"What Do You Fear?" - Advent Resources

Whew!  Did I not warn you all that the Gospel of Luke was a doozy?
It has been fun to return to the lectionary for a time.  While I enjoy putting together sermon series and constructing a larger narrative that flows from one week to the next, I was reminded how important it is to read the gospel stories in sequence to see how Jesus shaped his own narrative (and how the Gospel writers then shaped his message).

But for now, we will be taking a break from the lectionary to jump into A Sanctified Art’s Advent series called, “What Do You Fear?”  This series focuses on how Mary, Joseph, their family, and their friends lived in uncertain times.  Much like today, they had to find hope in a world that felt dark and frightening.  And yet, despite their fears, God was able to break into their lives with hope and light that cast out the darkness.

As a part of this series, we will have some additional ways to engage with the Advent story (click on them to download):

1. An Advent Devotional.
   We will be printing these next week, so please sign up for one or email the office to reserve one.  Extra copies will be printed, but we would like to have an estimate number.
2. An Advent calendar for adults (PDF) and a coloring Advent Calendar for kids (plus instructions). These can be printed at home, but we will print many of each in the office on 11x17 paper.
3. Original liturgy for worship by the creative team at A Sanctified Art.
4. Original art for the bulletins and that will be displayed in the service and online.
5. Original poetry that will be included in the weekly email and on social media posts.

This series will take us through the end of the year and to Epiphany Sunday on January 6, 2026.  After Epiphany, we will be returning to the Lectionary and diving into the Gospel of Matthew until Lent.

However - for this week, we have our joint Hanging of the Greens Worship Service at 10:00a.m. with decorating afterward.  As a part of this service, we will be inviting in-person attendees to write down on a notecard their answer to the question, “What are your grateful for?”  This will be read out loud by the liturgist later in the service

If you are worshiping online, we invite you to submit your answer to the question, “What are your grateful for?” in one of the following ways:

1. Comment on the YouTube Livestream
2. Email the tech team at [email protected]
3. Text Pastor Chris
4. Text someone you know is attending in-person worship and have them write your answer on a notecard for you.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me and ask!
 
Blessings,
Pastor Chris