Advent Opportunties
Now that we are in the season of waiting for the birth of the Christ child, I wanted to make you aware of the different opportunities for you to deepen your faith during this season. Jonathon has printed Devotional Booklets that were written by my friend Rev. Dr. Marsha McFee. Some of you said that you preferred a devotional booklet that had an activity for each day. This year’s booklets have this. I hope that you will set aside time each day to be still and immerse yourself in being fully present in this season.
Also, we have Advent Bible studies available. In Tulsa, our Wednesday night class is in the adult wing and begins at 6:30. You can participate in person or on Zoom. If you want to zoom in, please email Pastor Seungrok here. We made this the exact same time as the Kid’s and Youth programming so that you can drop off the kids and join us as we explore what makes each of our destinations in this season interesting. In Bixby, our class is Sunday morning at 10:00 in Classroom 1. Our theme invites us to consider the political, social and geographical backdrop of this story that we know so well.
We have a special Sunday on Dec. 14th where we will hear from six different characters from the story. There will only be one service at 10:00 am at the Tulsa location and one service at 11:00 am at the Bixby location. This is a day of special Christmas music as well! We will not be having Sunday school that day since everyone will be enjoying our special Christmas program “Voices of the Nativity.”
This road to Bethlehem has many stops and many influences along the way. As we consider the Roman occupation and the demand for a census, we realize what a hardship this must have been for Mary and Joseph. This Sunday we will be gathering in Jerusalem at the Temple which is the center of worship for all the people. This sacred place is the center of the faith for Mary and Joseph and their families. We will encounter Elizabeth and Zechariah and the years of waiting that they have had to endure.
What kind of waiting are we sitting in? How do we feel about that waiting? Is it hard to wait or do you find it a spiritual discipline? I will tell you that I am not good at waiting in a line. But I am really good at waiting for God to reveal a path forward. I know when something doesn’t feel right and I am forcing an issue. Again and again, I have said that this opportunity or path forward doesn’t seem like the right one. And then after much waiting, the right path has been revealed to me. And then I realize that waiting paid off because I was fully present to experience the amazing thing that wouldn’t have happened if I had pushed forward. If waiting is hard for you too, I encourage you to try and discover what distractions are keeping you from being still and letting God lead. It takes wisdom and patience but you will never regret allowing it to slowly reveal itself to you.
May you be blessed with some stillness this week,
