When our circumstances feel like a crisis, we as God's people face several risks. The first risk is to turn nostalgic-think of the glory days! A second risk is to despair-we are forgotten, and there is no hope! Another risk is to deny--everything is 'just fine!' These risks face us today, and they also faced God's people in ancient Judah. The prophet Jeremiah confronts these ancient tendencies by speaking God's truth that God remains King, we remain His people, and we need His deliverance.

We compare and contrast the songs of Mary and Zechariah in Luke 1.

Advent is a season of the year where the Church of Jesus Christ anticipates His coming. We anticipate celebrating His first coming - the incarnation- God in the flesh! We also anticipate His second coming, when He returns to make all things new. John the Baptist was tasked with the special job of preparing the way for the first coming of Jesus. Like John, we are also to point to Jesus as the Hope of the World, the True Light and King we have been waiting for. This Advent, we listen to John the Baptist help us as we wait.

Psalm 23 has been a well-loved prayer for generations. David's pastoral language is recited at bedsides and sung in cathedrals. There are good reasons to cherish this psalm. Throughout the month of November we will walk through this psalm to discover anew (or perhaps again), the God who is our Good Shepherd.

We reflect on Mark 6 and how the gospel writers use the imagery of Psalm 23 to tell us about Jesus.