1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:06,840 Hello everyone and welcome to Trinity Sermons. 2 00:00:06,840 --> 00:00:10,640 Here at Trinity Church, Streetsville, we want to share with you sermons that inspire and 3 00:00:10,640 --> 00:00:12,840 encourage you in your faith journey. 4 00:00:12,840 --> 00:00:18,440 As together we are learning to love Jesus, live like Jesus and lead others to Jesus. 5 00:00:18,440 --> 00:00:23,000 Today we're starting the Season of Advent and this is our first sermon from our sermon 6 00:00:23,000 --> 00:00:25,880 series Advent Conspiracy. 7 00:00:25,880 --> 00:00:30,720 Today we will read from the Gospel of Luke and Rob Herkmans will be with us and talking 8 00:00:30,720 --> 00:00:36,320 about the first tenet of the Advent Conspiracy, which is worship fully. 9 00:00:36,320 --> 00:00:40,440 Please make sure to follow our podcast so you don't miss any of our upcoming episodes. 10 00:00:40,440 --> 00:00:42,640 We hope you enjoy the sermon. 11 00:00:42,640 --> 00:00:43,880 God bless. 12 00:00:54,560 --> 00:00:55,560 Good morning everyone. 13 00:00:55,560 --> 00:00:56,560 Good morning. 14 00:00:56,560 --> 00:01:03,880 Today's reading is from Luke chapter 1 verses 26 to 56. 15 00:01:03,880 --> 00:01:09,240 In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a 16 00:01:09,240 --> 00:01:14,320 town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant 17 00:01:14,320 --> 00:01:16,080 of David. 18 00:01:16,080 --> 00:01:18,560 The virgin's name was Mary. 19 00:01:18,560 --> 00:01:22,900 The angel went to her and said, Greetings, you who are highly favored. 20 00:01:22,900 --> 00:01:25,240 The Lord is with you. 21 00:01:25,240 --> 00:01:29,200 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might 22 00:01:29,200 --> 00:01:30,600 be. 23 00:01:30,600 --> 00:01:34,060 But the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary. 24 00:01:34,060 --> 00:01:36,520 You have found favor with God. 25 00:01:36,520 --> 00:01:42,400 You will conceive and give birth to a son and you are to call him Jesus. 26 00:01:42,400 --> 00:01:46,120 He will be great and he will be called the son of the Most High. 27 00:01:46,120 --> 00:01:50,600 The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David and he will reign over Jacob's 28 00:01:50,600 --> 00:01:52,500 descendants forever. 29 00:01:52,500 --> 00:01:56,080 His kingdom will never end. 30 00:01:56,080 --> 00:01:57,080 How will this be? 31 00:01:57,080 --> 00:01:58,720 Mary asked the angel. 32 00:01:58,720 --> 00:02:00,520 Since I am a virgin. 33 00:02:00,520 --> 00:02:04,960 The angel answered, The Holy Spirit will come on you and the power of the Most High will 34 00:02:04,960 --> 00:02:06,680 overshadow you. 35 00:02:06,680 --> 00:02:11,400 So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 00:02:11,400 --> 00:02:17,280 Even Elizabeth, your relative, is going to have a child in her old age and she, who was 37 00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:24,920 said to be unable to conceive, is in her sixth month, for no word of God will ever fail. 38 00:02:24,920 --> 00:02:28,720 I am the Lord's servant, Mary answered. 39 00:02:28,720 --> 00:02:31,200 May your word to me be fulfilled. 40 00:02:31,200 --> 00:02:32,440 Then the angel left. 41 00:02:32,440 --> 00:02:38,680 At that time, Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea where 42 00:02:38,680 --> 00:02:42,560 she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth. 43 00:02:42,560 --> 00:02:47,640 When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb and Elizabeth was 44 00:02:47,640 --> 00:02:50,160 filled with the Holy Spirit. 45 00:02:50,160 --> 00:02:57,280 In a loud voice she exclaimed, Blessed are you among women and blessed is the child you 46 00:02:57,280 --> 00:02:59,120 will bear. 47 00:02:59,120 --> 00:03:03,400 But why am I so favored that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 48 00:03:03,400 --> 00:03:09,840 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 49 00:03:09,840 --> 00:03:15,120 And is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her? 50 00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:21,960 And Mary said, My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God and my Savior. 51 00:03:21,960 --> 00:03:25,440 For he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. 52 00:03:25,440 --> 00:03:28,880 From now on, all generations will call me blessed. 53 00:03:28,880 --> 00:03:31,880 For the mighty one has done great things for me. 54 00:03:31,880 --> 00:03:33,520 Holy is his name. 55 00:03:33,520 --> 00:03:38,600 His mercy extends to those who fear him from generation to generation. 56 00:03:38,600 --> 00:03:41,820 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm. 57 00:03:41,820 --> 00:03:45,720 He has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. 58 00:03:45,720 --> 00:03:49,920 He has brought down rulers from their thrones but lifted up the humble. 59 00:03:49,920 --> 00:03:55,200 He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. 60 00:03:55,200 --> 00:04:00,080 He has helped his servant Israel remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants 61 00:04:00,080 --> 00:04:04,440 forever just as he promised our ancestors. 62 00:04:04,440 --> 00:04:08,720 We stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home. 63 00:04:08,720 --> 00:04:12,920 This is the word of the Lord. 64 00:04:12,920 --> 00:04:15,120 Okay. 65 00:04:15,120 --> 00:04:17,400 I think the coast is clear. 