Prepare for worship in mind and body and soul                    


For the Second Sunday of Advent      12-15-13

 
Coming Attractions
Christmas Open House
Friday, December 20 

 

It's our annual big event. This year we are inviting in Luke Shaffer to sing with the band (Luke was on season 9 of American Idol). It's a great time to invite friends, co- workers, neighbors. 

 

Friday, December 20. The show starts at 7:30. And yes there is free food, parking and child-care! Please help us get the word out about this great event.

 

(1) Use the PDF invitation available here to invite friends, neighbors, co-workers

(2) Grab a mini-poster from the Info Booth and place it where you work or work out, where you stop or shop, wherever ...

(3) Take a few tickets along to hand to a friend. Then tell them you will save them a seat, you will wait for them at the door and show them around. You'll be giving them a great gift this season: the gift of The Spirit!

 
9:00 Prayer 
for this week 

  

Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness and put on the armor of light that when your son Jesus shall come again to judge both the living and the dead we may rise to life immortal through him who lives and reigns with you for ever and ever. Amen.  

 

 
9:00 Reading 

  

"Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."

 

 [from 1 Corinthians 13]

 

11:00 Prayer 
for this week 

  

Almighty God, in the midst of all the changes and chances of our lives, lead us to seek you above all, to live with you and for you each day, and to follow where your Son Jesus leads, that we may one day live with you forever in your eternal Kingdom. All this we ask through your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 
11:00 Reading 

"May you be infused with strength and purity, filled with confidence in the presence of God for when our Master Jesus arrives ..."  

 

 

1 Thessalonians 3:13 
(The Message)
 

At 11:00 this week

  

The services at 9:00 and 11:00 are different for the Advent season. This week at 11:00 we have Steve singing the ancient Carly Simon Advent carol: Anticipation, of course. You'll also get a chance to sing along with:

  

Now that you're near

I love your grace

I love to be with you

Breathe

Hungry

 

 

Angels

 

If you feel like you haven't got a prayer, we have one for you this season

 

 

 

 

Each year we decorate the tree in the front of the Church with angel ornaments, each with a name written on them. The angels represent our prayers for those we know, those we love, and for those we know who are in need. Each day of Advent and Christmas there will be people praying for the names on these angels.

 

Here's how it works: Put your prayer request on a card and drop it in the box at the Info Booth. Please, one card per family ... the names on the cards will be placed on the angels, and also on our Prayer Chain list. Pastor Roger and others will be praying for your requests throughout the season. When Christmas ends we invite you to take the angel with the names you requested on it home to remind you to keep praying.

 

 
 
Church of the Spirit
Kingstowne Community Church
5775 Barclay Drive
Alexandria, Virginia 22315

 

This Sunday at The Spirit

  

Third Sunday of Advent

 

9:00 Communion Service        
(With Sacrament of Communion)


     Today's Message: Love with hands


11:00 Community Service
(No Communion this week)

 

     Today's Message: Anticipation
            

 

Child care for 4 and under all morning long
Sunday Classes at 9:00 and 11:00 with Miss Susan 
Discover more at thechurchofthespirit.org
  

 

Prepare 
Preparing yourself for worship at 9:00 

 

 

Faith, hope, and love

 

We talk about love, sing about love. People write poems about love. And then when we come to church we quote the Bible that says "God is love." There's even a fun little saying at this time of year that "Love was born on Christmas morn." Only it's easy to get everything all mixed up when we talk about love. God tries to make things clearer for us. First he tells us about love. In today's reading we are told that "faith, hope, and love, endure." Then we are told what love is and what love is not. You may be surprised to hear nothing romantic at all. Instead love is described as a set of actions that want the best for the other person' love accepts, forgives and serves. That's love with hands, rather than just love as a feeling in the heart. This is love that gets up and does things. Next we are shown what love looks like. Jesus came into the world so that God could be with us. We can watch what he does, see how he treats others, learn from his example. This is love in action. But wait, there's more. Finally God has a way for us to get in on this kind of love for ourselves. God offers to fill us with his love to overflowing, so we have enough love to get over to the people around us. Because let's face it, with all the stress we face in work, at home, on the roads, with expectations, in sickness and in health ... we don't have enough love for everyone. But God does. His love endures. We just need to tap into his love. So:

 

n  Faith  means remaining loyal to God each day. It's less about what you believe and more about who you trust. It's about living with God and for God. How will you do that?

 

n  Hope  means trusting in God even when you do not get what you hoped for. It's about hoping in his promises most of all. Can you?

