Praise the Lord for
the holy and amazing Advent season in the church calendar. Yesterday was the
first Sunday in Advent. The Lord blessed us in His house in worship and
celebration as we joined His people around the corner and around the globe in
worship of Jesus and singing, "O come, O come Emmanuel". Sunita, Andy, and Gabe
are in Jerusalem this week before heading back to Cyprus for a few days and then
to the USA for Christmas. Janice, Jeremy, Micah, Simeon, and Ada spent
Thanksgiving with John's family in PA. Laureen spent Thanksgiving with Jessica
and Tom in Philadelphia, celebrating with Tom's parents and relatives. Jessica
and Tom are now in Costa Rica, Central America on a short vacation with some of
their friends. I preached at Union Center yesterday and Alice preached at
Wesley.
We are deeply saddened at the death of David Ring this past week. He died after a very brief illness. Dave and his dear wife Barbara would have celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in January of 2015. Dave was blessed with a very keen mind and a very warm heart. He was a very vital part of Union Center UMC over the last 25 years. He loved the Lord and served Him deep devotion and dedication. He lived with a smile, loved the Lord and served Him with a smile, and died with a smile to go on living in the Eternal City New Jerusalem, joining the Church Triumphant. We praise the Lord for the life and witness of Dave Ring, the way he walked the walk and talked the talk made it much easier for many to be reminded of Jesus our Lord. Dave will celebrate his first Christmas with Jesus, the one who brought the First Christmas to the earth. There will be a service of Death and Resurrection in honor and memory of David this coming Saturday at 11:00 AM at UC Christian Church. There will be reception following the service at the Union Center United Methodist church Fellowship Hall. David loved the church. He loved people of all ages from children to senior citizens. David was loved by the church as well. In honor and memory of Dave's life we will be serving various foods with an international flavor.
And ransom captive Israel!"
Historically, the primary color of Advent is Purple. This is the color of penitence and fasting as well as the color of royalty to welcome the Advent of the King. With the focus on the Advent or Coming of Jesus, especially in anticipating His Second Advent, there remains a need for preparation for that coming. The beginning of Advent is a time for the hanging of the greens, decoration of the church with evergreen wreaths, boughs, or trees that help to symbolize the new and everlasting life brought through Jesus the Christ.
The Advent wreath is an increasingly popular symbol of the
beginning of the Church year in many churches as well as homes.
When our daughters were growing up we celebrated Advent as a part of our anticipation of Christmas Day. We hung a family Advent calendar that contained cards of instructions for keeping well the days of December leading to Christmas. Each daughter also opened a numbered window on an Advent calendar with words of Scripture penned beneath. We also had an Advent wreath at home, which we would light on the Sundays of Advent, and join as a family in Scripture readings and family prayer. This was part of our family tradition of celebration of Advent and getting ready for Christmas.
The Advent wreath is a circular evergreen wreath (real or artificial) to set upon a shelf or table, having five candles, four around the wreath and one in the center. The circle of the wreath reminds us of Jesus the Lord Himself, His eternity and endless mercy, which has no beginning or end. The green of the wreath speaks of the hope that we have in Jesus, the hope of newness, of renewal, of eternal life. The candles symbolize the light of God coming into the world through the birth of His son. The four outer candles represent the period of waiting during the four Sundays of Advent, which themselves symbolize the four centuries of waiting between the prophet Malachi and the birth of Christ.
The light itself of the candles becomes an important symbol of the season. The light reminds us that Jesus is the light of the world that comes into the darkness of our lives to bring newness, life, and hope. It also reminds us that we are called to be a light to the world as we reflect the light of God's grace to others (Isa 42:6). The first candle is traditionally the candle of Expectation or Hope (or in some traditions, Prophecy). The remaining three candles of Advent may be associated with different aspects of the Advent story: Love, Joy, and Peace. The center candle is white and is called the Christ Candle. It is traditionally lighted on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.