66 00:04:17,400 --> 00:04:20,320 Now listen, keep it quiet everybody. 67 00:04:20,320 --> 00:04:21,320 Keep it quiet. 68 00:04:21,320 --> 00:04:24,640 Actually, none of what I'm about to say should be recorded. 69 00:04:24,640 --> 00:04:26,640 So I want all the cameras to be killed. 70 00:04:26,640 --> 00:04:27,640 Okay. 71 00:04:27,640 --> 00:04:29,440 And the doors, lock the doors. 72 00:04:29,440 --> 00:04:30,560 Nobody comes. 73 00:04:30,560 --> 00:04:31,560 Nobody leaves. 74 00:04:31,560 --> 00:04:35,000 Okay, were any of you followed this morning? 75 00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:37,520 When you came to church, you got to be, was anyone following me? 76 00:04:37,520 --> 00:04:39,920 Please, you know, you got to think about these things. 77 00:04:39,920 --> 00:04:42,560 You got to be careful about these things. 78 00:04:42,560 --> 00:04:43,560 Okay. 79 00:04:43,560 --> 00:04:44,560 All right. 80 00:04:44,560 --> 00:04:46,360 I think, I think we're good. 81 00:04:46,360 --> 00:04:47,360 I think we're good. 82 00:04:47,360 --> 00:04:54,880 Guys, I want to call you to order and welcome you to the first meeting of the Advent Conspiracy. 83 00:04:54,880 --> 00:05:00,520 I mean, the Advent Conspiracy. 84 00:05:00,520 --> 00:05:02,760 First order of business. 85 00:05:02,760 --> 00:05:03,760 It's coming. 86 00:05:03,760 --> 00:05:06,160 Guys, it's coming. 87 00:05:06,160 --> 00:05:08,880 And you know what I mean when I say it. 88 00:05:08,880 --> 00:05:12,120 I'm talking of course about Christmas. 89 00:05:12,120 --> 00:05:13,120 Christmas is coming. 90 00:05:13,120 --> 00:05:14,120 I checked the calendar. 91 00:05:14,120 --> 00:05:15,120 I double checked the calendar. 92 00:05:15,120 --> 00:05:16,320 It is December 3rd. 93 00:05:16,320 --> 00:05:18,960 And besides that, all the telltale signs are there. 94 00:05:18,960 --> 00:05:22,240 Mariah Carey is playing on the radio 24 7. 95 00:05:22,240 --> 00:05:23,240 Okay. 96 00:05:23,240 --> 00:05:25,560 Starbucks has changed the color of their cups. 97 00:05:25,560 --> 00:05:26,560 Right. 98 00:05:26,560 --> 00:05:28,600 There was snow this past week. 99 00:05:28,600 --> 00:05:31,480 There was, you know, Black Friday, Cyber Monday. 100 00:05:31,480 --> 00:05:34,800 There's already invitations and parties and it's all happening. 101 00:05:34,800 --> 00:05:36,080 It's all coming down. 102 00:05:36,080 --> 00:05:37,880 It is happening. 103 00:05:37,880 --> 00:05:39,440 Christmas is coming. 104 00:05:39,440 --> 00:05:40,960 There's no two ways about it. 105 00:05:40,960 --> 00:05:43,720 Another way you can tell Christmas is coming is the decorations, of course. 106 00:05:43,720 --> 00:05:47,480 How many of you already started decorating? 107 00:05:47,480 --> 00:05:51,520 How many of you are holding out a little longer? 108 00:05:51,520 --> 00:05:55,320 How many of you never took your decorations down from last year? 109 00:05:55,320 --> 00:05:56,320 Yeah. 110 00:05:56,320 --> 00:05:59,960 You look like a genius right about now. 111 00:05:59,960 --> 00:06:04,120 In July, you looked like a weirdo, but now you look like a total genius. 112 00:06:04,120 --> 00:06:07,540 So yes, everybody, Christmas is coming. 113 00:06:07,540 --> 00:06:11,800 And that's why today we're launching the Advent Conspiracy at Trinity Streetsville. 114 00:06:11,800 --> 00:06:13,120 Some of you are like conspiracy. 115 00:06:13,120 --> 00:06:14,640 What the heck have I walked into this morning? 116 00:06:14,640 --> 00:06:15,640 I don't like this. 117 00:06:15,640 --> 00:06:16,640 I don't feel comfortable with this. 118 00:06:16,640 --> 00:06:17,640 I want to leave. 119 00:06:17,640 --> 00:06:18,640 Too bad. 120 00:06:18,640 --> 00:06:19,640 We shut the doors. 121 00:06:19,640 --> 00:06:20,640 You can't go anywhere. 122 00:06:20,640 --> 00:06:22,000 We're going to talk about this. 123 00:06:22,000 --> 00:06:27,320 And besides, those two words, Advent and conspiracy, might just save your life. 124 00:06:27,320 --> 00:06:29,160 Might just save your Christmas. 125 00:06:29,160 --> 00:06:31,200 They might save your heart from exhaustion. 126 00:06:31,200 --> 00:06:33,320 They might save your mind from going crazy. 127 00:06:33,320 --> 00:06:37,440 And they'll certainly save your bank account from debt. 128 00:06:37,440 --> 00:06:40,680 Let me explain what I mean. 129 00:06:40,680 --> 00:06:44,080 First, that word Advent. 130 00:06:44,080 --> 00:06:45,640 What does that word mean? 131 00:06:45,640 --> 00:06:48,840 Well, Advent, of course, is an ancient word. 132 00:06:48,840 --> 00:06:52,320 It's a Latin word, which means coming or arrival. 133 00:06:52,320 --> 00:06:58,880 And so for hundreds of years, Christians have been preparing for Christmas by setting aside 134 00:06:58,880 --> 00:07:01,800 the four weeks that immediately precede Christmas. 135 00:07:01,800 --> 00:07:02,800 Why? 136 00:07:02,800 --> 00:07:07,200 To get their hearts ready, to get their minds ready, to get their spirits ready for someone 137 00:07:07,200 --> 00:07:10,500 who is arriving Advent, someone who is coming. 138 00:07:10,500 --> 00:07:13,720 And on three, why don't you, we'll all say together, who is it that is coming? 139 00:07:13,720 --> 00:07:14,720 Who is it that is arriving? 140 00:07:14,720 --> 00:07:15,720 One, two, three. 141 00:07:15,720 --> 00:07:16,720 Jesus. 