Advent & Christmas

Anyone who has hosted a Christmas dinner or party can tell you, there is a ton of preparation that goes into throwing these holiday celebrations. Many of us find ourselves doing lots of preparing in this busy season of lights, tinsel, and wrapping paper. Yet, what are we really preparing for?Who are we really preparing for? This Advent, hear God’s call: “Prepare!” – for the coming one, Jesus. Hear this imperative as an invitation to strip away all the fuss and ready your heart and life for the change that is coming when Jesus gets here. Coming soon!

Week 1: Keep Awake | Mark 13:24-37
Week 2: Get Ready | Mark 1:1-8
Week 3: Testify | John 1:6-8, 19-28
Week 4: Be Courageous | Luke 1:26-38
Christmas Eve: Go! | Luke 2:1-20
Week 5: Worship and Bless | Luke 2:22-40

The heart of worship is celebration! We celebrate who God is, what God has done for us in Jesus, and the new Spirit-filled lives we get to live because of it. By taking the time to celebrate God’s gifts to us — gifts of diversity, unity, promise, and new life – we are attuning ourselves to the good things in life, so that, even in times of struggle and hardship, we can be sustained. Designed for Summer/After Pentecost.

GNJ Clergy Team, Facilitator Gabby Corbet

Week 1: Celebrate Diversity | 1 Corinthians 12:12-20

Week 2: Celebrate Unity| Ephesians 4:1-16

Week 3: Celebrate Promise | Romans 4:3;13-25

Week 4: Celebrate New Life | Mark 5:35-43

Advent & Christmas

Prophets are painters. They paint pictures of a time to come when people will be at peace with one another, hope will be made real, and all will shout for joy! Even if that time seems far off, we know it has already begun in Jesus, who is love come down to transform our lives and the world. This Advent season, as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus, we celebrate how he has made possible what once seemed impossible – peace, hope, joy and love!

Week 1: Peace Made Possible | Isaiah 2:1-5
Week 2: Hope Made Possible | Isaiah 11:1-10
Week 3: Joy Made Possible | Isaiah 35: 1-10
Week 4: Love Made Possible | Matthew 1:18-25
Christmas Eve: The Impossible Made Possible | Luke 2:1-14 (15-20)
Week 5 (After Christmas): God Found in Impossible Places | Matthew 2:13-23

Advent & Christmas

In the season of Advent, we prepare to welcome Jesus, the Messiah in God With Us. This year, as we await our Lord, we will put ourselves in the place of the first people who awaited and celebrated Jesus’ birth. Through their stories, we will learn what it meant for God to be with them, and we will open our eyes to experience God with us, too.

Week 1: God with Zechariah, the Skeptic | Scripture: Luke 1:5-16, 23-25, 76-80
Week 2: God with Joseph, the Dutiful | Scripture: Matthew 1:18-25
Week 3: God with Mary, the Faithful | Scripture: Luke 1:26-38
Week 4: God with the Shepherds, the Dismissed | Scripture: Luke 2:8-20
Christmas Eve/Christmas Day: God with Us | Scripture: Luke 2:1-20
Week 5: God with the World | Scripture: Luke 2:25-35