Joy: It s a Wonderful Life Theme: The Reel Christmas Story

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1 Joy: It s a Wonderful Life Theme: The Reel Christmas Story Scripture: Galatians 6:2; Hebrews 13:1-3 Things I d like to remember from today s sermon: Meditation Moments for Monday, December 14 Read Ecclesiastes 3:1-11 In It s a Wonderful Life, Mr. Potter was wealthy, but he attained his wealth at the expense of others. George Bailey s father and George lived lives full of ups and downs, helping and serving others. We are meant to see these lives in contrast to each other in the film, representing polar opposite ways of living life. Ecclesiastes 3:1-9 used 14 pairs of contrasts. The number seven often meant completeness to ancient Hebrews, so the double use of the number signified totality. The message was that none of the seasons of our life is beyond the reach of God s mission to restore our broken world to wholeness. What season(s) of life are you in today? What good or bad characteristics does your current season hold? Are you able to trust that God is at work in every season of your life, including this one? Verse 11 said, God has placed eternity in our hearts. An eternal perspective on life offers hope. Even though God has placed eternity in our hearts, God has not revealed all the answers to life s questions. We need faith to choose to believe even without all the answers that God s eternal plan is good. Do you find an eternal perspective encouraging, or do you find it frustrating that you can't know everything about your future? Bring your hopes, fears, thoughts and even frustrations to God in prayer. Prayer: Lord God, thank you for promising to be with me through all of life s ups and downs. Teach me to live in the light of your eternal goodness. Amen. Tuesday, December 15 Read Luke 12:23-34 Jesus spoke these words to both a man who apparently wanted even more than he already had and to his disciples, who were not among Israel s wealthier citizens. He urged both rich and poor to worry less about earthly wealth, but to give priority to treasure in heaven. It s a Wonderful Life posed, on film, the question: Are Jesus words naïve nonsense or eternal truth? Scholar N. T. Wright said This wasn t just good advice on how to live a happy, carefree life. This was a challenge to the very center of [our] world. The core question Jesus posed was, Do you really trust that God is your great Father, who will love and care for you not just now, but through all eternity? How is your mindset different when you deeply trust in that truth than it is when you just kind of hope maybe it s true? In the film, George Bailey cried, You sit around here and spin your little webs and you think the whole world revolves around you and your money! Well, it doesn't, Mr. Potter! Today, as when Frank Capra made It s a Wonderful Life, headlines often suggest that the whole world DOES revolve around money, and the power of people Sermon preached by Jeff Huber December 12-13, 2015 Page 1

