New Song

This is the time of year when life becomes increasingly busy. Having just celebrated Thanksgiving, Christmas is now only a few weeks away. Attempting to avoid all the stress, commercialism and consumerism is no easy task. I always find it strikingly ironic that each year we as a society set aside the fourth Thursday of November to give thanks, and yet the very next day we are lining up at stores or browsing Amazon for those doorbuster deals. The sad reality is consumerism dominates the Advent season. This is nothing new of course. We are easily persuaded that more stuff will provide a degree of joy that is supposedly missing. Herein lies the real irony. The whole “reason for the season” is meant to point us to Jesus as the ultimate source of lasting joy, but materialism and the festive experiences have attempted to market their potential joy as more necessary and appealing than that of what the incarnation has to offer. The world tries to drown out the good news of great joy that is for all people, but the song of our Savior will not be muffled or suppressed. It is too high, too deep and too long for even death itself to silence. Let us shout it from the rooftops and on every corner that Jesus Christ was born to set his people free from the domain of darkness and the power of sin. Psalm 98 calls us to sing of His wonderful deeds—the victory He has won and the righteousness that is now revealed to all the nations and for all the nations! God’s lovingkindness has been graciously demonstrated through the coming of Jesus Christ. His faithfulness knows no end. As we begin this season of Advent, let us disengage from the noise and business that often comes with Christmas, and let us allow the reality of what this time means to sink in to the point that we cannot help but “Break forth and sing for joy” as we consider anew the good news of Jesus. This is a song worth singing and a joy worth pursuing.   –Pastor Nate

Sunday at Liberty