RSS
 

Archive for the ‘Advent’ Category

Fourth Sunday of Advent-Dec 22

19 Dec

Mirth-Sacrifice-Lamb The third gift they brought was Mirth in recognition that He would be the sacrificial lamb who would die for all men. Mirth was a burial spice used to embalm the body of the dead to preserve it. As High Priest, Christ would offer Himself willingly, the Lamb without spot or blemish for there was no sin in Him, to pay the price to redeem us from the power of sin and death. With His death and resurrection, there was no longer any use for the temple sacrifices because He was the ultimate and final sacrifice that paid for the sins of all mankind. At His death, the curtain of the temple that separated us from God, was torn in two, from top to bottom, opening the way for us to approach God.

 

 

Third Sunday of Advent-Dec 15

11 Dec

Frankincense-Deity-God With Us

The second gift they brought was Frankincense in recognition of His Deity. Frankincense was the incense which the priests burned before the alter, symbolizing the prayers rising to heaven. In fact, all the rituals and ceremonies conducted by the priests in the temple were shadows of what is now going on in Heaven. Indeed, when Christ arose from the grave, He would ascend into heaven and would become our High Priest, standing before the throne of God in Heaven, interceding on our behalf, just as the High Priest had stood before the alter in the temple interceding for Israel, after he had offered the sacrificial lamb. It symbolized that Christ was God, come to earth in flesh, to dwell among us.

 

 

Second Sunday of Advent-Dec 8

05 Dec

 Gold-symbolizing Jesus as the coming King-While hymns portray the Wise Men as Kings, they were more likely astrologers who were advisers to the Persian kings, sent by the kings as representatives bearing gifts.  The songs say there were three but we don’t know how many. However the Wise Men brought gifts of Gold, Frankincense and Mirth in recognition of the roles that Christ would fulfill. The first gift they brought was Gold in recognition that He would be a King. Indeed, He would bring hope because He would subdue all the powers of the world and would become King of Kings and ruler over all creation. However, before He would wear a crown of Gold, He would wear a crown of thorns as He conquered death itself as the sacrificial lamb. While before, all we knew was the way of serving the flesh, Christ came to show us a better way through serving God. We can conquer the slavery to the flesh and live as God intended us as we allow Christ to be ruler of our life. A lot of people don’t know any other way than serving the flesh and won’t know there is a better way unless we step out into the world like Jesus did and show them.

 

 

 

First Sunday of Advent -December 1

27 Nov

Expectation-Angel-From the time of Adam, God had promised that He would send a deliverer. Before Judah fell to the Babylonians, the prophets reminded the Jews of the promise of a Messiah. When Judah fell to conquerors after the return from Babylon, the Jews again looked for the promised Messiah that would deliver them from their enemies. When the angel appeared to Mary, he told her that the time had come and she would conceive and bear a son. He would be the Messiah and His name would be Jesus (a form of Jeshua or Joshua)(meaning God is Salvation) He would be a leader like Joshua who would lead His people out of Egypt (the world) into the Promised land. Because of His name, the Jews did not realize that He must first come to be the Sacrificial Lamb before He would come as the conquering King. He could have been born in a palace but lowered Himself to come not only as a mere man, but as the lowest of men, born in a stable.

 

video-Advent intro

27 Nov

 

Preparing For Christmas

13 Nov

Children are beginning to think about Christmas as stores are ramping up their Christmas advertising. Yet Christmas is more than getting presents. It is a celebration of when God gave us the greatest gift of all.  Advent is a time when we begin to prepare our hearts for celebrating when Christ came to save us and begins on December 1st this year. I have an Advent booklet available to help parents teach their children about Christmas. It has a short Scripture for each day of Advent which helps to remind us of what Christmas is about and includes pictures that go with the daily Scriptures that the kids can color, cut out, and glue to construction paper. It provides a time the family can get together and learn from God’s Word which hopefully will become a regular family practice all year round. The pictures can be hung on the Christmas tree or on cords strung around the room. It is an electronic file that I would be glad to E-mail to you free and can be printed off. E-mail me at neighborhoodministriesnwoh@gmail.com and use heading “Advent booklet”.

 

Fourth Sunday of Advent-Dec 24

21 Dec

Protect-(Ezekiel 34:15-16, 22-28, & II Kings 6:15-18) The good shepherd will watch over His flock and protect them. He will drive the wild beasts from among them so the sheep may dwell in peace and not be afraid. In the same way, God promised to drive the evil ones from among His people so they might live in peace. More important, His love will drive the hatred and bitterness from our hearts, which create divisions among us. While not all hatred and bitterness will be wiped out until Christ comes, it should not exist within the church if we are all brothers and sisters in Christ. There should be no  strife and bitterness among brothers and sisters in Christ who are filled with the love of Christ. Christmas should be a time when the church gathers to celebrate Christ’s love for us. As the result, the world will see the love we have for one another and desire that love. Unfortunately, few churches today exhibit that love openly.

 

 

Third Sunday of Advent-Dec 17

13 Dec

Lead-(Psalm 23:3b)The Lord will lead us in the path of righteousness. He came to show us the way to live in peace with each other and will lead us like a shepherd leads his sheep. The good shepherd does not drive the sheep in front of Him but goes before them and they follow because they know His voice. In the same way, the Holy Spirit dwells in the heart of the believer  and Christ speaks through the Spirit. . If we allow the Holy Spirit to dwell in us,  He will lead us in the way that Christ would have us go and we will follow because we recognize His voice.  Before Christ came, God sent the Prophets and the Scripture writers to show people how to live but man could not understand because he did not understand what love was, so Christ came to earth as a man to show us the way to live. By the same token, if  we follow Christ, others will see His love in us  and desire that love. You cannot force people to love each other but you can gently lead them and show them the way.

 

 

Second Sunday of Advent-Dec 10

06 Dec

Feed-(Ezekial34:13-14, Matt. 14:13-21) God will gather His sheep on the mountains and feed them on the rich pastures. Everyone likes to eat, and it is a good time to fellowship but there are many who do not have the food they need. When 5000 people gathered on the mountainside to hear Jesus, He saw that they were hungry and had compassion on them and fed them. By the same token, there are many hungry among us. Christmas is a good time to provide food for them that they too might be able to enjoy the holiday, but we should not forget them when the holiday is over because hunger for many is a way of life which lasts all year long. Many communities have food banks that supply food to those in need and they need regular donations to be able to supply the need. Things like potatoes are sometimes on sale, buy one get one free. You might not be able to use the other bag before it spoils. Pick it up and donate it to the food bank, or someone you know struggling to make ends meet. Churches can have regular collections to donate. In addition, we should not just provide food but work to help them to provide for their own needs through employment counseling and job referrals. However, the Bible says “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. We should not only provide food, but the Good News of the Gospel as well.

 

First Sunday of Advent-Dec 3

29 Nov

The Lord, Our Shepherd Gathers-(Isaiah 66:18) God refers to His people as sheep who have been scattered, like sheep without a shepherd. He said He would gather His people. Even if 99 out of 100 are safe, He will seek out the one that is lost until He finds it and brings it safely home. Christmas is a time when family and friends gather to celebrate the holiday. Those who do not know Christ celebrate Christmas because it is a time to get together as a family and get gifts and everyone likes to get gifts but those who know Christ have more reason to celebrate Christmas. It is a time when we remember that people, like sheep had gone astray. Christ came to gather His people and break down the barriers that divide us and prevent us from coming into Christ’s presence.  It is celebrated on the darkest day of the year to remind us that the Light has come into the midst of our darkness and we should seek opportunities to tell those who are still lost and wandering in darkness so that we  can help them return to God.