142 00:07:16,720 --> 00:07:20,000 Gosh, not so loud. 143 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:22,960 Gosh, guys, keep it down. 144 00:07:22,960 --> 00:07:23,960 Come on. 145 00:07:23,960 --> 00:07:25,800 Yes, Jesus is coming. 146 00:07:25,800 --> 00:07:29,240 And this is, Advent is a beautiful way to prepare for a season that is usually full 147 00:07:29,240 --> 00:07:32,200 of stress and all it can drive you crazy. 148 00:07:32,200 --> 00:07:37,080 Because if you're like me, maybe you're just longing for a quieter Christmas, a more peaceful 149 00:07:37,080 --> 00:07:41,720 Christmas, something that with less hype, something with more holiness. 150 00:07:41,720 --> 00:07:43,040 In fact, do you know the word holiday? 151 00:07:43,040 --> 00:07:44,040 Do you know where it comes from? 152 00:07:44,040 --> 00:07:46,700 It comes from the words holy day. 153 00:07:46,700 --> 00:07:48,520 That's what Advent is about. 154 00:07:48,520 --> 00:07:54,440 It's to help us enter into Christmas, not just as a holiday, but as a holy day. 155 00:07:54,440 --> 00:07:56,680 That's what Advent means. 156 00:07:56,680 --> 00:07:57,800 But why that second word? 157 00:07:57,800 --> 00:07:59,240 Why that scary word conspiracy? 158 00:07:59,240 --> 00:08:00,640 Well, I'll tell you why. 159 00:08:00,640 --> 00:08:05,280 It's because if you looked around culture lately, you'll probably notice that that simpler, 160 00:08:05,280 --> 00:08:12,360 holier idea of doing Christmas has been completely crushed under the modern Christmas movement, 161 00:08:12,360 --> 00:08:13,360 right? 162 00:08:13,360 --> 00:08:17,040 It's already spinning at warp speed out there. 163 00:08:17,040 --> 00:08:22,040 The parties, the gifts, the shopping, the decorations, all that, the ho ho ho and the 164 00:08:22,040 --> 00:08:24,980 go go go and the spend, spend, spend. 165 00:08:24,980 --> 00:08:26,240 It's already begun. 166 00:08:26,240 --> 00:08:31,420 And just when we should be slowing down, things are speeding up. 167 00:08:31,420 --> 00:08:37,320 And just when we should be preparing our hearts, we're over stuffing our schedule and preparing 168 00:08:37,320 --> 00:08:42,880 our Amazon wish lists and we're piling on the purchases. 169 00:08:42,880 --> 00:08:46,440 And so for many of us, when Christmas is finally done, you know what we end up saying? 170 00:08:46,440 --> 00:08:49,200 We end up saying, man, I'm glad that is over. 171 00:08:49,200 --> 00:08:50,520 Can you believe it? 172 00:08:50,520 --> 00:08:55,140 Can you believe it that that that instead of drawing us closer to Jesus, the way culture 173 00:08:55,140 --> 00:08:59,080 celebrates Christmas often pushes us further away from Jesus? 174 00:08:59,080 --> 00:09:05,040 Well, that is where the Advent conspiracy comes in, right? 175 00:09:05,040 --> 00:09:06,800 It's you know what a conspiracy is? 176 00:09:06,800 --> 00:09:12,400 It's a secret plan by a group of people to do something counter cultural. 177 00:09:12,400 --> 00:09:17,360 When you hear conspiracy, you might think of like JFK or crop circles or flat earth 178 00:09:17,360 --> 00:09:19,920 or the Illuminati or whatever. 179 00:09:19,920 --> 00:09:22,320 But the Advent conspiracy is different. 180 00:09:22,320 --> 00:09:23,560 It's a group of people. 181 00:09:23,560 --> 00:09:24,600 That's us. 182 00:09:24,600 --> 00:09:25,600 That's us. 183 00:09:25,600 --> 00:09:31,480 And we are pushing back against the cultural pressures, the culture of consumerism and 184 00:09:31,480 --> 00:09:35,000 the culture of commercialism and the culture of distraction. 185 00:09:35,000 --> 00:09:40,400 And we're saying this Christmas, no, no, we're not going to do it that way. 186 00:09:40,400 --> 00:09:41,400 This Christmas. 187 00:09:41,400 --> 00:09:47,640 Instead, instead, this conspiracy says we're going to dedicate the next four weeks to going 188 00:09:47,640 --> 00:09:51,000 against the grain, to sticking it to the man. 189 00:09:51,000 --> 00:09:58,280 And we are going to practice the four core beliefs of the Advent conspiracy. 190 00:09:58,280 --> 00:10:03,000 This is the manifesto of our movement, the four core beliefs. 191 00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:07,280 Are you guys ready to hear the four core beliefs of the Advent conspiracy? 192 00:10:07,280 --> 00:10:11,280 Guys, what I say about being loud, you got to keep it down. 193 00:10:11,280 --> 00:10:12,280 Okay. 194 00:10:12,280 --> 00:10:13,280 One. 195 00:10:13,280 --> 00:10:21,960 The first thing we pledge to do is to worship fully, to keep Jesus at the center of Christmas, 196 00:10:21,960 --> 00:10:30,040 not Santa, not Frosty, not Rudolph, not Jeff Bezos. 197 00:10:30,040 --> 00:10:31,420 Jesus at the center. 198 00:10:31,420 --> 00:10:33,040 We're going to talk more about that one today. 199 00:10:33,040 --> 00:10:38,360 That is the first core belief of the Advent conspiracy to worship fully. 200 00:10:38,360 --> 00:10:44,800 The second core belief is that we commit to spending less this Christmas. 201 00:10:44,800 --> 00:10:46,160 Oh, Rob, you're such a Grinch. 202 00:10:46,160 --> 00:10:47,840 I didn't say spend nothing. 