Unexpected Advent
Can you feel it? Can you hear it? As I write this today, I can hear bells ringing on Pike Street, collecting for the annual Turkey Drive. Thanksgiving is 8 days away and we all know that is about the last barrier to the start of Christmas. If you’ve been in any store lately, you’ve already seen all the Christmas decorations up and this coming Sunday is the last one before we officially move toward the season. Sunday afternoon, our Deacons will begin decorating the sanctuary and Fellowship Hall because, November 30 is the First Sunday in Advent!
None of this is a surprise. It happens every year. If you look at your calendars, you can predict all of this – even those events which aren’t there, based on past years, you can come up with a fairly educated guess as to when they will happen.
But…
Life is full of surprises.
And Christmas, the entire Advent Season, is full of them. A generous and anonymous offer to bless families, a Cooper’s Hawk perched in the tree outside my window, an invitation to a party, a small gift in the office, a child’s grinning greeting, a card in the mail – Advent hasn’t even started yet, and I need more than one hand to count the unexpected things that have happened already this week.
We’ll be exploring these this year, beginning November 30. I know some of you may be traveling to celebrate Thanksgiving with family – and I pray you arrive and return safely and have an absolutely blessed time together. I hope you’ll join us online for worship – live or after the fact! For those who are remaining in the area, I hope you’ll join us in-person as we light the first candle, sing my favorite song, and explore the unexpected hope we encounter in Jesus.
Before we even get to next Sunday though, don’t forget about this Sunday’s worship as we close out our series Generous, and receive the slate of nominees for leadership at our brief congregational meeting following the 11a service!
But with Advent basically here, and our Devotionals getting finalized in preparation, I want to simply offer you this invitation – right now, keep your eyes, ears, heart, hand and mind open to the unexpected things that God is going to do, and is actually, already doing. There’s certainly a ton that we can plan for, a ton that we’re expecting, but the best parts of life are the parts that we’re not expecting, but receive as a gift from God.
Welcoming You to Grow in Jesus… unexpectedly!
Pastor Don