Advent Eagle Column - November 27, 2022

     A new church year has begun as we enter Advent!  We reset the liturgical calendar, and begin once again not with the birth of Jesus, but with the PREPARATION for His birth AND for His return in glorious majesty to judge the world! 

I once saw a bumper sticker on a car on I-75 that said “Jesus is coming back - look busy”.  Funny, but terrible theology!  Looking busy won’t cut it with Jesus.  A better theological statement would be “Jesus is coming back - be faithful” since it is by grace through faith that we are saved.  But the Christian life can be busy, and there are plenty of opportunities for that here at St. John’s in Advent.

Detailed in this Eagle are lots of opportunities for participating in the life of St. John’s, and to grow in the spiritual life.  Please take advantage of as many of the things that you can!.  These things are not only good for you, but your participation in them is an encouragement to the others in the parish who are attending, fort those who have organized the events, and for those guests who are joining us for them.  As they say, the more the merrier.

Primary to our participation is attendance at Sunday worship.  Although we continue to see more people each week at Services, there are still some who have not returned from the pandemic layoff, and others who have not become ‘regular’ about attending.  We need everyone to make worship attendance the #1 priority - for the sake of our own souls, and an encouragement to others who are also there.

Finally, as the calendar year draws to a close I hope that you will continue to be generous in your financial support of St. John’s.  There may be tax advantages to an end of the year donation, so speak to your financial advisor how you can both help yourself and St. John’s with a cash, stock, or other offering before the end of the calendar year.