Greetings Everyone
Greetings Everyone.
Every Sunday during Advent we begin our time of worship by lighting a candle on the Advent Wreath. The five candles remind us of the five themes of the Advent Season: Hope, Peace, Joy, Love and Jesus. This coming week, the 3rd Sunday of Advent we will light the Joy candle.
What is Joy? On Christmas eve we will conclude our community services by singing, “Joy to the World, the Lord is come.” Interestingly, this famous Christmas carol was not intended for Christmas at all. Listen to this history lesson written by Ryan Smith, in an article published December 5, 2018.
…“Interestingly, one of the church’s most prominent Yuletide tunes is not even a song about Christmas. In 1719, Isaac Watts sat down to pen a poetic paraphrase of one of his favorite psalms, Psalm 98.
“Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises! Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody!
With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the LORD!
Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who dwell in it! Let the rivers clap their hands; let the hills sing for joy together before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity.”
“He broke the psalm into two parts and summarized verses 4-9 under the name, “The Messiah’s Coming and Kingdom.”
“For Watts, the psalms were a direct link to the New Testament. Reading the words of liberation, musical instrumentation and nature’s vibrant exaltation of its Maker brought to mind the ideas expressed in verses like Romans 8:19-21, “For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.”
“This liberation of all creation at the arrival of the conquering King led Watts to the closing chapters of Revelation. Revelation 21 celebrates Jesus’ triumphant return as a new heaven and earth replace our decaying cosmos of sin, and the One who has come to judge the earth with righteousness proclaims, “Behold, I am making all things new” (Rev. 21:5).
“The Christmas song known today as, “Joy to the World,” was originally an apocalyptic paraphrase of Psalm 98.”
Throughout Advent we have emphasized that the preparation we do for Jesus’ coming is not only for his coming the 1st time, at Christmas, but also in anticipation of his coming the 2nd time at the end of the age. It is interesting that Joy to the World encapsulates both with the focus being JOY!
So, what is Joy? Joy is not primarily an emotion. Rather, it is the deep seated gratitude, based on our faith in the sovereignty of God, that God became incarnate in and through Jesus Christ in his first coming and that he will bring completion to God’s will in his second coming. Joy, in the midst of all other things, is the assurance that God’s will, will be done “on earth as it is in heaven.”
May the joy of the Lord be yours this Christmas.
Pastor Paul
News & Events
Sunday, December 17th
9:00 a.m. Bible Study – Last one for the 2023 year
10:00 a.m. Worship Service with Pastor Paul Hayden
Monday, December 18th
7:00 p.m. Choir practice
Tuesday, December 19th
7:00 a.m. Men’s Bible Study & Breakfast
Wednesday, December 20th
10:00 a.m. LAMBS
Sunday, December 24th
10:00 a.m. Worship Service
4:00 p.m. Christmas Eve Family Service
6:00 p.m. Christmas Eve Traditional Service
Check out the Events Calendar for more upcoming events.
Our Church Youth Program – Making a Difference Together!
Christmas Stroll Success!
Thank you to everyone who made this years corner outreach at the 2023 Christmas Stroll a success. The hard work that went into the beautiful music of the Bell Choir, the organization, set up and tear down of the corner stand and, of course, the delicious homemade cookies and hot cider that were handed out all made for a wonderful night.