203 00:10:47,840 --> 00:10:56,040 Said spend less because I'll tell you, according to culture, that you don't really love someone 204 00:10:56,040 --> 00:10:59,640 unless you have spent a whole ton of money on them. 205 00:10:59,640 --> 00:11:04,040 There's pressure to spend money that we just don't have to buy stuff that we just don't 206 00:11:04,040 --> 00:11:07,760 need to impress people that maybe we don't even really like. 207 00:11:07,760 --> 00:11:12,640 And advertisers, they feed us this peppermint lie to say, if you really love them, you'll 208 00:11:12,640 --> 00:11:13,640 spend money on them. 209 00:11:13,640 --> 00:11:15,000 But it's not true. 210 00:11:15,000 --> 00:11:16,000 Spit it out. 211 00:11:16,000 --> 00:11:18,080 Spit out that piece of peppermint, right? 212 00:11:18,080 --> 00:11:22,120 There's other ways to show people that you love them besides spending a whole bunch of 213 00:11:22,120 --> 00:11:23,120 money. 214 00:11:23,120 --> 00:11:24,380 And next week we're going to talk about that. 215 00:11:24,380 --> 00:11:27,680 So we worship fully and we spend less. 216 00:11:27,680 --> 00:11:31,420 And that brings us to the third core commitment of the Advent conspiracy. 217 00:11:31,420 --> 00:11:32,600 And that is we are going to give more. 218 00:11:32,600 --> 00:11:36,640 And you say, well, Rob, how can you give more and spend less at the same time? 219 00:11:36,640 --> 00:11:37,640 It's easy. 220 00:11:37,640 --> 00:11:41,560 We are going to give more relationally. 221 00:11:41,560 --> 00:11:47,440 In week three, we're going to see how our presence can actually be our presence and 222 00:11:47,440 --> 00:11:53,340 how we can give our own time and give creatively to other people in ways that don't necessarily 223 00:11:53,340 --> 00:11:54,520 cost money. 224 00:11:54,520 --> 00:11:57,960 Instead of going into debt, we can give our time and energy. 225 00:11:57,960 --> 00:12:02,000 Instead of buying gifts from the mall, we can make gifts. 226 00:12:02,000 --> 00:12:04,480 We can give gifts from the heart. 227 00:12:04,480 --> 00:12:09,440 Like God, we are going to learn that we love not by spending more money, but by spending 228 00:12:09,440 --> 00:12:10,440 ourselves. 229 00:12:10,440 --> 00:12:12,000 We're going to give more. 230 00:12:12,000 --> 00:12:15,920 And then thirdly and finally, with all the time, money and energy we have left over, 231 00:12:15,920 --> 00:12:19,900 we are going to love all. 232 00:12:19,900 --> 00:12:24,420 And this Christmas here at Trinity, we are going to be supporting people who are in need 233 00:12:24,420 --> 00:12:26,600 in our own community through the Trinity Care Fund. 234 00:12:26,600 --> 00:12:29,760 We're going to be feeding the hungry in our own city through our partnership with the 235 00:12:29,760 --> 00:12:36,520 Open Door, and we are going to be empowering women in Honduras in our connection with World 236 00:12:36,520 --> 00:12:37,520 Vision. 237 00:12:37,520 --> 00:12:41,020 In other words, what we're going to do is we are going to love all. 238 00:12:41,020 --> 00:12:42,360 This is the manifesto. 239 00:12:42,360 --> 00:12:43,880 This is the conspiracy movement. 240 00:12:43,880 --> 00:12:44,880 There you have it. 241 00:12:44,880 --> 00:12:50,280 Worship fully, spend less, give more, love all. 242 00:12:50,280 --> 00:12:56,280 It is a 2000 year old conspiracy that we need now more than ever. 243 00:12:56,280 --> 00:13:02,600 And I will tell you, I believe that if you and your family will pledge to practice these 244 00:13:02,600 --> 00:13:07,080 core beliefs this Christmas, will there be two people who will benefit? 245 00:13:07,080 --> 00:13:12,500 One you will benefit because this Christmas will be a Christmas that you remember with 246 00:13:12,500 --> 00:13:14,780 joy, not with dread. 247 00:13:14,780 --> 00:13:19,600 And secondly, it will actually benefit the world, right? 248 00:13:19,600 --> 00:13:24,880 It'll be a Christmas where the poor and the forgotten and the marginalized are lifted 249 00:13:24,880 --> 00:13:25,880 up. 250 00:13:25,880 --> 00:13:28,760 And the Christmas is where it actually changes the world, right? 251 00:13:28,760 --> 00:13:34,760 And isn't that what Christmas was supposed to do in the first place anyways? 252 00:13:34,760 --> 00:13:39,700 So let's conspire together this Advent. 253 00:13:39,700 --> 00:13:44,920 It all starts, it all starts by learning how to worship fully. 254 00:13:44,920 --> 00:13:50,000 It's very interesting that every person in the Bible who encountered the baby Jesus, 255 00:13:50,000 --> 00:13:51,840 do you know what their response was? 256 00:13:51,840 --> 00:13:53,740 It was to worship. 257 00:13:53,740 --> 00:13:54,740 It was to worship. 258 00:13:54,740 --> 00:13:59,400 Mary worshiped as she sang that song that Curlan just read to us. 259 00:13:59,400 --> 00:14:03,680 The angels worshiped, the shepherds worshiped, the wise men worshiped. 260 00:14:03,680 --> 00:14:08,520 We read they fell to the ground, they fell at his feet and they worshiped him. 261 00:14:08,520 --> 00:14:11,620 Worship was at the heart of the very first Christmas. 262 00:14:11,620 --> 00:14:16,680 Worship has to be at the heart of this Christmas too. 263 00:14:16,680 --> 00:14:23,280 Now Greg Holder is an author who wrote a book called The Advent Conspiracy. 264 00:14:23,280 --> 00:14:27,140 And a couple of weeks ago, Elizabeth, our online engagement director, sat down with 265 00:14:27,140 --> 00:14:29,440 him and had an interview with him. 266 00:14:29,440 --> 00:14:35,180 And I want you to hear what Greg says about worshiping fully this Advent. 267 00:14:35,180 --> 00:14:36,720 It does come down to those four tenets. 268 00:14:36,720 --> 00:14:38,680 The first one, worship fully. 269 00:14:38,680 --> 00:14:41,040 Obviously, this is where it has to start. 