Fourth Sunday of Advent: Let's Go! (Updated)

Update: Today is the 4th Sunday of Advent.  I will not be posting any "Sermon Notes" for today as we are having our Christmas Cantata in place of the sermon. I've already shared about that with you HERE.  So for today, let's light the candle, and prepare our hearts for the coming of Emmanuel, God With Us...

(In this picture above from our home Advent service, we have already lit all five candles. But if you have a Christmas Eve service, that is when the tall white candle in the middle should be lit. I have kind of combined all of that in this post today).

Today  is the fourth Sunday of Advent...the Sunday prior to Christmas Day. As we light the fourth candle, the question is asked:  "Why do we light this candle?"

And the response is:

"Today we add the Shepherd's Candle.  It reminds us of our responsibility to share what we have seen and heard.  The Galilean Shepherds, who received the first announcement of the Savior's Birth, left their task and went with haste to see the Christ child, and then returned to tell others about the earthshaking event.  Sharing the Good News required no special talent, simply telling others what they had seen and heard with the conviction of personal experience."

Then we read Luke 2:17-20

"Now when they (the Shepherds) had seen Him (the baby Jesus),

they made widely known the saying which was told them 

concerning this Child.

And all those who heard it marveled at those things which

were told them by the shepherds.

But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.

Then the shepherds returned,

glorifying and praising God

for all the things that they 

had heard and seen, as it was told them."

Luke 2:17-20

We are reminded that, like the Shepherds, we too should go out from this Holy place and spread the good news.  What IS the good news?  That little Baby that was born in the manger came to save us all from our sins.  He came to change the world....Click Here for "Mary Did You Know?" by Pentatonix

May the Good News of this little Baby fill your heart with joy and peace and the strength to carry on in the New Year, no matter what may come your way.  I am so thankful that I know this little Baby, Who grew up to save us ALL.  I hope that you know Him too.  No better time than now. And if you DO know Him, let us join with the Shepherds and spread the Good News throughout the world. This Little Baby Jesus, Who grew up to die and save us from our sins, didn't stay in the tomb.  After three days He arose from the grave, and conquered death once and for all. As He ascended into heaven, we were promised that He would return for us someday...

"And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up,

behold, two men stood by them in white apparel,

who also said,

'Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven?

This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven,

will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.'"

Acts 1:10-11

Jesus told His disciples in John 14:18-19 ~ 

"I will not leave you orphans;

I will come to you.

A little while longer and the world will see Me no more,

but you will Me. 

Because I live,

you will live also."

Just before Christ ascended into heaven, He gave His disciples (and us) this "Great Commission"...

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations,

baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you,

and lo, 

I AM with you always,

even to the end of the age.

Amen."

Matthew 28:19-20

And that, my friend, is truly GOOD NEWS!   EMMANUEL, "God WITH Us", will be with us until the end of the age...and then He will come again and take us home to heaven to be with Him forever.  What better message could we share with the world than this?

Let us go and do as the Shepherds did.

Let's Go!

Friday Foto Friends-It's a Wild Life Out Here in the Woods

Dear Friday Foto Friends, Last week I didn't have anything new to share with you...but this week I've hit the jackpot it seems!! It's been a busy week in the wildlife kingdom here in my neck of the woods. Possibly the Full Moon earlier in the week had something to do with it...plus it is springtime, and the critters seem to be feeling frisky...

I was surprised to happen upon the Sand Hill Crane family early one morning out for a stroll...and the baby "colts" have gotten so big it is almost difficult to tell the difference between them and the parents:

 I love that they stick together as a family and now spend their days foraging for food throughout the community, not just around the pond. They are becoming more "sociable"...

Excuse me if you've seen any of these other pictures already, as I may have posted some of them on Facebook this week...but not all of you are there...so here goes...

This is a Swallow Tailed Kite...and I saw him gliding overhead before I could get my camera focused for a picture while in flight.  That was rather frustrating to me, and as I continued my walk down the road I said, "Lord, I wish I could see where that Kite flew ...I've never seen one perching before".  As we walked to the end of our road and then turned around to head back toward home, I looked up in the trees over to my right, and there, pretty as you please, sat this gorgeous white Swallow Tail Kite!!! She/he sat there for the longest time, allowing me to take as many pictures as I wanted. It's too bad it was quite a distance away, and the quality of the photo isn't great, but you get the idea!!

http://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/swallow-tailed-kite

 He even ruffled his feathers for us to see!!  I was praising the Lord and thanking Him all the way back home for hearing my feeble little prayer and answering it so sweetly and quickly!! Our God is an amazing God...if He hears and answers these kinds of requests, just think what He will do with our really important prayers!!!!

And then, a little farther down the road I spied this Great Crested Flycatcher http://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/great-crested-flycatcher  Isn't he a beauty?

Another morning we looked out the front windows and saw this deer having breakfast...

But he wasn't alone...

Thankfully these weren't any important plants/trees they were snacking on.  Just the new growth on some scrub oaks growing profusely in the woods... there's plenty more where those came from...