2 who have lots of it. What measures do you use to evaluate your own and others significance? Are your measures closer to Mr. Potter s, or the ones Jesus suggested? Prayer: Lord Jesus, no matter how much money I do or don t have, it often feels like it s not enough. Shape my life s focus around your values, teaching me how to value the security of treasure in heaven that you offer. Amen. Wednesday, December 16 Read Proverbs 14:31, 31:8-9, Psalm 82:1-4 Israel s wisdom urged everyone to speak up for the voiceless, to care for those who couldn t care for themselves. Many people echo Mr. Potter s profit-driven contempt for the poor. At one point, he referred to Ernie Bishop, a Building and Loan client, as that fellow that sits around all day on his brains in his taxi. Scripture s call was not to ridicule such people, but to treat them with dignity, generosity and compassion. Mr. Potter referred to people like Ernie Bishop as discontented, lazy rabble. To which George responded, Just remember this, Mr. Potter this rabble you're talking about, they do most of the working and paying and living and dying in this community. Well, is it too much to have them work and pay and live and die in a couple of decent rooms and a bath? Do you ever have opportunities to speak up, to defend the poor and the voiceless? Are you willing to use them? Prayer: Lord God, as I read the Bible, I find that you care intensely for those who are poor and powerless. You were even born and lived as one of them. Give me your kind of active caring and compassion. Amen. Thursday, December 17 Read Acts 5:17 20; 12:1 11; 27:21-26 In It s a Wonderful Life, George Bailey meets a charming, unusual character: Clarence Odbody, Angel second class. Clarence gets a very serious task: to help George see his life s value clearly, so that he doesn t give up. Acts records at least three key times when divine messengers freed or saved an apostle facing prison or death. About Acts 27, Bishop N. T. Wright wrote, Paul s vision is the turning-point in the story. Up to then they were going down into the darkness; now things are still bad, but there is a light shining, albeit a light visible only to faith. When has an angel, human or otherwise, turned your life from going down into darkness and toward God s light? Clarence talking poor George Bailey off the bridge in It's a Wonderful Life starts to get a little closer to the angels of the Scriptures, but skip the part about him earning his wings. When we read about angels in Scripture, it is important to remember that the word angel simply means messenger. Angels typically appear simply as people no wings, just people. In what simple ways can you be an angel, a messenger of God s hope and love, this Advent? Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for all of the ways you send messengers to guide me, to turn my feet toward your path. Keep me sensitive to the times when you want me to be one of your messengers. Amen. Friday, December 18 Read John 10:7-15 Jesus said he came so that they could live life to the fullest. Sometimes we picture a life lived according to God s principles as dreary, dutiful, devoid of joy. That s how it began to seem to George Bailey, until Clarence showed him what his town would be like if he had never lived. In Clarence s words, Each man s life touches so many other lives You see, George, you've really had a wonderful life the kind of life to the fullest Jesus promised. Jesus didn t just mean his words about the thief figuratively. Bishop Wright wrote, The modern Western world has discovered how unsatisfying materialism really is, and is looking for something more, something beyond. Many thieves have told lies, and have deceived the sheep, stolen them and left them for dead. What voices have played the biggest role in lifting your vision above the empty promises of materialism? When have you sensed the inability of material things to satisfy your deepest needs? Scholar William Barclay noted, The Greek phrase used for having it more abundantly means to have a superabundance of a thing. To be a follower of Jesus, to know who he is and what he means, is to have a superabundance of life. When has following Jesus led you to experiences that made you feel deeply, fully alive? How can you continue to more fully tap in to the superabundance of life Jesus offers? Prayer: Lord Jesus, neither you nor your New Testament followers ever sounded bored or jaded. Thank you for guiding me into a fuller life, joining you in the great adventure of restoring a broken world to God s purposes. Amen. Saturday, December 19 Read Isaiah 9:2-7 Israel faced dark times of defeat and exile. Isaiah warned them of that but also told them the darkness was not the end of the story: On those living in a pitch-dark land, light has dawned. The light dawned at the world-changing event we remember at Christmas: A child is born to us. A son is given to us. That light dawned for George Bailey. He embraced his new sense of his life s value, and cried joyfully, Hello, Bedford Falls! Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas, movie house! Merry Christmas, Emporium! Merry Christmas, you wonderful old Building and Loan! Hey! Merry Christmas, Mr. Potter! What times or experiences have left you feeling the most hopeless? All of us encounter those pitch-dark lands eventually in life. If you are facing darkness this Advent, call our church office to talk to one of our Congregational Sermon preached by Jeff Huber December 12-13, 2015 Page 2

3 Care persons or pastors, The church has many resources designed to carry out the work of the Son who was given to us at Christmas to shine the light of hope into even the darkest, most painful parts of life. And if your life is brighter this year, then find one or more ways to share that light and hope with someone else who needs it. Prayer: Lord God, thank you for giving us the gift of hope in giving yourself to us as a child, one who was named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. Help me live in, and share, his light and hope. Amen. Family Activity: In the movie, It s a Wonderful Life, George Bailey wasn t sure his life had made a positive difference in the lives of others. Though he had a difficult struggle, he eventually learned he had touched the lives of those around him. This Advent season ask each family member to think of someone who has made a difference in their life. You might think of a teacher, a pastor, a neighbor, a friend or another family member. Write a note, draw a picture, bake some treats, or give a simple gift to each person, thanking him/her specifically for the way in which he/she influenced your life. Also pray for each person and ask God to encourage and bless him/her this season and always. Sermon preached by Jeff Huber December 12-13, 2015 Page 3