270 00:14:41,040 --> 00:14:44,600 Christmas begins and ends with us worshiping the King. 271 00:14:44,600 --> 00:14:50,360 If you take that out of our celebration of Christmas, it all falls apart. 272 00:14:50,360 --> 00:14:57,760 And so we do want to stress that when we talk to our families, when we talk to our churches, 273 00:14:57,760 --> 00:15:04,680 we are going to gather around the King and worship the God who came to be with us, the 274 00:15:04,680 --> 00:15:06,680 God who came to rescue us. 275 00:15:06,680 --> 00:15:10,120 It's just, it all begins and ends with Jesus. 276 00:15:10,120 --> 00:15:14,180 And so for us, he is the focal point of all of this. 277 00:15:14,180 --> 00:15:16,080 That begins to fuel our gratitude. 278 00:15:16,080 --> 00:15:19,540 It begins to clarify our perspective. 279 00:15:19,540 --> 00:15:22,160 It ultimately begins to motivate even our generosity. 280 00:15:22,160 --> 00:15:25,620 But it is worship fully. 281 00:15:25,620 --> 00:15:26,880 So that was a great interview. 282 00:15:26,880 --> 00:15:31,600 You can see that entire interview, not this Sunday, but next during our halftime show 283 00:15:31,600 --> 00:15:33,960 in the middle of the two services. 284 00:15:33,960 --> 00:15:36,060 You can hear that full interview. 285 00:15:36,060 --> 00:15:40,700 But when we say worship fully, let's just make this clear. 286 00:15:40,700 --> 00:15:44,700 We're not just talking about this one hour when we come to church on Sunday. 287 00:15:44,700 --> 00:15:47,960 That is actually a very narrow definition of worship. 288 00:15:47,960 --> 00:15:52,960 What we're talking about, what Mary, the shepherds, the angels, and the wise men were doing was 289 00:15:52,960 --> 00:15:54,800 way more than that. 290 00:15:54,800 --> 00:15:57,760 Worship literally means worth-ship. 291 00:15:57,760 --> 00:16:05,200 It means ascribing worth, ascribing value, elevating God above the many other things 292 00:16:05,200 --> 00:16:06,200 in our lives. 293 00:16:06,200 --> 00:16:09,240 And so therefore, it has to do with our hearts. 294 00:16:09,240 --> 00:16:12,600 It has to do with our minds, but it also has to do with our actions. 295 00:16:12,600 --> 00:16:16,720 And worship therefore is something that bleeds into our home life, into our work life, into 296 00:16:16,720 --> 00:16:20,580 our school life, as well as into our time here at church. 297 00:16:20,580 --> 00:16:30,280 It is to somehow reorient your entire life toward God who is worth it, who is worth everything. 298 00:16:30,280 --> 00:16:33,720 But if we're going to worship fully, there's a few things that we are going to have to 299 00:16:33,720 --> 00:16:35,480 do in order to make that happen. 300 00:16:35,480 --> 00:16:38,440 First, we are going to need to declutter our lives. 301 00:16:38,440 --> 00:16:41,800 In other words, we're going to have to have less busyness in our lives. 302 00:16:41,800 --> 00:16:44,000 Secondly, we're going to need to decelerate our lives. 303 00:16:44,000 --> 00:16:48,880 We're going to have to slow down, and thirdly, we're going to have to de-stress. 304 00:16:48,880 --> 00:16:50,840 Less worry, less anxiety. 305 00:16:50,840 --> 00:16:51,840 Because here's the truth. 306 00:16:51,840 --> 00:16:53,520 You can't worship if you don't have the time. 307 00:16:53,520 --> 00:16:58,200 You can't worship if you're moving too fast, and you can't worship if you're consumed with 308 00:16:58,200 --> 00:17:02,200 the anxiety that comes along with this season. 309 00:17:02,200 --> 00:17:08,340 So if I were to ask you the question, you know, who or what do we worship at Advent? 310 00:17:08,340 --> 00:17:11,800 Your answer to me would be Jesus, of course, and that is the right answer. 311 00:17:11,800 --> 00:17:13,800 But is it the true answer? 312 00:17:13,800 --> 00:17:14,800 Rob Hirkman's. 313 00:17:14,800 --> 00:17:17,240 Is it the true answer? 314 00:17:17,240 --> 00:17:21,880 Does the way I spend my time, does the way I spend my energy and my money reflect that 315 00:17:21,880 --> 00:17:25,000 I worship fully the King? 316 00:17:25,000 --> 00:17:29,720 Does a look at my calendar, does a look at my credit card bill testify that we are people 317 00:17:29,720 --> 00:17:32,360 who worship Jesus fully? 318 00:17:32,360 --> 00:17:38,840 I'll tell you, it is really hard to see what is going on in the manger when we are rushing 319 00:17:38,840 --> 00:17:41,400 from store to store to store in the mall. 320 00:17:41,400 --> 00:17:45,880 In fact, I would say that every step that we take toward over stuffing our schedule 321 00:17:45,880 --> 00:17:47,440 takes us further from the manger. 322 00:17:47,440 --> 00:17:52,900 Every step toward over busying our lives, over committing our calendars takes us further 323 00:17:52,900 --> 00:17:59,200 and further away from seeing the meaning and the heart of Christmas from seeing Jesus. 324 00:17:59,200 --> 00:18:04,920 I just want to say it's crazy to say, but how is it that the time of year when focusing 325 00:18:04,920 --> 00:18:09,200 on Jesus should be the easiest is actually the hardest? 326 00:18:09,200 --> 00:18:11,720 And so what do we do about that? 327 00:18:11,720 --> 00:18:12,720 Here's what we do. 328 00:18:12,720 --> 00:18:14,480 We conspire together. 329 00:18:14,480 --> 00:18:20,060 We agree to declutter and decelerate our lives this Advent. 