Be Prepared

Kids Korner: Listen for the message (December 7th)

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Read Matthew 3:1-12 with your family.

On the second and third Sundays of Advent we spend time with John the Baptist. In the Gospel of Luke, we are told Jesus and John are cousins, but there is no story telling us that in the Gospel of Matthew. If we go by what Matthew says, they two men did not know each other in person, just by reputation.

In this story John comes into Jerusalem ready to tell people about the Messiah – which means the “anointed” one, or chosen one who will rescue them from their sad situation under Roman occupation. The people who had power in the Hebrew community of Jerusalem, namely Pharisees and Sadducees, did not want John to deliver his message, so they tried to shut him down. John got really mad at them and called them a “brood of vipers”, which means a group of poisonous snakes.

John was trying to tell them that no matter how rich they were or what kind of power they had in the temple or with the Roman government, they would be judged by their behaviour and how much they follow the teachings of love and sharing that John was teaching.

John knew Jesus would be coming to teach everyone about the way God wanted them to live, and giving excuses that they worked for the temple did not matter at all.

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Sunday Reflection – Advent I, November 30, 2025

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Be ready

Matthew 24 36 No one knows the day or hour. The angels in heaven don’t know, and the Son himself doesn’t know. Only the Father knows. 37  When the Son of Man appears, things will be just as they were when Noah lived. 38 People were eating, drinking, and getting married right up to the day the flood came and Noah went into the big boat. 39  They didn’t know anything was happening until the flood came and swept them all away. This is how it will be when the Son of Man appears.

40 Two men will be in the same field, but only one will be taken. The other will be left. 41 Two women will be together grinding grain, but only one will be taken. The other will be left. 42 So be on your guard! You don’t know when your Lord will come. 43  Homeowners never know when a thief is coming, and they are always on guard to keep one from breaking in. 44 Always be ready! You don’t know when the Son of Man will come.

Kids Korner: Get ready, God is coming (November 30th)

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Read Matthew 24:36-44 with your family.

Today is the first Sunday in Advent. For Christians, this is the first day of our new year. Every Christian year begins with the first Sunday in Advent, and this year we will be growing our faith by through the Gospel of Matthew.

In our story for today we are reading the warning from Jesus to pay attention and be ready for when God comes, because we do not know when it will happen.

People have tried to predict when God is returning for hundreds and hundreds of years, and they seem to ignore the part of the reading that says don’t waste your time trying to figure it out because there are no warning signs.

So what does Jesus mean about being ready?

It means do the right thing when you can. Remember how Jesus taught us to live, and try to make other people feel better about the world around them.

There is no special level we have to reach in order to be ready. God has made us enough.

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Sunday Reflection – Advent II, December 10, 2023

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Staying alert for the coming of the Son of Man

Mark 1 This is the good news about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2  It began just as God had said in the book written by Isaiah the prophet,

“I am sending my messenger
to get the way ready
    for you.
3 In the desert
    someone is shouting,
‘Get the road ready
    for the Lord!
Make a straight path
    for him.’ ”

4 So John the Baptist showed up in the desert and told everyone, “Turn back to God and be baptized! Then your sins will be forgiven.”

5 From all Judea and Jerusalem crowds of people went to John. They told how sorry they were for their sins, and he baptized them in the Jordan River.

6  John wore clothes made of camel’s hair. He had a leather strap around his waist and ate grasshoppers and wild honey.

7 John also told the people, “Someone more powerful is going to come. And I am not good enough even to stoop down and untie his sandals. 8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit!”

Sunday Reflection – Advent I, December 3, 2023

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Staying alert for the coming of the Son of Man

Mark 13 24  In those days, right after this time of suffering,

“The sun will become dark,
and the moon
    will no longer shine.
25 The stars will fall,
and the powers in the sky
    will be shaken.”

26  Then the Son of Man will be seen coming in the clouds with great power and glory. 27 He will send his angels to gather his chosen ones from all over the earth.

28 Learn a lesson from a fig tree. When its branches sprout and start putting out leaves, you know summer is near. 29 So when you see all these things happening, you will know that the time has almost come. 30 You can be sure that some of the people of this generation will still be alive when all this happens. 31 The sky and the earth will not last forever, but my words will.

32  No one knows the day or the time. The angels in heaven don’t know, and the Son himself doesn’t know. Only the Father knows. 33 So watch out and be ready! You don’t know when the time will come. 34  It is like what happens when a man goes away for a while and places his servants in charge of everything. He tells each of them what to do, and he orders the guard to keep alert. 35 So be alert! You don’t know when the master of the house will come back. It could be in the evening or at midnight or before dawn or in the morning. 36 But if he comes suddenly, don’t let him find you asleep. 37 I tell everyone just what I have told you. Be alert!

