Praise the Lord for this Advent season that ushers in the Christmas season. Both these seasons are pregnant with promises and messages which are poignant and powerful above and beyond.
My desktop met a premature death. This is the reason I have been irregular in posting my blogs. I am back in the saddle again. Thank you, Jesus. The Lord blessed us immensely this past weekend. We hosted the St. Petersburg Men's Ensemble this past Saturday. It is always a treat for us to have them come and minister to us in music. These four Russian men come to us every year. They have been coming to us for the last twelve years. They are gifted and gracious. Their music is anointed. Their ministry among us during Advent season gives an International dimension to the celebration of the Advent of Christmas. Our church hosted a banquet prior to the concert. Once again the menu reflected an international flavor.
The Lord blessed us in our Sunday morning worship as we celebrated the First Sunday in Advent. The worship and celebration continued into the evening as all the churches in our town, five of them altogether, went out caroling. Our town and churches are decked out and decorated for Christmas. The colors are brilliant, the lights are bright, and the people are merry. What a way to begin to celebrate the Advent season! We had a lovely snowfall last night, with beautiful big snowflakes drifting down. The hint of snow left on the ground only serves to enhance the decorations around town.
We have been in conversation with our daughters. Laureen was in Florida last week attending a conference. Janice and Micah attended a Performance of Handel’s Messiah in Boston at Symphony Hall. The Lord blessed us in our Release time yesterday. We are getting ready for worship Sunday morning and time with youth in the evening. We are also getting geared up for the Living Nativity. It will be held on the Village Green on Saturday, December 16, from 5-7 PM. The cast for the living Nativity is all, along with the animals. Nancy Barber, resident musician will be leading the singing of carols. We will be singing Handel's Halleluiah Chorus at the conclusion of the evening event. It will be like a Flash mob. Those of you who live in the surrounding area, please join us.
One of the foundational pillars of the Advent season is peace, which the world strives for and we all hunger for. God is a God of peace if His peace rules our hearts. If we are certain of our redemption and show confidence in Him through a life that knows His peace then we possess an attractive message of peace.
Jesus comes as the Prince of Peace. He is the harbinger of peace indeed. The Statue "Christ of the Andes" is an impressive symbol of peace. Once Chile and Argentina were enemies and fought constantly. At last they decided it was in their mutual interest to live in peace. Finally, high upon their natural boundaries, the Andes Mountains, they erected a great statue of Christ with outstretched arms. The inscription reads, “Sooner shall these mountains crumble into dust than the Argentines and Chileans break the peace sworn at the feet of Christ the Redeemer.” (Jones, G. C. (1986). 1000 illustrations for preaching and teaching (p. 60). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
Advent reminds us of the coming of peace to earth. Jesus was known as the Prince of peace. His motives, manner, and ministry all reflect peace. He said in Matthew 5:9, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. (ESV)
Advent reminds us of the coming of peace to earth. Jesus was known as the Prince of peace. His motives, manner, and ministry all reflect peace. He said in Matthew 5:9, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. (ESV)
In Isaiah 2:3-5 it is written, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths." For out of Zion shall go the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the LORD. (ESV)
In the Isaiah prophecy, a great multitude is depicted as encouraging one another to come to Zion. It is not political or economic motives that inspire their journey, but faithful devotion. Their destination is ‘the house of the God of Jacob’. The Biblical vision for the house of the LORD may not be fully realized yet, but the prophecy of peace confronts every nation in the world every day. At the entrance to the United Nations headquarters in New York City, there is a sculpture of an artisan beating a sword into a plowshare. It greets every world leader, diplomat, and visitor who enters the building. Under the statue is engraved the word of the LORD from Isaiah, “They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks” (v. 4). Though the United Nations takes this verse as its motto, its inability to produce world peace simply points to the need for a supernatural work that will result in war being forever abolished
The way God achieves peace, is through the Prince of Peace That is God’s promise. It is our only hope. Romans 5:1-10 “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person--though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die-- but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.
https://youtu.be/iO7ySn-Swwc
The way God achieves peace, is through the Prince of Peace That is God’s promise. It is our only hope. Romans 5:1-10 “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person--though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die-- but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.
https://youtu.be/iO7ySn-Swwc
Brown
