I’ve been thinking a lot about water. Specifically, the water supply in southern Nevada. As most of you know, our water supply has been dwindling for the past 20 years. Lake Mead has served as our primary water source since 1935 when Hoover Dam was completed.

As most of you know the water serves another purpose: It generates electricity. As the water from Lake Mead passes through the dam the hydroelectric generators produce massive amounts of electricity. Each year, 4 billion kilowatt-hours of hydroelectric power is created at the dam. That electricity can power 1.3 million homes. Wow.

There is potential in that water! Water is essential for life AND if channeled properly it can provide needed power for the lives we live.

The same is true for our baptism.

The moment we were baptized, God laid a claim on our lives. We are born into a new family: The family of God. Nothing can undo that declaration by God.

Once we have received the water joined with the Word (Jesus) at Baptism, we are both a reservoir of God’s grace but we are also full of potential power.

At our baptism we are also given the gift of the Holy Spirit. The power of the Spirit can change us and change the world!

Look at the disciples after the resurrection. They went from being afraid when Jesus died to fearless! That is the power of the Spirit at work.

Every Christian has potential Holy Spirit power in their lives.

How do we unleash that power? We surrender to it. Let God take the lead in your life. Remember: Thy will be done, not my will be done.

Gracious God,

Thank you claiming us and making us your children. Help us to surrender our wills to yours so that the potential power of the Holy Spirit is unleashed in us… today… right now. Help us to stop, look and listen for your direction in all things. In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen.

God bless you,

Pr. Ben

We come to the last few days of the year with an eye on New Year’s Day. Even as the world has moved on from Christmas, that is the season we are in and will be until Epiphany on January 6^th.

I know it seems odd that it is still Christmas. After all, the stores and the radio told you it was the Christmas season on the day after Thanksgiving.  But here we are.

Before the season officially ends, let’s look at where we have been in the past month.

First, we created an alternative holiday to-do list…

1. Be present in the lives of others instead of just buying presents
   
   
2. Wrap others in love instead of just wrapping presents.
   
   
3. Be the light instead of just going out to look at lights. (I really wanted this to be “eat cookies instead of making them.”)
   
   
4. Send peace to others by reaching out and contacting someone.
   

Of course, these are things we can do all year long and I personally will strive to do those things with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Although we didn’t look at all the stories of Jesus when he was an infant, let’s take a quick peek. These stories tell us something about Jesus’ identity and his future.

1. The angels announced the birth to shepherds not Kings, Caesar’s, and nobles. Jesus will spend his time with “real people” like us.
   
   
2. King Herod is threatened by the birth of Jesus. Herod’s power is threatened by the One who truly has power.
   
   
3. When Jesus was dedicated at the Temple of Jerusalem as was the custom of that day a man by the name of Simeon knew who Jesus was and what he would be about. This is what he said to Mary, “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.” Luke 2:34
   
   
4. The Wise Men come from afar reminding us that Jesus is for all people and not just some.
   

All the stories point to who Jesus is and what he would do for us. A good reminder for us before we put Christmas back into storage until next year.

God bless you and Merry Christmas,

Pr. Ben

This past Sunday at church, I told everyone that Rachel (my wife) made an old family cookie recipe that goes back several generations. That old Swedish cookie is called “Pepparkakor.”

The house smelled wonderful as the first batch of cookies baked in the oven. The aroma took me back to when I was a child when my mother would make these cookies for the family.

As the cookies came out of the oven, I jumped up from my seat to “help” Rachel in the kitchen. OK, I went into the kitchen to have a cookie. I was promptly told that these cookies were for the church bake sale.

The irony was that I went to church to buy back the cookies Rachel made in our home! (FYI: I didn’t buy them all!)

This week, Rachel suggested I share the family recipe of Pepparkakor with the church family! What an excellent idea I thought, now everyone can make me cookies! Just kidding!

Below is that recipe… enjoy!

1 c. butter
1 egg
1⅓ c. sugar
2 T. light molasses
2½ c. flour
1½ tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. each of the following:
Ground cloves, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom
3 tsp. orange peel, fresh grated fine

Cream butter, egg, sugar and light molasses. Sift flour, baking soda, spices and orange peel. Combine all and blend. Roll out as thin as you can.

Use cookie cutter. Bake 375° on cookie sheet for 8 to 10 minutes.

Merry Christmas!

God bless you,
Pr. Ben

John weeks looked into the origins of the word Advent (the church season we are in right now) and this is what he discovered…

The word Advent comes from the Latin word, “advenire”, conjugated as “adventus” which is a combination word of “ad” meaning, “to” or “toward” and “venire”, “come” which is conjugated as ventus, which means more specifically, “coming”. Combining them gets us literally, “toward the coming.” The Latin definition is, “(a thing) about to happen.” Expectation would be an appropriate synonym here.

Funk & Wagnall’s defines the lower case version of advent as, “a coming or arrival, as of any important event or person.” So you can see that the definition has not changed significantly since it was taken from the original Latin.

We are preparing for the advent of Jesus. Not just in the Christmas story but also the advent of our King at the end of time. After all we profess in the Apostles’ Creed that, “He will come again to judge the living and the dead.”

Christmas is the reminder that God comes to us! Sure, he came to us 2000 years ago in Bethlehem when Jesus was born! We also beleive that he will return one day to take us home. In the meantime, the Holy Spirit dwells within us and promises to never leave us.

If we know that Christmas is coming and that Jesus will return one day… let me ask the question, “Are you ready?”

If you don’t know the answer to the question I am asking, let me tell you by turning to one of our favorite Christmas hymns, “Joy to the World.” The first verse tells us everything we need to know. “Let every heart, prepare him (Jesus) room.”

It is that simple. Make room for Jesus in your heart. Not just once, but each and every day. By the way, you might need to push out some other stuff to create more room for Jesus but I will leave that to you to figure out.

Let your heart be a manger to lay the Christ child in.

The promise of Advent is real, don’t be the inn, be the stable. Make room for Jesus today.

Happy Advent,

Pr. Ben