FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT ASL-A "Season of waiting and watching" скачать в хорошем качестве

FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT ASL-A "Season of waiting and watching"

FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT – “Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.” ACNA BCP2019, p 598. Matthew 24:29-44 Right after the trouble of those days, this will happen: ‘The sun will become dark, and the moon will not give light. The stars will fall from the sky, and everything in the sky will be changed.’ “Then there will be something in the sky that shows the Son of Man is coming. All the people of the world will cry. Everyone will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds in the sky. He will come with power and great glory. He will use a loud trumpet to send his angels all around the earth. They will gather his chosen people from every part of the earth. “The fig tree teaches us a lesson: When its branches become green and soft, and new leaves begin to grow, then you know that summer is very near. In the same way, when you see all these things happening, you will know that the time is very near, already present. I assure you that all these things will happen while some of the people of this time are still living. The whole world, earth and sky, will be destroyed, but my words will last forever. “No one knows when that day or time will be. The Son and the angels in heaven don’t know when it will be. Only the Father knows. “When the Son of Man comes, it will be the same as what happened during Noah’s time. In those days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving their children to be married right up to the day Noah entered the boat. They knew nothing about what was happening until the flood came and destroyed them all. “It will be the same when the Son of Man comes. Two men will be working together in the field. One will be taken and the other will be left. Two women will be grinding grain with a mill. One will be taken and the other will be left. “So always be ready. You don’t know the day your Lord will come. What would a homeowner do if he knew when a thief was coming? You know he would be ready and not let the thief break in. So you also must be ready. The Son of Man will come at a time when you don’t expect him. Isaiah 2:2-4 In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s Temple will be the highest of all mountains. It will be raised higher than the hills. There will be a steady stream of people from all nations going there. People from many places will go there and say, “Come, let’s go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the Temple of the God of Jacob. Then God will teach us his way of living, and we will follow him.” His teaching, the Lord’s message, will begin in Jerusalem on Mount Zion and will go out to all the world. Then God will act as judge to end arguments between nations. He will decide what is right for people from many lands. They will stop using their weapons for war. They will hammer their swords into plows and use their spears to make tools for harvesting. All fighting between nations will end. They will never again train for war. Psalms 122 I was happy when the people said, “Let us go to the Lord’s Temple.” Here we are, standing at the gates of Jerusalem. This is New Jerusalem! The city has been rebuilt as one united city. This is where the tribes come, the tribes who belong to the Lord. The people of Israel come here to praise the Lord’s name. The kings from David’s family put their thrones here. They set up their thrones to judge the people. Pray for peace in Jerusalem: “May those who love you find peace. May there be peace within your walls. May there be safety in your great buildings.” For the good of my family and neighbors, I pray that there will be peace here. For the good of the Temple of the Lord our God, I pray that good things will happen to this city. Romans 13:12-14 The night is almost finished. The day is almost here. So we should stop doing whatever belongs to darkness. We should prepare ourselves to fight evil with the weapons that belong to the light. We should live in a right way, like people who belong to the day. We should not have wild parties or be drunk. We should not be involved in sexual sin or any kind of immoral behavior. We should not cause arguments and trouble or be jealous. But be like the Lord Jesus Christ, so that when people see what you do, they will see Christ. Don’t think about how to satisfy the desires of your sinful self. Discussion Questions 1) What kinds of changes do you see happening in your spiritual life as we begin a new season? 2) Why do you think God has hidden when Jesus returns to judge the living and the dead? 3) We don't know the day and time, but know how Jesus wants us to live. Why is this important?