Gracious Father - we give you praise and thanks for bringing us together safely this evening. We are so blessed to be able to openly gather in your name, to have fellowship with one another and have the opportunity to learn. We give you thanks for the leadership of this church and Judi's continued enthusiasm in leading this Bible study group.
We prepared our lesson with our thoughts on Advent and tonight we light the second candle, the Bethlehem candle representing a time of preparation and of faith in God's love. A quote from our book was, "We are called to take stock of our lives and make changes necessary to embrace God's will." It is so easy for us during this season to become distracted, anxious and even stressed as we try to decorate our homes, buy gifts for our family and friends, send cards, and prepare for things other than the coming of our precious Lord. Please forgive us. Help us re-center each and every day through your gentle reminders so that we are preparing for this amazing precious baby. You have chosen us and love us so much that you sent Jesus to be our light in the darkness.
Now it's time to remove the clutter of all that happened today, take a deep breath, release that breath, feel the peace God provides. God has a personal message in this lesson for each one of us if we open our hearts. Lord, we are anxious to receive your Word. Amen.