My sermon went ok today - not as fluid as I had hoped but nevertheless it was fine. People were very kind to me and as I had asked 5 people to give me feedback they said some nice things and some useful things which I am most grateful for.
As I mentioned yesterday I gave each member of the congregation a red advent star with a verse from Romans on it. At the end of my sermon I encouraged them to write the name of someone who they felt needed God's hope and asked them to pray for this person during the rest of advent. I then read out the verse as a blessing. It was a simple thing but it seemed to resonate for a number of the older people who spoke to me after the service about how it had moved them and how they now felt they would be able to focus their prayers for hope. One lady, who has recently suffered the bereavement of a close family member, told me that she had put up her tree which she said 'nobody would see', and she hadn't got a star to put on the top. She was so pleased that now she had! Something so fragile and small as a red paper star had offered a bit of advent hope to her. Anyway, someone will see her tree because I hope to go to her house for a cup of tea sometime this week.
If you are up for generating kindness then do take a look at the re:jesus blog as we are discussing inventive ways to be kind at Christmas.
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