The Bible we have is the good news of Jesus told in multiple stories. The

stories in the Bible are as epic as it gets, with grand, sweeping

implications for our life now and the life to come, and yet it comes to us

from the perspective of fishmongers and farmhands, prostitutes and

prodigals, tax collectors and little kids.

Devoted: Teaching and Togetherness for 2000 Years

We want to experience real change and transformation. But so far? It feels just easier to dutifully march in step to the cold order of the Empire. It’s just easier to blend in with the crowd, to stick with the way things have always been done. And so, when considering the change we want, but so far haven’t been able to create, like me, you might be tempted to do one of two things: give up or run away.

It’s fascinating to me how creation responds to the cold. Creation releases into the cold - resting, pausing, waiting, changing. No animal comes into spring exactly the same as they were at the start of winter, they all change. Which made me wonder … How do we respond to the cold of winter?

The Weary World Rejoices

These songs emphasize different themes. They’re not so much about getting things. They’re not so much about holding things. They’re not about us optimizing or maximizing. In fact, they’re not particularly focused on us much at all. They are songs about Jesus. They’re songs about waiting and hoping for God to do something.

The Weary World Rejoices

Come Thou Long Expected Jesus is an especially important song for us in this season as it is distinctly an advent song. Advent is a time of expectation and looking forward to the coming of Jesus, the Messiah. This song deals with the longing for Jesus, the expectation and hope for the Messiah. In just two short verses, this song connects the longing and expectation of waiting for Jesus’ first coming that we celebrate at Christmas with the longing and expectation that we currently experience while we wait for Jesus’ second coming, for Jesus’ promised return.

The Weary World Rejoices