Advent 3 Recap
Joy & Kindness
It’s hard to believe we’re through three weeks of Advent. This week, we spent three days each on two of the fruit of the Spirit: Joy & Kindness. If you missed a post or want to review anything, they are linked below. If nothing else, read again our passage from Galatians, included in full at the end of this post.
Tomorrow is the fourth and final Sunday of Advent.
We’ll begin with the fruit of Love,
which is the traditional theme for this Sunday,
and then on Wednesday, we’ll dig into Gentleness.
Joy
Made Complete - Choosing abiding love over performative happiness.
Pregnancy - Joy, not because circumstances are resolved, but because God is near.
Belonging - Jesus teaches and exemplifies a joy that comes from a placed source, not external circumstances.
Kindness
Choosing Kindness over Ease - Jesus reframes discipleship not as ease, but as a life shaped by Spirit-formed kindness rather than rivalry and burden.
Enemy Kindness - Jesus pushes kindness beyond the familiar and familial, calling his followers to reflect God’s kindness even toward those who oppose them.
When Kindness Becomes Compassion - Kindness deepens into compassion when love draws near to suffering, mirroring the incarnational movement of God in Christ.
By the way, tomorrow morning (Sunday, December 21), I’ll be playing some of these songs live on Facebook at 7:00 AM EST.