Shipley Church Self-Service
Advent Sunday 29<sup>th</sup> November 2020
Thought for the Week – O come, O come, Emmanuel!
Advent, means the “coming” of something of great significance, and is an important part of the Christian calendar. The church’s year begins today,with waiting expectantly for the birth of Jesus at Christmas, as well as the reception of Christ in the hearts of the people, and his anticipated second coming into the world. The prophet Isaiah foretold: “Comfort ye, my people. Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God” (Isaiah 40:1-3). God’s first intervention into human history was not in the form of some earth-shattering event, but instead he chose to come into the world as we all do, to be born as a baby, human yet also divine.
In several ways this Advent is for us a fresh beginning: today is the start of the new Church’s yearly calendar; it’s also the official licensing of our new Parish Priest the Rev Chris Allen, following his arrival in Shipley; we shall soon commence a new Decade; and the distribution of a vaccine, so desperately needed, to help the world recover from the Corona Virus pandemic seems imminent. We must watch and wait patiently, and become well prepared.
It was Baden-Powell who devised the Scout Motto “Be Prepared”, meaning you will always be in a state of readiness in mind and body to do your duty: the cornerstone of Scouting that prepares young people for life. Not a bad guide for Christians, either!
(Mark13: 33-37)
Hymn for today
On Jordan’s bank the Baptist’s cry
Announces that the Lord is nigh;
Come then and harken, for he brings
Glad tidings from the King of Kings
Prayer for today
We pray that, as we begin this new year, our difficulties will not
overthrow us nor temptations defeat us, but that we may go forward on our
journey through life in a spirit of courage and godliness.
Note: The Gospel and Readings set for today can be downloaded from the top right hand corner of this page.