 

n  Love  is something you can give only if you have some to give. Start by receiving God's love. Got yours? Need to ask God for more love?

 

 

n  Hopes  Do you have a list of hopes, or do you have a sense of hope? Will

 

Prepare 
Preparing yourself for worship at 11:00 

 

 

 

"Anticipating what is to come"

 

Kids get this. They know how to anticipate for the good things that are to come. Perhaps that's one reason Jesus said we needed to become more like children in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. It's not about being naive, but about being excited. And doing something about it. To anticipate is to act ahead of time, not only in preparation, and expectation. To anticipate is to enter into the event that is to come ahead of time. Before it actually arrives. So kids can be excited for Christmas. The excitement builds with each day marked off their Advent Calendar.  Kids can also prepare for Christmas. They can decorate; they may write a wish list for Santa. But you also can anticipate the event. I do that as I shop for gifts. I get excited for what others will think or feel when they open their present. I anticipate by playing and singing along with Christmas carols, over and over. I anticipate the great feast my wife will make. I can almost taste it already ... so what about anticipating Christ's return? It's not enough to expect him to come back, or to prepare yourself for his return. It's time, now, here and now, for us to anticipate it. We can start to live as if he has already returned. It's the best way to make things ready for when he finally does arrive.

 

n  Waiting  When you wait in a doctor's office you sit and stew. You get antsy. You regret the time lost. That's not the only way to wait. Consider what it means when someone waits on tables. It means they serve. What about not waiting (sitting still) for God but instead, waiting on God (serving him)? What could you do this week to wait?

 
n  Worshiping  To worship God is to start the celebration ahead of time. the saints worship God in his presence. So, why not start now?

New Advent Message Series:
 
Season of faith, hope & love
but wait there's one more thing too 
 

Advent Message Series at 9:00

 

One of the most famous portions of the Bible tells us that "faith, hope, love abide, but the greatest of these is ..." Well, it's not what you think. It's something better. This Advent season we prepare for something that is to come. And that's not what you think either. For Advent is more than a countdown to Christmas, it's a countdown to the time when Jesus returns as king of kings. What difference does that make? It's all about faith in action, and living with real hope, and loving with all you have. Oh, and it's about one thing more. Much more. Come and discover what that is as we look forward to what is to come. And who ...

 

 

Anticipation, Expectation, Celebration and Participation

 

Coming in Advent at 11:00

 

Most of the people you know will spend December getting things ready for Christmas. That can be fun. There are carols and decorations and all those TV specials. But there's also all the hustle and bustle, the stress and shopping, and the extra traffic. It's enough to send you over the edge. But here at The Spirit you can join us as we look again at what it means to get ready to meet God for yourself. At Christmas we celebrate God is with us ... and now is the time to get ready for him. So each week take some time out to prepare yourself, to anticipate God's coming, and live in expectation of his presence. Remember: To get the most out of it all, it helps to put something extra into getting ready for it. That's Sundays at 11 this Advent. 

 

Schedule  

December 01       Prepare to meet your Maker!

December 08       Living in Expectation

December 15       Anticipating ... ahead of time

December 22       Participating in God's presence


  

 
 
More coming attractions
 
Make plans now
Don't get left out later ...
 
  

 

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services:

 

5:30    Family Christmas Eve service -- perfect for kids of all ages. It's about 40 minutes long, special music and carols

 

8:00    Almost Midnight Mass -- "Almost" because it's not quite midnight when we start and it's not totally traditional. But close.

 

10:00  Christ's Mass on Christmas Day -- That's 10:00 in the morning. It's a small, quiet, traditional and peaceful service for you.

 

December and January:

 

Lessons and Carols -- A special service with lots of special music, solos, and carols for you to sing with. Sunday, December 29 at 11:00.

 

Next Baptisms -- The Feast of our Lord's Baptism, January 12 at 9:00.

 

January Bible Study -- Starts again Wednesday, January 8th at 7:30. We're reading together through the "Hard sayings of the Bible". More info to come.

  

 

"And another thing ..."

Christmas Open House

 

 

 

Featuring new talent: Luke Shaffer

with the House of Spirit Band

 

Join us for a great night of music and more

It's our big annual event

 

Friday, December 20 starting at 7:30

 

Free parking, free child care, reception follows

___________________________________

 

Come along and catch The Spirit this season!

Invite friends to come along too ... it's a great time 
to share the Spirit with those who need more of it.