4 Theme: The Reel Christmas Story Joy: It s a Wonderful Life Sermon preached by Jeff Huber December 12-13, 2015 at First United Methodist Church, Durango Scripture: Galatians 6:2; Hebrews 13:1-3 2 Share each other s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. 1 Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters. 2 Don t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it! 3 Remember those in prison, as if you were there yourself. Remember also those being mistreated, as if you felt their pain in your own bodies. VIDEO SLIDE Sermon Intro Joy It s a Wonderful Life Joy It s a Wonderful Life Today we continue in our sermon series during this Advent season, the four weeks before we get to Christmas, by looking at some of the classic Christmas movies and asking ourselves, Where do we see the real meaning of Christmas in these stories? The second weekend of Advent typically looks at the theme of peace and how we find that in the midst of conflict and the Christmas story. I would like to invite you to take out of your bulletin your Meditation Moments and your Message Notes. If you are watching at home or online you can download this resource right off of our website. At the top you will find the Scripture text that we will be using this morning and below that are some blank lines to write anything down you would like to remember from today s message. I trust that somewhere in today s worship service you will hear God speaking to you a message and I hope you will write that down in the space provided. Continued on that side and on the back you will find daily Scripture readings and I want to encourage you to read the Bible on your own. You will find that all of the Scriptures will help take you deeper into today s message and help you apply it to your life. GRAPHIC 1 It s a Wonderful Life Movie Poster Today we look at the 1946 classic, It s a Wonderful Life. This movie was Sermon preached by Jeff Huber December 12-13, 2015 Page 4

5 supposed to be released in 1947 but they sped up the release and if you pay attention to the movie you will find a few editing mistakes. It s interesting that the year it came out it was a bit of a dud at the box office. It didn t make back what it cost to make the film and so it was a disappointment financially. There were only five Oscar nominations for the film and he didn t receive any awards. For years it languished in the film vaults and no one really watched it and it wasn t played on television every year like many of the Christmas movie classics. There was a loophole in the copyright laws however and it allowed this movie to be played virtually for free and suddenly the networks found it and they began to play it beginning in the 1970s. There were some years that we showed it 20 times during the holiday season and after a few years of that it became a great holiday classic. How many of you have seen It s a Wonderful Life? Most of us in the room have seen the film and that wasn t the case 40 years ago. The film is now ranked by the American Film Institute as the most inspirational film ever made and so it went from being a box office dud that no one had really seen to being what it is today, which is an American film classic. Today we will see a few clips from the film and see how the real meaning of Christmas comes shining through. I hope we will hear God speak to us through this film and through the Scriptures as we continue in our Advent journey towards the birth of Christ. The story begins prior to World War II, during the Great Depression. The leading male character is George Bailey played by Jimmy Stewart. He has grown up in Bedford Falls which is a sleepy, county seat town. His father ran the Building and Loan which is like a modern day Savings and Loan. It was a relatively small business and was always teetering on the edge of going bankrupt. George s father hoped that George might run the Building and Loan Company just as he had but George had big dreams. He had ambitions of going to college and seeing the world. While he had great ambitions he also had a great sense of responsibility for other people. He was a dutiful older son and from the time he was little he was constantly thinking about the needs of others and putting them before himself, which is a very biblical concept of how we are meant to live. After George finishes high school, his father dies, and there is no one left to run the Building and Loan Company. Henry Potter owns the large bank in town and is not a very nice guy. He s an unpleasant slumlord who treats people horribly and with nobody to run the family business, Henry Potter will take over the Building and Loan by closing it down and taking over all of the mortgages and Sermon preached by Jeff Huber December 12-13, 2015 Page 5

6 then running the town. George recognizes that if he doesn t step up and set aside his own dreams and take care of his father s business, the little people in town will suffer. He then chooses not to go to college or travel the world, but instead steps into running the Building and Loan Company in Bedford Falls. You see the heart of George Bailey in this first clip from one the opening scenes which is set in It s during the Great Depression and George has just gotten married. He is just getting ready to go off on his honeymoon with his bride Mary Hatch. He has saved up $2000 which would be worth approximately $20,000 today to go on a great adventure with his new wife for two weeks where they will finally see the world which is something that George is always wanted. At that moment, there is a run on the bank and a run at the Building and Loan. He realizes that if he doesn t stop and stay then the Building and Loan will close. Here s what happens next. VIDEO It s a Wonderful Life Clip 1 GRAPHIC 2 George Baily You get the idea of what George s like as a man who was willing to cancel his honeymoon and use his own money to keep the business afloat. This is the way that he lives his life, very sacrificially. The first half of the film is spent telling this story and by the time we get to the climax of the film eight years have gone by and is now World War II has just ended and it s Christmas Eve. George Bailey is still running the Building and Loan and it still barely making it because he is not focused on profit but on trying to help people and serve others. On Christmas Eve, George s Uncle Billy has taken the deposits from the Building and Loan and taken them to the bank because this is where they keep their money. It s an $8000 deposit, which in today s money would be about $100,000 because the value today is about 12 times what it was in Uncle Billy misplaces the deposit somewhere along the way to the bank and with that misplaced $100,000, the Building and Loan will go under. Because George takes responsibility for what Uncle Billy has done, George will go to jail. George does everything he can on Christmas Eve to find the money or find someone who will loan him the money to keep the Building and Loan in business and to keep himself and Uncle Billy out of jail. As he comes to late Christmas Eve he has been unsuccessful and George feels like his entire world is crashing down in upon him. He leaves his wife and kids at home and goes to the bar and he prays a fervent prayer. George doesn t Sermon preached by Jeff Huber December 12-13, 2015 Page 6

