Happy Fourth Sunday of Advent and the day before the longest night in 2020. Today started overcast and chilly and has been filled with drizzle for the entire day. But we cannot let the weather quench our spirit and our preparation for the celebration of the coming of Christ at Christmas. We were able to observe some of our regular Sunday before Christmas routine today but missed others. We didn’t get a chance to green the church and sanctuary but we did celebrate our clergy and staff today. We wish you a peaceful end of your Advent preparations and a blessed Christmastide.

In worship we lighted the candle of Joy on our Advent wreath and remembered the faith of Mary all those years ago. We are also encouraged to continue our preparations for the ultimate return of Christ and focused on being prepared for Christ’s return. Our reading from Paul’s letter to the Romans was the doxology of the letter. That doxology serves as our reminder that we are equipped by God to be the gospel for our world, those who bear witness to God’s saving grace born in Jesus. Our gospel reading from Luke is the annunciation of Mary by Gabriel. In that lesson we are shown that being perplexed by God’s presence in our life is not unexpected and in our disturbance we should ponder what God is calling us to do. Our sermon was focused on the reading from 2nd Samuel and the establishment of David’s line as the dynasty for Israel. The reading challenged us to act on what we believe we should do for God but to be alert that God might invite us to look at things in a different way. God doesn’t stop being intimate with us when we err and doesn’t remove us from an ordered relationship, simply invites us to refocus ourselves.

I invite your comments,
Les+

Readings: 2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16; Psalm 89:1-4, 19-26; Romans 16:25-27; Luke 1:26-38

Video of worship: https://youtu.be/kcv8UDJ5nNY