Christmas Day – 2024

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And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying,

Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men,

and He will dwell with them,

and they shall be His people,

and God Himself shall be with them,

and He will be their God.

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes;

and there shall be no more death,

neither sorrow, nor crying,

neither shall there be any more pain:

for the former things are passed away.

And He that sat upon the throne said,

Behold,

I make all things new.

And He said to me,

Write: For these words are true and faithful.

Revelation 21:3-5

On this Christmas morning

we light the center white candle,

The Christ Candle,

signifying that Christ has come

– The Light Of The World–

We light this candle as a symbol of God’s mercy and grace,

reminding us that God sent His Son into the world as a tiny infant,

that the people would be saved from their sin.

But also to remind us that Jesus promised

that He would come again as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

The candles on my Advent Wreath will be lit every morning throughout the Christmas Season

as I begin my day with Jesus, reminding me to keep looking up for His return.

I long for that day

when I see Jesus coming on the clouds

or when He calls me home!

The Fourth Sunday Of Advent – 2024

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We light this candle as a symbol

of the Prince of Peace.

May the visitation of Your Holy Spirit.

O God,

make us ready for the coming of Jesus,

our Hope and Joy.

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

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For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given:

and the government shall be upon His shoulder:

and His name shall be called

Wonderful,

Counselor,

The mighty God,

The everlasting Father,

The Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of His government and peace

there shall be no end,

upon the throne of David,

and upon His kingdom,

to order it,

and to establish it with judgment and with justice

from henceforth even for ever.

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

Isaiah 9:6-7

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Lord,

We long for the day when we will experience Your peace,

the peace that passes all understanding,

true peace,

wholeness,

completeness,

restoration,

Shalom.

The Third Sunday of Advent – 2024

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We light this candle as a symbol of Christ our JOY.

May the joyful promise of Your presence, O God,

Make us rejoice in our hope of salvation.

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.

And a highway shall be there, and a way,

and it shall be called The Way of Holiness;

the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those:

the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.

No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon,

it shall not be found there;

but the redeemed shall walk there:

and the ransomed of the Lord shall return,

and come to Zion with songs and everlasting JOY upon their heads:

the shall obtain JOY and gladness,

and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

Isaiah 35:8-10

Be rightly related to God, find your joy there,

and out of you will flow rivers of living water.

Oswald Chambers

These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you,

and that your joy might be full.

John 15:11

The Second Sunday of Advent – 2024

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As it is written in the prophets,

Behold, I send my messenger before thy face,

which shall prepare thy way before thee.

The voice of one crying in the wilderness,

Prepare ye the way of the Lord,

make His paths straight.

John did baptize in the wilderness,

and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sin.

Mark 1:2-4

We light this candle as a symbol of

Christ the Way.

May the Word sent from God through the prophets

lead us to the way of salvation.

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.

O God, we have lost our way.

Many today preach social justice rather than the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

They have forgotten that when people hear the Gospel –

and repent and believe –

social justice will follow –

more than “social justice”

radical change occurs when hearts are changed.

Believers really can

“Love their enemies”

“Do good to those who hate them”

Jesus said

I am the Way, the truth, and the life:

no one comes to the Father but by Me.

Jesus Christ is the Way.

As His disciples

we are to point the Way

to share the Gospel

to proclaim Jesus Christ.

Do you know the Way?

The First Sunday of Advent – 2024

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We light this candle as a symbol of Christ our Hope.

May the light sent from God shine in the darkness to show us the way of salvation.

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.

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The Prophet Cries Out

The Prophet Waits

The Prophet Hopes

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HOPE

A feeling of expectation.

A certainty not yet realized.

Hope is more than wishful thinking.

A wish is something we don’t expect to happen but we would like it to happen.

Hope is something we know will happen.

We just don’t know the when, where, or how.

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God’s answer may not come when we want,

how we want,

or

the way we want,

but His answer will come.

We must have faith

in the faithfulness of God.

We must share this vision of HOPE,

JESUS CHRIST.

BE A LIGHT IN SOMEONE’S DARKNESS