Current Series

Advent

We are not a “liturgical” church, using a lot of ritual, following a lot of traditions, or standing on ceremonies.  We don’t follow a “lectionary” – a list of readings from the Bible for each Sunday that are generally repeated on a three-year cycle.  We do use some written prayers, but we write many of them ourselves.  I don’t wear robes, strange hats or other quirky clothes when I’m leading worship.   Not that I am against these things.  I value historic Christian traditions.  I just don’t use them myself.

But there are a few exceptions.  I do celebrate Resurrection Sunday (called “Easter” by the bunny people, and my favourite day of the year), Pentecost Sunday (the birthday of the Church, and my second favourite day of the year),  Thanksgiving Day (a nod to my American origins and commanded for all Americans by Abraham Lincoln, and my third favourite day of the year), and Christmas (remembering the birth of Jesus and, well, who doesn’t like a good mince pie?).  Speaking of Christmas, I used to be a “bah humbug” kind of guy until I started meeting people who fell in love with Jesus around Christmas time.  Then I figured that I like Christmas again.  But back to my “exceptions”.

Although we are not a liturgical church and although we don’t follow a lot of traditions, I have always rather liked one tradition – Advent.  “Advent” generally refers to the arrival of a notable person or thing.  For us Christians, “Advent” refers to the coming of Jesus.  Actually, it refers to two “comings” of Jesus – his first coming as a baby lying in a manger and his Second Coming as the King of kings.

Advent also refers to a special time of the year – the four Sundays leading up to Christmas Day.  It is a time to celebrate the first coming of Jesus even as we look forward to the Second Coming of Jesus.  It is a time to reflect on all that Jesus did for us by laying aside his Divinity, becoming like one of us, living a sinless life, dying on the cross for our sins, and rising bodily from the dead on the third day.  It is a time to examine our lives and prepare ourselves to encounter Jesus.  In this series of sermons, we’ll reflect together on the wonders of Jesus, the baby born to die on the cross.  Just don’t expect to see me in a strange hat. Or dressed as Santa Claus – another story entirely.

We are joining together with the Chelsea Community Church, Edith Grove, SW10 0LB during the redevelopment of our building. Everyone is welcome.  See more information on our “Contact Us” page.