“A Story for All People”

The season of Advent has come once again. This time of the year brings a threefold hope and teaching. Jesus Christ is the one who was, is, and is to come. This promise becomes a fact in our Advent journey. This is truly a story for all people. Our Advent devotions and worship, “A Story for All People” will remind us of the biblical truth that Christ comes and is present in spite of a world which ignores him or attempts to strive without him. The next four Sundays offer us Gospel news which we are eager to live and to share. I have chosen four themes which I believe will aid us in learning, experiencing, and then, witnessing to Jesus Christ.

The First Sunday in Advent centers in:
“Your Lord is Coming”
Matthew 24:36-44

The Second Sunday in Advent’s theme is:
“He Will Baptize You”
Matthew 3:1-12

The Third Sunday of Advent invites us to:
“Go and Tell What You Hear and See”
Matthew 11:2-11

The Fourth Sunday theme brings us to Christmas:
“The Birth of Jesus the Messiah”
Matthew 1:18-25

Make these four Gospel texts a central part of the next four weeks. Read them carefully before worship and join in the audio CD devotion on the days following each Sunday. Reflect on their gifts for life. The word of God is life itself and brings us from Advent expectation to Christmas joy. The words of the hymn writer Dori Erwin Collins will serve us well in this year’s Advent song and prayer. This is indeed “A Story for All People.”

As people wait in darkness, in fear of endless night,
send forth your word of comfort, a message of great light.
The world stands proud before you, conflicted, hungry, poor.
Come, scatter pride and foolishness, and mend all souls with Savior love once more.
Refrain
A story for all people, old story new today.
A song of love and healing,
a light to show the way.