from Luke 1:39-56
There is a longing for home within each of us. Try as we might to fill that longing with promises of this world, with relationships, with achievement, or any other number of things in which we seek to find meaning and identity, there is only one place we are meant to be “at home.”
In the season of Advent we celebrate that God did not leave us to wander alone looking for home, instead, in Jesus He came to find us that we might find our home in Him.
On the 3rd Sunday of Advent we consider the joy that was so present in Mary and Elizabeth’s encounter. Is that type of joy possible still? What serves as the root of such joy? How might we live in a posture of joy in a world that seems bent in the opposite direction?
w/ Vern Collins
from 2 Corinthians 8:1-5
In Biblical writings, the heart is not understood as something that is connected to emotion in the way that we think of the heart. Rather the heart is the driving force behind our hopes and dreams; behind our drive and determination. Where the heart is bent, so goes one’s life. For these 6 weeks we are going to examine the heart and consider not only how it informs our understanding of Stewardship, but more importantly, how it informs who we are in Christ.
A transformed heart ought to look like something in our lives…the question is, do we know what this ought to be, or are we to determine that on our own. In our passage from 2 Corinthians, Paul highlights a group of Christ followers who might just make clear what that outward expression of a transformed heart ought to look like: Joy and Generosity.
w/ Vern Collins
from Luke 1:46-55, Psalm 30:1-5
Perhaps more than ever we are desperate for Christmas to mean something more than gifts under the tree and time spent with family. What if, in this season of Advent, we didn’t just go through the motions of preparing for Christmas…what if we didn’t celebrate an “Almost Christmas,” but instead gave ourselves fully to the expectation…to the anticipation of what Christ’s coming means for this world?
More than ever, it seems like the Advent theme we need to be most true is the theme of Joy…and yet, it may seem like it is the most elusive. Sure there are moments that we might feel happiness, or there are joyful moments…but they are often fleeting. Certainly this can’t be what is offered in Christ…a feeling sense of happiness.
What if it’s not the gift that is bad, but our lack of understanding the fullness of what Joy in Christ means.
w/ Vern Collins
from Habakkuk 3:17-19
In our series on the Fruit of the Spirit (from Galatians 5:22-25) we look next at the fruit of “Joy.”
What is joy to you? Is it an intense feeling? Is it momentary or is it lasting? Is it the same as happiness or different? Is it some religious outburst or something that resides quietly within?
What if joy were all and none of these things? What if a response of joy had more to do with trusting God whatever your circumstances and offering a response of rejoicing as a result of that trust? How might your perspective on this life change of you chose a response of joy in the midst of trials? How might the lives around you be changed?
w/ Vern Collins
