Dear All,
Advent Greetings! I know I say it every year, but where has this year gone? I can't believe we have entered the season of Advent, which is also the beginning of the Church Year! As I look back over this past year 2013 has been one of many blessings, as well as a year of many tears as we have lost dear loved ones, personal to ourselves, as well as family members of St. Mark's. It has been a year of spiritual & numerical growth; many maintenance mountains climbed (side chapel, roof, heaters, to name but few), which come with financial challenges; new staff welcomed, and a number of different faces serving in new and varied ministries. God has certainly been on the move at St. Mark's, and Advent is a season that now calls us to look forward as we await the arrival of God's Son into the world - Immanuel - God with us.
It is also a period of reflection pointing us to Christ's second coming at the end of time, and encouraging us to think about our own preparation for that day. I challenged those at the 9 am service last Sunday whether we were ready for Jesus, should he return tomorrow? I think Advent is a good time to self-examine our own spiritual lives, which will obviously have an important impact on our life as the Body of Christ. We need to keep short accounts with God, and with one another, through regular worship, prayer, reading of the scriptures, fellowship, serving God, and giving back to God by offering him our gifts, time, and money.
The season of Advent takes us back to our discipleship, drawing us to be attentive, first to God, and then to the way we live, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when we do not expect him? I have a card in my loo which says, 'Jesus is coming - look busy'! Advent should not be a season of 'busy-ness', but it inevitably is as Christmas 'jumps the gun' and the 'tinsel tunnel' begins! Amongst all the Christmas celebrations that we may attend at work, in the community, in church, and with our family, a number of weeks before the great day of Christ's birth, may I encourage you to step out of the 'tinsel tunnel', if only for a short space each day, and remember that Jesus' doesn't ask for 'busy-ness' - he longs for a deepening of our relationship with him, and with God our Father, through the gift of the Holy Spirit. We do this, not through 'busy-ness' but by waiting on God, watching for signs of his Kingdom that have already broken through here in earth, and praying that we will be obedient to God's call on our lives, to join in with Him in sharing His love with others.
I pray that our teaching during the Autumn on 'Come Holy Spirit', and the 7 week course on 'Sharing what you love', will have helped equip us all to share God's love with others this Advent & Christmas season. Pray that you may invite a friend, family member, neighbour, or work colleague, to one of our Christmas services; and also to our new Alpha course starting in the evening of 22nd January for 7 weeks. As I have been praying and pondering I feel that God is calling His people back to worship the Infant King for whom we await this Advent. This vulnerable child was born into a violent and turbulent world, but it was through Him that the message of joy, peace and hope would come. May we too be carriers of this same joy, peace and hope this Christmas time, but not just carriers, but also bearers, and distributors in word and action.
'Loving God and making His love known'
May you have a blessed and joyful month of waiting, watching and praying, in anticipation of great celebrations this Christmastide.
Love and prayers,
Hennie