The 2nd Sunday of Advent = Peace

Today is the 2nd Sunday of Advent...The Sunday of Peace.

"Our peace is found in God and in His Son, Jesus Christ.  John the Baptist, and all the prophets remind us, that to receive peace we must be prepared for it."

"We light this candle today to remind us that Christ is the Prince of Peace, the One promised from the beginning of the world.  We thank God for the hope He gives us and for the peace He bestows."

Let us pray: 

"O God of Peace, Emmanuel, we pray You to send Your light into our hearts at this time.

Help us to be ready for the day and the hour of Christ's appearing.

Work in our hearts at this time and help us prepare ourselves for the peace that He brings--

the inner peace that tells us that we are united with You and the outer peace, 

which will come when He returns to judge the world.

Bless our worship that it may be pleasing unto You, and bless us that we may prove to be 

Your faithful servants.

Amen."

Then we sang this little chorus to the tune of "Away in the Manger":

"A candle is burning, a candle of peace, 

a candle to signal that conflict must cease;

For Jesus is coming to show us the way;

A message of peace humbly laid in the hay."

"His name shall be called...

Prince of Peace." 

Isaiah 9:6

This evening after our evening worship service we were talking about how amazing and wonderful our God is...and we were looking at the three windows in the back of the sanctuary, because our speaker this evening spoke about the "Trinity", God in the three persons, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  And he mentioned in his message that it was kind of like this window...three in one. And when we looked at the window, we couldn't help but notice that the greenery decorations placed on the window spelled out a special message: WOW.    And that is just how we felt at that moment..."WOW!"  Yes, that is our awesome Heavenly Father...God in Three Persons, Blessed Trinity.  "WOW!"   just "WOW"!!!!

This is what that window looks like in the daytime, withe sunlight shining through. But this picture was taken at another time, before the decorations were on there.  I can still say "WOW"...Just "WOW".

May the Prince of Peace give you peace in your hearts and lives today. Amen.

The Angels Were Talking...Third Sunday of Advent

Today is the Third Sunday of Advent...and as we prepare for this day and the lighting of the third candle on our Advent Wreath, the question is asked:

"Why do we light this candle?"

The response:

"Today we are lighting the Angel's Candle.  Angels spoke to Mary, to Joseph,

and to the Shepherds.  Angels are still working in the presence of God and in our midst, protecting, guiding God's people along the way."  

"Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David.  The virgin's name was Mary."

"And having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!"

"But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was.  Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus.  He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.  And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end."  Luke 1: 26-33

And to Joseph an Angel of the Lord appeared in a dream and said to him,

"Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.  And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins."  Matthew 1:20-21

And then the Angel spoke to the Shepherds, who were out in the fields, "keeping watch over their flock by night.  And behold, and angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.

Then the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid, for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.  For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  And this will be a sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill to men!"  Luke 2:8-14

(click the YouTube video below to listen to Handel's Messiah message from the angels)

I believe that Angels are still at work in our midst....oftentimes being sent on special missions on our behalf directly from the Throne of God...

We will someday be surprised to meet the angelic ambassadors who may have rescued us from many a fall and who stood in the path of danger for us so that we would be safely  protected from the onslaughts of the enemies of God's precious children.





We may be surprised to meet them as they come to carry us heavenward someday....

and realize that perhaps we had been entertaining angels unwittingly...."Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels."  Hebrews 13:2

Today let us give thanks to God for His angelic messengers, 

but most of all for the "good tidings of great joy" that they

brought to the world so many years ago...

and let us rejoice and sing along with that heavenly host:

"Glory to God in the highest,

And on earth, Peace, Good will toward men!"

Previous Photos from my Christmas Tree and Nativity Scene, 2014

And below are the newest little angels added to our tree:

New little angel playing the violin, added in 2015 in loving memory of my mother
Dorothea Tedlie Mursch

Another new little angel playing the violin, a gift from my sister in law last Christmas

"Angels are often disguised as sisters"
A gift from my sister last Christmas!

Our "Angel of the Woods" atop our Christmas Tree, 2017

Have you heard the Angels talking?

Have a blessed and Holy Advent SONday!