Joy to the World, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room, And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven and nature sing, And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.

Joy to the World, the Savior reigns! Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.

He rules the world with truth and grace, And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness, And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love, And wonders, wonders, of His love.

Dear brothers & sisters in Christ,
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior. Amen.
The coming of Christ is a joyous occasion for all of creation. The Son of God, the Messiah, the Christ (anointed one), comes into a broken world to save it. The words of the popular Advent hymn by Isaac Watts reflect that joy.
Henri Nouwen once described joy with the following words. “Joy is the experience of knowing that you are unconditionally loved and that nothing—sickness, failure, emotional distress, oppression, war, or even death—can take that love away.” No matter what circumstances surround us, God sent His Son into this world and into our lives to assure us of His unconditional love. The knowledge of that love fills us with the joy and strength to share it, and the news of Christ’s coming, with the rest of the world.
As we prepare to celebrate the birth of the Savior, our joy is made complete. We give thanks. We make God’s deeds known to the nations. We sing praises to the Lord, our God. We shout aloud and sing for joy. God is in our midst. Joy to the world! The Lord is come!
The grace and peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

In Christ,
Pastor Carla

⁴ And you will say in that day: Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name;
make known his deeds among the nations; proclaim that his name is exalted.
⁵ Sing praises to the LORD, for he has done gloriously; let this be known in all the earth.
⁶ Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal Zion,
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel. (Isaiah 12:4-6)