“Advent” denotes the beginning of the Christian worship year as we bring into view Jesus’ arrival at his birth. Instead of jump-scares into Christmas and attending anxieties, many appreciated Advent’s needed time for reflection, preparation, and openness to new ways that Jesus can arrive in our lives. The four weeks of Advent begin this Sunday, December 1, when we celebrate around the Lord’s Table, enjoy special holiday music and decorations, our Poinsettia Trees, and light the Advent Candle of Hope! Your friends and neighbors will be grateful for your invitation to join you!
Pastor Kevin has also prepared a special Advent Series of messages using photography as a metaphor for our faith titled, The 5 Lenses of Christmas. Deeply focused on our Advent Scripture readings, each week we will create a different field of view using Normal, Wide, Ultra Wide, Telephoto, and Macro lenses in our spiritual camera bag that will bring our experience of Christmas into sharp focus.
This week we will use a Normal lens in a message from Matthew 24:36-44 titled, “From Influenced to Influencer.”Advent is a time to hear Isaiah the prophet urge us to walk in the light of the Lord while the Apostle Paul reminds the neighbors in Rome that God’s deliverance is getting closer every day. As we wait, Jesus’ words to be ready for Jesus are not intended to scare us or provoke fears of being left behind. Instead, Jesus promotes our growth in mindfulness that is a counter narrative to political rancor, consumerism’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and to instead respond in faith to opportunities at hand, like Giving Tuesday exhorts us to do!
Come to worship this week for your wake-up call to resist being negatively influenced to becoming an positive influencer of faith as we focus on Jesus who continues to arrive in our life each day.
Notice anything different in our sanctuary this morning? (Kids notice everything!) Poinsettia Trees, decorations, the Advent Candles, and yes, a manger. Wait! It’s empty. Each week we will add characters to our Manger scene because Christmas is a time to celebrate the birth of, who? That’s right, Jesus. And for our journey I want to give you a very special energy treat, its a Candy Cane! (Each child is given their own candy cane.) In this special package is not only a candy cane, and a Christmas stocking, but the story of how the candy cane came to be invented. It all started in Indiana, and well, you can learn more about it during your learning time upstairs in a few minutes. Here’s one thing you may not have known. The candy cane is in the shape of? (Turn the candy cane upside down.) A -J-! A -J- for? That’s right, Jesus. Next week we will continue our ADVENT-ure, add a few characters to our manger scene, and prepare for a great celebration, on the birthday of who? That’s right! -J- for Jesus who is with us every day.
Where do you call home? We are a transient society. Roots are short. Transplants are the norm. Fewer of us stay in place. You may be one of the 50 million motorists in motion this week. Or perhaps you are preparing for friends and family to gather at your 
So much to be thankful for! I’m thankful for YOU! Thanks for joining me up front each week. Did you know that Advent is the start of the Christmas ADVENTure? It starts next week. And what ties Thanksgiving and Advent together is Jesus’ Welcome to everyone to join him on this adventure. You are always welcomed here. How could you show welcome to your classmates? Family? Reach out to someone who may be feeling alone or sad. Thanksgiving is the perfect time to be thankful that God always welcomes us, and for us to show our gratitude by being welcoming to others, too! Happy Thanksgiving! And, see you next week when our ADVENTure begins! I can’t wait!
Pulling up in front of a loading zone, the sign read: NO IDLING. A car running at idle doesn’t accomplish anything worthwhile. Idling is a wait-state between off and on. In fact, idling not only needlessly consumes fuel, but creates noxious fumes for those walking nearby. It’s better to be off than idle. It’s best, though, to get energized and move forward!
At our craft fair yesterday there were so many talented vendors and artists. Hundreds of people came because everybody had something to share. Something to show. Great baked goods! Clothing. Christmas gifts. I even got a new belt from an incredibly talented artisan. One very special table was hosted by ARC, a county program for some very special people who are gifted in different ways than us. Those with down syndrome were handing out flyers, those with autism helped sell a very tasty product. Would you like to see? Popcorn! I have some here to share with you. Everyone can be helpful. Everyone has a job to do. We are most like Jesus when we imitate Jesus. When we do things that Jesus did. Jesus loved everyone. Jesus served everyone. Jesus helps everyone. What will you do this week to help others? I can’t wait to hear!
The Session has called a congregational meeting to immediately follow worship on Sunday, November 17, 2019 to:
One question kids never tire of asking is 
We call talking to God prayer. God wants us to ask questions. To wonder about stuff! Do you have questions? Sure! And God listens to us. Some students gave me this talking Jesus doll a long time ago. Listen. (Bible verses spoken.) Wow. Pretty cool. But this, of course, is not really Jesus! But you can talk to the real Jesus anytime you want. By directing your inner voice to God in prayer we can have a conversation with God, and when we read the Bible, and listen to God’s Spirit, we can learn and grow, too. God loves you and wants to have a real conversation with you every day! In good times, and when things aren’t so nice. God is with you. How great is that?!