Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable; it keeps no record of wrongs; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. —1 Corinthians 13:4-8a

Introduction:

Advent (from the Latin adventus, meaning “coming” or “arrival”) is the four-week season of

for the coming of Jesus at Christmas.

“Advent is a season of expectant waiting, tapping into the sense we have that all is not well, the longing for the world to be made right again.” —Eugene Peterson

John Wesley, founder of the Methodist movement, preached a sermon in 1741 called, “The

Christian.”

“Wesley used that term “almost” to describe the Christian who had the outward ‘form of godliness,’ but still fell short of ‘altogether’ godliness on the inside.” —Magrey R. Devega

God has given you his Spirit and empowered you to do more than just the

.

God has put extra on your ordinary and super on your natural to bring the Kingdom of

to earth.

Work for Peace

Peace was the

gift Jesus gave to his disciples before he left them. (John 20:19-22)

“[True peace] is not merely the absence of tensions, but…the presence of…justice.” —Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Waiting with Hope

There’s a difference between almost hope and

hope.

“Hope—the real thing—breaks into seemingly strange, unexpected places…” —Rev. Ingrid McIntyre

Almost hope stands at a distance. Altogether hope dives into the

bringing light.

An Altogether Love

“Without love nothing can so profit us as to make our lives happy.” —John Wesley

Angel Wings —————————- Doug & April Yarholar

Stepping Stone ———————— Nic & Meagan Durham

STEAM Engine ————————- Marcus & Morgan Jones

Pathlight in Belize ——————— Mark & Adrienne Parcher

Mission 22 & The Final Salute — Jessica Timmerman

Edmond Mobile Meals ————— Andy Gresham

“Goodness is stronger than evil, and love is stronger than hate. Love is the thing that conquers evil – love cannot be confined, it cannot be destroyed, it cannot be crushed…it transforms darkness into light.” —Rev. April Casperson

Action Steps

Ask God to move you to

others this Christmas.

Give $1 more to Jesus this Christmas than you spend on yourself and family.

“My additional notes:

”.