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Go Back to SermonsEbenezer Scrooge Meets John the Baptist
Sunday, December 3, 2006
December 3, 2006 Mount Pisgah Allen R. Hunt
Luke 3.1-6 When Scrooge meets John the Baptist
I. Being ready all the time
That’s what is driving me crazy – actually, being CLEAN and ready all the time
Our house has been on the market now for a few months – and market is slow
And I have had to adjust
First house we have ever owned – lived in apartments til we married and then in church parsonages before we moved here
So I really did not know what selling your house involves
Let me tell you – it involves a lot of being clean and ready all the time
Never know when someone is going to come look at the house – when the realtor might call and give you a few minutes’ notice – or worse when you might have missed the call, and folks walk into your home when you are taking a nap – not a good sales technique
So you have to have your home always clean and ready
Inspect every part of the house every day – after a week or two, it gets kind of annoying
Trying to be clean and ready all the time
Yard tidied up, paint examined, laundry picked up, window shades open, lights on
Without the pressure of a visit, I would never do that
Most of us wouldn’t – we would go weeks, even months, without looking at the wood around the door or picking up laundry (Ok, I would – not Anita, lasts less than a minute)
Without the pressure of a deadline, we either won’t or don’t get ready
But nobody wants to be embarrassed when the guest arrives
II. That is exactly what happened to Scrooge
Had been living his life for years – and never inspected it once
In fact, he did not ever even want to inspect it
Had all kinds of unsightliness built up
Cobwebs of greed – ran into them and got trapped in them everywhere he went
Dust of selfishness on every piece of life – built up so that it covered everything
His disdain and disregard for little children and for weak persons around him were like chipped paint in every room of the house – unseemly and hard to look at
Scrooge had leaves of anger falling in every corner of his yard – anger just blew around everywhere he walked
Greed, selfishness, lack of compassion, and anger – Scrooge had let them all go for years – they were normal to him
His was an ugly, ugly life – and he was miserable - inside and out
Miserable, that is, until the spirits arrived – no longer miserable – now desperate
Ghost of Christmas past
Ghost of Christmas present
And Ghost of Christmas yet to come – Scrooge sees his life will end in fiery, hellish finish, he gets the point
When they arrived and showed Scrooge exactly what his uninspected life looked like, Scrooge had a wake up call like only John the Baptist could deliver
III. John the Baptist was the ghost of Christmas for an entire nation – delivered one big spiritual wake up call to a spiritually slumbering nation
Israel had been without true prophecy for over 400 years
And they were waiting on a Messiah
Knew that the next round of prophets would usher in the Messiah, the Savior
So in walked John the Baptist – to announce God’s good news
And he did it in a strange way - with his camel’s hair clothes, wild hair, leather belt around his waist, bulging eyes, booming voice, and diet of eating locusts and wild honey
Loud shrill voice – “Repent, the kingdom of God is near; and your sins will be forgiven”
John was no lightweight
He demanded things from folks:
Be who you say you are
Live what you preach
Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our father.” For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. (Luke 3.8)
Do not rely on your name, or your parent’s name, or your upbringing
Your own life should be producing fruit
“What should we do then?” the crowd asked.
John answered, “The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same.”
Live generously – have compassion, show grace
Tax collectors also came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?”
“Don’t collect any more than you are required to.”
Be honest, have integrity in your business life and in your relationships
Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?”
He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely – be content with your pay.” (Luke 3.10-14)
Learn contentment, stop using people and loving money – try loving people and using money
“Repent for the kingdom of God is near; and your sins will be forgiven”
I.e., clean up your house
Because the King is coming – a guest, and His name is Jesus
Nobody wants to be embarrassed when the guest arrives
IV. Scrooge certainly got the message, didn’t he?
When the ghosts came, and gave him his wake up call, he got it
Repent – Kingdom of God is near
Time for change is now
You have neglected your soul too long
“Repent”
- to feel regret for something done or undone
- to change one’s mind regarding past action because of disappointment or failure
- to feel such sorrow for one’s sins as to reform
Scrooge got the message – how do we know?
He made changes – that’s the proof
He was no longer miserable – now he was desperate
Desperate to make the changes in his life before the guest arrives
There he is – instructing the people around him
Give, share, take care of those in need – say “Here!”
Sounds and looks an awful lot like John the Baptist, doesn’t he?
