Call to worship:

1 God is our refuge and strength,
    a very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth give way,
    though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam,
    though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
    the holy habitation of the Most High.
5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
    God will help her when morning dawns.
6 The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
    he utters his voice, the earth melts.
7 The Lord of hosts is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
8 Come, behold the works of the Lord,
    how he has brought desolations on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
    he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
    he burns the chariots with fire.
10 “Be still, and know that I am God.
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth!”
11 The Lord of hosts is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Psalm 46:1-11

Gathering Video

Questions for reflection:

What path has God place in front of you How do you see surrender?

Why do you think we tend to lack malleability to the plan and purpose of God?

How is the “cosmic cure” applied today?

Corporate Prayer:

Our Father in heaven,

Thank you for this Advent season where we remember the arrival of Jesus and His promised return, where He will make all things new.. Would you help us to regularly reflect on Your faithfulness, and place Your truth into the areas where we struggle to trust. Holy Spirit, help us to reflect the light of Christ to those around us.

In the name of Jesus we pray,

Amen.

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Notes//Quotes//Slides:

Jack Reading Luke 1:26-38 & Matthew 1:18-25

Slide: 1

https://pin.it/5m6BRIZrS

Slide : 2

“Embrace or reject, believe or doubt. Either we abandon ourselves to God’s path, the steps of which are only revealed as each foot is lifted in obedience, or we cling to our own path with its illusion of certainty.”

— Miriam Dixon

Slide:3

“I see Mary at the Annunciation — her hands open, her whole body softened by consent, receiving the Word who desires to become flesh in her. The posture is not passive but brave: an active surrender, a courageous hospitality to God’s own life.

— Kaysie Strickland

Slide: 4

“A carpenter is trained to make plans and follow plans. Details matter to a woodworker. Joseph’s work reflects his life: structured and well-ordered. A person’s name and family line mean everything in this culture, and there is no greater line than that of King David. Joseph represents it well. Just as he would craft a beautiful table, Joseph is crafting a well-built life. Then a massive splinter pierces his heart.”

—Miriam Dixon

Slide: 5

“Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” —Mike Tyson

Slide: 6

For whatever reason, God chose to make man as he is—limited and suffering and subject to sorrows and death—he [God] had the honesty and the courage to take his own medicine. Whatever game he is playing with his creation, he has kept his own rules and played fair. He can exact nothing from man that he has not exacted from himself. He has himself gone through the whole of human experience, from the trivial irritations of family life and the cramping restrictions of hard work and lack of money to the worst horrors of pain and humiliation, defeat, despair, and death.

When he was a man, he played the man. He was born in poverty and died in disgrace, and thought it was worthwhile.

—Dorthy Sayers