S2_EP09 - Hymns of Advent Series (LOVE)

Transcript

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A prison cell in which one waits hopes and is completely dependent on the fact that the door of freedom has to be opened from the outside.

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It's not a bad picture of Advent.

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Dijer Bonhoeffer, this is the Bright Forever.

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Hello and welcome to the Bright Forever and our special series, hymns of Advent, where each week we discover the power and richness found in some of the greatest Advent hymns of the Church.

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My name is Andy Peaveyhouse and I am your host and guide on this journey through the Advent season.

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This is our fourth and final episode in our Hymns of Advent series.

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It has been great getting to spend this time with you and dig through just a handful of the amazing songs that make this Advent season so special.

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If you are here for the first time and you're wondering why we are talking about this thing called Advent and you aren't really sure what it's all about, take a minute and go back and listen to episode 6 about hope.

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In that episode, I give a quick rundown of the Advent season and what it's all about.

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For those of you who have been with us and are geared up for the final episode, I am going to just touch on where we have been and discuss the themes that have guided us through these episodes.

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The word Advent, meaning coming or arrival, is marked by four themes, one theme for each week of the four weeks leading up to Christmas Day.

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In those four themes we focus on expectant, waiting, repentance and reflection, scripture reading and the symbols of the themes surrounding each week.

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Week one we discussed hope Through the lens of O'combe, o'combe Emanuel.

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We stopped for a moment and stepped back to look at the Old Testament prophecies surrounding the coming of the Messiah and the names of God in each verse of that song that point to different aspects of the hope we find in what God has done in Christ.

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In week two, we discussed peace.

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As we listened to the words of let all mortal flesh keep silence, we were reminded of the peace that passes all understanding In the presence of our Savior, the Prince of Peace.

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And in the third verse my favorite part we hear that the light of light descendeth, beautifully describing the incarnation.

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When the word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, jesus took on human form to enter into our brokenness and bring us peace.

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Last week, week three, we discussed joy.

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Looking at the unconventional advent hymn, come Thou, fount of Every Blessing, we discovered the joy found in the good news of Jesus' birth and the redemption purchased for us through God's mercy and grace.

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And the final week, week number four.

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This week is all about love.

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These themes have guided us through this Advent season.

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Each week, near the end of each episode, we share a practical way that you and your family and mine can celebrate using the theme of that week.

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So, like I said, this week we dive into the theme of love as we explore what I would say is probably my favorite Advent hymn Come Thou Long Expected Jesus, and reveal its impact in this Advent season.

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Isaiah 43, one through three.

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But now, thus says the Lord, he who created you, o Jacob, who formed you, o Israel, fear not, for I have redeemed you, I have called you by name.

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You are mine.

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When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you.

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When you walk through fire, you shall not be burned and the flame shall not consume you, for I am the Lord, your God, the Holy, one of Israel, your Savior.

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Isaiah 61, one through three, says the spirit of the Lord, god is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.

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He has sent me.

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To bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to those who are bound.

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To proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God.

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To comfort all who mourn.

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To grant to those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit.

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That they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord that he may be glorified.

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First, john 4, 9 through 10.

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In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him In.

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This is love, not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

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As we meditate on these scriptures, the theme of love resonates profoundly.

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Isaiah assures us of God's presence and redemption.

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We're reminded that Jesus, the Messiah, is the one that would come to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives.

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And 1 John beautifully articulates this idea of God's love through sending his Son.

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Just before verse 9, we get verse 8 where it says God is love, and then this is that love that he sent his Son.

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These passages lay the foundation for the themes echoed in come thou long expected Jesus.

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As one journeys through the verses of come thou long expected Jesus, each line becomes a poetic expression of the love we anticipate during Advent.

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But today, unlike other hymns that we've gone through and that we've looked at, I'm going to focus on just one verse, because here's the thing.

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I could literally talk about this song for an hour, if not more, and we could go and spend a podcast on every single verse of the song, and I love this song and I love what it's saying.

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So I'm just going to focus on that first verse.

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Come thou long expected Jesus.

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Born to set thy people free From our sins and fears, release us, let us find our rest in thee Will strengthen consolation, hope of all the earth.

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Thou art dear desire of every nation, joy of every longing heart.

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The hymn opens with an invitation for Jesus to come, emphasizing the long awaited arrival of the promised Messiah.

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This sets the stage for the love that comes with the fulfillment of God's promises.

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This verse expresses the sense of anticipation and hope for the arrival of Jesus.

