Advent Devotionals - December 23rd

Communion
“Behold, a Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son: and his Name shall be called Emmanuel.”
 
Behold! We have made it to our final Devotion for this Advent Season. We have certainly enjoyed diving deeper into the Propers and we hope you have too in our preparation for the Birth and Second Coming of Jesus.

We close off with that famous prophecy that was the focus of the sermon last week. This prophecy was made by Isaiah to King Ahaz. Ahaz as a new king was dealing with an Invasion of the Syrians, and God promised Salvation.

As we now know, through our knowledge of the Lord, and the words of Matthew, this is a prophecy of the Christ to come.

A virgin (Mary) shall conceive and bear a Son: and his name shall be called "Emmanuel” (Jesus).
We are only two days away from celebrating the birth of this Son. Salvation is upon us.

But I want to give one final reminder before we come together on that Festival Day:
We are not only celebrating an even of the past, but we are also preparing for the future. This whole season of Advent has been about preparation for the Second Coming of Jesus to deliver us from death.

This preparation is not only to last the four weeks then go away. We are to spend everyday preparing for Jesus to return. Hopefully, these devotions did not only aid your devotion for this Advent Season but for years to come.

There is a famous saying, “Live every day as if it were your last.”

This saying often refers to doing whatever you want and having fun. Enjoying the carnal desires of humanity. On this last day of Advent, let us change that meaning.

Live everyday as if it were your last. Live everyday as if that is the day that the Messiah will return. We are called to be prepared for that day. Make your soul right for the Lord, and he will give you Salvation.

I hope to see you all tomorrow at our Christmas Eve Services (3pm and 7pm) as we proclaim that Jesus Christ our Savior is born!

Fr. Spencer Stubblefield