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Advent Prayer to Jesus link
You are our eternal salvation,
The unfailing light of the world.
Light everlasting,
You are truly our redemption.
Grieving that the human race was perishing
through the tempter's power,
without leaving the heights
You came to the depths in your loving kindness.
Readily taking our humanity by Your gracious will,
You saved all earthly creatures, long since lost,
Restoring joy to the world.
Redeem our souls and bodies, O Christ,
and so possess us as Your shining dwellings.
By Your first coming, make us righteous;
At your second coming, set us free:
So that, when the world is filled with light
and you judge all things,
We may be clad in spotless robes
and follow in Your steps, O King,
Into the heavenly hall.
Amen
Prayers for Advent link
God our Father,
you loved the world so much
you gave your only Son to free us
from the ancient power of sin and death.
Help us who wait for his coming
and lead us to true liberty.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen
Scripture Reading: John 18:37 (NASB Bible Gateway)
Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”
Advent Prayers -Book of Common Prayer link
Almighty God,
give us grace that we may cast away
the works of darkness, and put upon us the armor of light,
now in the time of this mortal life
in which thy Son Jesus Christ came
to visit us in great humility;
that in the last day, when he shall come again
in his glorious majesty to judge both the quick and the dead,
we may rise to the life immortal;
through him who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen
Advent Prayers link
Merciful God,
who sent thy messengers the prophets to
preach repentance
and prepare the way for our salvation:
Give us grace to heed their warning
and forsake our sins,
that we may greet with joy
the coming of Jesus Christ our Redeemer;
who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen
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Loved Michael W. Smith’s cover excerpt of the finale to Beethoven’s Ode to Joy!
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Thanks Muff!
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Many thanks for E-Church! The hymns are beautiful as always and the sermon stimulating as always.
I’m still mulling over the subject of hearing from God, but appreciated the 4 ways Wade mentions. Here’s my immediate thought…it’s one thing to read a book and read the words spoken by Abraham Lincoln (for example) and another to get a phone call from him and hear his words spoken directly.
We do hear from God in a variety of ways which include reading His words in the Bible. But the physical ear isn’t imo the vehicle for hearing words He might want to speak to you personally. For example, while Peter prayed the Lord spoke to him directly and said, “”What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.” God was clarifying evidently a perception Peter had that was being corrected by a revelation provided with words spoken directly to him. Another such incident was when Philip was directed with words to go to the Ethiopian eunuch.
These words spoken must be heard, not through the physical ear, but through the spiritual ear. I know God still speaks in this way, but don’t understand why it’s not happening more often. So is the “inability to hear the voice (really) due to a “deficiency in the hearer?” Or is the speaker not speaking in the same way as often? And if this is the case, why not?
Maybe there’s no easy answer, but since we are spiritually born again, I think we should be able to hear words directed to us through the Holy Spirit in response to personal prayers and questions that help us understand God better.
My own two sons are practically deaf and wearing hearing aids, but even before their difficulty hearing, I knew how to communicate in such a way as to get my message across. So even their deficiency didn’t hinder communication between us. I think it’s reasonable that God knows how and is willing to override any deficiencies on the part of the hearer in order to impart a message.
Just wanted to share where I am in regard to hearers and speakers. 🙂
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Victorious,
Really touched me to find out your boys are practically deaf. I love how you explained that you “knew how to communicate in such a way to get my message across.” What a great definition of God’s grace. Loving us through our inabilities to communicate His love to us.
Thanks for listening and thanks for sharing!
Wade