![[Sunday] Simeon - The Book of Advents](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1671683973557-KHIHT6N1G4G8TVFXZEGE/BOA+6a.jpg)
[Sunday] Simeon - The Book of Advents
Simeon waited his entire life to see the Christ.
Simeon waited his entire life to see the Christ.
What Had happened at Grace this week.
![[Sunday] All Things - Keep It Simple](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1731687836393-04YTHZK3FOM503Y57MM3/Simple4a.jpg)
![[Sunday] Prince of Peace Christmas - The Book of Advents](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1671683129733-WENISFPSXKWH4SV3FA3E/BOA+Christmas+Dayjpg.jpg)
[Sunday] Prince of Peace Christmas - The Book of Advents
Joseph is a righteous man, yet he is having to deal with the surprise pregnancy of his bride to be. But here we see the Prince of Peace Shining though Joseph.
Joseph is a righteous man, yet he is having to deal with the surprise pregnancy of his bride to be. But here we see the Prince of Peace Shining though Joseph.
Questions for this week.
When you think someone has sinned grievously against you, how do you respond?
Read Matthew 1:18-25. Based on Mary being pregnant, what would Joseph have logically thought happened?
How does Joseph respond to this? How is that just or righteous?
How does this foreshadow Jesus and his righteousness?
What Had happened at Grace this week.
![[Sunday] Royal Introduction - Kingdom Way](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1732292654207-IOAL90WWETSNSYJWNI92/KW+1a.jpg)
Christmas Eve- Advent of Emmanuel
Throughout history God has come to be with us which culminates with Jesus at Christmas.
Christmas Eve 4pm Service
7PM Service, Starts where the two different services differ.
Throughout history God has come to be with us, which culminates with Jesus at Christmas.
Christmas Eve 4PM and 7PM
Countdown to Christmas Eve at 4 PM
What Had happened at Grace this week.
![[Sunday] The Promised Christmas - The Book of Advents](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1671156329189-FUDG78ZOCCZNTCXZ33HT/BOA+4a.jpg)
[Sunday] The Promised Christmas - The Book of Advents
Joshua stands on the edge staring into the land filled with such promises for a perfect future. But what if you get your dream and desire and just shoot your eye out? Perhaps, then it will be a beautiful Christmas
Joshua stands on the edge staring into the land filled with such promises for a perfect future. But what if you get your dream and desire and just shoot your eye out? Perhaps, then it will be a beautiful Christmas
Countdown to Christmas Eve at 4 PM
Questions for this week.
What is the greatest gift you ever dreamed of receiving at Christmas?
Read Joshua 1:1-9. What is going wrong for Joshua at this time?
What do you think he was thinking as he looked into the promised land? What was he hoping for?
What does God promise He will do for Joshua? How do we see Jesus in this promise?
How has God brought beauty in the imperfections in your life?
What Had happened at Grace this week.
Jesus in a Tuxedo T-shirt
In the place you least expect, Jesus finds you.
Read the whole article at Jesus in a Tuxedo T-Shirt - Mockingbird (mbird.com)
In the place you least expect, Jesus finds you.
One of my all-time favorite movie scenes comes from the 2006 Will Ferrell movie “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.” You probably know the one. The scene is at a dinner table and Ricky Bobby, a successful if aloof, NASCAR driver, says the prayer before everyone eats. A disagreement breaks out between Ricky and his wife because Ricky repeatedly prays to “Sweet Baby Jesus.” She doesn’t think he always has to pray to a baby; “it’s a bit odd and off-putting to pray to a baby” she tells him.
He responds, “Well look, I like the Christmas Jesus best and I’m saying grace. When you say grace, you can say it to grown-up Jesus or teenage Jesus or bearded Jesus or whoever you want.” Later, Ricky’s friend and teammate, Cal, chimes in, “I like to picture Jesus in a tuxedo t-shirt because it says like, I want to be formal, but I’m here to party too. Cause I like to party, so I like my Jesus to party too.”…………………………
![[Wednesday] Advent at Grace 3](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1670950500592-E7Z36Q2O7GGP5RZ1WPNK/Green+Red+Funny+Simple+Illustrated+Christmas+Party+Invitation+Flyer+%281920+%C3%97+1080+px%29+%281%29.jpg)
[Wednesday] Advent at Grace 3
Bring your Christmas Stories. Stories from your past, Your favorite story. Really anything to put us in the Christmas spirit.
Pot Luck Dinner 5:30PM
December 14th - Popular Christmas Carols and your Favorite Christmas Stories.
Wear your Christmas Sweaters!
What Had happened at Grace this week.
![[Sunday] Christmas Cheer for All to Hear - The Book of Advents](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1670595258960-1JWIS954GJWDOSJTIZA2/BOA+3a.jpg)
[Sunday] Christmas Cheer for All to Hear - The Book of Advents
They knew the script, it had been written for them for years and years. Yet one day they heard a voice singing a song of fire, and that song changed everything.
Jesus saw him not in the grandness of his spirituality but in the shade of a tree, and God saw Jacob not in his pursuit of grandness but in the lowness of a stone pillow. The advent of God comes not in the grand things but in the shady stones.
Countdown to Christmas Eve at 4 PM
Questions for this week.
Describe a life changing event you’ve been through?
Read Exodus 3:1-14. How does Moses’ life change as God comes to him in the burning bush?
Read Matthew 1:18-25. How does Joseph's life story change when the angel appears to him?
Think about how Jesus comes for you. What does he do to change the story of your life?
What Had happened at Grace this week.
Love's Pure Light: Christmas With The Herdmans
I thought adults wanted perfect kids, I wondered if God wanted the same.
