Worship Focus for the Third Sunday in Advent: Rejoice!

This Sunday's Lectionary Passages:
Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11, Psalm 126, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24, John 1:6-8, 19-28

Our Advent theme this year at MCF is "Rip the Sky." It is taken from the first verse of the first Advent passage in this year's lectionary. Isaiah 64:1 says, "O that you would tear open the heavens and come down...."

This a prayer of longing and desperation for God to intervene. I think this is an appropriate theme given the desperate situations of our world right now. However, Advent is never to be a time that encourages us just to think about how bad the world is and to sit and long for heaven. Advent is a time of preparation.

This, the third Sunday in Advent, has become known in some liturgical churches as Gaudete Sunday. The Latin word "Gaudete" means, "Rejoice." This week I have thought about the connection between waiting and joy, of longing and fullfilment, and of rejoicing in struggle. I am not going to write my thoughts. Instead I am going to leave you with a couple of passages, one of which is from I Thessalonians 5 which is the New Tesament passage from the Lectionary for this Sunday. I encourage you to read, meditate, and pray on these scriptures. May we allow the Lord to prepare our hearts and lives as we wait for His appearing. My prayer is that the joy of Christ's presence fills our hearts even in these desperate times!

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise the words of prophets, 21 but test everything; hold fast to what is good; 22 abstain from every form of evil.
23 May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this. I Thessalonians 5:16-24 (NRSV)

1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. Romans 5:1-5 (NIV)