A prayer to begin your time today

God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
Of the holy prophets and promises of old,
We await your coming,
More than watchmen wait for the morning.
Grant us patience in our waiting,
alertness in our time of watching,
and faith in the promise of your arrival.
Amen

Daily Scripture: 2 Samuel 7:1-16

Find the above scripture in your bible and read slowly – you might want to read it out loud. You can also find it here.

Advent Psalm

Then you spoke in a vision to your faithful one, and said:
“I have set the crown on one who is mighty,
I have exalted one chosen from the people.
I have found my servant David;

He shall cry to me, ‘You are my Father, my God,
and the Rock of my salvation!’
I will make him the firstborn,
the highest of the kings of the earth.
Forever I will keep my steadfast love for him,
and my covenant with him will stand firm.
I will establish his line forever,
and his throne as long as the heavens endure.

But now you have spurned and rejected him;
You are full of wrath against your anointed.
You have renounced the covenant with your servant;
You have defiled his crown in the dust
You have removed the scepter from his hand,
and hurled his throne to the ground.

| Paslm 89:19-21, 26-29, 38-39, 44

Advent Quote: Asking Tough Questions

‘The acts of casting the crown into the dust, spurning the covenant, and destroying the fortifications (Psa. 89: 39–40) would usually be associated with the activities of Israel’s enemies. Here, however, God is the perpetrator of the hostile acts. How can these deeds be reconciled with his “love,” “faithfulness,” and “covenant” celebrated in the hymn and oracle (vv. 1–37)?

Rather than dismiss these [difficult questions], the godly readers reflect, study, observe, listen and gain wisdom. The coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is so much sweeter to godly readers when they have sat with the exiles in darkness and asked some tough questions.’

| W. Van Gemeren

Advent Song

No Reflection Tonight

There will be no meeting tonight over Zoom as it is Friday but we will be continuing with these next week (Mon-Thur).

Feel free to leave a comment below with any thoughts, prayers or things God might have been speaking to you about.