The First Sunday of the Advent Season
Good Morning Family!
I want to thank everyone for such a wonderful Church Family Thanksgiving Celebration last weekend. I say “last weekend” because I know it was a full weekend for many of you who were preparing your dishes for the feast. Your hard work toward the day of giving thanks and celebration does not go unnoticed and unappreciated. On the contrary, we express our heartfelt gratitude for the love and heart that was tasted in every bite. So, thank you to all who prepared and provided the food!
It was such a wonderful time of family as we stayed well into the afternoon visiting and closing up shop after the meal completed. Thanks to all of you who stayed and made sure all was back in order. A special thank you goes to Mary Ann Curry for her spectacular décor for our Fellowship Hall and to Tracy and the Kitchen/Events Team for coordinating the festivities.
I am so excited for this year’s Advent Season! Over the past month or so, I had been mulling over and over in my heart “where” we should go for our weekly themes this year. It was when I contemplated the word “where” a few days ago after being stalled out that it came to me. I thought it would be good to take our themes of LOVE, HOPE, JOY, PEACE, and CHRIST and look at the “where” of each one. So, this year we have “The Settings of Advent”. Each Sunday, we will go to a different location and see how the particular theme intersects with the individuals in those places in the Christmas narrative and what that means for us today. And I might just show up with my phonograph once more this year to stir memories of Christmases past…
First Sunday, November 27 LOVE… Love is Born in the City of David
Second Sunday, December 4 HOPE… Hope is Sought in the East
Third Sunday, December 11 JOY… Joy is Abounding in the Heavenlies
Fourth Sunday, December 18 PEACE… Peace is Proclaimed in the Fields
Fifth Sunday, December 25 CHRIST… Emmanuel is Found in the Manger
As always, my prayer is that we would all, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth.” II Timothy 2:15
God Bless Us… Every One!
Bro. Steven
Dr. Steven Gann
Your Shepherd of the Hills
