Longing for a Deliverer of Hope, Stay Alert!
1 Corinthians 1:4-9
4 I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. 5 For in him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge— 6 God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you. 7 Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. 8 He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Mark 13:24-37
24 “In those days, after the suffering of that time, the sun will become dark, and the moon won’t give its light. 25 The stars will fall from the sky, and the planets and other heavenly bodies will be shaken. 26 Then they will see the Human One[a] coming in the clouds with great power and splendor. 27 Then he will send the angels and gather together his chosen people from the four corners of the earth, from the end of the earth to the end of heaven.
28 “Learn this parable from the fig tree. After its branch becomes tender and it sprouts new leaves, you know that summer is near. 29 In the same way, when you see these things happening, you know that he’s near, at the door. 30 I assure you that this generation won’t pass away until all these things happen. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will certainly not pass away.
32 “But nobody knows when that day or hour will come, not the angels in heaven and not the Son. Only the Father knows. 33 Watch out! Stay alert! You don’t know when the time is coming. 34 It is as if someone took a trip, left the household behind, and put the servants in charge, giving each one a job to do, and told the doorkeeper to stay alert. 35 Therefore, stay alert! You don’t know when the head of the household will come, whether in the evening or at midnight, or when the rooster crows in the early morning or at daybreak. 36 Don’t let him show up when you weren’t expecting and find you sleeping. 37 What I say to you, I say to all: Stay alert!”
This Sunday’s service can be viewed on our Facebook page @ Sunday, December 3, 2023
This week is the first week of Advent. Advent is a period of longing for the promises of the coming Messiah. As the days continue to get shorter and the darkness longer, Advent directs our attention to the hope that a flip is coming, when darkness will be turned into light. We are called to hope when life seems dark. We lift those around us with the promises we find in scripture and with the stories of the Spirit working in our own lives. If you feel the hope already this Advent season, come share it with your NewDay family. And if you are in search of hope this season, come and be reminded of the promises of Christ.
We finished another session of Alpha. Thank you to everyone who provided food and prayer and their time. We didn't have a large number of guests who attended regularly but more than half of the weeks we had people we did not know stop by and spend the evening with us. Every one of them was incredibly grateful for the food and the company and the conversation. We may not know the full impact of our time with these individuals but I pray that a seed was sown that will one day be harvested. We also saw hearts soften, of those who did come each week. Please continue to pray for all of the individuals we encountered this past Alpha. It fills me with hope to be a part of a community making sacrifices to eat together, converse together, pray together, and make a space where people can feel heard.
Blessings and I hope to worship with y'all Sunday!
Derek