Even earlier another morning our wildlife camera spied this beautiful bobcat traipsing through our yard!  Or maybe this beautiful bobcat spied our wildlife camera...look at those eyes!

Isn't he magnificent?  Too bad it isn't in color.

Well now: Even earlier on that same morning we had quite a party in the yard!! Not just one, not just two, but THREE bears!!  I believe these two closest to us are twin cubs, and the other to the right is probably their mother, but it is difficult to tell her size...she looks kind of small...so could be another cub. 

These two were pretty interested in the swimming pool, not just for a drink...I think they wanted to stay awhile and play...

But they were pretty thirsty after all...

This one seemed to have a bath in mind...

Hey!!! Where'd every body else go???

I think this must be THE END of the story....

I hope you enjoyed this little walkabout my neighborhood.  We do have some interesting creatures here...so thankful for the natural beauty that God has placed before us to enjoy. Every day is a new day to look forward to.

Maybe this wasn't The End after all...there's always more to the story...

Jesus was preparing His disciples for His departure in John 14:1-6...and they weren't too sure they understood where He was going or how they would be able know the way there as well.   Jesus responded to them in verse 6:

"I am the way, the truth, and the life.

No one comes to the Father except through Me."

And then in verses 13 & 14 Jesus gives them some other good news:

"And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the son.

If you ask anything in My name, I will do it..."

To give them further comfort about His departure He reassured them this way:

18.  "I will not leave you orphans;

I will come to you.

19.  A little while longer and the world will see Me no more,

but you will see Me.

Because I live, you will live also."

27.  "Peace I leave with you,

My peace I give to you;

not as the world gives do I give to you.

Let not your heart be troubled,

neither let it be afraid."

Okay, Now it's The End of the Story!

Have a blessed and glorious day, my friends!

 Now let us stroll over to Deb's Place at Breathing in Grace and see what our other Friday Foto Friends have been up to.

4th Sunday of Advent: Spread the Good News! (Updated)

Today  was the fourth Sunday of Advent...the Sunday prior to Christmas Day. As we lit the fourth candle, the question was asked:  "Why do we light this candle?"

And the response was:

"Today we add the Shepherd's Candle.  It reminds us of our responsibility to share what we have seen and heard.  The Galilean Shepherds, who received the first announcement of the Savior's Birth, left their task and went with haste to see the Christ child, and then returned to tell others about the earthshaking event.  Sharing the Good News required no special talent, simply telling others what they had seen and heard with the conviction of personal experience."

Then we read Luke 2:1-20

"Now when they (the Shepherds) had seen Him (the baby Jesus),

they made widely known the saying which was told them 

concerning this Child.

And all those who heard it marveled at those things which

were told them by the shepherds.

But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.

Then the shepherds returned,

glorifying and praising God

for all the things that they 

had heard and seen, as it was told them."

Luke 2:17-20

We were reminded that, like the Shepherds, we too should go out from this Holy place and spread the good news.  What IS the good news?  That little Baby that was born in the manger came to save us all from our sins.  He came to change the world....Click Here for "Mary Did You Know?" by Pentatonix

May the Good News of this little Baby fill your heart with joy and peace and the strength to carry on in the New Year, no matter what may come your way.  I am so thankful that I know this little Baby, Who grew up to save us ALL.  I hope that you know Him too.  No better time than now. And if you DO know Him, let us join with the Shepherds and spread the Good News throughout the world. This Little Baby Jesus, Who grew up to die and save us from our sins, didn't stay in the tomb.  After three days He arose from the grave, and conquered death once and for all. As He ascended into heaven, we were promised that He would return for us someday...

"And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up,

behold, two men stood by them in white apparel,

who also said,

'Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven?

This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven,

will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.'"

Acts 1:10-11

Jesus told His disciples in John 14:18-19 ~ 

"I will not leave you orphans;

I will come to you.

A little while longer and the world will see Me no more,

but you will Me. 

Because I live,

you will live also."

Just before Christ ascended into heaven, He gave His disciples (and us) this "Great Commission"...

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations,

baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you,

and lo, 

I AM with you always,

even to the end of the age.

Amen."

Matthew 28:19-20

And that, my friend, is truly GOOD NEWS!   EMMANUEL, "God WITH Us", will be with us until the end of the age...and then He will come again and take us home to heaven to be with Him forever.  What better message could we share with the world than this?

Let us go and do as the Shepherds did.

Let's Go!

Pictures from our Advent Candle Lighting service today, 12/18/2016...our friends Marion Hill and Maura Masterson lighting the candles, and our son Benton read the scripture readings.  

Following our service today we had our Home Bible Fellowship Christmas dinner....  Here is the table being prepared the night before....

And here we are today enjoying a wonderful ham dinner together...

And here's "Nanny", my 93 year old mother in law...enjoying the fellowship and good food and her after dinner snack of peanuts and a piece of chocolate...something she seems to be craving these days and we have to limit or she'll just eat that and nothing else!  Yes, never a dull moment...

I pray that you and yours are having a blessed Advent season...preparing for the celebration of the birth of Christ next Sunday!  Now, Go Tell it on the mountain...that Jesus Christ is born!!! 

Hallelujah!!