7 hear an answer and so he comes up with his own solution. Let s take a look. VIDEO It s a Wonderful Life Clip 2 GRAPHIC 3 George in Prayer I watched this film a couple of times this week and while we can t fully understand the film without this scene I hesitated to show you it because it strikes close to home. We have experienced several suicides in our community this last year and I have done three funerals for people who have taken their own life. Over the past month I have met with two people who were contemplating suicide and who desperately needed support, encouragement and professional help as they worked through clinical depression which can feel overwhelming. My stepfather s mother took her own life and a good friend of mine from college, someone who had been a roommate and who had spent many hours with me, took his own life after many years of torment that were hidden from most of us. He desperately prayed to God in the middle of the dark trunk of his car before his took his own life, Show me the way, just like George Bailey. I have worked with enough people in my time as a pastor to know that this is a prayer that many people pray. Undoubtedly there are a number of you here this weekend, or watching at home or online, who are going to a dark place and feel like the world might be crumbling around you. Maybe you have been dealing with the chronic depression or sadness and you might have been praying, God, show me the way. I feel as strongly as anything I could ever preach to you this message that I would want you to hear: Taking your own life is not the way. I think God would say directly to us that this is not God s plan for our lives. This is not what God wants for us. I think God would say to each of us as we struggle in that place of darkness, I know things seem dark right now, but we can make it through this. We will make it through this. Just hold on and don t let go. I think God would say to us, Your life is a wonderful gift that I ve given to you. I have work yet for you to do. I have plans for you for hope and a good future. This is not the path I have for you. When the pain becomes so great our thinking becomes muddled. We get tunnel vision and we can t see things clearly anymore. You may not be in that place of darkness right now, but I hope that if you find yourself in that place in the future you ll remember that this is not God s plan or dream. There is a better way and there is more and the darkness will dissipate because light will come again. Sermon preached by Jeff Huber December 12-13, 2015 Page 7

8 George Bailey is a good man. George is not a coward and he s not weak. He is just walking through something that is so horrible he can t figure out another way. George has a $15,000 life insurance policy and he believes he is worth more dead than he is alive and this would pay off the debt at the bank and take care of his family. The problem in not thinking clearly in moments like this is that George then realized that if he takes his own life the insurance will not pay which creates an even worse problem. This is where George needs someone else to come alongside of him so he can get a different perspective. We might not all think about jumping off a bridge, but all of us are George Bailey at some point in our lives. We all get to a place where we think it might be better if we weren t here anymore because things seem dark. That s part of being human and that s what happens when we get isolated and begin to have those thoughts spiraling out of control in her head. It s at this point where Clarence the Angel comes into the story. George s thinking about jumping off the bridge and Clarence, George s guardian angel, shows up and he has a plan. He s going to jump off the bridge first and flail around in the water and cry out, Help me! Clarence knows that George is so committed to doing the right thing and helping others that if he postponed his honeymoon, he will postpone his suicide to help someone else. This is exactly what happens as George saves Clarence and takes him to the Tollhouse of the bridge where they can both get warm and get their close dry after jumping off the bridge into the river. Here s what happens next. VIDEO It s a Wonderful Life Clip 3 GRAPHIC 4 Clarence and George The toll collector is a bit unnerved about seeing a guardian angel and I wonder how each one of us might feel if we saw an angel? That leads us to a question. Have you seen any angels? What you think about angels? 40% of Americans who don t even go to church believe in angels. 77% of all Americans believe in angels, and yet some are skeptical, even some in our congregation. I ve had people in our congregation tell me they don t really believe in angels and I had a number of people tell me that they have experienced their guardian angel and feel like they are walking with them all the time. Let s take a minute to look at what the Bible actually teaches about angels as we think about them today in light of this story in the movie. SLIDE Angel = Messenger Sermon preached by Jeff Huber December 12-13, 2015 Page 8

