Be strong and take heart and Wait for the LORD.  We will see the goodness of God in the city of Hartford!

In many ways, Simeon and Anna serve like the grandparents in the Christmas story.  In Luke 2.22-42 we see two powerful people who are examples of what spiritual fathers and mothers should be.  We need them desperately in our church.  For at their best, they always point us to Jesus Christ, the light of Salvation for the whole world!

This week's podcast includes part of the original song, Fragile Wonder, by Matteo Guastamachio.  We ended our service with three prayers for peace for Hartford and for our world.  This short message focus on the "poetry of Jesus coming into the world in sh*t and straw."  I give credit to Bono for the idea and inspiration to riff on this theme in an advant-garde advent homily.  Enjoy!

How do we find the presence of God in this World?  Jesus came and claimed to be the Messiah, the very presence of God in the World.  The Jewish religious leaders did not believe and wanted to kill him.  Jesus withdrew to the wilderness, across the Jordan river and many in THAT PLACE believe in Him.Jesus is the light of the World, Do you feel His presence in your life?This message is taken from John 10

What is our rep as followers of Christ?  It should be that we are humble, gentle, patient, and serve others in love.  This message will help you understand how God want's you to show the world what He is really like, by being more like who Jesus is really like, and maybe our reputation will change!

Our guest speaker is Rick Jakubowski from Sanctuary North in Rhode Island.  His message is about 45 minutes, the rest of the podcast includes our closing song and community announcements from our pastoral intern, Joyce Wong.  Let me know if you like including the song or not.  God bless and thanks for listening.

This week's sermon includes a testimony from Nate Hasme about how God is at work in his life.  At Hartford City Church we want to be a community of people who are experiencing God's beautiful restoration.Join us on Sunday Mornings at 10:30 am at the Learning Corrider, 15 Vernon St in Hartford, CT