Prepare the Royal Highway

Join us for special evening worship this Advent on Wednesdays at 7:00PM. December tends to be a hectic time of year for so many of us – you are invited to take time to pause and prepare for the coming of Jesus. With so much construction in our area this last year, it seems an ideal time to talk about pathways…

Highways, pathways, gates, and journeys figure prominently in the imagery of Advent. We hear the voice shouting, “Prepare the way of the Lord! Make straight the path!” We witness the unexpected detours for Elizabeth and Zechariah, Mary and Joseph. We make way in our hearts and lives for our God.

December 1: Highway under construction

How exactly do you prepare a highway for God? A passage from 1 Thessalonians offers a construction blueprint: rejoice, pray, give thanks, hold fast to what is good. In this way, we make a straight path into our hearts for the coming of Christ.

December 8: G.P.S. (God’s Positioning System)

What are your expectations for the Messiah? Likely not a tiny child ushering in a new vision of peace. Through the coming of Christ, God repositions and reorients our lives. Are you ready to follow God’s new direction?

December 15: Standing at the crossroads

Decisions, decisions, decisions. Would Zechariah and Elizabeth doubt the angel’s message, or prepare for a newborn in their advanced age? Would Joseph quietly dismiss his pregnant betrothed, or accept the responsibility of raising Jesus as his own? When standing at a crossroads, do you also choose the leap of faith?

December 22: Detour ahead

The unexpected inevitably happens. Angels burst in with news, unplanned pregnancies alter plans, the government demands registration in a distant and overcrowded town. God chooses the most radical detour of all: coming to our world in human form.