9 The word Angel means messenger in both Greek and Hebrew. It can be a human messenger or a supernatural being. Angels show up in very specific situations in the Bible and not very often. When God wants to announce something which is earth shattering or big news that is hard to believe which is a huge part of God s plan, God sends messengers. Those messengers in the Bible actually look like people. While we have a picture of angels with wings, and even in this movie Clarence talks about trying to earn his wings by coming down and saving George, the Bible doesn t depict angels that way. Seraphim and Cherubim have wings but they are creatures in heaven and not angels that we think about in the Scriptures. When three strangers came to Sarah, Abraham s wife, and announced to her that she would have a child, they didn t have wings but just look like people. They came to announce this big news that Sarah, even though she was too old to have a child, was going to have a baby who would be Isaac who would then have Jacob whose name was changed to Israel and that would be the beginning of the people of Israel. This is a big plan and God announces it with messengers. In the New Testament we find a messenger coming to tell Mary that she is going to have a baby who will be Christ. We then learned that Joseph finds out in a dream that Mary will have a child and the messenger who tells them this in the dream is an angel. The Angels show up on Christmas day to announce to the shepherds, Behold, we bring you good news of great joy for all the people, that unto you this day in the city of David is born a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. At the resurrection of Jesus, when the women came to the tomb to prepare Jesus body for burial, they found the stone rolled away and the tomb was empty. It was angels who were there and said to them, Why have you come looking for the living among the dead? He is not here. He has risen. They announced the resurrection and are messengers of big news of what God is doing. Angels also show up at times of discouragement, when someone needs encouragement or strength. In the Old Testament, the angel of the Lord showed up for Hagar when she was in the wilderness by herself and she thought she and her son were going to die. The angel of the Lord showed up for Elijah when he prayed to die and encouraged him. The only other times that we see an angel in the Gospels, other than at the birth or death of Jesus, is when Jesus is being tempted in the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights and when he is praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, Sermon preached by Jeff Huber December 12-13, 2015 Page 9

10 perspiring drops of blood and praying that the cup might be taken from him. In the book of Acts, Angels show up while the disciples are in prison to encourage them. At the end of the book of Acts we find an angel of the Lord standing by the apostle Paul while he is in prison, awaiting news of whether he will be executed. So we find angels showing up to announce big news and good news and we find angels showing up to strengthen and encourage people in their hour of need. Many times I have had people come to me and say, Pastor Jeff, please don t tell anyone I told you about this because they will think I am nuts, but you can use this story anonymously if you like. They will go on to tell me about a story where they experienced angels. Those angel stories tend to fall into categories. One is that the angel is a deceased loved one who shows up and speaks or touches somebody, or it might be a stranger that comes to deliver a message while they are sleeping. There was a woman who just had her first child and she was sleeping in a bed next to the bassinet in which her child was sleeping. Her deceased grandmother came to her in the dream and said clear as day, Wake up! She immediately woke up and looked around and saw that the pillow she had been using had fallen off of her bed and into the bassinet and was covering her baby. She lifted up the pillow and her child immediately gasped for breath. The mother felt like her grandmother had awakened her to save her child. I have heard other stories like this from some of you about loved ones or strangers who have come in your sleep to warn you or encourage you during a difficult time in life. The other category is angels which are living human beings who happened to show up at the right time, and the right place, and they help accomplish something the person would never have been able to do on their own. A woman who was eight months pregnant had her three other small children in the back of her car when a tire blew out on a busy road. She pulled over in the middle of a snowstorm to change the tire and as she gets out there are cars whizzing by and she has no idea if she will be able to do this while her other children stay seated in the car. Just then, some headlights came from behind and the car pulled up and out of the car stepped in angel. The angel was a little greasy and dirty but he was a messenger from God who had good news of great joy. The angel announced, I have a hydraulic jack in my truck and I can change that tire quick for you! He did and then he drove away. I m going to freak a few of you out and tell you that I have heard my deceased grandfather speak to me at different times. I don t know if it was really Sermon preached by Jeff Huber December 12-13, 2015 Page 10

