Advent Journey Day 15: 3rd Sunday in Advent

We lit the pink candle of joy today!  Rejoice!  After the service, we enjoyed the Children's Christmas program.  The premise was very cute...a group of stars: Shooting Star, Falling Star, Rock Star, Lucky Star, North Star, and Super Star were discussing the new star that arrived over Bethlehem.  One of the songs talked about what a great view they had to see all that God was doing in the world.  It was cool and cute!  One of the best schticks was when the good news was given to a "band" of shepherds.  The four shepherds kicked into action with their guitar, recorder, tambourine, and little hand piano!  Cracked me up.
I just love encountering the Christmas story through the eyes of children.  After all, the prophet Isaiah tells us that a little child shall lead us so perhaps there's something really pure and refreshing about watching the kids tell this old, old story in new and fresh ways.  It's always a day of joy when the kids do their thing...perfect for the 3rd Sunday in Advent...the pink candle, the candle of joy.  The waiting is almost over...another reason to rejoice!

3rd Sunday in Advent

I'm late with this post but last Sunday was a great day in the life of our church.  We went to bed on Saturday night with the news that a car bomb had exploded about 5 blocks from where we live and another man carrying explosives had died while walking toward a busy shopping area.  Authorities called it a terrorist act that had failed.  We were very thankful that more damage was not wrought and that all in all, the incident seemed contained.  Still...to have this happen in Stockholm, Sweden has shaken many of us.  Sweden is a peace seeking nation with an official stance of neutrality in the world's conflicts.  Still, some have been angered by some things here and thus the offensive action.
As we gathered on Sunday morning for our 3rd Sunday in Advent celebration, I suppose it was more appropriate than we could have ever have guessed that our theme for the day was redemption.  We were also lighting the candle of joy, a joy that is based not on what the world brings, but the everlasting joy that knowing Christ offers.  As I lit the candles of hope and peace from the first two Sundays, I was struck by how badly our world needs the gifts that Christ brings to us at Christmas.
In my pastoral prayer for the day I prayed for those involved in the violent act that ensued in the streets of our city the previous night.  For those injured or shaken to their core, we asked for healing.  But I also prayed for those perpetuating the violence, that in the midst of their anger and disappointment they would see that there are better ways to solve problems or address issues than to reign down terror on others.  This is a good word for us all...we need to find peaceful and reasonable ways to make our point and listen to others.  When we don't get our way, we need to be able to humbly accept what we cannot change and continue to seek to live our lives with courage and integrity, whilst not oppressing others.
Another highlight of our morning together was watching Doug share in the children's time about how his broken leg was a real bummer, but that in the midst of this unwanted thing, God was teaching him many things.  The kids were rapt in their attention as they listened to Doug talk about learning to have compassion for those who are hurting.
The day was a blessing for me.  It came to a close with our church choirs concert and the honoring of one of our Sunday School teachers who gives tirelessly to the ministry of our church.  What a joyful place to be on the 3rd of Advent.
May the hope, peace and joy of Christ penetrate the dark places of our world and bring you personal peace and rest.

Advent day 15, Third Sunday

We had a great 3rd Sunday in Advent. It was also communion Sunday which presented a perfect opportunity to focus on the gifts that God gives us. We emphasized that we are able to come to the Lord's table at HIS invitation. Doug preached a great sermon on how with the coming of Christ all barriers to God have come down and the wide reach of God's amazing love now encompasses us all. Teenagers from our high school youth group shared in the liturgy of the lighting of the 3rd candle and they did such a great job. It made me so thankful for the ways in which they continue to want to be involved in the life of our church. The whole spirit of the morning was great and I felt refreshed by the whole experience. The only sad point was that a key family are moving back to Austria tomorrow. Willi has been playing percussion in our worship band and has made a deep impact. His wife Gerda has been singing in our choir and their 5 year old daughter Naima is just cute and fun to have around. So bidding them farewell today was really hard and emotional. Sometimes you have people who come into your church and ministry who impact everyone. Gerda and Willi have been those kind of people. Deeply loved by all and also deeply loving others. We wish them Godspeed but will miss them terribly.
We ended our evening with the church choirs concert. The Swedish and International choirs sang, some children from the International fellowship sang a couple of songs from the program they performed last week, the Swedish youth choir and children performed Santa Lucia, live candles and all on the Lucia's head. There was brass and percussion and great voices and fun music. We ended the evening by singing O Come All Ye Faithful in both Swedish and English and all in all it was great fun.
I'm tired tonight but in a good way. I feel so thankful for our church and for the opportunity that we have to worship God, to know the depth of His love and grace around the communion table and sing his praises with joy and gratitude.
As we get a bit closer to Christmas, I leave you with words from my prayer for today...

Lord, as the growing light of Christ surrounds us, may we all know in a deep and abiding way that you do counter our despair with hope, our unrest with peace, and our sadness with joy. May we each know the truth of these gifts as we continue to prepare our hearts to celebrate the coming Christ once again. In Jesus’ name we pray these things. Amen.