Preaching:
Rev. Nate Melcher
The Message
Reflection:
Advent is upon us! The season of waiting and anticipation, the time of preparation and gathering. Yet despite all of our preparations, there will always be surprises. Some people enjoy a good surprise, and as for others, well, surprises are inconvenient at best and earth-shattering at worst. If we cannot anticipate what or when surprises will spring up, we can at the very least be prepared to know surprises will enter our lives. Prayerfully building our stamina, our support networks, and our faith will carry us through surprise. What have been the major surprises in your life? If they were jubilant, how did you embrace that feeling? If they were tragic, how did you manage (or just plain survive)? Who do you know that deals well with surprise? What is your response to the Spirit when something new happens?
For the Children and the Adults in Their Lives:
Mary and Joseph are about to take their journey to Bethlehem and it's time to get ready! First step, they've got to pack. It's going to be a long road and they want to be as prepared as possible. If you were going on a trip, what would you pack? Now pretend you can only take what you can carry, now what would you take? When we get ready for a trip, we do our best to be prepared but we sometimes get surprised along the way. Is it truly possible to be fully prepared?
