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Humility

Our advent sermon series is inspired by Christmas carols.  I spent the morning and half the afternoon preparing to preach on the beautiful carol 'In the bleak mid-winter'.  The biblical text I've chosen is Philippians 2.5-11:

You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honour and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (NLT)

This passage is mind-blowing; I mean, it's one of the most beautiful passages in the New Testament.  So preaching on it feels like a bit of a tall order.  Still, I chose the passage - and the carol - so it's my fault!  

So I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed and my creative juices are not flowing, so I decide that rather than flog an uncooperative horse, I'll turn to an essay I should have finished by now about leadership.  Some Baptists don't like the word 'leader' as it seems to suggest that some have a higher status and exercise power over others in an unChristian way.  I'm reading an article which explains that Christian leadership is non-coercive; it's accountable; it is a form of service; and finally that leadership has nothing to do with status.  Suddenly I realised that this was all very good preparation for this particular sermon.

'In the bleak mid-winter' is pretty much a sermon on Philippians 2 in itself.

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