How Do You Prepare?
Malachi 3:1-4
3 “I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty.
2 But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, 4 and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord, as in days gone by, as in former years.
Luke 1:68:79
68 “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has come to his people and redeemed them.
69 He has raised up a horn[a] of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David
70 (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
71 salvation from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us—
72 to show mercy to our ancestors
and to remember his holy covenant,
73 the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
74 to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
and to enable us to serve him without fear
75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
76 And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
77 to give his people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
78 because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
79 to shine on those living in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.”
Philippians 1:3-11
3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
7 It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. 8 God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.
Luke 3:1-6
3 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene— 2 during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:
“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.
5 Every valley shall be filled in,
every mountain and hill made low.
The crooked roads shall become straight,
the rough ways smooth.
6 And all people will see God’s salvation.’”
This Sunday’s service can be viewed on our Facebook page @ Sunday, December 8, 2024
Peace is Near!
Jesus is our Peace. He is the Prince of Peace, and as we focus on preparing our hearts and minds this Advent Season, may we receive His Peace.
This Sunday, we light the candle of Preparation, and will be looking at the role and Calling of John the Baptist. His life and time on earth had significant purpose. It was to be a forerunner for the Messiah, helping the people of Israel examine their lives, and open their hearts to God, reconcile their relationships with one another, and get ready for Jesus. God placed John on the earth to help people get ready for the Messiah coming, that would not be like the Messiah the people of Israel expected was coming. He had an important job, and he also kept reminding people that he was not the most important one- it was Jesus, the One coming!
"John had one job. He was born to get the people of Israel ready to meet Jesus. And according to the angel, readiness looked like 3 things: turning their focus back to God, opening their hearts to each other, and seeking wisdom to live God's way." (Lectio 365)
What does this mean for us now?
Well, I keep thinking about all the preparations we make to get ready for the Christmas season during Advent. It seems to be mostly external or outwardly in action. I was convicted about this, as I have preparing for worship this week. The question posed in the Lectio365 reading on 12/5:
"A lot of effort goes into preparing for Christmas: putting up trees and decorations, buying food and presents. But, am I putting the same effort into preparing myself to meet with Jesus?"
The challenge then, is for us to slow down. Pause. Reflect. And, consider ways we can take up Jesus' invitation to meet with Him, be with Him, enjoy Him and Him us. Maybe we can be more like Mary, who was ok to sit at the feet of Jesus, and just be with Him, and also embrace the times we are bustling around, and doing all the things, like her sister Martha was (that we do need to do as well). God bless you, your heart and mind as you make room for Jesus and prepare for His coming.
In Christ,
Pastor Kari
GATHERING FOR SUNDAY
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