Advent is one of the Christian festivals that can be observed in the home as well as at church. In its association with Christmas, Advent is a natural time to involve children in activities at home that directly connect with worship at church. We live in a world in which "bigger and better" define our expectations for much of life. We have become so enamored by super size, super stars, and high definition that we tend to view life through a lens that so magnifies what we expect out of the world that we tend not to see potential in small things but, as the prophet Zechariah reminds us (Zech 4:10), we should not "despise the day of small things," because God does some of his best work with small beginnings and impossible situations.
It is truly a humbling experience to read back through the Old Testament and see how frail and imperfect all the "heroes" actually are. Abraham was the coward who could not believe the promise. Jacob was the cheat who struggled with everybody. Joseph was the immature, spoiled, and arrogant teen. Moses was the impatient murderer who could not wait for God. Gideon was the cowardly Baal-worshipper, Samson, the womanizing drunk, David, the power abusing adulterer. Solomon, the most unwise wise man, and Hezekiah, the reforming king who could not quite go far enough. Finally, there was a very young Jewish girl from a small village in a remote corner of a great empire (who became the mother of our Lord).
It never ceases to amaze me that God often begins with small things and inadequate people. It certainly seems that God could have chosen "bigger" things and "better" people to do His work in the world. Yet, if God can use the small, humble, and insignificant, and reveal Himself through them in such marvelous ways, it means that He might be able to use me, inadequate, and unwise, and too often lacking in faith that I am. It also means that I need to be careful that I do not in my own self-righteousness put limits on what God can do with the smallest things, the most unlikely of people, in the most hopeless of circumstances. I think that is part of the wonder of the Advent Season.
In Jesus our Lord,
Brown
http://youtu.be/iO7ySn-Swwc
We are deeply saddened at the death of David Ring this past week. He died after a very brief illness. Dave and his dear wife Barbara would have celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in January of 2015. Dave was blessed with a very keen mind and a very warm heart. He was a very vital part of Union Center UMC over the last 25 years. He loved the Lord and served Him deep devotion and dedication. He lived with a smile, loved the Lord and served Him with a smile, and died with a smile to go on living in the Eternal City New Jerusalem, joining the Church Triumphant. We praise the Lord for the life and witness of Dave Ring, the way he walked the walk and talked the talk made it much easier for many to be reminded of Jesus our Lord. Dave will celebrate his first Christmas with Jesus, the one who brought the First Christmas to the earth. There will be a service of Death and Resurrection in honor and memory of David this coming Saturday at 11:00 AM at UC Christian Church. There will be reception following the service at the Union Center United Methodist church Fellowship Hall. David loved the church. He loved people of all ages from children to senior citizens. David was loved by the church as well. In honor and memory of Dave's life we will be serving various foods with an international flavor.
The St. Petersburg Men's Ensemble will be in
concert at Union Center UMC at 6:30 PM. We will not be having the dinner
reception that was planned for 5:30 due to the meal that will be held in memory
of David Ring at 12 noon. There will be a mega-reception of Christmas cookies
and pastries with coffee and tea after the Concert at approximately 7:45 PM.
Those of you who live in the area please join us for the Concert by the St.
Petersburg Men's Ensemble at 6:30 PM.
We rejoice in the eternal hope that we have
in Jesus and because of His first coming, His first Advent. The word
Advent means "coming" or "arrival." The focus of the entire season is
the celebration of the birth of Jesus the Christ in his First Advent, and the
anticipation of the return of Christ the King in his Second Advent. We affirm
and proclaim that Christ Jesus our Lord has
come, that He is present in the world today, and that He will come again in
power. Advent is marked by a spirit of
expectation, of anticipation, of preparation, of longing and of an eternal
hope. It is that hope, however faint at
times, and our Lord, however distant He sometimes seems, which brings to the
world the anticipation of a King who will rule with truth and justice and
righteousness over His people and in His creation. It is that hope that once
anticipated, and now anticipates anew, the reign of an Anointed One, a Messiah,
who will bring peace, justice, and righteousness to the world.
