1A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. 2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord— 3 and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; 4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. 5 Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.
—The words of the Prophet Isaiah from Isaiah 11:1-5
Over the years, my wife, Shirley, has written hundreds of Calls to Worship for the various churches where she has served as organist. During the coming weeks of Advent, I will share four of those Calls to Worship with you, beginning with this First Sunday of Advent.
This first Sunday of Advent deals with both the first chapter and the last chapter of the greatest story ever told. And, like any story, we want to know the “who,” “what,” “where,” “when,” and “why” of the story.
On this first Sunday of Advent we ask: “Who is the story about?”
As we light this first candle, we are reminded that the “Who of Advent” is God’s Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Light of the World.
May the hope of Advent come into our lives, as once again we remember the “Who” of the season.
O come let us adore him, Christ the Lord.
:
I invite you to join me during these weeks of Advent to celebrate the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to earth as a baby in Bethlehem’s manger and also His coming to earth again at the time of His much-anticipated Second Coming.
Will you please pray with me?
Thank You, God, for loving us. Thank You for sending Jesus to be our Savior. Thank You for sending us Your Holy Spirit to dwell within us.
We celebrate the birth of Your Son. What a miracle! We simply cannot comprehend the depth of Your love for us that You would send Your only Son as the One to pay the penalty for our sin.
We also wait in humble anticipation, Dear Father, for the return of Your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to earth. We long for Him to come quickly and receive us into the fullness of Your Kingdom.
Please help us during the season of Advent to fix our minds and hearts on the eager anticipation we feel for both of these most holy events. By the power of Your Holy Spirit, prepare our minds and hearts to receive Your joy, as we await the Day of Celebration.
Thank You for hearing our prayer in and through the precious Name of Your Son, our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
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