Do You Hear What I Hear? Advent 2024

               "Away in a Manger" Today is the Day! Jesus is the Reason for the Season.  "An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord."  ~ Luke 2:9-11 Music:  "Away in a Manger" "Away in a Manger" instrumental piano Meditation:  "But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you are his sons, God sent the spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, 'Abba, Father.' So you are no longer a slave, but God's child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir."  ~Galatians 4:4-7 "For you were once dark...

               "Silent Night" 1 Day Away "Silent night, Holy night,  All is calm, all is bright." Hopefully, we have all had the experience of a quiet Christmas Eve church service that features the individual lighting of candles and the singing of this special hymn. "Christ the Savior is born." Music:  "Silent Night" Meditation: "T he Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."  John 1:14 "When he had received the drink, Jesus said, 'It is finished.' With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit." ~John 19:30 "With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.  The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom."  ~Mark 15:37-8 "Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Pace by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through t...

               "The First Noel" 2 Days Away A beautiful newborn baby. A few simple needs. Keep the baby bundled, dry, and fed.  Whether the baby is nestled in someone's arms, in a fancy crib with a vibrant mobile, or in a manger bed. Life slows down for a precious newborn's life. Music:  "The First Noel" Meditation:  "As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, 'Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!'     'Martha, Martha,' the Lord answered, 'you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed--or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.'"  ~Lu...

               "O Holy Night" 3 Days Away It is so close! Cookies are baked. The program has been performed. Most of the packages are wrapped. We are weary.  We are so weary.   It is time.       It is time to be still.  S.T.I.L.L. Slowly     Take     In     Lavish    Love Music: "O Holy Night" Meditation:  "Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God,  the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He will not grow tired or weary,  and his understanding no one can fathom.  He gives strength to the weary  and increases the power of the weak.  Even youths grow tired and weary,  and young men stumble and fall;  but those who hope in the LORD  will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles;  they will run and not grow weary,  they will walk and not be faint."  ~Isaiah 40...

               "O Little Town of Bethlehem" & "We Three Kings" 4 Days Away Today is about worship. "Sweetly singing." Who is doing that singing?  Angels.  Many of the details surrounding Jesus' birth are, well, not normal. In order to be more kind, I could say, not typical, but I really do mean not normal.  The announcement of Jesus' birth is certainly  not normal . Angels announced Christ's arrival. Angels. While we can quickly conjure up images of Christmas pageants past with our littlest children donning white sheets, wings, and halos, the reality can be much more complex to fathom.  Angels? Heavenly beings?--Yes! Yes! Yes! With the glory of this realization comes the sobering fact of the presence of evil on the other side. Let us glory in Jesus AND let us put on the full armor of God in order to face each day prepared for our spiritual battles. Music: "O Little Town of Bethlehem" "We Three Kings" Meditation:  ...

               "What Child Is This?" 5 Days Away "This, this is Christ the King!" Jesus is the King! Jesus is worthy of all the fuss and so much more! However, we spend so much time fussing over everything but Christ the King! This Christmas let us not spend more time baking goodies, wrapping gifts, and decorating trees than we spend worshiping our King.  Let us ask ourselves each day: What Child Is This? and then truly answer the question. Who is Christ to us or in Jesus' words to His disciples: "Who do you say I am?" Music:  What Child Is This? Meditation:  "The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned."  ~Isaiah 9:2 "The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, 'Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I said, 'A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.' I myself did...

               "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear" 6 Days Away The news of Jesus' birth brought peace. Jesus is the Prince of Peace. We could all use more peace in our lives; Jesus knew that and offers us that peace. Let us choose to accept His Perfect Peace.  Music:  "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear" Meditation:  "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 "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."  ~John 14:27 "'Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,'  says the LORD, who has compassion on you."  ~ Isaiah 54:10 What beautiful promises...

               "Joy to the World" 7 Days Away "Joy to the World" Why?--because "The Lord is come!" What do we do now? "Let every heart prepare Him room." Let us enjoy the lyrics to the beautiful Christmas classic and prepare room in our hearts for the realization that we have a Savior.  Joy to the World, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King Let every heart prepare Him room And Heaven and nature sing And Heaven and nature sing And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing Joy to the World, the Savior reigns! Let men their songs employ While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains Repeat the sounding joy Repeat the sounding joy Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy No more let sins and sorrows grow Nor thorns infest the ground He comes to make His blessings flow Far as the curse is found Far as the curse is found Far as, far as, the curse is found He rules the world with truth and grace And makes the nations prove The glories of His righteousne...

