I love the United Methodist Church....I love the God we worship...I love the Advent Season!!! Albeit the craziest-busiest time of year, our church and this season afford us four weeks to prepare for Christ's birth. Behind the sparkling ornaments, under piles of gifts, and more important than loads of calorie laden seasonal treats lies the heart of our Christian faith. Born in a smelly stable to poor earthly parents under the oppression of one of history's most cruel and oppressive rulers, what promise this new born baby in Bethlehem...our Lord...brings!

The verses from Titus revisit fundamental truths. We:

• Worship a merciful God;
• Receive salvation as a gift from a loving God rather than being something we earn;
• Experience rebirth through the Holy Spirit;
• Inherit His Kingdom though eternal life.

Upon reading one verse further beyond today's scripture you discover that as Christ's followers we must devote ourselves to doing works of piety. To paraphrase James 2:17 "Faith without works is dead."

John Wesley said "Do all the good you can, By all the means you can, In all the ways you can, In all the places you can, At all the times you can, To all the people you can, As long as ever you can." I am grateful for the works my St. Stephen family continually practices. The collective faith of this place remains evident!

Now that all of our Salvation Army Christmas Stockings are stuffed, the Angel Tree gifts purchased and the Operation Christmas Child boxes are shipped, let us remember the reason we do it.

This Advent as we consider baby Jesus let us all remember that the greatest gift we can receive does not come from Nordstrom, the sporting goods store, and a jeweler. Rather, it is free---the acceptance of Salvation and Peace that the Christ child brings. Accepting this prayerfully and submissively looking toward God with open hearts and open minds claiming Emmanuel - God with us - represents the greatest gift we can return to God.