Waiting for God

The word ‘Advent’ only really enters the public conscience at one point these days – Advent Calendars.

And my, it’s a booming industry.

Long gone are the days when a chocolate advent calendar was the height of decadence. Nowadays, you can now get cheese advent calendars, beauty product versions, and the ‘Ginvent’ calendar competes with its Malt Whisky rival. Retailers, it would seem, have left no calendar door unopened to flog their wares. Advent Calendars originated in Germany in the mid-nineteenth century. The basic idea was to build a sense of anticipation. Opening a door each day to count down the numbers to Christmas is a small way to build suspense and increase expectation for the approaching celebration. The latest offerings rather miss that point, extending instant gratification, rather than the delayed sort that can make the final festivities all the sweeter.

Will we forego anything this advent to draw deeper into the waiting that comes with following Christ?

Summer Spruce Up

The long Summer holiday can be a good opportunity to have a bit of stock take and consider any adjustments you might want to make to your house, work, life…

 As you walk into church next week, we hope that you’ll notice a few changes. Over the Summer we’ve been putting together various materials, largely aimed at providing newcomers with a better sense of what’s goes within our church family. Without giving too much away, there will be different ‘packs’ on display, ‘Connect’ cards, and the area around the font will become an ‘information point’ for our Vision, Home Groups, and Teams.

 Of course, all that is simply window-dressing if it is not matched by a ‘de-cluttered’ people (John 15:2), who take time to assess how they are walking with their Maker. If you haven’t yet done so, there are still a few weeks of Summer left.

No Commentary Needed

“We know that when these bodies of ours are taken down like tents and folded away, they will be replaced by resurrection bodies in heaven—God-made, not handmade—and we’ll never have to relocate our “tents” again. Sometimes we can hardly wait to move—and so we cry out in frustration. Compared to what’s coming, living conditions around here seem like a stopover in an unfurnished shack, and we’re tired of it! We’ve been given a glimpse of the real thing, our true home, our resurrection bodies! The Spirit of God whets our appetite by giving us a taste of what’s ahead. He puts a little of heaven in our hearts so that we’ll never settle for less.

That’s why we live with such good cheer. You won’t see us drooping our heads or dragging our feet! Cramped conditions here don’t get us down. They only remind us of the spacious living conditions ahead. It’s what we trust in but don’t yet see that keeps us going. Do you suppose a few ruts in the road or rocks in the path are going to stop us? When the time comes, we’ll be plenty ready to exchange exile for homecoming.”

(2 Corinthians 5:1-8)