Celebrating the reason for the season

Advent is a special season. It reminds us to celebrate the birth of Jesus, look forward to the return of Christ, and watch for the right-now Kingdom of God.

During this Advent season, members of our teaching team will bring messages to help us prepare our hearts and minds to focus on what is truly most important.

As you prepare yourself to join us for worship, you will find the scripture passages that will be help guide our services.

Nov. 29: PASTOR DAN

Old Testament Scripture: Isaiah 64:1-9

New Testament Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:3-9

Gospel: Mark 13:24-37

Title: Already, Not Yet, Right Now

Message overview: On this first Sunday of Advent, we will celebrate the already, not-yet, right-now Kingdom of God. The season of Advent celebrates the birth of Jesus, helps us look forward to the second coming of Christ, and reminds us to watch closely as the Kingdom of God breaks forth in our midst each and every day.

Dec. 6: GEORGE FRESOLONE

Old Testament Scripture: Isaiah 40:1-11

New Testament Scripture: 2 Peter 3:8-15a

Gospel: Mark 1:1-8

Title: Prepared for What?

Message overview: Through Isaiah 40, Mark 1, and 2 Peter 3, we will look at the different perspectives on the prophetic words of both the Old and New Testament writers and how the divinely inspired words of the prophets withstand the test of time. Not only do they speak truth to the captive in Babylon 2,700 years ago, they speak truth to modern-day Christians.

Dec. 13: CHRIS WELLS

Old Testament Scripture: Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11

New Testament Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24

Gospel: Matthew 1:18-25

Title: The First Advent

Message overview: Today, we think of Advent as the four Sundays leading up to Christmas. The first Advent, however, spanned the 400-plus years between the last words of the prophet Malachi and the birth of our Savior. Continuing the theme from Elder George Fresolone’s message, “Prepared for what?”, we will study this long period of God’s silence and the lessons it can teach us about receiving Christ into our lives today.

Dec. 20: NANCY NICEWONGER

Old Testament Scripture: 2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16

New Testament Scripture: Romans 16:25-27

Gospel: Luke 1:26-38

Title: Accepting the Call: 3 stories that are the same but different

Message overview: The story of Mary accepting the call to be the mother of Jesus can be inspiring to some as she responds to the angel with “May it be to me as you have said.” For others of us, that is great for Mary, but we can’t relate to this story at all. As we look at Mary’s response, we are also going to look at two others from the Bible, Sarah and Rahab, that also responded to God faithfully. Between the three stories, we can each find threads of hope that we too can respond to God’s call for our life.