Advent Week 2 A voice crying out in the wilderness. We will be in Malachi 3, Isaiah 40, and Matthew 3.

Matthew 3:1-12

Advent Week 2: A voice crying out in the wilderness. We will be in Malachi 3, Isaiah 40, and Matthew 3.

As we watch, we trust. This is the movement of Jesus and this is his invitation. The Spirit is willing, and the flesh is weak.

As we watch, we trust. This is the movement of Jesus and this is his invitation. The Spirit is willing, and the flesh is weak.

Power is ubiquitous; and how we make sense of this reality marks us out in our world. This week we continue in our journey with Philemon to see how the way of Jesus, power, and new life make any sort of difference in our discipleship to Jesus of Nazareth.

Wherever we find ourselves today - follower of Jesus or not - we can all admit that our’s is a culture caught in an odd tension of outrage and passivity. It’s in the air we breathe. There ought to be a way forward, right? We stubbornly say yes there is; and more than a way, a person, our Jesus.

May God through his word and the power of his Spirit draw you near and catch you up into this new way.

Philip Yancey in his book entitled, "Prayer" makes this simple observation:

"We pray because we want to thank someone or something for the beauties and glories of life, and also because we feel small and helpless and sometimes afraid. We pray for forgiveness, for strength, for contact with the One who is, for assurance that we are not alone."

It is no small thing to pray; and yet, often we feel a real gap between our head, our heart, and the God who holds it all together. We turn to Paul in his letter to Philemon to ask, "how might we pray with expectancy?"

Philip Yancey in his book entitled, "Prayer" makes this simple observation:

"We pray because we want to thank someone or something for the beauties and glories of life, and also because we feel small and helpless and sometimes afraid. We pray for forgiveness, for strength, for contact with the One who is, for assurance that we are not alone."

It is no small thing to pray; and yet, often we feel a real gap between our head, our heart, and the God who holds it all together. We turn to Paul in his letter to Philemon to ask, "how might we pray with expectancy?"

Wherever we find ourselves today - follower of Jesus or not - we can all admit that our’s is a culture caught in an odd tension of outrage and passivity. It’s in the air we breathe. There ought to be a way forward, right? We stubbornly say yes there is; and more than a way, a person, our Jesus.

May God through his word and the power of his Spirit draw you near and catch you up into this new way.

Wherever we find ourselves today - follower of Jesus or not - we can all admit that our’s is a culture caught in an odd tension of outrage and passivity. It’s in the air we breathe. There ought to be a way forward, right? We stubbornly say yes there is; and more than a way, a person, our Jesus.

May God through his word and the power of his Spirit draw you near and catch you up into this new way.