God of Hope Help us see you in the darkness. Help us to hear you in the silence. Help us to taste and see that You are good. Help us to trust in your goodness. As we receive and remember your love, help us to share your light with those around us. As we continue to hope for your Kingdom to come, help us to share this good news with
We use a lot of words to describe Christmas. As a way of helping us focus our thinking this Advent – Christmas season, we are inviting you to write a 3-word statement that describes an aspect of this season for you; and, if you are a little more adventurous, expand on that statement with a paragraph or 2. For part (a) you can
E·PIPH·A·NY Manifestation or appearance A moment of sudden revelation or insight. Epiphany is a season of revelation—the manifestation of God’s presence in earthly form—God showing up in ordinary and unexpected places to ordinary and unexpected people. The story of Epiphany is the story of wise people, astrologers, magi, seeking after God by attending to his created order – looking to the stars to find the newborn King. It is the
PONDER: THE BRIGHT MORNING STAR! I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near—a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel… Numbers 24:17 We weren’t, you know, just wishing on a star when we laid the facts out before you regarding the powerful return of our Master, Jesus Christ. We were there for the preview! We saw it with our
PONDER: We are the Light of the World You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and
PONDER: JESUS is the Light of the World The people who are now living in darkness have seen a great light. They are now living in a very dark land. But a light has shined on them. Matthew 4:16 (quoting Isaiah 9:1, 2) This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates
The Christ Candle We give thanks for the light of hope—unrelenting and inexplicable. Our hope in Christ shines on. We give thanks for the light of peace—strong and unafraid. The peace of Christ lights our way. We give thanks for the light of joy—persistent and unpredictable. The joy of Christ strengthens our lives. We give thanks for the light of love—burning bright and holy. The love of Christ comforts and
PONDER: THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD From the Beginning to the End, the Triune One brings, bears and embodies Light: When God made the world, He said “Let there be light!” Genesis 1:3, 14-17; Psalm 136:7 God, you shine like a very bright light. You are more majestic than mountains full of wild animals. Psalm 76:4 Every good thing given, and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from
PONDER: GLORY! And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. ~John 1:14 The Word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, Generous inside and out, true from start to finish. ~John 1:14 MSG
