A Christmas Carol - The pain of the Past
A Christmas Carol • Sermon • Submitted
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The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
I love this time of year
It’s different -
Overall people are nicer - yes there are still the crazies
All the decorations - when they are done
The music playing everywhere - it’s funny it’s the one time everyone sings loud
The parties - the food
Most of all - the movies - so many movies
I confess - I have seen all the Hallmark movies
But my favorite is the classics - Miracle on 34th St, Wonderful Life, etc.
All time favorite is the Christmas Carol
Remade over 20 times - from black and white to the muppets and Bill Murray
It is an amazing story of transformation and salvation
Just the name Scrooge conjures up scenes of Christmas
It is a story of hope - he could be changed, then so could I
This Advent, as we moves towards the birth of Christ
Ask you to pull up a chair, come on home, journey with us through this story
In a way we will be visited by 3 ghosts - today the past
"When we recall Christmas past, we usually find that the simplest things—not the great occasions—give off the greatest glow of happiness." Bob Hope
The problem is the past is not always happy
For some of us it is pain, guilt, anger, or shame
You here and see it in Scrooge
“If I could work my will, every idiot who goes about with ‘Merry Christmas’ on his lips should be boiled with his own pudding and buried with a stake of holly through his heart. He should!” - Ebenezer Scrooge, ‘A Christmas Carol’.
How do we get past the past
Not that I have already reached the goal or am already perfect, but I make every effort to take hold of it because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead,
How we deal with the Ghosts’ of Christmas past
That's what I want to dive into this morning
Turn in your Bibles to Ephesians 4
Let's pray
I am not going to begin to say I understand all of which you have gone through
There are some very deep wounds for some
There is a a place where we should seek Professional counseling to helps us get healthier - things we cannot deal with on our own
There are things we can start to do to move us toward healing
How to deal with the past:
1. Release
Let all bitterness, anger and wrath, shouting and slander be removed from you, along with all malice.
At some point we have to let go to move forward
We so often let what was define us today
As followers of Christ we do not have too
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come!
Because of Christ we can let go -
We are now defined by God’s grace and love
When we do it allows us to move to the next step
How to deal with the past:
2. Reconcile
And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.
Forgiveness is freeing - it’s as not for them as it for us
It is not easy, but un-forgiveness is the thing that get’s most people stuck
It was modeled for us and even commanded to us
To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable, because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.
- C.S. Lewis
When we don’t forgive - I do not think we can truly experience the forgiveness given to us
When we do we can move forward
- My Father left when young - never wanted to talk about it
Affected my marriage - until I forgave
How to deal with the past:
3. Recommit
Philippians 3:12–13 (CSB)
Not that I have already reached the goal or am already perfect, but I make every effort to take hold of it because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it.
Now I can move forward
Now I can set my eyes on the true goal and prize
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.
Life is a series of forward steps
Let christ deal with my past ans lead me forward
How?
How to deal with the past:
4. Refocus
Philippians 3:13–14 (CSB)
But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus.
Let me read this again
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.
My energy and focus goes to building the kingdom that will last
I invest my time, talents, and treasure
When I do that, I become a better husband or wife, father or mother, son or daughter, man or woman
The Pain of the Past
The Pain of the Past
The pain of the past is still there
It reminds us of the grace we experience now
I am not a theologian or a scholar, but I am very aware of the fact that pain is necessary to all of us. In my own life, I think I can honestly say that out of the deepest pain has come the strongest conviction of the presence of God and the love of God. - Elisabeth Elliot
Remember as follower of Christ
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus,
The Ghost of our past no longer needs to haunt us - we are free
Let’s pray