Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
November is almost over and we are fast approaching the season of Advent. The time of expectation… the time of anticipation… the time of preparation. I used to say our world so quickly passes by Thanksgiving to race toward Christmas, however, now I need to say how quickly our world passes by Halloween to race toward Christmas so sales can flourish! While the world is in the fast pace of skipping past the true meaning of the “Season”, we in the church attempt to focus ourselves even more on the hope and the promises that cannot be bought.
Even in the church we find ourselves mingling the two seasons that are before us: Advent, which begins this Sunday, December 1, and Christmas. Both are about waiting for Christ to enter the world; however, Advent is the time of expectation, anticipation, and preparation as we wait for Christ to return. Our focus is in the promise of Christ’s return to claim his people. Christmas is celebrating Christ’s first entrance into the world.
Whether we are talking about Advent or Christmas we are focused on the longing we have in our hearts for God to make things right in our lives and in our world!
We long for peace…
We long for joy…
We long for redemption…
We long for wholeness…
We long for excitement…
We long for forgiveness…
We long for hope…
The truth is that in our heart we all long for God to fill us anew. The things we hope for cannot be bought in a store and wrapped in a package, but received as we ask Christ Jesus to come and then we wait with excitement, in the silence for him to meet us.
Come and join us in the beautiful time of “waiting” for Christ. Worship our Lord with us on Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights… and sing! Sing till your heart is content:
Come, thou long expected Jesus,
Born to set thy people free; from our fears and sins release us;
Let us find our rest in thee. Israel’s strength and consolation,
Hope of all the earth thou art,
Dear desire of ev’ry nation, Joy of ev’ry longing heart.
Join in the JOY!
In Christ,
Pastor Barb
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