Today’s message was written by Rev. Dr. Roger Kunkel, founder of Dial Hope.

A schoolteacher once asked a group of children to write down on a card the one thing in the world they were most thankful for. 

Most of the children wrote down the usual predictable things, but one boy in the class said that he was most thankful for his glasses. “Johnny,” she said, “l see that your glasses are the thing for which you are most thankful. Is there any special reason?” Johnny answered, “Yes, ma’am. My glasses keep the boys from hitting me and the girls from kissing me.” Now, Johnny had learned early that life can be tough – that we need all the help we can get. 

One of the most delightful plays to hit Broadway years ago was the popular musical, “Annie”, which, of course, is based on the Little Orphan Annie comic strip. At the beginning of the play, the little orphan girls sing, “It’s a Hard-Knock Life!” We all can relate to that, can’t we? We all have felt the painful hard knocks of life. 

The little orphan girl wanted so much to be loved and to be saved from her desperate situation, trapped in an orphanage. Even though there seems no way, she has hope, hope wrapped in the dream that someday her parents will come back to reclaim her. 

And finally, she is rescued by the love and strength of Daddy Warbucks. 

In this troubled world, we all have something of Annie in us. We want some word of “good news”. Well, that is precisely where the Christian faith comes in – and that is what the Christian faith is all about. Remember how Jesus said it: “In the world you have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) These three powerful phrases sum up the gospel. Claim it and believe it. 

Let us pray: O Lord, our Shepherd, who leads us by still waters and into green pastures, we thank you for the times in our lives when life is strong and good. Teach us to remember, though, that you are with us at all times, even when the waters are not still and the pastures are not green and when the way is fraught with danger or difficulty. Your loving-kindness surpasses all our imagination, and your faithfulness is to all generations. Now let the joy of your presence break upon us like a gentle, cloudless sunrise with birds singing, that our spirits may soar to you in simple wonder. Through Christ our Redeemer. Amen.

I love the old Family Circus comic strip where the little boy says to his sister, “Yesterday is the past. Tomorrow is the future. And, today is the present. That’s why they call it a gift!”

Sometime back, a friend sent me an email titled, “Affirmation for Today”, by an unknown author. In part it read:

Today I will find the grace to let go of resentments of others and self-condemnation 
over past mistakes. 
Today I will not try to change or improve, anybody but myself. 
Today I will act toward others as though this will be my last day on earth. 
Today I will be unafraid. I will enjoy what is beautiful, and I will believe that as I give 
to the world, the world will give to me. 

Friend of Dial Hope, today is indeed a gift! Sometimes we forget that we have no guarantees of tomorrow. All we have is this moment – right now. Let’s make the most of it!

Our prayer today was written by Saint Teresa of Lisieux sometime in the late 1800s. Let us pray: Just for today, what does it matter, O Lord if the future is dark? To pray now for tomorrow I am not able. Keep my heart, only for today. Grant me your light – just for today. Amen.

Today’s message was written by Roger Kunkel, founder of Dial Hope.

Friend of Dial Hope, Christmas clears up our confusion about God. Christmas shows us what God is like. A seven-year-old boy had been playing outside. His mother called him in for dinner. The little boy ran in, jumped into his chair, and grabbed his fork, ready to eat. “Wait Tommy,” said his mom, “you have germs on your hands. Go wash up before we eat.” Tommy scrambled down, ran and washed his hands, came back, climbed up into his chair, grabbed his fork, and started to eat. Again his mother stopped him. “Wait, Tommy,” she said, “we must say the blessing before we eat. We want to thank God for our food.” Little Tommy put down his fork, shook his head, and muttered wearily, “Germs and God, Germs, and God. That’s all I ever hear around here, and I ain’t seen neither one of them!”

We can sympathize with Tommy’s predicament. Yet Christmas gives God a face. Christmas shows us who God is and what God is like. This is the “good news,” of Christmas. Jesus shows what God is like and the word is “Love.” God is not an angry judge who must be appeased. God is not a power monger, demanding his “pound of flesh.” God is like a loving parent, who cares and understands, and is concerned about the welfare of all his children. That’s the good news of Christmas, and that’s what keeps us going.

Let us pray: Loving God, may these days of Advent keep us focused on whose birthday we celebrate at Christmastime. In everything we do, may we acknowledge the reason for the season, our Savior Jesus Christ. In his name, we pray. Amen. 

In the Gospel of Luke (chapter 1:78), we read these beautiful words spoken by Zechariah:

By the tender mercy of our God,
    the dawn from on high will break upon us,
to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
    to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

This is a prophecy of the coming of Christ… that he would give light to those who sit in darkness, and… guide our feet into the way of peace.

What does it mean to be guided into the way of peace? 

When I think about peace right now, I can’t help but think about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. So many lives lost, so much destruction. But then, even closer to home, even in our own communities we see so much anger. There continues to be a rage boiling over and people are forgetting – not only common courtesy but human decency. 

What does it mean to be guided into the way of peace within our own hearts and communities? 

Sometime back in a Wednesday night class, we learned that Martin Luther King Jr. had a simple “rule of life” that he lived by. There were ten things on his list. One of them was, “Refrain from violence of fist, tongue, or heart.” I like that… Jesus once observed that it is what’s in the heart that leads us to act… King also promised himself to: “Observe with both friend and foe the ordinary rules of courtesy.”

I am reminded of how our faith both blesses us and summons us… It calls out the better side of our humanity. It calls us to move beyond ourselves. Again and again, the Bible tells us: think about the other, the stranger, the outsider…  

Our faith summons us not only to receive peace and blessing but to be a blessing and to bring peace.

In this holy season of Advent, I pray that Christ would indeed guide us in the way of peace. May his peace come upon us, and work in us, and even through us.

Let us pray: Holy God, You came as Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Prince of Peace. As we have been blessed, so too may we be a blessing. Work first in our hearts, and then in our lives that your will may be done, on earth, as it is in heaven. In Christ’s name. Amen.

In the 1600’s a monk named Brother Lawrence wrote a series of letters that were collected and titled, “Practicing the Presence of God.” These letters have been inspirational to many over the years. In one of these letters, he wrote: “Never tire of doing even the smallest things for God, because God isn’t impressed so much with the dimensions of our work as with the love in which it is done.”

Sometimes it feels like our small acts of compassion or our contributions to the church, or our volunteer time won’t make any difference in the long term. After all, the problems and challenges in the world around us are immense. However, Brother Lawrence helps us see this in a different light. He reminds us that what counts most is our heart. Even the smallest act, if done out of love, makes a difference because it is pleasing to God and because that love is passed on.

Much earlier, the Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15, “Therefore my dear brothers and sisters stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourself fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”

Let us pray: We remember, O Lord, that nothing is lost on you; that small things do matter; and that with you, even our simple acts of love can build to a mighty stream. We pray today for a spirit of love – love that overflows and spills out of our hearts and into our actions. We offer our very lives to you again this day – asking you to use the gifts we bring small and large to bless others. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.