week of December 1, 2024
This Week’s Lectionary Scripture
First Sunday of Advent (Joy)1
Advent is a season of waiting in expectation for the coming of light into a darkened world in the form of the infant Jesus. Advent is spent anticipating and spiritually preparing for the arrival of the Christ-child. Scriptures, symbols, and hymns help make Advent a time of expectation for Christ’s birth, rather than a frenzy of holiday tasks.
1 Thessalonians 3:9-13: Joy before Us
How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy that we feel before our God because of you? Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you face to face and restore whatever is lacking in your faith.
Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you. And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we abound in love for you. And may he so strengthen your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.
When has someone offered encouraging words to you? How did that feel?
How are you living, loving, and caring for others this Advent season?
How can you encourage others with words of hope and acts of love?
This Week’s Text from Sharing in Community of Christ
We Share a Vision for Creation2
We share God’s vision of reconciliation, salvation, wholeness, justice, and peace expressed in the scriptural definition of shalom. Shalom means a fullness or completeness of peace. God yearns to establish a lasting covenant of peace with humankind and with all of creation.
The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them… They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
—Isaiah 11:6–9 NRSV
God’s vision of peace for creation clearly was revealed in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, who proclaimed the coming kingdom or peaceful reign of God on Earth. The gospel or “good news” was then entrusted to the church—the community of disciples called to be the body of Christ. The purpose of the church is to form disciples who faithfully share the gospel of peace in Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit.
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us…So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near…
—Ephesians 2:13–14, 17 NRSV
The Christian cross and the church seal symbolize and emphasize our commitment to God’s vision of justice and peace for the entire creation. This vision was proclaimed consistently by the prophets and decisively revealed in Jesus Christ, who calls disciples in every age to share his peace throughout the world.
What are the things in this world that you find to be the most beautiful or that give you joy?
What are the things in this world that you love but that are broken, corrupt, or in need of healing? How did this brokenness, corruption, or injury happen? What can you do to help? What can the church do to help?
How would you share the meaning of the cross and the church seal with someone who hadn’t seen them before? How and why are these symbols important to you?
The scripture text is taken from the New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition, copyrighted in 2021 by the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States, and made available through these Licensing and Permission Guidelines. Other text is adapted from this week’s Sacred Space resource for small-group ministry, provided by Herald Publishing House. ↩︎
This text is taken from pp. 9-11 of the fourth edition of Sharing in Community of Christ: Exploring Identity, Mission, Message, and Beliefs, which was copyrighted in 2018 by Herald Publishing House. ↩︎