Advent Hymn Reflection - Angels From the Realms of Glory

Angels from the realms of glory,
Wing your flight over all the earth;
Ye who sang creation's story
Now proclaim the Messiah's birth.
Come and worship, come and worship
Worship Christ, the newborn King.

Shepherds, in the field abiding,
Watching over your flocks by night,
God with us is now residing;
Yonder shines the infant light:
Come and worship, come and worship
Worship Christ, the newborn King.

Sages, leave your contemplations,
Brighter visions beam afar;
Seek the great Desire of nations;
Ye have seen His natal star.
Come and worship, come and worship
Worship Christ, the newborn King.

All creation, join in praising
God, the Father, Spirit, Son,
Evermore your voices raising
To the eternal Three in One.
Come and worship, come and worship
Worship Christ, the newborn King.

Come and Worship - This coming week we will be called to "Worship Services" a number of times.  Each time we'll be Called to "Come and Worship" by God, an invitation offered first at creation and repeated throughout history.  Come live with God and with one another, delight in creation and as those created in the image of the great Creator God.  Come Live.  It echoes again as God calls the Israelites out of slavery, Come to a land prepared and rejoice in what God has done!  Come with justice and righteousness, take care of one another and show others who God is.  Once again it echos in the story of Christ, this time echoing louder as a call in the night, one that brings light to the world that brings Kings and Shepherds together to Come and Worship.  One person, who is also God, who brings all to him by his warmth and light, one who brings food to the hungry, water to those that thirst.  Come delight in the one who Creates, Sustains, and Redeems. 


And yet: Creation Forgot.  Israel Forgot.  We Forget.

Remember . . . Come and Worship

Advent Hymn Reflection - While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks

While shepherds watched their flocks by night,
All seated on the ground,
The angel of the Lord came down,
And glory shone around,
“Fear not!” said he, for mighty dread
Had seized their troubled mind.
“Glad tidings of great joy I bring
To you and humankind"

“To you, in David’s town, this day
Is born of David’s line
A Savior, who is Christ the Lord,
And this shall be the sign,
 “The heavenly Babe you there shall find
To human view displayed,
All humbly wrapped in swathing bands,
And in a manger laid,"

Thus spake the seraph and forthwith
Appeared a shining throng
Of angels praising God, who thus
Addressed their joyful song,

“All glory be to God on high,
And to the Earth be peace;
Good will to all from highest heaven
Begin and never cease!”

We will hear the Christmas story a number of times over the next week.  We will hear pieces from a number of Gospels and maybe a bit from Isaiah as well.  Each Gospel points to different "important points" that the authors think essential to The Story.  We will fit it all together into a picture of sheep, goats, Wise Men, Shepherds and a hay filled trough.  But what if we took out the picture of the Nativity?  Would your faith be affected if the only Gospel we had was that as told by Paul? 

Romans 1:1b-4 says: "...The gospel of God, which was promised beforehand through the prophets in the holy scriptures, it is the gospel concerning the Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be Son of God with power according to the Spirit of Holiness by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord."

We have the story of the birth, a wonderful narrative of gifts, visitors, and a families faith in God's plan for them, but the narrative does not make Jesus our Lord or Christ.  It is God's everlasting promise, God's covenants with Abraham, Noah, and all of Creation.  The story that leads to the Nativity is the story that leads to the cross and continues through Easter and into our lives today.  We are children of the Covenant, in a relationship with God who is seen in this world most perfectly in the form of Jesus. 

The Shepherds did not have the story of Christmas, but they understood who God was and knew they were part of a special story.  As we celebrate the story of the birth, may we also be part of the song bringing Glory to God for fulfilling the promises of Covenant.  May we continue to bring Glad Tidings to the world not because of a beautiful story but because the beautiful story is part of The Story.  The Story of all of us, all created in God's image and loved by God.  For it is for all humankind that Jesus comes to fulfill God's promises to the world.  Let us take that message forth in all we say and do so all may know God's love.

Advent Hymn Reflections - Lift Up Your Heads

Lift up your heads, ye mighty gates,
Behold the King of glory waits;
The King of kings is drawing near,
The Savior of the world is here;

Fling wide the portals of your heart,
Make it a temple set apart
From earthly use for Heaven’s employ,
Adorned with prayer and love and joy.