330 00:18:20,060 --> 00:18:23,320 You know, in our house, when people are coming over for a visit around Christmas, usually 331 00:18:23,320 --> 00:18:26,640 in the 10 minutes before they show up, we're decluttering. 332 00:18:26,640 --> 00:18:30,520 We're like saying, get this in the closet or hide this or take this back to your room. 333 00:18:30,520 --> 00:18:31,740 We're decluttering. 334 00:18:31,740 --> 00:18:41,040 So what would it mean for you to declutter your soul and decelerate your life this Christmas 335 00:18:41,040 --> 00:18:45,440 and create space for Christ to dwell in your heart? 336 00:18:45,440 --> 00:18:46,560 That is the question. 337 00:18:46,560 --> 00:18:49,600 The answer, well, it might look a lot like Mary. 338 00:18:49,600 --> 00:18:54,040 Mary, of course, she was just a girl when the angel visited her. 339 00:18:54,040 --> 00:18:55,760 I often wonder what that was like. 340 00:18:55,760 --> 00:19:00,840 Did the angel show up in a brilliant flash of light that she couldn't deny and was just 341 00:19:00,840 --> 00:19:02,280 in her face? 342 00:19:02,280 --> 00:19:08,320 Or was it more like some of those movies where the angel is just this guy in the background 343 00:19:08,320 --> 00:19:11,840 who's kind of just subtly sitting around. 344 00:19:11,840 --> 00:19:19,760 And because Mary had enough space in her schedule and because Mary was moving slowly enough 345 00:19:19,760 --> 00:19:25,360 and because she was paying attention enough and that she was able to see God, she was 346 00:19:25,360 --> 00:19:27,680 able to hear from God. 347 00:19:27,680 --> 00:19:28,680 Right. 348 00:19:28,680 --> 00:19:30,880 I actually like that version. 349 00:19:30,880 --> 00:19:36,500 The angel says, greetings, greetings, you who are highly favored, the Lord is with you. 350 00:19:36,500 --> 00:19:41,300 You're going to conceive and give birth to a son and you will call him Jesus and his 351 00:19:41,300 --> 00:19:44,380 kingdom will have no and she heard it. 352 00:19:44,380 --> 00:19:47,640 There was a lot of things competing, but she heard that message. 353 00:19:47,640 --> 00:19:50,940 But Mary was a Jewish girl from a no name town. 354 00:19:50,940 --> 00:19:51,940 She was young. 355 00:19:51,940 --> 00:19:52,940 She was poor. 356 00:19:52,940 --> 00:19:54,340 She was a woman. 357 00:19:54,340 --> 00:19:57,440 That's three strikes against her in that culture right away. 358 00:19:57,440 --> 00:19:59,840 She's unqualified to do anything important. 359 00:19:59,840 --> 00:20:00,840 Right. 360 00:20:00,840 --> 00:20:04,760 But God comes along and hand picks her to be the mother of the Messiah and she hears 361 00:20:04,760 --> 00:20:05,760 it. 362 00:20:05,760 --> 00:20:06,800 She was aware of it. 363 00:20:06,800 --> 00:20:09,280 She was paying attention. 364 00:20:09,280 --> 00:20:13,200 But also notice Mary's posture of openness. 365 00:20:13,200 --> 00:20:16,420 She wasn't so distracted that she missed God's voice. 366 00:20:16,420 --> 00:20:19,400 She wasn't so cluttered that she ignored the call. 367 00:20:19,400 --> 00:20:20,960 I'm sure of course she had questions. 368 00:20:20,960 --> 00:20:24,220 What will this mean for me and what my family say and my friends say? 369 00:20:24,220 --> 00:20:25,760 What will Joseph say? 370 00:20:25,760 --> 00:20:26,760 Right. 371 00:20:26,760 --> 00:20:32,520 She had lots of questions, but she also had an uncluttered heart and an unhurried spirit. 372 00:20:32,520 --> 00:20:35,200 I'm sure she could have said, God, I've already got plans for my life. 373 00:20:35,200 --> 00:20:39,440 God, I've kind of already got priorities for what I want to do with my life. 374 00:20:39,440 --> 00:20:41,180 But you know what she did say? 375 00:20:41,180 --> 00:20:44,580 She said, I am the Lord's servant. 376 00:20:44,580 --> 00:20:46,160 May your word to me be fulfilled. 377 00:20:46,160 --> 00:20:51,920 God, I don't know why you chose me, but whatever you want to do, may it be so. 378 00:20:51,920 --> 00:20:52,920 It's just beautiful. 379 00:20:52,920 --> 00:20:58,080 It's this open posture of availability and surrender. 380 00:20:58,080 --> 00:21:04,360 And as we sit here on December 3rd, do you have that openness in your spirit? 381 00:21:04,360 --> 00:21:09,280 Do you have that kind of openness in your calendar to say, God, I've got plans, but 382 00:21:09,280 --> 00:21:10,520 your plans are better. 383 00:21:10,520 --> 00:21:15,840 God, I've got a million things going on, but what you want for my life is more important 384 00:21:15,840 --> 00:21:16,840 than all of them. 385 00:21:16,840 --> 00:21:20,360 In fact, maybe this December, God is asking you to do something that's really exciting. 386 00:21:20,360 --> 00:21:24,400 Or maybe this December, God is asking you to do something that is really challenging, 387 00:21:24,400 --> 00:21:25,400 right? 388 00:21:25,400 --> 00:21:27,680 He's asking you to sacrifice in some new way. 389 00:21:27,680 --> 00:21:31,520 But my question is, are you too busy to even hear his voice? 390 00:21:31,520 --> 00:21:35,400 Are you too distracted to sense his presence coming to you? 391 00:21:35,400 --> 00:21:43,240 You know, one of Jesus's names was Emmanuel, which means God is with us. 392 00:21:43,240 --> 00:21:45,880 Do you know God wants to be with you? 393 00:21:45,880 --> 00:21:48,320 God wants to speak with you. 394 00:21:48,320 --> 00:21:51,720 The question is, is there room for him to do that? 395 00:21:51,720 --> 00:21:55,160 Can you fit him into your calendar and into your life? 396 00:21:55,160 --> 00:21:58,720 God wants to speak with you, but can you hear what he's saying? 