4th Sunday of Advent

The appearance of the angel in Luke’s account of the birth of Jesus is where all these songs originate. The angel proclaims the good news of Jesus’ birth to a small group of shepherds who likely envisioned their night going a bit differently. And then,“suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others - the armies of heaven - praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to all whom God favors.” Luke 2:13

Then it’s all over and the angels return to heaven. Imagine those shepherds, awestruck over what they’d just witnessed. Glory to God indeed!

3rd Sunday of Advent

Gather ‘round ye children, come
Listen to the old, old story
Of the power of death undone
By an infant born of glory
Son of God, Son of Man

So in heaven and earth and below
Every knee would bow and worship
And every tongue would proclaim
Jesus, He reigns with the angels (c) Andrew Peterson

What a beautiful picture of Christ - for those we love and who we want to love & follow Jesus.

What a scene… rays of light visible from heaven to a world, weary under the weight of sin and desperately anticipating the birth of the Messiah. Light takes on a new meaning during that night long ago, breaking through a desperate world with a new and glorious promise of what we are worth.

1st week of Advent | O Come, O Come Emmanuel

Waiting for God is a constant and ever-present biblical theme. The Israelites waited for 500 years for the promised Messiah - when will the waiting end?

A lot of life happened in the time of Abraham and Sarah. Battles and blessings, tragedy and triumph. All things must come to an end, so what does Abraham ‘end’ up with? A place … a sacred space realized at the end of a journey that never had a destination.

We know that both good and evil exist... they exist at the same time, in the same place, among the same people and places. It seems with one hand, God is pouring out blessing on those who are faithful and with His other hand, exacting judgement on those who engage in sin and perversion. Consider Lot and his family.... what a mess. Abraham goes to bat for folks that, in all reality, God wanted to destroy. How did Abraham's pleas to the LORD change the outcome? Did it really? Maybe God knew something that Abraham did not...

Abraham has been patient... he also has become a bit impatient. "What good is all this if I do not have a son?" he asks. And there it is... Abraham is laser focused on what is missing instead of God's promise of what will be or what already is. Several times God assures Abraham of his promised blessing, even laying out a timeline of future events up until his death. The one thing that was still missing from the timeline? God's promise to them of a son.

As our Psalms in 2024 exploration comes to a close, these two represent the extremes - despair and abject praise. Whether we cry out to the LORD day and night about our suffering and affliction (Ps. 88) or whether we praise Him for his greatness with trumpets, tambourines and dancing (Ps. 150), He hears us… and knows us and loves us. Praise the LORD!