it’s a Sunday School lesson.  And indeed it is, but it’s also a lesson that we need to learn over and over again.  In fact, when it comes to the challenges and problems we face in our lives today, a lot of it has to do with us not really knowing that God loves us; a lot of it has to do with us not grasping the love of God.  How many times you’ve asked yourself if God loves me, why I am going through all these difficulties, trials, and tribulations?  If God loves me, why He didn’t give me this or take away that?
 
John wants us to be assured of God’s love because there is security in love.  There is no fear in love.  “Perfect love,” says 1 John 4:18, “drives out fear.”  There is hope in love.  There is peace in love.  There is joy in love.
 
Second: Let’s Remember that Love Always Involves an Action
It’s rightly said that “Love is a verb.”  It always involves an action.  If the Christian faith claims that God is love, how can we prove this?  Well, 1 John 4:9 answers this question.  “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.”  John says, in Christ, God’s love is manifested, is shown, is displayed.  God’s love is a person whose name is Jesus Christ. 
 
What the apostle John says in his gospel and letters is also echoed by the apostle Paul in Romans 5, which again is super clear.  In Romans 5:8 Paul says: “God demonstrates his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  Jesus Christ is the most vivid display of God’s love.
 
If love is a verb, an action, then we, as Christ’s followers, are called to translate, to express, our love for God.  God showed us His love in sending His Son, talking our human form, and dying on our behalf so that we may have life.  How will do you display your love for God in the choices you make and the actions you take?  Our love to God today is expressed in our commitment to the work of the kingdom; in the life of service and giving; a life of worship and generosity.  Our love to God is reflected in our desire for more of Jesus in our lives.  It’s reflected in our readiness to invest time, treasure, and talent for the kingdom work.
 
Friends, before you leave the Lord’s House today, I want you to know that you’re loved.  You’re loved beyond measure.  The evidence of God’s love is not the smooth sailing, but the scars on Christ’s palms.  They will never fade away because they are the sign and seal of His everlasting love.  We have done nothing to earn God’s love and nothing we will ever do that might cause God to stop loving us.  “Show me the wonders of your great love,” prayed King David in Psalm 17:7.  May this become our prayer too.  May the desire to live out God’s love consume our hearts.  May we never forget that love is a verb.  In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

​First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood
21 E. Church Street
Blackwood, NJ 08012
Sermon Notes (Third Sunday of Advent ~ December 11, 2022)
Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pastor
 
“Joy is Relational not Situational!”
Habakkuk 3:17-19; John 15:9-12
 
As you can tell, our worship this morning is centered around the theme of joy and where to find it.  The season of Advent takes us from hope to peace and this week to joy.  Real joy can sometimes seem to be in short supply. 
 
As a Pastor, I have the privilege of walking this journey we call life with this beloved church family.  With so much loss and grief, pain and brokenness, where can joy be found?  How can someone be joyful when their marriage is falling apart?  How can someone be joyful when their health is failing?  How can someone be joyful when their finances are drying up?  How can someone be joyful when they grieve the loss of a spouse, a child, a parent, or a good friend?  How can someone be joyful when they are so lonely?  There is not as much joy in our world today as we would like.  Too many broken and unhappy people walk down our streets today.
 
Our two Scripture lessons for this Third Sunday of Advent help us to capture the spirit of true and genuine joy.  Both lessons remind us that joy is not situational; rather, it’s relational.  Let’s see where Habakkuk found joy and what did Jesus have to say about joy.
 
First: Habakkuk and Leaning on God’s Strength
The Prophet Habakkuk wrote about 20 years before Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC.  Quite possibly, Habakkuk was alive to see that destruction – he may have been killed in the battle, or he may have starved during the siege; he may have lived through it.  We don’t know. But we do know that he experienced all the terror and horror of that time.  King Nebuchadnezzer of Babylon surrounded the city and besieged it for two years, starving the people into submission.  Eventually the King of Judah and his army tried to escape through a hole in the wall at night, but they were caught and slaughtered.  The Babylonian army then entered the city, looting, murdering, plundering, and destroying everything.
 
Families were separated; economy was destroyed; crops didn’t yield anything; all livestock, sheep and cows are dead.  In Habakkuk 3:17-19, we get a glimpse of the economic situation of the nation and Habakkuk’s response, “Though the fig tree does not blossom, and no fruit is on the vines; though the produce of the olive fails, and the fields yield no food; though the flock is cut off from the fold, and there is no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will exult in the God of my salvation.  God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, and makes me tread upon the heights.”
 
How can someone rejoice in the midst of destruction, homelessness, and starvation?  Simply because joy is relational not situational.  “ Yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will exult in the God of my salvation.”  Habakkuk reminds us to lean on God’s strength.  “God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, and makes me tread upon the heights,” says Habakkuk 3:19.  Like that deer, God will make us tread upon the heights.  God designed the feet of deer for climbing.  They don’t slip.  They don’t fall.  The point here is not the power of the deer, but the design of the deer’s foot.  God is our strength.
 