397 00:21:58,720 --> 00:21:59,720 Are you paying attention? 398 00:21:59,720 --> 00:22:04,520 You know, a lot of people say, I don't feel all that close to God, but God hasn't gone 399 00:22:04,520 --> 00:22:06,360 anywhere, right? 400 00:22:06,360 --> 00:22:08,820 We're the ones who back away. 401 00:22:08,820 --> 00:22:10,400 We're the ones who drift away. 402 00:22:10,400 --> 00:22:14,480 And it all starts right around December 3rd, right? 403 00:22:14,480 --> 00:22:19,280 When our life gets cluttered up and when God gets crowded out. 404 00:22:19,280 --> 00:22:29,280 So let's conspire not to speed up this month, but to slow down, to take time to clear the 405 00:22:29,280 --> 00:22:33,840 clutter in our lives, make room for worship. 406 00:22:33,840 --> 00:22:37,960 And while we're decluttering and while we're decelerating, you know what else? 407 00:22:37,960 --> 00:22:39,620 We'll also be distressing. 408 00:22:39,620 --> 00:22:45,400 There is a strong link between Christmas and the rise in mental health concerns like stress, 409 00:22:45,400 --> 00:22:48,680 anxiety, and depression, not just mental health, but also physical health. 410 00:22:48,680 --> 00:22:51,880 The months, the months, December and January, the highest months in the year for things 411 00:22:51,880 --> 00:22:53,720 like heart attacks as well. 412 00:22:53,720 --> 00:22:54,800 Why is that? 413 00:22:54,800 --> 00:22:58,220 Because doing Christmas the way that culture wants you to do Christmas is crazy. 414 00:22:58,220 --> 00:23:00,120 It's the perfect storm for stress. 415 00:23:00,120 --> 00:23:04,760 Buy this, go there, clean the house, entertain your guests, buy the right gifts, spend more 416 00:23:04,760 --> 00:23:08,520 money than you have, deal with your family problems, eat too much, drink too much. 417 00:23:08,520 --> 00:23:13,440 These are all things that cause us stress. 418 00:23:13,440 --> 00:23:17,160 But there's a solution for this stress, right? 419 00:23:17,160 --> 00:23:21,000 Worship is the remedy for worry. 420 00:23:21,000 --> 00:23:24,500 Praise is the antidote to the pressure. 421 00:23:24,500 --> 00:23:29,000 And once again, if you don't believe me, look at Mary, Mary knew stress, Mary knew anxiety 422 00:23:29,000 --> 00:23:30,400 more than you or I ever will. 423 00:23:30,400 --> 00:23:31,400 It sounds strange. 424 00:23:31,400 --> 00:23:35,480 Can you imagine a 13 year old girl being told she's going to give birth to the King of the 425 00:23:35,480 --> 00:23:36,480 universe? 426 00:23:36,480 --> 00:23:39,600 I mean, I know it sounds, it sounds crazy, but it's just kind of how things worked back 427 00:23:39,600 --> 00:23:40,600 then in that culture. 428 00:23:40,600 --> 00:23:44,120 And she's engaged to what a 15 or a 16 year old guy named Joseph. 429 00:23:44,120 --> 00:23:49,240 Can you imagine as a teenager being told that you are going to give birth to the Messiah, 430 00:23:49,240 --> 00:23:51,560 that the Holy Spirit is going to come upon you? 431 00:23:51,560 --> 00:23:56,880 I mean, imagine as a 13 or 14 year old girl getting that text message, it would be like, 432 00:23:56,880 --> 00:24:00,440 it would be, if it would freak you out, it would be, you'll be overwhelmed with anxiety. 433 00:24:00,440 --> 00:24:02,400 You'd be terrified, wouldn't you? 434 00:24:02,400 --> 00:24:03,880 But not Mary. 435 00:24:03,880 --> 00:24:04,880 Interesting. 436 00:24:04,880 --> 00:24:08,760 Her response is to trust and worship. 437 00:24:08,760 --> 00:24:10,440 She sings a song of praise. 438 00:24:10,440 --> 00:24:12,740 It's called the Magnificat of Mary. 439 00:24:12,740 --> 00:24:16,280 She says, my soul magnifies the Lord. 440 00:24:16,280 --> 00:24:18,640 My spirit leaps up within me. 441 00:24:18,640 --> 00:24:21,960 It rejoices within me in God, my savior. 442 00:24:21,960 --> 00:24:23,600 Holy is his name. 443 00:24:23,600 --> 00:24:24,600 Can you believe it? 444 00:24:24,600 --> 00:24:28,400 In the middle of all that stress, in the middle of all that anxiety about what the future 445 00:24:28,400 --> 00:24:33,600 was going to hold, Mary chooses to worship fully. 446 00:24:33,600 --> 00:24:41,000 She receives unexpected, unsettling news that rocks her world and all the plans she had 447 00:24:41,000 --> 00:24:42,000 for her life. 448 00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:46,680 And without freaking out, Mary worships. 449 00:24:46,680 --> 00:24:48,680 She says, God, you've got a different plan. 450 00:24:48,680 --> 00:24:50,480 I magnify you. 451 00:24:50,480 --> 00:24:53,920 God, in the middle of all this pressure, I praise you. 452 00:24:53,920 --> 00:24:56,560 God, in the middle of the anxiety, I trust you. 453 00:24:56,560 --> 00:25:01,040 In the middle of the stress, I surrender to you. 454 00:25:01,040 --> 00:25:02,720 And do you know what that means? 455 00:25:02,720 --> 00:25:10,560 It means that even in the uncertainty of your life, you can worship fully too. 456 00:25:10,560 --> 00:25:14,360 Not just by singing songs on Sunday, although that's great, but by glorifying God with your 457 00:25:14,360 --> 00:25:18,180 life and just trusting him completely. 458 00:25:18,180 --> 00:25:19,800 Are you worried about something today? 459 00:25:19,800 --> 00:25:22,140 Have you come to church and your heart is heavy about something? 460 00:25:22,140 --> 00:25:25,160 You can worship in the midst of that worry, right? 