9:30am + 11am at The Table (5265 H Street Sacramento, CA 95819)
Advent is a season of endings and beginnings. As the calendar year comes to a close, a new church year begins. Christ’s birth ushers us into new ways of living and loving; and yet, the world as we know it spins madly on. In many ways, pregnant Mary was surrounded by endings— large and small, personal and political. But Mary proclaimed hope in a God who was and is making all things new. Christ’s birth offered a beautiful new beginning for shepherds and Magi alike—and the while, King Herod tried to bring Christ’s story to an end. When we ourselves navigate seasons filled with endings and beginnings, we need reminders. We need words that can feel like steady ground, like a path for our feet to find as we step forward into the unknown. This season we will call these words Advent Blessings. We will piece them together over the season to create a Quilt of Blessings—a reminder to root us in the fundamental truths of our faith.
Online Advent Devotional
Our friends at A Sanctified Art have provided a special e-reader version of this year’s Advent devotional, which you can access on your computer and mobile devices with this LINK. In order to protect their work, please refrain from sharing this link or posting it on social media.
1st Sunday of Advent (Dec 1): You are a blessing
Luke 1:26-38: Mary is described as “blessed among women” (Luke 1:28). She is neither wealthy nor powerful, and yet she is chosen to bear God’s child. Her story begins with blessedness and so does ours, for the prophet Isaiah declares that we are claimed by a God who calls our name. We are a blessing because we belong to God. When blessedness is our beginning, we begin to see the world—and others—through the eyes of a God who says: “You are precious in my sight” (Isaiah 43:4).
2nd Sunday of Advent (Dec 8): We Can’t Go Alone
4pm Pop Up Advent Worship in Davis (1620 Anderson Road) on Sunday, December 8
Ruth 1 + Ecclesiastes 4:9-12: One of life’s most essential lessons is that we are never meant to go alone. And yet, modern culture pushes us more and more into lonely silos. If Ruth had followed her culture’s norms, she would have gone home to her family of origin after her husband died, but instead, she commits herself to her mother-in-law, Naomi. Together they form a new family and covenant. Ruth and Naomi travel together to Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest, foreshadowing the journey Mary and Joseph will one day take to be counted in the census. Both Ruth and Naomi as well as Mary and Joseph are unconventional pairs, but if God can bring unlikely people together, God can form us into a covenant community too.
3rd Sunday of Advent (Dec 15): Do The Good That Is Yours To Do
Luke 3:7-16: As John the Baptist is teaching about bearing good fruit, the crowds, tax collectors, and soldiers ask him, “What, then, should we do?” His answer to each group is slightly different, but ultimately the same: “Do the good that is yours to do.” We can each bear good fruit through acts of justice and righteousness. We can all be what Isaiah calls “repairers of the breach” by satisfying the needs of the afflicted.
4th Sunday of Advent (Dec 22): Hope is Worth The Risk
Matthew 1:18-25: Hope is vulnerable and can feel like a tremendous risk, especially if you’ve experienced loss or trauma. But Mary shows us a resilient hope that takes risks—she risks her body to bear a son who will become the hope of her people. Similarly, Joseph makes a risky choice to stay with Mary; dismissing her quietly would have kept him safe. But instead, he chooses hope. He chooses to trust the angel, and it makes all the difference. It can feel safer and easier to be a cynic, but the world doesn’t need more cynics. It needs people who say, “It can be better,” and make it so.
5pm & 11pm candlelight Christmas Eve (Dec 24): Love Knows Your Name
Isaiah 9:6 & Luke 2:1-20: Christ’s birth makes the vastness of God personal. The God who made the seas and the stars is also the God who made your beautiful hair and your striking eyes. The God of creation takes on flesh, which means you are fully known. When the angels visit the shepherds in the fields, their message is global but also personal: “To you . . . a savior is born.” This birth is good news for everyone, especially those who are ignored or disenfranchised. On this night, God is born, and this God of love knows your name.
First Sunday of Christmas (Dec 29): Don’t forget to Laugh
Luke 2:10: The birth of Christ brings good news of great joy to all people, which is cause for celebration. On this Sunday after Christmas, we encourage you to be playful, to not take yourself too seriously, to laugh. For laughter is like hope—it has a ripple effect. It’s one of many ways we live and share good news.
Epiphany (Jan 5): The Road Isn’t Straight
Matthew 2:1-12:Too often, we’ve been told that a successful life is a linear one. But in reality, our lives unfold with many unexpected twists and turns. The Magi follow a star, embarking on a long journey in a foreign land in order to honor the newborn Christ. Instead of returning to Herod as commanded, they trust their dreams and go home by another way. Their road isn’t straight, but God “makes a way in the wilderness” (Isaiah 43:19) as they follow their intuition and diverge from the expected path.
With the weather getting colder and rainy, our neighbors experiencing homelessness are specifically at-risk. Two local programs who work with youth experiencing homelessness, Lutheran Social Services of Northern California and The Creation District, have requested donations of new or very gently used clothing, and blankets to stay warm and healthy. We will have bins in the sanctuary throughout Advent and Christmas. Please bring the following items for our neighbors experiencing homelessness:
Gently used or new jackets, coats, sweaters, gloves, hats, shoes (all sizes, child and adult)
Blankets
Rain ponchos
Sleeping bags
Tents
Batteries (AA or AAA)
Wipes (baby and body)
Hygiene supplies: deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap, body wash, shampoo, and conditioner
Shelf stable snacks: granola bars, crackers, etc
This worship series is based on Words from the Beginning byA Sanctified Art.
