I will say it again, Rejoice!

3rd Sunday in Advent
Readings:
Old Testament: Zephaniah 3:14-20
Epistle: Pillipians 4:4-7
Gospel: Luke 7:18-28

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

To be glad (have joy) again: this is the root meaning of the origin of the word, "rejoice." And this is our message for today, and one to be taken throughout the new year. Remember Christ, his birth, his life, his sacrifice, and be glad again. Let loose of your sorrow, your sins are forgiven! Walk with your confidence in Christ, for in Him lies your joy.

Rejoice! For those of us who believe, we have been redeemed. We have intercession for our sins. And in our faith in Christ, we show faith in the Father of all things, who will take care of your needs. Truly, we are worth many sparrows. So with the joy, the gladness of our salvation in Christ we can let loose of our stress, we can worry less- in fact Christ says to not worry at all, and thus we are more calm, more glad, more mild. "Let your gentleness be evident to all."

"I will say it again, Rejoice!" and let your gentlenes be evident to all. Not just to other Christians who celebrate this blessed time of year, but also the person at the store checkout who says, "Happy Holidays," as opposed to, "Merry Christmas." Be gentle in your tone when you reply, "Merry Christmas." And do not be anxious (coming from the indo-european base angh, which means anger) about teh season, or what gifts to give, or that another town will no longer display a nativity scene on the courthouse lawn. For Christ came, and lived, and was crucified. Let Him be your foundation. Let him be the center of your Christmas celebration, and rejoice.

"I will say it again, Rejoice!" do not be anxious about anything. I'm not sure if you caught that. Do not be anxious about Anything. We know that it can be a stressful time of year, but remember Christ. Remember to hold Him at the center of the celebration and everything else will fall into line as it should be. "But in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving present your requests to God." In everything. By taking every situation to the Lord, through faith in Christ can we truly come to not be anxious about anything. For Christ is our strength and our redemption. He is the intercession between us an the Father. By his body he paid for our sins, and anything we ask in his name will be granted to those who believe.

"I will say it again, Rejoice!" "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Rejoice that we have been blessed. It is a blessing that was promised in the days of old and fulfilled in the birth of Christ. That a savior was to be born. He would become our righteousness, and our redemption. And we should rejoice for all these things. And also that he will come again. Rejoice. I will say it again, Rejoice!