461 00:25:25,160 --> 00:25:26,720 Have you received some unexpected news? 462 00:25:26,720 --> 00:25:29,980 Maybe a disturbing phone call came your way this week and it's shaken you up. 463 00:25:29,980 --> 00:25:34,360 Maybe you got some bad grades at school or the midterm was especially hard. 464 00:25:34,360 --> 00:25:38,000 Let worship overwhelm your worry. 465 00:25:38,000 --> 00:25:42,960 Has life just not worked out the way you thought it would or the way you hoped for? 466 00:25:42,960 --> 00:25:48,600 You can still worship fully even when you don't understand fully. 467 00:25:48,600 --> 00:25:55,480 When you magnify, magnificate, magnify God, he becomes larger and your worries become 468 00:25:55,480 --> 00:25:56,480 smaller. 469 00:25:56,480 --> 00:26:00,640 So could that be you this December? 470 00:26:00,640 --> 00:26:05,000 Could you take out the magnifying glass and put it on God? 471 00:26:05,000 --> 00:26:12,920 Not try harder, but just trust more, surrender to God in every situation. 472 00:26:12,920 --> 00:26:14,280 So there it is, guys. 473 00:26:14,280 --> 00:26:15,280 There it is. 474 00:26:15,280 --> 00:26:17,840 And again, please keep us quiet, right? 475 00:26:17,840 --> 00:26:23,040 We don't want this getting out too far, but this is our subversive plan this Advent. 476 00:26:23,040 --> 00:26:29,040 First, when the pressure is on to stuff your schedules so full that you can hardly breathe, 477 00:26:29,040 --> 00:26:30,520 what are we going to do? 478 00:26:30,520 --> 00:26:37,000 We're going to conspire to declutter our lives to create spaces where we can be still and 479 00:26:37,000 --> 00:26:38,960 meet with Jesus. 480 00:26:38,960 --> 00:26:43,960 Secondly, when the world is going crazy this December, moving a mile a minute and faster 481 00:26:43,960 --> 00:26:49,860 and faster and faster, our little scheme, our little scheme is to slow down, to decelerate 482 00:26:49,860 --> 00:26:55,700 our lives so that we can catch up with God and that God can catch up with us. 483 00:26:55,700 --> 00:27:00,280 And then third, when the stress comes and it will, and when unexpected things happen 484 00:27:00,280 --> 00:27:07,680 and they will, our sneaky solution will not be to worry, worry, worry, but to worship 485 00:27:07,680 --> 00:27:10,800 and to surrender our stresses to God. 486 00:27:10,800 --> 00:27:17,400 Guys, I hope you are as excited about this conspiracy journey as I am. 487 00:27:17,400 --> 00:27:19,040 I hope you're ready to join this movement. 488 00:27:19,040 --> 00:27:24,840 I hope you're ready to worship fully just as Mary did with her life. 489 00:27:24,840 --> 00:27:28,600 And I'm hoping that you're saying, yes, Rob, I love this idea. 490 00:27:28,600 --> 00:27:30,720 This is great, fantastic, but I don't know how. 491 00:27:30,720 --> 00:27:32,280 I mean, I want to worship fully. 492 00:27:32,280 --> 00:27:33,280 I want to give more. 493 00:27:33,280 --> 00:27:34,280 I want to spend less. 494 00:27:34,280 --> 00:27:37,920 I want to love all, but I don't know how. 495 00:27:37,920 --> 00:27:38,920 How do I do that? 496 00:27:38,920 --> 00:27:39,920 Well, I got good news for you. 497 00:27:39,920 --> 00:27:42,240 We have got a boatload of resources. 498 00:27:42,240 --> 00:27:46,240 And at the end of the service, we're going to tell you how we can fully equip you to 499 00:27:46,240 --> 00:27:49,640 live out this conspiracy in the next four weeks ahead. 500 00:27:49,640 --> 00:27:51,800 So don't worry about that. 501 00:27:51,800 --> 00:27:55,440 But for now, I just want to say it's really exciting to do this with you because do you 502 00:27:55,440 --> 00:28:01,760 know what would happen if this year Christmas wasn't about stuff? 503 00:28:01,760 --> 00:28:07,400 Do you know what would happen if this Christmas you spent less and you gave more and you loved 504 00:28:07,400 --> 00:28:10,120 all and you worshiped fully? 505 00:28:10,120 --> 00:28:14,240 Do you know what would happen if you vowed? 506 00:28:14,240 --> 00:28:18,040 If we vowed as a community today, let's do this together. 507 00:28:18,040 --> 00:28:19,040 I'll tell you what would happen. 508 00:28:19,040 --> 00:28:20,320 It would transform your life. 509 00:28:20,320 --> 00:28:22,360 It would transform the life of this church. 510 00:28:22,360 --> 00:28:24,340 It would change the world. 511 00:28:24,340 --> 00:28:31,100 It would make Christmas not just the holiday, but the holy day. 512 00:28:31,100 --> 00:28:33,020 It was always meant to be. 513 00:28:33,020 --> 00:28:35,440 So let's conspire together. 514 00:28:35,440 --> 00:28:36,440 Thanks be to God. 515 00:28:36,440 --> 00:28:37,440 Amen. 516 00:28:37,440 --> 00:28:40,260 Thank you so much for joining us today. 517 00:28:40,260 --> 00:28:44,480 And we hope that you found the sermon to be a fresh and inspiring teaching as we embark 518 00:28:44,480 --> 00:28:47,360 together in the season of Advent. 519 00:28:47,360 --> 00:28:51,400 And if you enjoyed the show today, please take a minute to rate and review our podcast 520 00:28:51,400 --> 00:28:54,760 so that we can continue to spread the good news with others. 521 00:28:54,760 --> 00:28:58,600 Please come back again soon and thanks again for listening. 522 00:28:58,600 --> 00:29:04,600 Today's sermon was taken from the 915 service on December 3rd, 2023 at Trinity Church, Street 523 00:29:04,600 --> 00:29:10,560 Roosevelt in Mississauga, Ontario.