John Wesley said two of the ways you will know you are saved
1) You will see real change in your life
2) You will live a life of continual repentance
You will continually be looking to clean up your life
Learning to give and live generously instead of being stingy and selfish
Learning to treat others with grace and compassion
Learning to deal honestly with others even when it means you lose the deal or the opportunity - integrity
V. First Sunday of Advent, Church remembers John the Baptist
A day set aside as Advent begins – to prepare for Christmas
A single day to inspect our houses, our lives – to clean up
Say I am sorry to God – repent
To ask for forgiveness
And to make changes
Because the King, the Heavenly Guest, is coming – in 22 days
For some of us it has been a long time since we inspected our souls, our lives
We don’t like being clean and ready all the time – in fact, we don’t like being clean and ready at all
Used to the anger, the greed, the dishonesty, the disregard for others, the lack of compassion, or the selfishness in our lives – it feels normal
So we do nothing spiritually
And slowly over time, our souls grow cold, hard, and numb
Listen carefully to John the Baptist – Repent for the Kingdom of heaven is near
You may not get another wake up call like Scrooge
I am announcing to you this day – the King is coming, the Kingdom is near
It is time to prepare
Clean up
You cannot receive the King until you take time to clean up
Invitation to time of repentance
Come light a candle and pray as act of repentance before God as Advent begins
And a station for baptism for those making that decision today
Luke 3.1-6 When Scrooge meets John the Baptist
I. Being ready all the time
That’s what is driving me crazy – actually, being CLEAN and ready all the time
Our house has been on the market now for a few months – and market is slow
And I have had to adjust
First house we have ever owned – lived in apartments til we married and then in church parsonages before we moved here
So I really did not know what selling your house involves
Let me tell you – it involves a lot of being clean and ready all the time
Never know when someone is going to come look at the house – when the realtor might call and give you a few minutes’ notice – or worse when you might have missed the call, and folks walk into your home when you are taking a nap – not a good sales technique
So you have to have your home always clean and ready
Inspect every part of the house every day – after a week or two, it gets kind of annoying
Trying to be clean and ready all the time
Yard tidied up, paint examined, laundry picked up, window shades open, lights on
Without the pressure of a visit, I would never do that
Most of us wouldn’t – we would go weeks, even months, without looking at the wood around the door or picking up laundry (Ok, I would – not Anita, lasts less than a minute)
Without the pressure of a deadline, we either won’t or don’t get ready
But nobody wants to be embarrassed when the guest arrives
II. That is exactly what happened to Scrooge
Had been living his life for years – and never inspected it once
In fact, he did not ever even want to inspect it
Had all kinds of unsightliness built up
Cobwebs of greed – ran into them and got trapped in them everywhere he went
Dust of selfishness on every piece of life – built up so that it covered everything
His disdain and disregard for little children and for weak persons around him were like chipped paint in every room of the house – unseemly and hard to look at
Scrooge had leaves of anger falling in every corner of his yard – anger just blew around everywhere he walked
Greed, selfishness, lack of compassion, and anger – Scrooge had let them all go for years – they were normal to him
His was an ugly, ugly life – and he was miserable - inside and out
Miserable, that is, until the spirits arrived – no longer miserable – now desperate
Ghost of Christmas past
Ghost of Christmas present
And Ghost of Christmas yet to come – Scrooge sees his life will end in fiery, hellish finish, he gets the point
When they arrived and showed Scrooge exactly what his uninspected life looked like, Scrooge had a wake up call like only John the Baptist could deliver
III. John the Baptist was the ghost of Christmas for an entire nation – delivered one big spiritual wake up call to a spiritually slumbering nation
Israel had been without true prophecy for over 400 years
And they were waiting on a Messiah
Knew that the next round of prophets would usher in the Messiah, the Savior
So in walked John the Baptist – to announce God’s good news
And he did it in a strange way - with his camel’s hair clothes, wild hair, leather belt around his waist, bulging eyes, booming voice, and diet of eating locusts and wild honey
Loud shrill voice – “Repent, the kingdom of God is near; and your sins will be forgiven”
John was no lightweight
He demanded things from folks:
Be who you say you are
Live what you preach
Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our father.” For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. (Luke 3.8)
Do not rely on your name, or your parent’s name, or your upbringing
Your own life should be producing fruit
“What should we do then?” the crowd asked.
John answered, “The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same.”
Live generously – have compassion, show grace
Tax collectors also came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?”
“Don’t collect any more than you are required to.”
Be honest, have integrity in your business life and in your relationships
Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?”
He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely – be content with your pay.” (Luke 3.10-14)
Learn contentment, stop using people and loving money – try loving people and using money
“Repent for the kingdom of God is near; and your sins will be forgiven”
I.e., clean up your house
Because the King is coming – a guest, and His name is Jesus
Nobody wants to be embarrassed when the guest arrives
IV. Scrooge certainly got the message, didn’t he?
When the ghosts came, and gave him his wake up call, he got it
Repent – Kingdom of God is near
Time for change is now
You have neglected your soul too long
“Repent”
- to feel regret for something done or undone
- to change one’s mind regarding past action because of disappointment or failure
- to feel such sorrow for one’s sins as to reform
Scrooge got the message – how do we know?
He made changes – that’s the proof
He was no longer miserable – now he was desperate
Desperate to make the changes in his life before the guest arrives
There he is – instructing the people around him
Give, share, take care of those in need – say “Here!”
Sounds and looks an awful lot like John the Baptist, doesn’t he?
John Wesley said two of the ways you will know you are saved
1) You will see real change in your life
2) You will live a life of continual repentance
You will continually be looking to clean up your life
Learning to give and live generously instead of being stingy and selfish
Learning to treat others with grace and compassion
Learning to deal honestly with others even when it means you lose the deal or the opportunity - integrity
V. First Sunday of Advent, Church remembers John the Baptist
A day set aside as Advent begins – to prepare for Christmas
A single day to inspect our houses, our lives – to clean up
Say I am sorry to God – repent
To ask for forgiveness
And to make changes
Because the King, the Heavenly Guest, is coming – in 22 days
For some of us it has been a long time since we inspected our souls, our lives
We don’t like being clean and ready all the time – in fact, we don’t like being clean and ready at all
Used to the anger, the greed, the dishonesty, the disregard for others, the lack of compassion, or the selfishness in our lives – it feels normal
So we do nothing spiritually
And slowly over time, our souls grow cold, hard, and numb
Listen carefully to John the Baptist – Repent for the Kingdom of heaven is near
You may not get another wake up call like Scrooge
I am announcing to you this day – the King is coming, the Kingdom is near
It is time to prepare
Clean up
You cannot receive the King until you take time to clean up
Invitation to time of repentance
Come light a candle and pray as act of repentance before God as Advent begins
And a station for baptism for those making that decision today