Hope Comes While We Wait

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6

If you’ve been in or around a church at all during an Advent season, you’ve most likely heard this verse from Isaiah more than once.  It is the most often referenced prophecy verse about Jesus’ birth.  Because we’ve heard it so many times, do we really stop to take in its message?

We as a church (and in PathFinders) are using this familiar Scripture as our anchor verse for Advent, but we certainly don’t want it to lose its powerful meaning because of that familiarity. If the saying “familiarity breeds contempt” is at all true, then we have to fight against even a smaller version of that- complacency. 

This is where our “ARMED” series meets the Advent season.  We will ride the wave of intentionality and excitement we saw in the kids over ARMED into our study of Advent and Jesus’ birth. 

This week we started with how God prepared the hearts of His people for Jesus’ arrival and what it means to wait with hope.  As we heard the story of Zechariah receiving the news that he and his wife would have a son who would prepare a way for the Lord, we can somewhat understand what it means to wait with hope.  Zechariah, like all the people of God during that time, had heard the prophecies of a coming Messiah.  They had hope that He would come, but since they had no idea when, they had to wait in that hope. 

And…poor Zechariah…even after hearing the good news that it was going to happen soon, he was silenced and couldn’t tell anyone.  Why did God choose to cut off Zechariah’s voice until his son John was born?  The obvious answer is because he didn’t believe the news fully, but what if it was more?  What if God wanted his people to continue to wait and more importantly wait with hope?  If they knew the day was upon them would they continue to wait with hopeful expectancy?

Romans 8:24-25- “For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has?  But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.”

Do we hope for what we already have? If we circle the date (Dec. 25th) on the calendar and wait for it to come, but forget what it means to hope in our waiting…have we lost something really significant? 

Advent is more than just a countdown to Christmas Day.  Advent is more than reciting the verses in Isaiah or Luke.  Advent is a time to wait…with hope. 

This Week’s Announcements:
1. How To…Christmas- Our next “How To” session is Wednesday, December 9th.  Be sure to sign up for dinner and register your children for childcare.  Registration is REQUIRED to guarantee a spot for your children.  Visit our website www.stonebridgemarietta.org and click on event registration. 
2. Christmas Services and Times:
a. Christmas Eve- We will have one service on December 24th at 5pm. We will meet in the new performing arts building at Marietta High School.  This is a family service so parents and kids of all ages will worship together.
b. Christmas Day- We will celebrate the birth of our King on Christmas at 11am in our sanctuary.  This is also a family service so parents and kids of all ages will worship together.  *It’s okay for kids to come in their PJ’s if they are just not ready to get dressed yet!

What God is Teaching Us:
For 4k-5th Grade: This week’s first Advent lesson was on (HOPE) Click the link to see lessons.
This link is no longer available

As ARMED meets Advent, we will continue to learn a new memory verse each week.  This week’s verse:
 “Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD.” Psalm 31:24

FAMILY TIME:
If your family would like a guide to reading through Scripture during the Advent Season, we would love to share some great resources with you.  Each week on the blog, I will list some suggested readings for the days between one blog and the next.  *Also- I’ve included some links to other resources if you want a more in depth way of leading your family through the season.  Enjoy this special time of year!

PATHFINDER ADVENT SCRIPTURE READINGS: (DEC. 1-6)
Dec. 1st- John 1:1-5
Dec. 2nd- Isaiah 9:2-7
Dec. 3rd- Isaiah 11:1-10
Dec. 4th- Jeremiah 33:14-16
Dec. 5th- Luke 1:5-10
Dec. 6th- Luke 1:11-17

Other resources for Advent:
Focus on the Family has LOTS of great Advent reading plans: http://www.focusonthefamily.com/parenting/holidays/making-meaningful-christmas-memories/celebrate-advent
This is one of my favorite ideas- learning the names of God through Advent!  This one is also hands-on because you can make an ornament each day with the names.
http://kojo-designs.com/2011/12/advent-ornaments/
And…lastly, if you love the Jesus Storybook Bible like I do, then you’ll love this resource. This is a free printable guide to using the this special Bible during Advent.
http://www.faithgateway.com/jesus-storybook-bible-advent-calendar-printable/