Tuesday, December 5, 2017

Advent Series 2017: Longing


I remember as a child thinking that Christmas could never get here fast enough. Thanksgiving was merely a place holder telling me that it was time to start counting the days until Christmas. There was so much longing. Each day I would tear off the paper loop on the countdown chain and I would open the little doors on the Advent calendar with one thought… “How soon can Christmas get here?” Sadly, as an adult those days have passed. Now it seems that it’s coming so fast and I’m filled with thoughts like, “I can’t wait for the madness of Christmas to be over.” Sad isn’t it? What once was a serious longing has now become something to simply get through. This year I want us to go back to our longing – to a time when we anxiously awaited Christmas Day. And not just for the presents, but for what we actually celebrate – the day when Christ stepped into humanity and fulfilled God’s promise to redeem his people. Over the next 4 weeks we will spend time looking at this idea of “Longing” in scripture and we’ll look at it through the eyes of the Old Testament prophets, John the Baptist, Mary and Joseph and finally You and Me. We’ll look at our Longing through the lens of the Advent themes of Hope, Peace, Joy and Love; and when we’re done we will hopefully be reminded of that childlike faith that waits with anticipation for the gift of Jesus’ birth on Christmas day. I hope you’ll join us each week as we prepare our hearts for the Lord to do an amazing work in all of us.

Blessings,

Matt


12/3/2017     Longing: Hope                       Isaiah 9:1-7 

12/17/2017   Longing: Joy                          Luke 2:8-15

12/24/2017   Longing: Love  

12/31/2017   Another Year in the Vineyard   Luke 13:6-9     

Jesus' Final Days - Lenten Series 2020

Lent is a time when the church seeks to pause and reflect upon Jesus’ journey to the Cross. Startin g Sunday, March 1 st , FPC will tak...