Worship Theme: Rejoice! The Lord Is Near!
Preparing to receive our Lord is not another task or work for us to perform. God is not one more person we need to impress this time of year in addition to our employers, children and out-of-town guest. Repentance is work God does for us and in us rather than work we do for him. Through his heralds who announce his arrival, he reveals that repentance is the opposite of work. It is the candid and honest admission that the only thing our work can do is distance us from God. It is the joyful. trust that the work needed to bring us close to God has all been done by him. Even the fruits of repentance, the righteous offerings and acceptable sacrifices God surely desires, are exactly what their name suggests. They are fruit, the natural results of the work God does in our hearts though his Word. Rather than on more demand to do just a little bit more, the call to repent is God's gracious invitation to set down our work in order to make way for his!