Joy to the World

One of our favorite Christmas carols begins:

Joy to the world the Lord is come!

Let earth receive her king.

Let every heart prepare Him room

And heaven and nature sing.

This is a season of joy as we remember God sending his Son into the world. It has made all the difference for us personally and all the difference for the world as a whole.

While this is a season of joy, it doesn’t mean that everything feels ok. The good news is that even when things are going wrong; whether it’s with our relationships, our health, or some other area we can still have joy. Even for those who are experiencing the first Christmas celebration without a loved one can find joy in the news that all will be made right because Christ has come. Joy is that feeling of satisfaction we get when we know that God is at work in our lives and we are where we need to be.

Next week we’ll finish the Advent series by thinking about love. The love that God has shown us in his incredible gift of Jesus, and the love that we can show to others. There are many opportunities for us to extend God’s love to others in this season. We can do it through the gifts we give to organizations that help those in need. We can also show love on a personal level by reaching out to those around us who may be feeling lonely in this season.

Just a heads up—there will be no E Gram next week as the church office will be closed for Christmas.

The music this Advent season has been beautiful. Many thanks to all who have shared. You won’t want to miss this coming week as we will have very special music again. Invite someone to come along with you to worship this week.

God bless, Brian

Scripture readings for next Sunday

Matthew 1:16-21—How many ways do you see love demonstrated in this passage?

Leviticus 19:1-18—In what ways do you see the law calling us to demonstrate love?

1 John 4:7-12—If God showed his love for us through sending his son, how can we show love for others?

Matthew 5:43-48—How are some ways we could put Jesus’ teaching here into practice?