11 him as an angel or if it was simply his voice and a memory coming back to me, but there ve been moments where it felt like he was with me clear as day. I also have experienced a lot of those other kind of human angels, who show up at just the right time to offer a word of encouragement or blessing or some kind of help that I really needed and I couldn t provide for myself. I see those people all the time and many of you over my time here as a pastor. One of the texts we have before us today is from the book of Hebrews which says this. SLIDE 1 Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters. 2 Don t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it! 3 Remember those in prison, as if you were there yourself. Remember also those being mistreated, as if you felt their pain in your own bodies. This Scripture reminds us that angels look like people, some who are especially sent from heaven and some who are guided from Earth by the Holy Spirit. One of the things this movie reminds us is that God s angels look like you and me. Most often when God works he doesn t send heavenly angels to do miracles, but he sends human beings to be the answers to people s prayers. That means our job is to pay attention and notice when someone s tire blows out on a busy road and not think that AAA is really the one that is supposed to help. I think of the family who had very little at Christmas and they were in line at the grocery store to buy food and they had their last $20 until their next paycheck. The food and it up totaling more than $20 and the clerk informed them that the person in front of them had left $20 as a Christmas gift to use on the person behind them in line because he felt like God had told him to share what he had. Are we listening this Christmas season? Today is joy weekend where we light the candle of joy, the pink candle on the Advent wreath. How do you think that man felt to stop and help a pregnant woman and her children change her tire on that snowy, dark night? I m guessing he felt joy because he got to be a part of God s work in helping someone in their hour of need. I m pretty sure the man who left $20 at the grocery store for next person in line did so with a sense of joy that he was bringing light into someone else s world at Christmas. We experience joy and we bring joy when we are willing to be God s messengers in the world. Returning to our film for this morning, George Bailey doesn t believe that Sermon preached by Jeff Huber December 12-13, 2015 Page 11

12 Clarence is really an angel sent by God to encourage him. George continues to think that the world might be better off without him which leads to a wonderful twist in the plot. Let s take a look. VIDEO It s a Wonderful Life Clip 4 GRAPHIC 5 George literally gets his wish and now Clarence will take George out and show them what the world would look like if he had never been born. They go into town but it is no longer called Bedford Falls but now it is called Potterville. Why is it Potterville? It s Potterville because George wasn t there to run the Building and Loan when his dad died and now Henry Potter, the evil slumlord who runs the bank, takes over the entire town and renames it after himself. He finances slums instead of decent housing in which the people can live and people go out of business because Potter takes them over and puts in strip clubs in the heart of the town. It s a very different world because George had never been born. George had a chance to go to the bar in which he prayed earlier that night, and when he goes there is under a different name and people act differently. He sees people in the bar who are miserable and they are his friends but now their lives are dark because George wasn t there to give them a loan when they needed it or to offer them kindness. George gets to see how tiny things that he did had huge repercussions in the lives of people. A woman who was an aspiring actress that George helped reach her dreams was instead singing in the strip club because George hadn t been there to encourage her. Suddenly, George sees how different the world would be if he had not been in it. George still doesn t get it until this scene when he finally begins to realize the impact he has had on the world and how it would be if he wasn t in it. VIDEO It s a Wonderful Life Clip 5 GRAPHIC 6 George and Clarence The title of the film comes from that last line of Clarence is that you heard, Don t you see George? You really had a wonderful life. What a waste it would be to throw it away. George s wife ended up not being married and having him as a lifelong companion. His children were never born. His brother died in an ice-skating accident as a child because George wasn t there to save him and as result George s brother never went on to be a war hero and save the lives of Sermon preached by Jeff Huber December 12-13, 2015 Page 12

