Third Sunday of Advent: Transforming Our Sorrow

This week we celebrated the third Sunday of Advent. Our community is in the midst of an Advent and Christmas series focusing on Awesome Deeds We Do Not Expect.

The message for this third Sunday of Advent focused on the following Scriptures (particularly the ones in bold font): Psalm 126; Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11; 1 Thessalonians 5: 16-24; John 1: 6-8, 19-28

The message – Transforming Our Sorrow (click on the title to be connected to the message) addressed how we live in light of the sorrows we encounter everyday.  One day God has promised to turn our sorrow, our nmourning into joy, but how do we live in the "meantime?"  The Psalmist as do the Isaiah and Thesssalonian texts reveal that we are called to live in the present in light of the future reality of God's peace, God's shalom.  This is not merely wishful thinking, but living in the reality of the Spirit who creates joy in our life as we create room for the Spirit to do God's transforming work in us. 

Second Sunday of Advent: Changing the Landscape

This week we celebrated the second Sunday of Advent.  Our community is in the midst of an Advent and Christmas series focusing on Awesome Deeds We Do Not Expect. 

The message for the second Sunday of Advent focused on the following Scriptures (particularly the ones in bold font):   Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13; Isaiah 40:1-11; Mark 1:1-8; 2 Peter 3:8-15a

The message – Changing the Landscape (click on the title to be connected to the message) addressed whether we are willing for God to change the landscape of our lives.  Do we want God to change the landscape in front of us to make open roads for us so that our lives are fulfilling, or are we willing for the Spirit of God to remove barriers within us, to change the landscape within our lives so that God has unimpeded access into the center of our lives – in order to transform us, shape us, lead us?

First Sunday of Advent - Learning to Pay Attention

This blog had a short run as a place to raise some discussion based on a previous Sunday’s message – now it is being resurrected as a place to post my Sunday messages for those who have been requesting them, as well as providing a forum for feedback, added insights, deeper questions, or even points of disagreement.

After Last Sunday begins again with the onset of the Christian Year with the celebration of the first Sunday of Advent.  Our community is in the midst of an Advent and Christmas series focusing on Awesome Deeds We Do Not Expect. 

In this focus we give our attention to God who enters our world in many ways – some large and dramatic, others small and subtle.  Isaiah’s imagery about mountains falling down, valleys standing up, and unlikely people appearing on the road is not about a dramatic moment as a decisive change.  God’s presence is disruptive and surprising, never safe or predictable.  Nothing pictures the surprising nature of God’s presence than God’s coming in the person of Jesus.

During this Advent season, we are invited to meditate on God’s sure coming – but often in places we would not think to look.  We are invited to ponder God’s awesome deeds – but often not the ones we would expect.  What we celebrate and anticipate this Advent is the unexpected manner of God’s coming in Jesus, and the unexpected ways God is still coming.

The message for the first Sunday of Advent focused on the following Scriptures (particularly the ones in bold font):   Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19, Isaiah 64:1-9, Mark 13:24-37, 1 Corinthians 1:3-9

The message – Learning to Pay Attention (click on the title to be connected to the message) addressed our longings for dramatic revelations of God, yet, God often enters our lives in unexpected ways that catch us unaware if we aren’t alert and watching.  Even small moments can be vessels of God’s awesome deeds.  God is near – so keep awake and pay attention!