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Hi everyone! I hope your week is going well. I’m happy to be back in the office this week—and amazed at how quickly a month goes by when you’re away even for a few days. Can you believe we’re almost at December? On the up-side, it’s good to see so many Christmas lights starting to appear, brightening up the evenings which always feel too dark at this time of year.

I’m very conscious of how quickly Christmas is coming, not only because of the lights, but also because we’re well into planning for this year’s Advent season. The first Sunday of Advent falls on Nov 30 this year, so it’s just over a week away! I always look forward to the month of build-up that leads us into Christmas. I could live without so many commercials selling Christmas stuff, and I confess that I do get a little tired of hearing the same 20 songs repeated again and again in every form of media and over the loudspeakers in public places. On the other hand, Christmas day goes by very fast, and sometimes it’s so full of family events that I hardly find time to pause and reflect on the wonder of our Lord’s birth. So, it’s good to have a longer period where I get regular reminders that help me to ponder and praise and turn my heart and mind to worship for the amazing miracle of the Incarnation. For me, at least, a longer Advent season helps me to engage more fully in the truths that we celebrate on Christmas Day.

This year at WVBC, we’ll center our Advent Sundays around the 4 classic themes of hope, love, peace, and joy—the themes that we talk about when we light the candles on the wreath each year. We live in a world that desperately needs these 4 things. There is far too little hope, love, peace, and joy in the news and in our neighbors’ lives these days. I trust that our times of worship will be encouraging. We’re also going to try to make the 4 weeks somewhat visitor-friendly, and of course, we’ll make a special effort in that direction in our Christmas Eve service. So, if you’re looking for an opportunity to introduce a friend to church, Advent is a good season to make the effort. Please be praying for guests who join us during those weeks, and keep a lookout for new people who would appreciate a friendly greeting and conversation.

Between now and then, we’ll return to our study of Colossians. This week, we finally get beyond the intro and into the meat of the letter. If you’re wanting to read ahead, I recommend reading all of chapter 2 - though we’ll focus on 1-15 this Sunday.

This passage offers us another theology-rich picture of the glory and sufficiency of our Lord Jesus. As I’ve been preparing, it’s had me thinking about a favorite old hymn: “We Come O Christ to Thee.” We don’t sing this one much anymore, as it’s full of Shakespearian old English. But it’s a rich piece, and worth reviewing as an invitation to worship. The song is drawn from Jesus’ words, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6), mixed with themes from John 1 and Colossians 1-2.  It goes like this:

We come O Christ to Thee, true Son of God and man,
By whom all things consist, in whom all life began.
In Thee alone we live and move and have our being in Thy love.

Thou art the way to God, Thy blood our ransom paid,
In Thee we face our Judge and Maker unafraid.
Before the throne absolved we stand, Thy love has met Thy law’s demand.

Thou art the living Truth! All wisdom dwells in Thee.
Thou Source of every skill, eternal verity.
Thou great I Am! In Thee we rest, true answer to our every quest.

Thou only art true Life, to know Thee is to live
The more abundant life that earth can never give.
O risen Lord! We live in Thee, and Thou in us eternally.

We worship Thee, Lord Christ, our Savior and our King,
To Thee our youth and strength adoringly we bring.
So fill our hearts that friends may see Thy life in us, and turn to Thee.

May that kind of worship fill our hearts and minds all week, and on through the Advent season. What a wonderful Lord we have, and how amazing that He should come to live among us—and in us!

Richest blessings! See you soon.
—Pastor Ken