STILL ADVENT

Today is the last day of the Advent season. Advent is actually a penitential time in the church year. It's preparation, not for the birth of our Savior, but for Jesus' return. It's almost Christmas--but not quite yet.

THE CHOSEN ONE

Isaiah 42:1-4  See My servant, whom I uphold; My Chosen One, in whom I delight. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will reveal justice to the nations of the world. He will be gentle--He will not shout nor quarrel in the streets. He will not break the bruised reed, nor quench the fainthearted, those tempted to despair. He will see full justice given to all who have been wronged. He won't be satisfied until truth & righteousness prevail throughout the earth, nor until even distant lands beyond the seas have put their trust in Him." The Living Bible

MARRIAGE

"Marriage is a stage on which real love--the kind the apostle Paul described as the greatest virtue--can be enacted for the world to see:  the kind of love that enables us to endure wrong with patience, to resist evil with conviction, to enjoy the good thins with gusto, to give richly of ourselves with humility, & to nourish another's souls with long-suffering." Larry Crabb, Men's Devotional Bible

CHURCH BODIES & DENOMINATIONS

"The New Testament knows nothing either of different 'church bodies' or 'denominations,' each having its own doctrines, or of the idea of 'choosing' a church that suits one's particular understanding. The church or 'flock' is one (John 10:16); & the church is not joined as an active choice by a prospective member but added to as a result of the Holy Spirit's work (Acts 2:41)" Rev. John Sias, The Lutheran Witness, June/July 2021

AN ADVENT HYMN

Savior of the Nations, Come (LSB #332, Sts. 1, 6, 7)

Savior of the nations, come, Virgin's Son, make here Your home! Marvel now, O heav'n & earth, That the Lord chose such a birth.

For You are the Father's Son Who in flesh the vict'ry won. By Your mighty pow'r make whole All our ills of flesh & soul.

From the manger newborn light Shines in glory through the night. Darkness there no more resides; In this light faith now abides.