This week's message Preparing for Christ's coming!  (Luke 3: 4-6)  Scripture: As is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. And all mankind will see God's salvation.'" Luke 3:4-6 (NIV)  Wow! There are only twenty-two days until Christmas! Are you ready for Christmas? That is a question we hear quite often these days, isn't it? What do people mean when they ask if you are ready for Christmas? Well, they usually mean things like...

•  Do you have all of your shopping done?
• Have you finished wrapping all your gifts?
• Have you put up your Christmas tree and all the decorations?
• Have you sent your Christmas cards?
• Have you finished baking all of the Christmas goodies?
• Is your house clean and ready for visitors?

What are some traditions that your family does to prepare for Christmas? While all of these things are important to our families, what is more important is how do we prepare for the coming of the Christ child?  In our Bible lesson today, we hear the voice of John the Baptist crying out to the people, "Prepare the way for the Lord. Fill in the valleys and level off all the mountains. Make the crooked roads straight and the rough places smooth." Did John the Baptist really want the people to work on the roads? No, what John wanted was for the people to get ready for the coming of the Messiah. What he really meant was that the people needed to get their hearts right and return to God. You see, no matter how good people may think they are, there are always some crooked ways and rough places in their lives. There are things such as dishonesty, selfishness, pride, jealousy, and many more. John wanted the people to make those crooked ways straight and rough places smooth so that Jesus could come and walk among them.  During the Christmas season, we, too, can prepare by looking at our hearts and smoothing out rough places like dishonesty and selfishness. And the good news is, God will help us. Let's ask Him to do that right now.  Dear Father, we want to be ready. Make our crooked ways straight and our rough places smooth. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.