Sermon for February 3rd, 2013
Jeremiah 29:11-14
11For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. 12Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. 13When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart, 14I will let you find me, says the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.
John 1:1-8
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was in the beginning with God. 3All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being 4in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. 5The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. 8He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light.
1 Peter 2:9-11
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 11 Beloved, I urge you as aliens and exiles to abstain from the desires of the flesh that wage war against the soul. 12Conduct yourselves honourably among the Gentiles, so that, though they malign you as evildoers, they may see your honourable deeds and glorify God when he comes to judge.
Three Minute Film Summary
In a hole in the ground, there lived a hobbit. That's how J.R.R. Tolkien begins his classic novel, upon which the film is based. For those who are not familiar with Tolkien's fantasy world of Middle Earth, a Hobbit is about half the size of a normal person, and has large, hairy feet. Hobbits are clean, tidy, cautious creatures, who enjoy the comforts of home, and live quiet rustic lives in small corner of Middle Earth known as "The Shire." The central hobbit in this story is Bilbo Baggins, a respectable fellow who leads a very ordinary life until the Wizard Gandalf arrives at his house one day, asking Bilbo if he would like to go on an adventure. Bilbo, of course, says no. "Adventures," he says, "are nasty, uncomfortable things" that "make you late for dinner." At this, Gandalf departs. Later that evening, Bilbo answers his doorbell to find a dwarf, who invites himself in for dinner. As we'll see in the following clip, his doorbell is not quite done ringing... [clip #1].
The dwarves are on a quest to reclaim their homeland, the ancient city of Erebor. Long ago, their people were driven from their city by the dragon Smaug, who coveted the gold the dwarves had mined from underneath their city's mountain. They have wandered for many years in exile
- The Magic of J.R.R. Tolkien
- Light in the Darkness
- Luck, Fate, and Providence
- This is Not our Home (the Journey)