We celebrate with gladness the great promise
in Advent. The spirit of Advent is expressed
well in the parable of the bridesmaids who anxiously await the coming of the
Bridegroom (Matt 25:1-13). There is profound joy at the Bridegroom’s expected
coming and yet a warning of the need for preparation echoes through the
parable. The prayer and song of Advent is: "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,And ransom captive Israel!"
Historically, the primary color of Advent is Purple. This is the color of penitence and fasting as well as the color of royalty to welcome the Advent of the King. With the focus on the Advent or Coming of Jesus, especially in anticipating His Second Advent, there remains a need for preparation for that coming. The beginning of Advent is a time for the hanging of the greens, decoration of the church with evergreen wreaths, boughs, or trees that help to symbolize the new and everlasting life brought through Jesus the Christ.
The Advent wreath is an increasingly popular symbol of the
beginning of the Church year in many churches as well as homes.
When our daughters were growing up we celebrated Advent as a part of our anticipation of Christmas Day. We hung a family Advent calendar that contained cards of instructions for keeping well the days of December leading to Christmas. Each daughter also opened a numbered window on an Advent calendar with words of Scripture penned beneath. We also had an Advent wreath at home, which we would light on the Sundays of Advent, and join as a family in Scripture readings and family prayer. This was part of our family tradition of celebration of Advent and getting ready for Christmas.
The Advent wreath is a circular evergreen wreath (real or artificial) to set upon a shelf or table, having five candles, four around the wreath and one in the center. The circle of the wreath reminds us of Jesus the Lord Himself, His eternity and endless mercy, which has no beginning or end. The green of the wreath speaks of the hope that we have in Jesus, the hope of newness, of renewal, of eternal life. The candles symbolize the light of God coming into the world through the birth of His son. The four outer candles represent the period of waiting during the four Sundays of Advent, which themselves symbolize the four centuries of waiting between the prophet Malachi and the birth of Christ.
The light itself of the candles becomes an important symbol of the season. The light reminds us that Jesus is the light of the world that comes into the darkness of our lives to bring newness, life, and hope. It also reminds us that we are called to be a light to the world as we reflect the light of God's grace to others (Isa 42:6). The first candle is traditionally the candle of Expectation or Hope (or in some traditions, Prophecy). The remaining three candles of Advent may be associated with different aspects of the Advent story: Love, Joy, and Peace. The center candle is white and is called the Christ Candle. It is traditionally lighted on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.
Advent is one of the Christian festivals that can be observed in the home as well as at church. In its association with Christmas, Advent is a natural time to involve children in activities at home that directly connect with worship at church. We live in a world in which "bigger and better" define our expectations for much of life. We have become so enamored by super size, super stars, and high definition that we tend to view life through a lens that so magnifies what we expect out of the world that we tend not to see potential in small things but, as the prophet Zechariah reminds us (Zech 4:10), we should not "despise the day of small things," because God does some of his best work with small beginnings and impossible situations.
It is truly a humbling experience to read back through the Old Testament and see how frail and imperfect all the "heroes" actually are. Abraham was the coward who could not believe the promise. Jacob was the cheat who struggled with everybody. Joseph was the immature, spoiled, and arrogant teen. Moses was the impatient murderer who could not wait for God. Gideon was the cowardly Baal-worshipper, Samson, the womanizing drunk, David, the power abusing adulterer. Solomon, the most unwise wise man, and Hezekiah, the reforming king who could not quite go far enough. Finally, there was a very young Jewish girl from a small village in a remote corner of a great empire (who became the mother of our Lord).
It never ceases to amaze me that God often begins with small things and inadequate people. It certainly seems that God could have chosen "bigger" things and "better" people to do His work in the world. Yet, if God can use the small, humble, and insignificant, and reveal Himself through them in such marvelous ways, it means that He might be able to use me, inadequate, and unwise, and too often lacking in faith that I am. It also means that I need to be careful that I do not in my own self-righteousness put limits on what God can do with the smallest things, the most unlikely of people, in the most hopeless of circumstances. I think that is part of the wonder of the Advent Season.
In Jesus our Lord,
Brown
http://youtu.be/iO7ySn-Swwc
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