Thursday, November 29, 2012
Advent Starts this Sunday at New City Church
The season of Advent begins this Sunday, December 2. Advent (from the Latin adventus, meaning ‘coming’ or ‘arrival’) is the four-week season of preparation for the celebration of Christmas, the day we mark the first coming of Christ to the earth.
“The great proclamation “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:14) assures us that God has entered into human history through the incarnation of the Son. The season of Advent, a season of waiting, is designed to cultivate our awareness of God’s actions—past, present, and future. In Advent we hear the prophecies of the Messiah’s coming as addressed to us—people who wait for the second coming. In Advent we heighten our anticipation for the ultimate fulfillment of all Old Testament promises, when the wolf will lie down with the lamb, death will be swallowed up, and every tear will be wiped away. In this way Advent highlights for us the larger story of God’s redemptive plan.
“A deliberate tension must be built into our practice of the Advent season. Christ has come, and yet not all things have reached completion. While we remember Israel’s waiting and hoping and we give thanks for Christ’s birth, we also anticipate his second coming at the end of time. For this reason Advent began as a penitential season, a time for discipline and intentional repentance in the confident expectation and hope of Christ’s coming again” (The Worship Sourcebook).
During our Sunday morning services, we’ll use the birth narrative of Jesus found in the Gospel of Luke to guide and direct our thoughts. This Advent season also marks the launch of our study of the Gospel of Luke that we’ll take with us through 2013.
Saturday, November 24, 2012
The Top 10 Reasons to Use “Seeking God’s Face”
10. It has a cool name. Seeking God’s Face: Praying with the Bible through the Year (SGF). Psalm 27:8 says, “‘Seek his face!’ Your Face, Lord, I will seek.” Seeking God’s face is a way of saying that we want to know God personally.
9. All the elements of the daily devotional are designed to be experienced as prayer – think of it as an extended conversation with God. God invites you to be with him; you quietly enjoy his presence by faith; you listen to his word; you respond in prayer to his word and your moment in life; and God sends you with his blessing.
8. From a bird’s eye view, SGF follows the Christian calendar, which is another way of saying it follows the major movements in the life of Christ. If the Christian calendar (Advent, Easter, etc) is new to you, each section begins with a brief introduction to that season. The intention is to place our story into the story of Christ allowing it to shape our lives.
Since Christian seasons and holidays are not bound to our calendar, they move around from year to year. SGF provides the dates for each year through 2026, so your prayer book will not go out of date anytime soon. You’ll always know which page we are on.
7. Each day of prayer contains a number of different elements—an invitation into God’s presence, times of quiet, Scripture readings, free prayer (with items to prompt prayer), a set prayer, and a closing blessing.
6. Each day begins with an invitation into God’s presence. The invitation is a way to open ourselves to the reality of God’s movement towards us in the Gospel of Christ, and for us to become mindful once again of God’s presence with us.
5. There are two prompts each day to encourage us to quiet our hearts and minds, and to enjoy stillness before God. To hear God speaking to us in Scripture, we must quiet ourselves to contemplate what is being said. Cultivating a stilled, attentive heart before God while seeking to quiet the noise around us and within us is a vital step in communing with God.
4. Each day we read from two parts of Scripture. The book of Psalms has always served as a prayer guide for God’s people, so we work our way through the book of Psalms (150 of them) twice a year. By doing this, we’re praying with the wider community of Christians around the world who pray these prayers.
In addition, every day includes another passage of Scripture allowing us to read through the major points and key passages of the story of God’s salvation. This is not a time for in-depth Bible study, but rather a time to dwell in God’s presence as we indwell His story.
3. Times for free prayer and a form prayer are provided. The free prayer section is just what the name suggests: an opportunity to speak to God freely about where you are in life as you interact with His word. Some prayer prompts are provided in case you would like some direction in prayer. The suggested free prayer items are focused in a weekly flow of seven daily groupings. There is also a set prayer each day using the rich imagery and vocabulary found in the Reformed confessions of faith—thoughtful and soul-nourishing. Each day concludes with a blessing from Scripture.
2. SGF is an excellent devotional tool. Each day’s readings and prayers can easily be completed within 10 minutes serving as a way to start off our day connecting & communing with God. Each day is short enough that it can easily be supplemented by other reading programs or Bible study programs.
1. New City Church is adopting this book as the prayer book for its community of faith. We want to encourage the participants of NCC to use this guide. In doing so, we’ll be reading the same Scripture daily, praying similar prayers with and for each other, and trusting God to grow us and shape us together throughout the week. Why not join us?
There will be some copies of Seeking God's Face available for purchase at New City Church, or you can pick up a copy online here and here.
Friday, November 23, 2012
Monday, November 5, 2012
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Don't Forget to "Fall Back"
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