Did you ever receive a Christmas present that you just didn’t want?  As a child, it was always disappointing to get something practical like socks or a tooth brush. As an adult, you hope not to receive something useless or offensive. “You think I wear what size?” And sometimes the hardest gifts to receive are the ones that we truly need. Yet, it takes love to give these types of gifts. This Sunday, we will conclude our Advent series by focusing on the theme of love.  In Isaiah 52-53 we will see that the gift of God’s love is a gift that the world did not want to receive, nevertheless, it was the one gift that this broken world truly needed. To come prepared for the sermon, take time this week to read and meditate upon Isaiah 52:13-53:12, John 1:11, 1 John 4:9-10 and Westminster Shorter Catechism #’s 19-22. 

As we gather this fourth Sunday of Advent, we will join our hearts in song, singing the Hymn of Praise “What Child is This”, the Acclamation of Praise “Silent Night”, and the Hymn of Response “It Came Upon the Midnight Clear.”  Let us come to worship this Sunday prepared to hear God’s Word, to receive it in faith, to love and treasure it in our hearts, and to practice it in our lives that we may continue to glorify and enjoy Him!

• Bulletin for 12/24/17