Advent family service and admission to Holy Communion
Bible Text: 1 Thessalonians 3. 6-13 | Preacher: Rev Andrea De Vaal Horciu | A sermon for the 1st Sunday in Advent
Today is the first Sunday of Advent, which is also the first Sunday of the new liturgical year. As you can see, we have changed our seasonal colour into Purple. When we have purple in the church it is a time of getting ready. We are getting ready for the coming of Jesus. The Advent season includes the four Sundays that lead the way to Christmas. Advent is a time of preparation for the coming of the Lord. In the Advent season it is a time to be watchful and waiting, in preparation of the coming of the Lord. This we the candle represents Hope.
In the reading we just read from Thessalonians, Paul has been telling his friends in Thessalonica how much he misses them and wants to be there with them. Chapter 3 began with Paul saying how they just couldn’t wait any longer and had to send Timothy to them to see how they were doing and to strengthen and encourage them in their faith.
How exciting that in verse 6 we find that Timothy has returned with some good news! The followers of Christ in Thessalonica are doing extremely well! Their faith is growing! They are living life with God!
Have you ever had something like that happen to you? Maybe you had a time where you shared your faith with someone or went out of your way to be kind and you didn’t think it had an impact on their life but later you find out they are growing in their kindness to others and in their faith in following Jesus.
It is both exciting and humbling to be a part of what God is doing in the lives of others! We can’t take credit for another person’s growth in faith and love of others, but we can thank God when He allows us to be a small part of someone’s journey with Him. We give thanks today for all the children who come to our church communities. Some of us have been on a journey together over the past month looking at what our faith is all about and what it means to be a child of God. We are all God’s Children and he loves each of us. We spoke about our Baptism or Christening. When we are baptised, it is symbol that our family want us to be a part of the family of God, the Church. Talking about baptism showed the children that they are unique, chosen and loved by God. They learned that they are not alone, they are a part of a bigger family of God, who help them on their journey of faith. It’s important that, as a church, we support and pray for our children on their journey.
I can remember about 15 years ago when I was training to be a youth worker and children’s minister. I was training in the local church youth group in Suffolk. Many of the young people who attended didn’t seem to want to be there and actually many had lost their way and doing things that were harming themselves and their families, things such as drinking and experimenting with drugs and getting into trouble. There were many times when I wondered if we were doing any good. All we could offer was space where the young people could be loved and cared for. Sometimes it just felt really difficult.
My husband got a job in North Wales, so we left Suffolk. One of the teens took it really hard and, in his disappointment, decided not to go to the youth group anymore and walked away from God and the community that cared for him and he made some bad life choices.
The actions of this young man really troubled me. He was on my heart and in my prayers for many years.
A few years ago, I heard that he was involved in ministry. And he is now one of the main youth ministers for Youth for Christ in London. We just never know what journey God has for us and the impact it has on other people.
When we moved to Wales, we started a youth group and one girl, no matter how hard I tried, literally hated me. She was angry with God, angry with everyone for the break-up of her parents and she took it out on everyone around her. A few years ago, I received a letter from her apologising for how she had treated me while I was there and that now, as an adult, she works as a counsellor with youth who are struggling with anger management. It had been the journey of love and kindness that had encouraged these two young people to change their lives, to want to live their Christian faith and to love others.
Often it can seem very hard following the Christian way of life, especially when those around us are not making good choices. If we trust God and follow his calling, miracles can happen. We give what we have at the time, and we trust God will do the rest. God had been with these young people their whole lives and the groups I led were just one influence to show them they were precious and loved by God.
As we journey with each other we need to do all that we can to care and love each other and to help each other grow in our faith. You can make a difference when someone around you is struggling. No matter how old or young you are, you can make a difference.
I would like to take a look at some thoughts on how to grow in our faith and how we can help others grow. Faith and Love are the best responses to hard times.
But Timothy has just now come to us from you and has brought good news about your faith and love. He has told us that you always have pleasant memories of us and that you long to see us, just as we also long to see you. (1 Thessalonians 3. 6)
Trusting God and loving Him are two of the most important things you can do!
It can help us overcome the tough times we will face. So, as we all go into the world, what kind of faith do we have?
Faith in God’s Love —that He is good and loves us always even in difficult times, and that he can use us to love others.
Faith in God’s Word— The Bible is a story of God’s saving grace and the good news of Jesus Christ. This story continues today. In our personal lives and in our worship, the Bible helps us on our journey each day, like a map pointing the way we should go.
Faith in God’s Purpose —that God is with us every day, as we live in the world we live as the hands and feet of Jesus in the world, being an image of Jesus Christ in the world.
Faith in God’s Promise—That he will always be with us.
Faith in God’s Presence—that God is the light in the darkest moments of life. At Baptism we are given a candle and it helps us to remember that we receive the light of God. Even when the light of our candle goes out Jesus is still with us.
Faith in God’s Power—faith that God hears our prayers and it is in the power of prayer and the love of God that we can be transformed.
And faith isn’t always about having the right answers and being able to make sense out of everything. Faith is trusting God when you don’t really have any answers. Why do bad things happen to good people? I don’t know! Difficult things happen in our lives. There’s no way to avoid all suffering in our lifetime. But we meet love in an unlikely place. Love has the potential to take a very bad situation and make it less painful and lonely. Love is contagious, and once we experience the greatness of love shared with us, we can’t help but pass it on to others. We see that love is not only a feeling but an active part of our lives. I pray that all of you experience the love of God and salvation of Jesus and that you can share that overwhelming love with others.
I do believe that it is God’s plan and desire to draw us close to Him in a loving relationship that keeps on growing. The greatest command in Scripture is to love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul, and strength and to love your neighbour as yourselves. And love is only commanded because love is possible! We can learn to love God as we let Him love us and begin to respond to His love by loving others.
Let me encourage you all as we finish today to go out in love and encourage each other to make a difference in the world by the way we live life. Continue to pray for our children and youth as they continue on their journey of faith as part of the family of God.