Second: Abide and Remain in Christ
John chapter 15 begins with Jesus addressing His disciples just before being arrested, falsely tried, beaten, mocked and crucified.  The disciples were frightened to say the least.  In just a few hours, their life will be turned upside down.  Their world will be shaken.  How can the disciples maintain their joy?  “Remain in me,” Jesus said.  Abide in me.  Looking to the vineyards around them, Jesus gives His disciple an example of what it means to abide in Him.  “I am the vine; you are the branches. Remain in me,” Jesus says in John 15:5.
 
As Jesus concludes this part of His speech, He continued to say in John 15:11, “I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.”  As we abide in Jesus, His joy will be in us.  Again, that joy is relational not situational.  It’s a joy that transcends the events of life – a heavenly, divine, continuing joy!  It’s a joy that no one could take away from them and nothing could rob it. 
 
Friends, God does not promise us nights without sorrow, days without pain or times without hardship; however, He does promise us songs in the night.  Joy is relational not situational.  For Habakkuk, the source of true joy was leaning on God’s strength.  For Christ’s disciples, it was abiding in Christ.  While most of those around us may think that joy is situational, we come this morning to affirm the truth that joy is relational.  Therefore, lift up your hearts, be filled with His joy, followers of Christ.  Let your weeping be turned into laughter, and your heavy heart be filled with heavenly joy this morning.  Joy to the world, the Lord is come.  In the Name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen!

​First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood                          
21 E. Church Street
Blackwood, NJ 08012                                                                              
Sermon Notes (2nd Sunday in Advent, December 4, 2022)
Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pastor 
 
“Peace: Is It Even Possible?”
Isaiah 11:1-9; John 14:25-27
 
Before we even know it, the Second Sunday of Advent is already here!  During Advent, the Church of Jesus Christ has always emphasized four traditional themes, namely: Hope, Peace, Love, and Joy.  We enter the Season of Advent, the season of preparing our lives to celebrate the birth of Christ, with visiting our understanding of hope.  In Advent, we are invited anew to place our trust and hope in the ONE who has never failed us, Jesus Christ.  No politician, no philosophy, no ideology, nothing should be the center of our hope, but the Lord Himself.  So when things get messy, when it seems that our lives is upside down, Luke encourages us, “When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
 
Today we continue our Advent journey and on this Second Sunday in Advent, we focus our attention on PEACE.  Is it even possible to attain peace?  On this Second Sunday of Advent, we get to remember that Christ is our peace.  So as we reflect on this topic this morning, I would like to share a couple observations:
 
First: Peace Originates in a Person
Peace originates in a person whose name is Jesus Christ.  700 years before Jesus was born, the prophet Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 9:6, “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” 
 
The Bible has so much to say about peace and the more we dig deeper into Scriptures, the more we get to know that peace originates in a person.  The Old Testament speaks about “Shalom”, that sense of wholeness, completeness, and harmony.  We gain this sense of wholeness when we fully trust God.  In Isaiah 26:3-4, the Prophet reminds us, “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.  Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal,” says the Prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 26:3-4.
 
The New Testament reinforced the same meaning so as we encounter the concept of “Eirene” or peace, we find out that “Eirene” means “to join or bind together that which has been separated.”  In other words, when we are joined to God in faith, peace dwells in our hearts.  That’s why I am saying that peace originates in a person.  In John 14:27, Jesus boldly said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.”   
 
Second: God’s Peace always Transcends our Circumstances
God’s peace always transcends our circumstances.  Writing from his prison cell, the apostle Paul prayed for the believers in Philippi saying, “And the peace of God, which transcends and surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” Philippians 4:7. 
 
I love the story behind our Closing Hymn for this morning.  The hymn was written by Horatio Spafford (1828-1888) who was a wealthy Chicago lawyer with a thriving legal practice, a beautiful home, a wife, four daughters and a son. He was also a very faithful Christian and a friend of the famous preacher Dwight L. Moody.  At the very height of his financial and professional success, Horatio and his wife Anna suffered the tragic loss of their young son. Shortly thereafter on October 8, 1871, the Great Chicago Fire destroyed almost every real estate investment that Spafford had.  In 1873, Spafford scheduled a boat trip to Europe in order to give his wife and daughters a much-needed vacation and time to recover from the tragedy. 
 
Spafford sent his wife and daughters ahead of him while he remained in Chicago to take care of some unexpected last-minute business. Several days later he received notice that his family’s ship had encountered a collision.  All four of his daughters drowned; only his wife had survived.  With a heavy heart, Spafford boarded a boat that would take him to his grieving wife in England.  As he sailed across the area where their ship went down and they drowned, he penned those now famous words, “When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll; Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say, It is well, it is well, with my soul.”  A song of peace, trust, and thanksgiving was born from the womb of grief and sorrow.
 
God’s peace always transcends our circumstances.  It can be encountered in the most unlikely places.  In the midst of the tragedies of life, we can still sing, “Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say, It’s well with my soul.”  Who would’ve thought that the shoot that came out of the stump of Jesse would be the source of peace?
 
Friends, is peace even possible?  Yes, it’s.  It originates in a person, and it transcends our circumstances. Psalms 29:11 reminds us, “The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace.”  A trip to Hawaii may bring you some momentary peace.  A Yoga class may bring you some relaxation.  But permanent, lasting, perfect, and transcendent peace is only found in Christ.  He is our peace,” says Paul in Ephesians 2:14.  May “The God of peace be with you all.  Amen” Romans 15:33.