Advent Anticipation ~ Week 1 of 2012

Anticipation begins with this year's Advent expectation ~

source

The first Advent wreath has been attributed to Martin Luther from Eastern Germany.  It has become a traditional way for people in many different countries to mark the coming of Christ and the beginning of the new Church year.  Although any colour of candle may be used, purple candles with one pink being the traditional surrounding the centre white Christ candle.

1st week ~ Candle of Prophecy, Candle of Hope

2nd ~ Candle of Bethlehem, Preparation, Peace

3rd ~ Pink Candle of Joy, Shepherd's Candle

4th ~ Candle of Love,  Angel's Candle
5th ~ Christ Candle centred within the wreath and lit on Christmas Eve

Find Scripture Readings Here for each week ~

• The wreath is round, as a symbol of God's eternity and mercy;made of evergreens to symbolize that God is everlasting
  and promises us immortality in Christ.
• The Greens represent hope and new life.


• Continuing the candlelighting through the full Christmas seasons, they are replaced with white candles which are used until Epiphany.

Symbolic Meaning of the Greens:

· The Advent Wreath is made of various evergreens ever-life,

life everlasting.
The circle of the wreath is without beginning and has no end;
 eternal life through our Saviour, Jesus Christ.

 Cedar represents healing and strength.

· Holly reminds us of the Crown of Thorns
placed on the head of Jesus at His crucifixion.
 Red Holly berries represent sacrifice, sacrificial love;
the blood of Christ which was shed for us on the cross.

· Pinecones and nuts symbolize life and resurrection through Jesus Christ.

· Laurel represents victory over persecution, suffering, and death.

-source

and so we add our voices to Enya's as we sing our heart's invitation ~

May your Advent journey of longing this week be filled with Hope!

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Maundy Thursday Mandates ~

Tonight as we remember the mandates of Yeshua Jesus to His disciples

we look at some of the highlights of the Seder Meal the Jewish family has

when it celebrates the Passover

and compare them with the Last Supper Jesus had with His disciples

just before He went to the cross.

Here is Paul’s description of the Passover meal Jesus had with His disciples

before He went to the cross.

 from 1 Corinthians 11:23-25

 For  I  received  from  the Lord what  I also passed on  to  you:

The Lord  Jesus, on  the night he was betrayed,

took bread,  and when he had given  thanks, he broke it and said,

“This is my body, which  is  for  you;  do  this  in  remembrance  of  me.”  

In  the  same  way,  after  supper  he  took  the cup, saying,

“This cup is the new covenant in  my blood;

do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

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The four cups that are consumed during the meal

symbolize the four distinct redemptions promised by G-d to the Hebrews 

as told in Exodus 6:6-7

four cups of wine to celebrate redemption and freedom

and are particularly pertinent to the sacrifice of Christ as the Lamb of God

slain for the sins of the world.

"Cup of Sanctification"

 as God set apart His people in Egypt

drink in remembrance that we have been set apart

by the Lord's sanctification

“Cup of Instruction”

tells the story of the cross and how it delivered us from bondage

“Cup of Redemption,”

Matthew 26:26-28 , Luke 22:14-20

"he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. 

He gave it to them and said, 

“Each of you drink from it, for this is my blood, 

which confirms the covenant between God and his people. 

It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many."

{Andrea describes the Passover beautifully

with many of its implications to followers of Christ.}

The same is true of the unleavened matzah bread used in the ceremony,

even to the very way it is baked

unleavened ~ being without hypocrisy and sin

the bread of Life ~ Christ ~ John 6.48-51

being pierced and striped

broken for us

as is the middle matzah of the three at the Seder 

 Father Son and Holy Spirit

the broken matzah then wrapped in white linen

as was Christ

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I pray your worship this Maundy Thursday

has deeply reflected the impact of Christ's mandates

of serving one another in humility

as He led by example in washing His followers feet,

His command to Love one another,

and the breaking of bread and sharing the cup

around the table of His remembrance ...

if you are interested in more on this,

Joe Amaral has been a wonderful resource of

First Century Foundations by dvd of Ancient Feasts

{free study guide available at his site}

and his recent release Understanding Jesus

which recognizes the cultural realities that impact accurate 

interpretation of scripture ~ excellent resources

 both book and dvd

Reflections continue tomorrow
as we worship our Lord
throughout Good Friday remembrances...

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living with Christ at the centre...

joining with Ann Voskamp at Holy Experience today on the topic ,
"the Discipline of Living Christ-Centric"...

for me the discipline of living Christ-centric begins, as i wrote in my previous post, 
the beginning of each day turned back to the Giver.
the Creator of the gift of the new day. 
seeking the direction, the will of God for me in living each day. 
pleasing, serving, delighting. 

then living that gift with a sense of awe and wonder. 

recognizing God's Presence in it, on it, flowing through it. 

and being amazed... not taking things for granted.

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beauty.  joy.  warmth.  hospitality.  change.  routine. 
Life.  Light.  revelation.  interpretation.  understanding. 
aha! moments.

living with an awareness of Christ 'in all'. 
looking for it with expectation
anticipation.
with gratitude...

may you be blessed in your Living today.

