Sing, Sneetches!

Second Sunday of Advent
from Isaiah 11:1-10 and Romans 15:4-13

• Advent, season of preparation for the coming of the Lord. Time to remember the birth of Christ AND to look forward to the return of Christ... live in such a way that you represent and resemble Christ, and so increase His visibility in the world.

• "I love you and there's nothing you can do about it."
Tell someone that.
How's it feel to say?
How's it feel to hear?
Not everyone hears that every day.
Not everyone says that every day.

• Looking at the passage from Romans 15 what do you notice? Paul's repeated reference of the Gentiles, and praising. Four times, from the Law (Deuteronomy), the Prophets (Isaiah), and from the writings (Psalms).

"Gentiles" has to do with "outsiders".

What would cause Gentiles / outsiders to praise or rejoice?

Well, what would cause anyone to rejoice?

We rejoice at freedom from burden or grief or pain.
We rejoice at feeling of belonging or of being loved.
We rejoice at feeling of peace or unity.

These are conditions that come as Christ increases in the world.

• Sneetches loved their own kind, happy to have defined “in” and “out” kind. But Sneetchdom was broken. Not all Sneetches could sing. Not all were loved. There were Gentile Sneetches, "outsider" Sneetches. They longed for love, longed to belong, longed not to be judged. 

And it took a breaking in to Sneetchdom for change to happen, and happen it did... and their worlds were expanded.

• May our traditions inspire and encourage us to reach out to others for the glory of God, that there may be no outsiders, that others would look at the church and see hope and help instead of judgment and division, that more would praise God, and that none would feel unloved.

• Read from Advent Calendar for today, LIGHT first candle, candle of hope, and second candle, candle of Christ the WAY.

• Pray thanks for salvation, strength for bearing light, increasing Christ light in the world

• Childrens' Special Music