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It echoes the longing of generations for a Savior, someone who would bring freedom and serve as the hope of the world.

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The imagery found in the words from our fears and sins release us, coupled with the recognition of Jesus as the source of joy for every longing heart, captures the essence of Advent expectation.

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This verse is why I chose the quote from Bonhoeffer at the beginning.

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A prison cell in which one awaits hopes and is completely dependent on the fact that the door of freedom has to be opened from the outside, is not a bad picture of Advent.

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This idea that we are waiting patiently for God to do something.

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We want to see God move, we want to see him fulfill his promise.

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We want to see him do the things that he says he's going to do and it's about time to see it happen.

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And we're just waiting, waiting with anticipation.

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And Bonhoeffer's like it's like somebody in prison who waits and hopes that door is going to open and I'm going to walk free, but it's got to be opened from outside.

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I can't do it myself.

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This quote from Bonhoeffer comes from his writings when he was in Nazi prisons awaiting execution for his role in the plot to overthrow Hitler.

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He was executed a couple of weeks before the end of World War II he died in prison, so you can say that he knew a thing or two about being in prison and the hope of one day being freed.

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His picture of dependence on the opening of the door from the outside helps us see our need for an intervention.

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Both the hymn verse and Bonhoeffer's quote convey a sense of waiting and dependence on something outside of ourselves for the freedom we so desperately seek.

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The quote beautifully captures the essence of Advent as a season of waiting for the Messiah, waiting for someone who will open the doors and set us free.

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And we see, in Luke 4, jesus declares himself to be just that.

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We read out of Isaiah.

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Well, guess what?

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Jesus was asked to read out of the scrolls and he chooses one, and in Luke 4 it says this and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him.

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He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it is written the spirit of the Lord is upon me because he anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.

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He has sent me to proclaim freedom to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed and proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.

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He is the Messiah, jesus is here to open the doors and set our captive souls free.

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This is love.

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As we reflect solely upon this verse, we see the themes of expectation, redemption and the power of God's love that sets the captive free In just this one verse.

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Come thou long expected Jesus becomes I, him that stirs our hearts with anticipation, saying that the love of God is manifested in the arrival of the promised Savior.

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But we can't just stop there.

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Just as Isaiah prophesied that the Savior would come, he also told us of this Savior being a suffering servant.

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In Isaiah 53, verses 2 through 5, it says this For he grew up before him like a young plant and like a root out of dry ground.

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He had no form or majesty that we should look at him and no beauty that we should desire him.

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He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and as one from whom men hide their faces.

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He was despised and we esteemed him not.

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Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed him.

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Stricken, smitten by God and afflicted.

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But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities.

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Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and by his wounds we are healed.

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As we reflect on this theme of love, we must remember that the coming of our Savior extends all the way from Christmas to Easter.

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That anticipation and the expectation doesn't end at Christmas.

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It continues.

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It begins to multiply exponentially as we approach God's greatest act of love on our behalf, the day he lays down his own life so that we may have life, and life abundantly.

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We can only love him because he first loved us and gave his life as a propitiation for our sin.

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I'm reminded of another song by Chris Rice, called Sometimes Love, and it goes like this One pair of hands broke some bread and washed some feet, opened eyes and soothed an angry sea.

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Belonged to a man who could see our deepest need and showed us love the way it has to be, because he knew the price that love requires and he laid down his own desires.

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He stretched out his hands to save his friends.

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He said no other love is higher.

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And then he says sometimes love has to drive a nail into its own hand.

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Sometimes love has to drive a nail into its own hand.

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This is love, not that we loved Him, but that he first loved us.

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Jesus came into this world to show us how to live that love.

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He came into this world to demonstrate for us true love, him coming into this world saying I love you enough to sacrifice myself, to step out of heaven to put on flesh, to enter our sorrow and our sadness and do what we couldn't do.

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Joy to those who long to see thee day spring from on high.

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Appear come thou, promised rod of Jesse.

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Of thy birth we long to hear, or the hills, the angels singing news, glad tidings of a birth.

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Go to Him.

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Your praise is bringing Christ.

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The Lord has come to earth.

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Come to earth to taste our sadness.

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He whose glories knew no end.

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By His life, he brings us gladness.

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Our Redeemer, shepherd, friend, leaving riches without number, born within a cattle stall.

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Yes, the everlasting wonder.

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Christ was born, lord of all.

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Born thy people to deliver, born a child and yet a king, born to reign in us forever.