Redeemer, come! I open wide
My heart to Thee—here, Lord, abide!
Let me Thy inner presence feel,
Thy grace and love in me reveal.



That last stanza hits home.  The openness seen here is not something many of us are comfortable with.  This is a vulnerable openness, an openness to all our fears and desires, an openness to whatever criticism may come.  This is an uncomfortable openness, wide and open to whatever God wants without concern for our own desires.

It is akin to the English word Agape, open wide.  It is also akin to the Greek word Agape, a deep sacrificial love like God's.  The only way we can be so open and vulnerable is when we love beyond normal limits, when we truly live as if God is in control of ALL of our lives.  It is our job to be the stewards of the world, the hands and feet of God who leads us as the head and heart of all things.  God's love is both Agape and Agape, may we likewise this Advent season feel God at work by being wide open and vulnerable with each other while also loving each other with that sacrificial love that is signified in God becoming flesh.

Advent is coming . . .

What is Advent?  It is the season before Christmas, or what we most often call the "Christmas Season."  The word Advent actually means "coming" or "arrival." The focus of the season is the celebration of the birth of Jesus in his First Advent AS WELL AS the anticipation of the his Second Advent. This is a season for celebrating the truth about God's revelation through Christ whereby all of creation might be reconciled. That is a process in which we now participate, the consummation of which we continually anticipate.

Advent also symbolizes the spiritual journey, as we affirm that Christ has come, is present in the world today, will come again.  This is core to our world view and the "why" of our choices in living: we are called to be faithful stewards of what is entrusted to us as God’s people. Advent calls us to remember our place in history, in the "In-Betweens" and to confesses our responsibility as a people commissioned to "love the Lord your God with all your heart" and to "love your neighbor as yourself."

Advent is marked by a spirit of expectation, anticipation, preparation, and longing. There is a yearning for deliverance from the world, first expressed by Israelite slaves in Egypt as they cried out from their bitter oppression. It is the cry of all those who experience injustice, and yet who live freely in the hope of deliverance by a God who hears creations cries and brings deliverance! It is that hope, at times quite faint, in God, seemingly sometimes distant, which brings the anticipation of a day when truth and justice and righteousness rules over all people and all creation. It is that hope once anticipated and anticipated anew for a Messiah who will bring peace and justice and righteousness to the world.

Throughout the Advent season you will find prayers, devotional readings, videos, and many other things here, on the church website, it's twitter account, and facebook page calling us to be part of Advent daily. Preparing the way, preparing ourselves. Advent’s prayers are prayers of humble devotion and commitment, prayers of submission, prayers for deliverance, prayers from those walking in darkness who are awaiting and anticipating a great light! We begin Advent this Sunday with a spirit that follows what the great Advent carol says:

Come, O Come, Emmanuel,

And ransom captive Israel!

Thanksgiving Baskets

As part of our Thanksgiving celebration Harbor View Church provides a turkey dinner for needy families on James Island through a partnership with James Island Outreach. We include the following food items for each family’s Thanksgiving meal: 

• A coupon for a frozen turkey
• Canned green beans
• Corn
• Evaporated milk
• Canned sweet potatoes
• Stuffing mix
• Instant potatoes
• Rice
• Cranberry sauce
• Brown sugar
• A dessert mix.

You can contribute by donating Greenbax stamps to purchase turkeys or by bringing food items to place in the box in the narthex or by making a cash donation to buy needed food items. We will continue to collect items until this coming Sunday, November 20.  After the 2nd service on Sunday we will be assembling the meals into carrying bags so that they can be distributed on the evenings of November 21 and 22. 


If you would like to donate Greenbax to the cause there are two ways to donate stamps to Harbor View.  If you have a computer you may go online at www.Greenbax.net. On that site you should select “donate books”. Next enter your name and Greenbax number (from your Piggly Wiggly card). Click on “donate” and then select Harbor View Presbyterian Church and the number of books you would like to donate.
If you don’t have a computer you may call the church office at 795-4072. If you leave your last name and Greenbax number (from your Piggly Wiggly card) and the number of books you would like to donate Linda
Stottlemyre will process your donation.

Please call Anne John (762-5786) with any questions.