ADVENT
This Sunday, Nov. 27, is the first day of Advent, which we begin with our Hanging of the Green service. Advent is a season of preparation that helps us as a church to look forward to the celebration of Christmas, and beyond Christmas to the second coming of Jesus Christ.
During this season we remember how our Savior humbled himself to be born and live among those He would save. We remember the perfect life he lived doing the will of His Father in the power of the Spirit, his sacrificial death on the cross for our sins, and how he was raised from the dead three days later, having paid the penalty in order to save all who would believe. Not only do we remember, we look forward to the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise to return again one day and restore everything fully, to inaugurate his kingdom. This is a season of expectation, hope, peace, and grace.
To help us celebrate Advent, for the next few weeks on Sunday mornings our theme will be “Repeat the Sounding Joy!,” focusing on the joy that kingdom anticipation creates and kingdom life brings.
Please know that I am praying for you during this Advent season, that God will help you see and remember who he is and what he is doing all around us in Jesus Christ. I am praying that God will help you have the peace he has purchased for you through his Son. I hope to see you all as we continue to gather in Christ, praising him for his tender mercy in giving us, his people, “the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins” (Luke 1:77).
God bless,