one part of my job at Lake Forest Church during this season of Advent has been to write our Advent readings and prayers.
here's what we read and prayed together this morning.
ONE:
today
is the third Sunday in Advent and we celebrate JOY.
yet,
how can we celebrate Joy when there is so much sorrow, evil, and death in our
world? Today we lament the loss of so
many precious lives to this week’s unfathomable tragedy; we ask why? We
wonder how long will evil abound.
in
the world is unrest.
in
the world is struggle.
in
the world is sorrow.
yet
into the unrest, struggle and sorrow, God sent his only Son, quietly, humbly, unconventionally-as a babe
who would give His life to redeem the world who would ask as He hung on the
cross,
‘my God, my God, why have You forsaken me?’
today we pray our pain and our fear as Jesus
did. Let us take a moment of silence to pray for those who are in the midst of
overwhelming loss.
we
invite Jesus, the Redeemer, into our questions, our pain and fear.
and we wait.
we hope.
we rejoice that He has overcome the world.
and we long for Him to come to earth and make that a reality.
until
then, together we sing
of Love come down,
of Hope for the World,
of Joy for
every longing heart.
ALL:
Joy
to the world, the Lord is come.
Let
earth receive her king
Let
every heart, let my heart, prepare Him room.
Jesus,
We prepare room for You in our lives, not just as the babe in the manger but as
the King who will come and redeem us all, bringing an everlasting joy, a joy
that completes and renews us, a joy that is Your presence in and among us. Unspeakable
joy.
Deep and satisfying Joy.
Joy from the One who is
Love, come to dwell with us.
Amen.
Oh my gosh. I cried like a baby when I heard this yesterday. Everyone around me cried. I wondered where this came from, who wrote it because it was so beautiful. Now I know. I love you.
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