"Hope…our first Sunday in the season of Advent. Hope means to expect, trust, anticipate, wish or look forward to. It means optimism, and faith. For the past few months, I have gone to sleep and awoken to the last chorus we sang today. “My Soul”. It is from God’s Word, the first two lines from “Mary’s Song” found in Luke 1:46 & 47 (KJV). I know that the Advent season is about the birth of Christ, not about Mary. However, without Mary…let’s take a look at her story:
Luke 1:26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,
27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.
28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.
30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.
31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom, there shall be no end.
34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God…
...38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
39 And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda;
40 And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth.
41 And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:
42 And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
43 And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
44 For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.
45 And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.
46 And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,
47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
Mary showed great faith in her obedience to bear God’s One and Only Son. Mary conceived and carried and bore the Hope of this world. The Hope of that generation, the Hope of every generation since; and the Hope of all future generations.
The birth of Christ brings Hope…and Light to a lost and dying world. As we light the first candle in the Advent Wreath this morning, let us remember that the Hope of Christ in our lives begins with obedience and faith."
This is what I am saying in church tomorrow...the first Sunday of Advent. Yes, our church remembers the old tradition. And we remember with great joy and and anticipation.
Although I am actually a creature of change...it energizes me...I love tradition. And Advent is an old Protestant tradition...Catholic...Lutheran...and Assemblies of God, when they choose. And we choose. Our fellow worshipers look forward to the "speeches", the lighting of the candle and the sermons that offer Hope, Love, Joy and Peace for their souls. Sometimes, for their weary souls. We are in the first days of, for some; a very difficult season. It's depressing, overwhelming. Lonely. And it can make a soul weary.
We try to reach out during this time; and for many in our little country church, this tradition brings comfort. Kind of like chocolate or mashed potatoes and gravy. Or spaghetti and ketchup. Hey...don't grimace at me...try it, you might like it.
Anyway...here we are, once again offering comfort and HOPE...encouragement and LOVE...fellowship and JOY...prayer and PEACE.
Have a blessed season...find hope in His birth...love in His life...joy in His fellowship...and peace in His Salvation.
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