Advent | Now What Sermon Series

We read scripture, we hear scripture proclaimed on Sundays...but how often do we encounter the word of God?
Encountering is different than reading or hearing. An encounter implies that we are impacted by the word of God. It means that something in us shifts in response.

The season of Advent marks a time of waiting. A time when we count down the days until Christmas, the arrival of our Savior. And as we wait, we spend time with scripture. We expect to encounter the word. We expect the word of God to live with us and impact us.

This Advent at Downtown Church, we will be doing something different in how we encounter the word.

Each week in worship, we typically read the Scripture and then the preacher prompts the congregation by saying, "The Word of God for the people of God" and the congregation responds, "Thanks be to God."

This Advent, we will shift how we respond.
The preacher will still read the scripture and prompt, "The word of God for the people of God," but the congregation will say, "Now what?

The purpose of this liturgical shift is to heighten our spiritual awareness of the word of God coming to live with us. God has spoken to us in scripture. Now, we must ask ourselves, "What does that mean for how we live our lives? "How will this impact our thoughts and habits?"

The sermons during Advent will direct our attention to the characters at Jesus' birth: Zechariah, Joseph, Mary, the shepherds, the wise people, etc. The word of God comes to them in the form of an angel and their lives are changed in response.

Then, on Christmas Eve, we will encounter the Word of God in the flesh, Jesus Christ, drawing near to us. We will hear the familiar story of his birth proclaimed. In gratitude for his arrival, we will respond by asking "Now what?" 

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