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Now, thy gracious kingdom, bring by thine own eternal spirit rule in all our hearts alone.

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By thine all sufficient merit, raise us to thy glorious throne.

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From our fears and sins.

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Release us.

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Let us find our rest in thee, israel's strength and consolation, hope of all the earth.

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Our word, dear desire of every nation, joy of every longing love.

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Joy to those who long to see thee day spring from on high appear.

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Come thou, promised rod of Jesse of thy birth.

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We long to hear O'er the hills, the angels singing news, glad tidings of a birth.

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Go to him your praises bringing Christ.

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The Lord has come to earth.

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Come to earth to taste our sadness.

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He whose glory is new, no man by his life.

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He brings us gladness.

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a redeemer, shepherd friend Leaving riches without number, born within a cattle stone.

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This the everlasting wonder.

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Christ was born, the Lord of all.

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Born thy people to deliver, born a child, and yet a king, born to reign in us forever.

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Now thy gracious kingdom reign by thy known eternal spirit, rule in all our hearts alone.

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By thy known sufficient merit.

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Plays us to thy glorious rule.

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That was Come.

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Thou Long Expected Jesus.

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By Red Mountain Church Music From their 2008 release Silent Night.

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Advent Hymns from Red Mountain Church With Ashley Sperling on vocals.

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For more information about this album, check out the album credits in the show notes for this episode.

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You can find Silent Night and many other albums from Red Mountain Church Music on their website at wwwredmountainchurchmusiccom, and the Red Mountain Hymn Collective on wwwhymncollectiveorg.

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As we approach the culmination of Advent, just before Christmas, let's respond to the theme of love by sharing this love that God has given us through himself with others.

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Let's spread some acts of kindness throughout our communities.

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Take a moment each day to intentionally show love to those around you.

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Let the love of God just so permeate your heart.

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Let's be so moved by the love that God has for us that we intentionally go out and show it to those around us.

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It could be just a kind word, a thoughtful gesture or simply spending quality time with friends and loved ones.

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Capture these moments in a kindness journal and, on Christmas Eve, gather together and share what you've entered, reflecting on the joy and the love that you've been able to share during this Advent season, remembering that love real love comes not from us but through a heart that has been transformed by the power of the gospel and the love of our Father, who first loved us.

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As we draw the curtain on this Advent series, we've journeyed through the themes of hope, peace, joy and love, guided by some timeless hymns that echo profoundly this idea of anticipation and expectation of the Savior's arrival.

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Together, we've explored the promises of God, found solace in the prospect of peace, rejoiced in the joy of redemption and immersed ourselves in the boundless love that comes not just from the birth of Christ but the fact that we know he's come to give his life for us.

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In the spirit of hope, may we approach the unknown with confidence in God's promises.

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In the pursuit of peace, may we find stillness amidst the chaos of life.

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In moments of joy, may we celebrate the reality of redemption and, enveloped in God's love, may we, in turn love one another.

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Let's not allow these themes to be confined simply to the days leading up to Christmas, but let's allow them to become the rhythms of our daily lives, guiding us with hope, wrapping us in peace, lifting our hearts with joy and filling our souls with love.

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From the bottom of my heart, I pray you have a truly blessed Christmas, filled with the power of the hope and peace and joy and love found in the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ.

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Thank you for joining us this week on the Bright Forever.

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Remember to follow us, review us and, of course, subscribe.

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If you are interested in supporting the work we are doing here on this podcast, please consider becoming a podcast partner.

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Simply click the Support the Podcast link in the show notes or at the top of our website at wwwTheBrightForevercom and sign up for one of our monthly subscription plans.

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Thank you again for joining us this week.

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Let me close this out in prayer.

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Heavenly Father, we thank you for your love, not only demonstrated in the coming of our Savior, but in the sacrifice you gave so that we might find hope, peace, joy and the love of our father in the person and finished work of Of your son Jesus.

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As we continue to celebrate his arrival, may our hearts be filled with everlasting love.

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Now to him, who is able to do Immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine, according to the power at work within us.

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To him Be glory in the church and in Jesus Christ throughout all generations, forever and ever.

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Amen and Amen.

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So until next time, may the love of the long-expected Jesus fill your homes and hearts, and I hope your advent has been a season of deep love and anticipation.

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God bless you all.

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Have a great week and a very merry Christmas, and we'll see you again in the new year.

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Until then, we're out.

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You.

S2_EP09 - Hymns of Advent Series (LOVE)

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