13 soldiers in his unit. We are meant to be reminded in this movie how every single one of us has an impact on the world that we can t even imagine or fathom. The man who developed Chaos Theory also talked about something that we call the Butterfly Effect, which recognizes how small things can have a huge effect on a closed system. There was a film made by this title not too long ago, but the idea is that a butterfly flapping its wings in Asia might very well redirect the entire path of a hurricane and where it strikes. That small of bit of air pressure in a specific place and time creates an entire cascading effect of events which can have huge consequences somewhere else. Every one of us plays some role in God s plan in this world. As followers of Jesus Christ, we believe that we are called to be a part of the body of Christ which allows us to have an even bigger impact on the world. We also believe that even the things we do which might be negative, God can take and use to bring about something good. We play a critical role and if we were going to play a critical role that we wouldn t even be here. As long as we have breath we have something to do in a role to fulfill. As I watched this film this week I was thinking about a time in my life when I was 16 years old and I was particularly low and depressed about life and many different struggles I was having. I had a brief and fleeting thought about taking my own life, which didn t last very long, but was still very real. It was my best friend in the youth group at our church who called me at that moment and who met with me a bit later that day and helped pull me out of that funk. If I had gone through with that plan, then my wife would be married to someone else and my children never would ve been adopted and come to live in Durango and maybe not even adopted all. I would ve missed out on amazing things I have experienced with them and I wouldn t be here is your pastor over the last 13 years, or been a youth pastor for 20 years before that. I m not sure what kind of impact I have had but I hope it s a good one. None of those things and many more would ve happened if I d listen to that voice when I was 16 years old and today I can even remember why it was I felt like taking my life! For every one of us, the same reality is true. We all have touched people we don t even realize we have touched. The flapping of the butterfly wings can have a tremendous impact on the world. Clarence says to George, Each man s life touches so many others. Sermon preached by Jeff Huber December 12-13, 2015 Page 13

14 I hope you will remember in those moments of darkness, when you feel like you can t go on anymore, please reach out to someone. Talk to somebody. I think of the woman who told me she went through a period of a year where she was struggling with thoughts of taking her life and it was people in her small group who called her every day telling her that she mattered and that they cared about her which kept her from taking that step. We have Stephen Ministers and Congregational Care ministers and others who long to bless you and encourage you if you will just pick up the phone and call us and let us know. Please reach out so you can get a change of perspective and someone else can help you see clearly when it feels dark. Most importantly, I hope we will remember the overarching biblical story which is that in the midst of our darkness, God says, I m with you. I m not going to leave you or forsake you. Jesus was called Emmanuel which means, God is with us. He promises to walk with us all the time. He says through the Christmas story, when light comes into the darkness, We can get through this together. This is not my plan that you would end your life. I have ways that I am dreaming of using you. There are 10,000 blessings coming in the future that you can t see no matter how dark the present circumstances are. Trust me and listen to my voice. You will make it through. For God, there are no hopeless causes, and God longs for you and I to be the messengers of that truth. God doesn t typically send Clarence Odboty when he wants to accomplish something in the world and bring light into the darkness. God doesn t typically suspend the laws of nature and do supernatural things, but God most often works through you and me. God sends people to be the angelic beings who offer words of encouragement. If we are paying attention, God sends us to be the presence of Jesus Christ the world. That s exactly what happens when George is in trouble. George s wife Mary announces to the entire town, and anybody she can call, that George needs their help. This is what happens next in the film. VIDEO It s a Wonderful Life Clip 6 GRAPHIC 7 George and Family I love that scene in the end which illustrates so well this truth that the angels who God sends are the people in our lives. They were paying attention and they heard a need and they responded. The apostle Paul puts it this way in his letter to the Galatians. Sermon preached by Jeff Huber December 12-13, 2015 Page 14

15 SLIDE 2 Share each other s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. There are times when we can t carry our burdens alone, and to fulfill the law of Christ, to be instruments of Christ and the presence of Jesus Christ the world, means to carry people s burdens with them. In the end, George really was the richest man in town. He was saved by the angels from his community on Christmas Eve. He still experienced new challenges and adversity later on in life I am sure, but he came to know the truth that trusting in God in the hard times will carry us through and there are no hopeless causes. As we conclude, please don t forget that your life matters. Even if we can t see it, God can. God would say to each one of us at Christmas time that there are no hopeless causes and God is always with us. Don t throw your life away because God has things for us to do. Finally, we are God s angels so pay attention. We are the instruments of healing and hope and encouragement for others. When we are willing to be God s angels we find joy. Would you bow in prayer with me? SLIDE Prayer You might be walking through a really difficult time right now. I would like to simply invite you to trust in Christ. Trust that God is here and God is speaking to you today. Trust that you are here today because God wanted you to hear this message. You might simply whisper under your breath: Lord, I trust you are here. I trust that you know me. I trust that you care See me through this dark time I pray Use even this for your purposes Help me Lord. Whether we are walking through a hard time or not, we are all called to be angels, messengers who bring joy. You might simply pray this quietly under your breath: Lord, help me to pay attention to those in need Allow me to be an instrument of encouragement and strength of help and of hope Use me this Christmas season In Jesus name, amen Sermon preached by Jeff Huber December 12-13, 2015 Page 15