Read the full article at Love's Pure Light: Christmas with the Herdmans - Mockingbird (mbird.com)
In the nights leading up to last Christmas, I read Barbara Robinson’s The Best Christmas Pageant Ever to my daughter. She was in third grade, and I had fond memories of my third-grade teacher, Mrs. Koenigs, reading it to our class almost thirty years prior. Though I remember being skeptical when she announced the title. I’d been in Christmas pageants. What could possibly be worth writing a book about? Harried parents herding miniature bathrobe-clad shepherds and sobbing tinsel-haloed angels to the front of the church to sing “Away in a Manger” before returning to the pews for a droning, by-the-numbers message followed by more Christmas music? In my mind, a book called The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, written by an adult, was going to be a slog. I had it in my head that “best” in the eyes of an adult meant perfect, as “being good” seemed to elicit praise from adults,…………………..
![[Wednesday] Advent at Grace 2](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1670423381996-DHN22Z6K0GHQMXBHK7D5/1.jpg)
[Wednesday] Advent at Grace 2
Best Christmas Pageant Ever Tonight!
Pot Luck Dinner 5:30PM
December 7th - Coli Leads discussion of the Best Christmas Pageant Ever.
December 14th - Popular Christmas Carols and your Favorite Christmas Stories.
Wear your Christmas Sweaters!
What Had happened at Grace this week.
![[Sunday] A Shady Stone - The Book of Advents](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1669947827451-7LQ4MUUZC5ITG6FSANMN/BOA+2a.jpg)
[Sunday] A Shady Stone - The Book of Advents
Jesus saw him not in the grandness of his spirituality but in the shade of a tree, and God saw Jacob not in his pursuit of grandness but in the lowness of a stone pillow. The advent of God comes not in the grand things but in the shady stones.
Jesus saw him not in the grandness of his spirituality but in the shade of a tree, and God saw Jacob not in his pursuit of grandness but in the lowness of a stone pillow. The advent of God comes not in the grand things but in the shady stones.
What Had happened at Grace this week.
Ready or Not, Here He Comes
You haven’t been left behind. You’ve been chosen, elected, hand-picked.
You haven’t been left behind. You’ve been chosen, elected, hand-picked.
Read the whole article at Ready or Not, Here He Comes - Mockingbird (mbird.com)
ere we are with Thanksgiving gone past in a flash. November is ending and the December holiday craze has begun. Are you ready? I know I’m not. I don’t do Black Friday and haven’t purchased a single gift. I have my mind elsewhere, with only two weeks left in fall semester. That’s fifteen hundred minutes of class time until finals. Six classes and I still have some month-old papers to get graded. And don’t get me started on Christmas plans. On second thought, maybe you should get me started, because I might just be ready in 25 days.
I tried to warn my students about this when we first looked the syllabus back in August. I told them there would come a day when they look at the list of course work and papers and test they would have come the end of the semester and wonder how they ever got to that place. Well, both those students and their professor have landed in that spot. Who in the world plans to fall behind? Who puts together a to-do list that will be completed two weeks after a dead…………………………..
![[Wednesday] Advent at Grace 1](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1669773836597-HC39G5CX20XS9NYUG9H5/Green+Red+Funny+Simple+Illustrated+Christmas+Party+Invitation+Flyer+%281920+%C3%97+1080+px%29.jpg)
[Wednesday] Advent at Grace 1
Lots of Christmas Carols and stories about Holiday Foods from around the world.
Pot Luck Dinner 5:30PM
November 30th - Sacred Carols and Stories of International Haliday Foods.
December 7th - Coli Leads discussion of the Best Christmas Pageant Ever.
December 14th - Popular Christmas Carols and your Favorite Christmas Stories.
Wear your Christmas Sweaters!
What Had happened at Grace this week.
![[Sunday] Promises, Troubles, and Automobiles - The Book of Advents](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1669397241488-WX61JYQFQQUR3JKMPLM8/BOA+1a.jpg)
[Sunday] Promises, Troubles, and Automobiles - The Book of Advents
Abraham just received the best promise from God - it’s like he can do no wrong. However, his life still falls into struggle and troubles, and when he and the promise, Isaac, climb the Lord’s mountain. Abraham truly sees the advent of God for himself.
Jesus, who called his disciples, now sends them on their first mission trip, to tell that the kingdom of God is at hand. Is that threatening language from Jesus a clue that we better shape up, or is it a promise of hope for all those who feel like a sheep without a shepherd?
What Had happened at Grace this week.
The Book of Advents (Teaching Series)
The Christmas season is filled with so much tradition, but so often we feel tired and frustrated by our attempts to fulfill our own desires. However, the Bible is the book of advents, the book of new beginnings when we see God come in a new way to save us all.
Abraham just received the best promise from God - it’s like he can do no wrong. However, his life still falls into struggle and troubles, and when he and the promise, Isaac, climb the Lord’s mountain. Abraham truly sees the advent of God for himself.
Reading Plan
Read around the readings for Sunday
11/27/22
Genesis 18:1-15
Romans 4:18-21
John 8:48–58
12/4/22
Genesis 28:10-17
1 Peter 3:15-22
John 1:43-51
12/11/22
Exodus 3:1-15
Hebrews 3:1-6
John 6:32-40
12/18/22
Joshua 1:1-6
1 Peter 1:3-9
Matthew 24:36-44
12/25/22
Isaiah 52:7-10
Titus 2:11-15
Matthew 1:18-25
1/1/22
Isaiah 63:7-14
Galatians 4:4-7
Matthew 2:13-23
1/8/22
Isaiah 60:1-6
Ephesians 3:1-12
Matthew 2:1-12
![[Sunday] Following Light - The Book of Advents](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1672969335403-APA5I5N562IPH71T9X0Q/BOA+7a.jpg)
Introducing Him who completes all of creation with everything humanity has to offer.