Advent: Finding Joy
I was excited to be invited by
to reflect on Where are you finding joy this Advent? for her Advent Series on her substack, The Cottage. Below is my short reflection. Where are you finding joy this Advent?
Advent is here and some of us may be down due to the state of the country and this world. Some of us may be excited that Advent is finally here and Christmas is around the corner. The third Sunday of Advent is joy.
Joy is a feeling of good pleasure and happiness that is dependent on who Jesus is rather than on who we are or what is happening around us. Joy does not depend on us. But rather on Jesus. In that understanding, I don’t find joy, but joy finds us. Joy finds us and comes from the Holy Spirit. In this season of Advent, we don’t need to search for joy. Joy is already here. Joy is all around us. We just need to open our eyes and witness it. The world says, “I have to see it to believe it.”
As people of faith, “we believe and then we see”. Have faith abiding in God's presence and from hope in His word.
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I have been serving as an interim preacher at the Presbyterian Church in Catasauqua for the past 2.5 years. It has been been a joy to serve in this capacity. Here is my sermon from this morning’s worship on “Advent Joy”. Please visit us. All are welcome.
Special Events:
1.Holy Troublemakers & Unconventional Saints is a book that teaches kids (and their adults) stories that emphasize love, justice, kindness, and courage with an emphasis on including those voices often left out of religious narratives (such as the stories of women, LGBTQ people, people of color, Indigenous people, and more).
Let’s catch courage and inspiration from holy troublemaking people of faith. Please support their Kickstarter for Volume 2.
2.Please join Susan Shaw and I at the ORTLine25 Online Conference as we share our book Surviving God.
3.Join me and others at Freedom Rising: The Fierce Urgency of Now at
in April 2025. Please register today for this important conference.