The Arrival
THE ARRIVAL is an advent sermon series and Bible study sequence that connects with key words of the sermon text for each week. We invite you to take a slow walk with us once again into the journey of Emmanuel which means literally “with us is God.”
I can hear my parents telling us as plain as yesterday to “SLOW DOWN!” I can still hear myself telling my own family that in our child rearing years countless times. I even tell it to myself, sometimes in my own voice and, at times, in the voice of my parents in unison. When I hear my parents say it to me in my mind, it usually results in a smile breaking though out of the corner of my mouth, like the dawn of a new day.
Every year at about this time, I ask myself to slow down to enter in and make ready. It is a struggle. My intentions are good, but I am not sure how successful I have yet to be. However, I will ask all of us to “slow down,” create room and make ready, for the arrival is coming soon.
This study is four weeks in length focusing on the words in Matthew to anticipate, turn, search, and cherish this arrival. We will explore these words from the gospel of Matthew out of the lectionary readings for Year A. The lectionary is a three-year cycle of key biblical texts that allow the community of faith around the world to read, contemplate, study, and pray over the same texts throughout the course of the calendar year of the church. In other words, we read the same texts that the larger church reads annually.
May this road and journey be one of catching up with the old friends of Scripture and may you be able to visit with the same old friends and realize that you are making new friends at the same time, for we have all changed since last year.
Enjoy the Advent road that we trod together.
Expectantly Awaiting the Arrival,
Tobin