The lessons for each Sunday in the church year proclaim God’s grace in Jesus Christ. Also derived from a Sunday’s text are lessons for the Christ-inspired and Christ-like life of God’s people. The comments here will help you find hunger related threads—sermon starters—among the themes of this day’s texts. (We’re presuming you have already done your exegetical work on the texts.) God bless your proclamation (and teaching) of what is most certainly true.

· There is an interesting dialog between the Lord God and King David, with the prophet Nathan as the interpreter. King David would like to honor God with a beautiful temple, but God doesn’t see it that way. God clarifies that God has selected and blessed David with a special covenant, but a special temple isn’t on God’s agenda for David. God does promise his love and faithfulness forever.

· David responds with a great tribute in Ps.89:26: “You are my father, my God, the rock of my salvation.”

· What kind of response is God looking for from us in light of all that God has given us in God’s covenant and pledge of faithfulness?

· In Luke 1: 26–38, we have God’s messenger calling on Mary to invite her to become a “servant of the Lord.” We might warn others whenever you hear what may be the voice of God saying things like, “Greetings, O favored one. The Lord is with you.” [DUCK.] When we listen to the messengers of God that can come in many different forms, we should be prepared to have our life’s direction and agenda changed.

· Mary’s response to the angel Gabriel is classic. First some fear and trembling followed by a “How can this be?” Gabriel goes for the clincher in persuading Mary that she will become the “mother of the most high’ by assuring Mary that “Nothing will be impossible with God.”

*Notice the response of Mary. Vs. 38 “Here am I, the servant of the Lord, be it done to me according to your word.” In contemporary language, “Whatever you say Lord, I’m available.”

What do we hear God calling us to do regarding God’s agendas in the world today? We talk a lot about faith, but notice the key with Mary was that faith allowed her to hear her call, but obedience is what gave God permission to use her as God saw fit. And sister Elizabeth, on her own errand of carrying the future John the Baptist, tells Mary in vs. 45, “Blessed is the one who believes that God will fulfill his promises.”

If God can use the likes of Nathan and David, Mary and Elizabeth, Peter and Paul, Luther and Martin Luther King, don’t you suppose he can also use us to carry on kingdom errands in our day? Mary’s song in Luke 1:46–55 describes some of the surprising ways the Spirit is at work bringing about God’s plan for our world. Like Mary, the humble servant of the Lord, we, too, can say, “For the mighty one has done great things for me and holy is his name.”

What might be some modern forms by which God’s messengers might show up in our lives, in our faith communities, and send us out on some Kingdom errands? Remember both in Mary’s hymn of praise (vs.46-55) and Jesus in his first sermon (Luke 4) the role of the broken and suffering seem to rank among the highest on the kingdom priority list.

Remember Gabriel’s reassurance to Mary before he unloaded God’s call to her: “Fear not.” Preachers need to hear that from time to time also.

The lessons for each Sunday in the church year proclaim God’s grace in Jesus Christ. Also derived from a Sunday’s texts are lessons for the Christ-inspired and Christ-like life of God’s people. The comments here will help you find hunger related threads-sermon starters- among the themes of this day’s texts. (We’re presuming you have already done your exegetical work on the texts.) God bless your proclamation (and teaching) of what is most certainly true.

· Isaiah picks up on the strong “praise” accent so strongly emphasized in Psalm 148. Interesting to note, however, that the psalmist links praise and righteousness in vs. 11 as a reminder that the voice of praise is connected to acts of reflecting God’s call for righteousness. Great praise is best expressed in “right living” or daily actions that reflect God’s priorities and passions of “right living.”

· Psalm 148 calls on all things in both heaven and Earth to join in the chorus of praise. All creation is included as the psalmist names all categories including: mountains and trees, cattle and kings, all things and all people. If there is a Sunday when the worship “praise bands” should dominate the service, it this Sunday. No holding back now…everything should enter into the sounds of praise.

· The letter to the Galatians 4:1–11 is entitled in some commentaries as:
“Enslavement under the law; freedom for all of God’s children.” Christ is sent, at a time in God’s timetable, in order to ransom those who were in bondage under the law.” We hear echoes of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s proclamation, “Free at last, free at last, thank God almighty we are free at last.”

· The theme of “Freedom in Christ” as adopted children of God and joining heirs is a mighty one. We could invite people to walk by the baptismal font on their way to the communion altar, dip their fingers in the water, and trace the sign on the cross on their foreheads as a reminder of whose we are.

· A stewardship theme hidden behind the adoption theme is that we are now to be “caretakers” of God’s assets and our inheritance.

· The gospel text from Luke chapter 2: 22-40 begins with faithful parents bringing their first born to the temple for a “presentation.”

· The event is upstaged by two characters Simeon and Anna who become the first to confess faith in Jesus as Savior, Messiah, and universal Lord.

· Notice also the strong accent on inclusivity regarding the blessings of this child. Jesus’s salvation is prepared for ALL PEOPLES. Sometimes we are given the impression that inclusivity was created by the modern liberal church, but really it is rooted in the old tradition of Simeon.

· You might ask the choir to sing the wonderful “Nunc Dimintus” (Lord, now let your servant depart in peace.) You could also display on a big screen in the sanctuary the wonderful painting entitled “Simeon’s Moment” by the artist, Ron DiCianni. (You can google it and see it for yourself.) This unique picture shows Simeon holding the baby Jesus with a tear on his cheek and a map of the world subtly in the background. It’s a sermon in and of itself. Jesus, God’s blessed son and gift to the whole world.