Sunday Words of Encouragement December 6, 2015

Last week I was away and focused on Thanksgiving. However it was the first Sunday of Advent when we need to be ALERT and PREPARING for the Coming of the Christ Child. I recently learned why the meaning of the four Sundays in Advent changes from year to year in a liturgical rotation. This year is “C” which would be: Hope, Joy, Love and Peace.

I don’t believe it is really important which order you give them as long as you take time to acknowledge the season and reason for Advent. We start with a time of waiting - not always patiently - but always with the Hope of the promise given in God’s Word. Although there is 400 years of silence between the prophets and the birth of Christ, those who stayed in God’s Word, (even before it was available in text), would pass the promises along to their children reminding them to be alert for the Promise of delivery through the miraculous birth of a son (Isaiah 42:1-9) because of His great love for us (Job 19:25-27 and John 3:16).

These are the verses for Hope and Love from:
A hymn for the lighting of the Advent candles
The Candle of Hope
LYONS 10.10.11.11 ("O Worship the King, All Glorious Above!")
Copyright © 2015 by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette

The candle of hope we light in this hour
Proclaims that the Lord is coming in power.
We wait for a future, now hidden from view,
When Christ in his glory will make all things new.

The candle of love tells what we are worth:
God loves us so much, God came to the earth!
An angel brought news of a child who would be
The one who would save us and set us all free.

I did not find this hymn in video but I found two items I decided to share.

First is a lovely song of Christmas Hope:


The second is a moving story of the importance of HOPE – it brought tears to my eyes.

Verses for Today
Jeremiah 33:14-16 (NIV)
14  ‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will fulfill the good promise I made to the people of Israel and Judah.
15“ ‘In those days and at that time
I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line;
he will do what is just and right in the land.
16In those days Judah will be saved
and Jerusalem will live in safety.
This is the name by which itc will be called:
The Lord Our Righteous Savior.’


I love the Advent season as it helps me bring focus on the most important aspects of my life and purpose: share hope, joy, peace and love …. Because of the sacrifice of a child whose birth we celebrate at Christmas.

Sunday Words of Encouragement November 27, 2011

It is hard for me to accept that another year is quickly winding down. We are now in the Season of Christmas. May it have more meaning than shopping, rushing and good cheer.

Advent Week One - The week of Prophesy and Hope awaiting the coming of the Savior.

A Verse for Today:

Isaiah 7 : 14

All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means `God is with us').

A Prayer for this first week of advent:  O Emmanuel, Jesus Christ, desire of every nation, Savior of all peoples, come and dwell among us.