Expect the Unexpected: It's Not Over Until ...

As followers of Jesus, we never want to forget the reason for the season. The season we call Advent literally means coming. We are reliving, anticipating, and celebrating Jesus’ first coming. His first coming was a big surprise. The prophet Isaiah foretold Jesus’ coming. It was prophesied 600 years before and fulfilled when Jesus actually came. When Jesus did come, it was a glorious, expected, yet also unexpected surprise. God loves to surprise us. We think it’s over, done, never going to happen; then a door we never saw coming opens wide, and God says, okay it’s go time. Surprise! The Advent account, the coming of Jesus, and just about everything surrounding his birth was expected through prophecy, but unexpected in reality. Surprise! Over the next few messages, as we wait and prepare for the coming of Jesus, we are going to relive the story. We will experience the truth afresh that we serve God who loves to surprise us. There are God's surprises every day; many go right over our heads. Let us give God a praise offering for God’s wonderful, unexpected surprises!