Every Wednesday, we Walk with Him, posting a spiritual practice that draws us nearer to His heart.
 To read the entire series of spiritual practices
What does it mean to live with Jesus in the center of our lives?

Today, if you’d like to share with community:
The Discipline of Living Christ-Centric
just quietly slip in the direct URL to your exact post…..
If you join us, we humbly ask that you please help us find each other
by sharing the community’s graphic within your post.

have gratitude to share?

drop by  Iris at Grace Alone on Thursdays

"important" ~

our photo prompt this week

is

"important"

"We ask ourselves: Who am I to be?

Brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?

Actually, who are you NOT to be?

You are a child of God.

Your playing small does not serve the world.

There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so

that people won't feel insecure around you.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God

that is in us. It is not just in some of us,

it is in everyone

And as we let our own light shine,

we unconsciously

give other people permission to do the same..."


Colossians 1.26-2.6
 "God wanted everyone...to know this rich and glorious secret
inside and out,
regardless of their background,
regardless of their religious standing.
The mystery in a nutshell is just this:
Christ is in you,
so therefore you can look forward to sharing in God's glory.
It's that simple.
That is the substance of our Message...
We teach in a spirit of profound common sense
so that we can bring each person to maturity.
To be mature is to be basic.
Christ! No more, no less...
I want you woven into a tapestry of love,
in touch with everything there is to know of God.
Then you will have minds confident and at rest,
focused on Christ, God's great mystery.
All the richest treasures of wisdom and knowledge
are embedded in that mystery
and nowhere else."
~The Message

Mt 5.15
"You're here to be light,
bringing out the God-colors in the world.
God is not a secret to be kept.
We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill.
If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you?
I'm putting you on a light stand.
Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine!
Keep open house;
be generous with your lives.
By opening up to others,
you'll prompt people to open up with God,
this generous Father in heaven."

join us in the play?

what's 'important' to you ?...

this also brings thoughts of grace & gratitude

to add to Ann Voskamp's
multitudes on mondays ~

family

children

celebrations

life lessons learned

faith journeys

listening to God

listening to others

value of hearing others' lessons learned

value of sharing life lessons

value of deep thinking

deeper living

contemplation

reflection

glory of God

creation

life

living fully alive

being

becoming

Word Filled Wednesday's @ Internet Cafe`

hope that inspirits ...

i am seriously loving my Theology of Worship course. 

so much so, i'm sharing a bit of it with you today. 

if you have a cuppa in hand,

here's something to munch on from today's readings. 

Dan Wilt's ebook *Stumbling into Mystery*.

"Shalom - the Hebrew word that we translate as “peace,” is a theological term packed with meaning. For worship leaders, artists and creative influencers in a postmodern world, it would serve us well as we narrate the Kingdom story to have a grasp on this term. Shalom speaks of a holistic peace, peace that goes far beyond feelings, or just the absence of war or pain. The peace that the Bible calls us to sing about, to put into words and poetry and songs and images, is the peace that is coming with the world completely put to rights.
In the beginning, we had shalom with God, with our environment, and with one another. We had healthy partnership between the sexes. We had meaningful vocation (callings) and work to which we could give ourselves. We enjoyed peace and connection with nature and the rest of creation all
around us..." 


but things changed when sin entered.  small word, big impact... 


"The players change across history, but the reasons for our internal battles do not. We want something, James says, but don’t get it – and so we fight one another to receive what only God can give..."


thankfully, we don't stop here.


"Shalom is entering the world through the Spirit of God, through the way opened by Christ, and we as his followers are participating in that bringing of wholeness to the world. Empowered by the Spirit of God, we bring peace to the situations that God has given us to influence. Peace of mind, peace of heart, peace of circumstance, peace of government, peace of society, peace of relationships – in all of these arenas we are Christ’s ambassadors." 


isn't that an awesome line of thinking to follow?


"As Christ’s ambassadors, every act of forgiveness, reconciliation and hope-giving is now a new creation act – an act of shalom-making, or peace-making. We anticipate the age to come every time we make a choice to act in love, in shalom peace, and not in hatred or bitterness. We welcome and exemplify the age to come every time we as a community gather around one of us who is weak and broken. We bear the age to come every time we participate in bringing beauty into the world, whether it be in a church building or on a pub stage. We participate in acts of the new creation to come when we pray for the sick, care for the poor, pick up the fallen, confront social powers that
dehumanize people, and on and on and on."


what amazing opps we have all around us to be bearer's of shalom - God's shalom.  bringers of hope - the hope with roots. roots that go down deep into the soil of God's love.  hope that inspirits.

let's take every opp available to us today to BE who we're called and created to be. 

blessings on your BEING and the DOING that will result...

today's challenge ...

getting back to our missional track, here's another challenge from Len Sweet's 'So Beautiful Study Guide'. 
*Using a concordance, search for passages containing the word "go".  Record your impressions of the importance of being missional. What do you believe you could do personally that would stretch you in this area?
let's grow as Christ's disciples in the world.  In Dr. Sweet's words, "Scram.  Get out of here.
Go BE Jesus."*