              "Angels We Have Heard on High" 8 Days Away Today is about worship. "Sweetly singing." Who is doing that singing?  Angels.  Many of the details surrounding Jesus' birth are, well, not normal. In order to be more kind, I could say, not typical, but I really do mean not normal.  The announcement of Jesus' birth is certainly not normal . Angels announced Christ's arrival. Angels. While we can quickly conjure up images of Christmas pageants past with our littlest children donning white sheets, wings, and halos, the reality can be much more complex to fathom.  Angels? Heavenly beings?--Yes! Yes! Yes! With the glory of this realization comes the sobering fact of those of the reality of those on the other side. Let us glory in Jesus AND let us put on the full armor of God in order to face each day prepared for our spiritual battles. Music:  "Angels We Have Heard on High" Meditation:  "The Son is the image of the...

             "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" 9 Days Away This is the point in the holiday season in which the reality can be overwhelming. Let's be honest today; the reality is overwhelming. Today we are not going to focus on any of the external "stuff"--wrapping paper, lights, recipes, shopping lists, clutter, Christmas cards, and to do lists. Today we are going deep into the internal portion of this holiday. Let us look at the reality of our hearts and do some serious cleaning.  Music:  "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" (the Christmas version~The Piano Guys) "O come, O come, Emmanuel,  And ransom captive Israel." Meditation: "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." ~Isaiah 7:14 "This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came togethe...

            "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" 10 Days Away Ten days! I hope that anticipation--and peace--are filling this holiday season. It is exciting--each and every year. We imagine and anticipate the sounds, the gifts, the foods, the fellowship of this blessed time of year as we celebrate the birth of Christ the King.  While we do anticipate Christmas Eve and Christmas Day--the day we Christians celebrate the birth of the Christ Child, there is so much that we often miss or can not even comprehend. Have we ever considered the role of the angels? They hear the plan in heaven--they are given their orders. Go, speak with Mary. Go, speak with Joseph. Go, announce to shepherds. These angels knew the magnitude of the event.  Music:  "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" "Glory to the newborn King." Meditation:  "And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to t...

           "Little Drummer Boy" 11 Days Away "Parum-pum-pum-pum." After hearing only a few notes of this Christmas classic, we know the song. Have we ever thoroughly considered the sentiment behind the simple lyrics?  Music:  "The Little Drummer Boy" As with yesterday, the concepts behind the lyrics are powerful. Come--behold the baby Jesus. But when visiting we often bring gifts. What can we bring? What can we offer? Sadly, our inner, worldly Grinch can often appear here. During the holidays it seems everyone--everywhere--is asking us for more. More gifts, more donations, more time. When we have had enough, we start looking around to scrounge up whatever we might already have on hand to give.--Maybe a gift card will do? Maybe we can re-gift something? We check clearance aisles.  "Our finest gifts we bring...to lay before the King." Today, let's individually reflect on what we can bring to Jesus. As we reflect, let us each ask God what we hav...

          "O Come, All Ye Faithful" 12 Days Away Today, let us be "joyful and triumphant" instead of grumpy and stressed. O Come, friends, let us reflect on the season with some music and meditation.  Music: "O Come, All Ye Faithful"  ~ Red Rocks Worship " O come" because we need to prepare for a journey this Christmas season. Not one that requires us to get bundled, grab extra cash, and load up the car with the kids, the pets, and hastily wrapped gifts. No, this is a spiritual journey. Where are we going? Not a bustling mall, not a meandering car-ride through brightly lit neighborhoods. We are not even necessarily going to a candle-lit church. We are going on a personal, spiritual journey to meet with our Creator and Savior. What are we going to do? Shopping? Ice skating? Hot Cocoa? The faithful are going on this spiritual journey to adore  Him--Christ the Lord. What a novel idea! We sing it--Do we mean it?--Do we ever do it?--Let us come be...

         "The Commission" 13 Days Away Time for some meditation and music. Is it possible that whatever is swirling around us--literally or figuratively--will be okay if we don't put our focus on the swirls for a few moments? Today I recommend that we listen to the music before our time of meditation. Music:  "The Commission" Meditation: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it." ~ John 1:1-5 "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." ~ John 1:14 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in h...