Kids Korner: Preparing ourselves (Dec. 3rd)

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Read Mark 13:24-37 with your family.

We have started a new Christian year, and this year we are learning about Jesus from the Gospel of Mark.

There is a pattern to Advent readings: Week 1 we talk about getting ready for Jesus’ coming, Week 2 & 3 we talk about John the Baptist and his ministry, and Week 4 we talk about either Mary or Joseph.

The getting ready passages talk about hope for the future and what we can change. They also talk about how we can help make God’s promise of love and peace a reality for everyone.

As you begin this new year, what are some of your ideas to make the world a better place?

Sunday Reflection – November 12, 2023

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Do not make yourselves important

Matthew 25 The kingdom of heaven is like what happened one night when ten young women took their oil lamps and went to a wedding to meet the groom. 2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3 The foolish ones took their lamps, but no extra oil. 4 The ones who were wise took along extra oil for their lamps.

5 The groom was late arriving, and the young women became drowsy and fell asleep. 6 Then in the middle of the night someone shouted, “Here’s the groom! Come to meet him!”

7 When the women got up and started getting their lamps ready, 8 the foolish ones said to the others, “Let us have some of your oil! Our lamps are going out.”

9 Those who were wise answered, “There’s not enough oil for all of us! Go and buy some for yourselves.”

10 While the foolish ones were on their way to get some oil, the groom arrived. The five who were ready went into the wedding, and the doors were closed. 11  Later the others returned and shouted, “Sir, sir! Open the door for us!”

12 But the groom replied, “I don’t even know you!”

13 So, my disciples, always be ready! You don’t know the day or the time when all this will happen.

Kids Korner: Be prepared, be ready (Nov.12th)

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Read Matthew 25:1-12 with your family.

In the last chapters of the Gospel of Matthew, there are a lot of parables telling us that some will be left out of God’s promise. That has made Christians over our history think we are better than everyone else, and that is wrong.

The people hearing these stories for the first time knew they were not better people, they just wanted to trust that God loved them. They grew up in a world where they were always told God only loves the people with power. The writer of the Gospels wanted people to know it was actions and how we loved that mattered to God, not how much we owned or how much money we had. They needed to be told that God loved them.

We know God loves us and everyone else in this world, and that no one is being left out of the promise for a new world with God.

The take-away lesson from this story is to always be ready, do the things Jesus asked us to do. Be ready by making sure everyone has had enough to eat. Be ready by making sure everyone has a safe place to sleep, like the ten young women in this story. Be ready by making sure we take care of sickness and injuries to each others bodies.

All of us will be part of God’s world, that is always the promise. But by living the way Jesus wants us to live, we will not only be ready, we will be helping that world happen.

Sunday Reflection – August 7, 2022

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Be Ready

Luke 12 32 My little group of disciples, don’t be afraid! Your Father wants to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell what you have and give the money to the poor. Make yourselves moneybags that never wear out. Make sure your treasure is safe in heaven, where thieves cannot steal it and moths cannot destroy it. 34 Your heart will always be where your treasure is.

35  Be ready and keep your lamps burning 36  just like those servants who wait up for their master to return from a wedding feast. As soon as he comes and knocks, they open the door for him. 37 Servants are fortunate if their master finds them awake and ready when he comes! I promise you he will get ready and let his servants sit down so he can serve them. 38 Those servants are really fortunate if their master finds them ready, even though he comes late at night or early in the morning. 39  You would surely not let a thief break into your home, if you knew when the thief was coming. 40 So always be ready! You don’t know when the Son of Man will come.

Performed by Margaret Whisselle

Kids Korner: Be prepared for God’s call (August 7th)

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Read Luke 12:32-40 with your family.

Always being prepared seems hard to do. Waiting is hard.

However, Jesus helps give us something to focus on while we wait: Focus on what we value, what we consider ‘treasure’. Not trinkets we pick up or stones we have gathered, but what would make us really sad if we lost it.

Jesus said focus on our treasure and make sure it is something really, really important. Jesus also suggested that God be that treasure.

When we focus on God, then we will be prepared for when God calls us to do things. Waiting won’t seem so hard if we do that.

God will come to us at any time, asking us to do acts of kindness and bring love into the world. God might ask us to do something big or something small, but no matter what God asks us to do, we can do it with God’s help.