Hope, a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul

Dear Mosaic Family,

Tomorrow, we begin celebrating the Advent season at Mosaic. If you aren't familiar with Advent, it's like Lent, but before Christmas. The word "Advent" comes from the Latin word "Adventus," meaning "coming" or "arrival. It begins the 4th Sunday before Christmas and ends on Christmas Day. Advent is a celebration of the first coming of Jesus and the anticipation of his second coming.

Celebrating Advent helps us cut through the infinite distractions, of life in general, and the Christmas season in particular, and refocus our attention on what's most important in life. The four themes of Advent are "Hope, Love, Joy, and Peace." Tomorrow, we'll turn to the Holy Scriptures to remind ourselves of the certain hope we have in Christ.

Scripture describes the hope we have in Christ as an anchor of the soul. Hebrews 6:19 says, "We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope..." I think it's fascinating that hope is described as an "anchor of the soul." An anchor is usually used to connect a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the boat from drifting due to wind or current. Meaning, without an anchor, a boat is prone to drift, out of position or off course. So to describe our hope as an "anchor of the soul" assumes that apart from hope, our souls drift, often imperceptibly and incrementally. Unless our souls are anchored in the hope of Christ, after a while, we have no idea who we are, where we are, and how we got there.

Join us tomorrow as we study Colossians 1:1-8, and meditate on the certain hope laid up for us in heaven.

Praying for you! Pastor Jan

P.S. If you're a member (or becoming a member), please plan to join us for our 4th quarterly members' meeting and potluck, tomorrow 1-3pm. We have lots of encouraging things to talk about and we'll be welcoming 12 new members! What are you bringing for the potluck? Sign up here.

Announcements:

Membership Class. Sunday, February 5th, 1-3pm. Lunch provided. The membership class if the first step to becoming a member of Mosaic Boston. To register, please email admin@mosaicboston.com Members' Meeting. Sunday, February 26th, 1-3pm. If you're a member, please plan on attending our first quarterly members' meeting and potluck.  Mosaic Youth Group. Every Sunday, Mosaic holds a youth group gathering during the 9:30service. If you know anyone looking for a youth group, let them know! Mosaic Boston App. Did you know Mosaic has an app? You can download it here. Christmas and New Years: On both Christmas Day, December 25th and New Year's Day, January 1st (which are Sundays), we'll have one service at 11:15am. Come worship Jesus with your Mosaic family!  Pre-service Prayer Join us in the upper hallway of the Temple Ohabei Shalom for a time of pre-service prayer on Sundays at 8:45AM and 4:30PM. It's an opportunity for us to pray for the church, the city, and the world. Love Mosaic? Let people know! We would love it if you could take a minute to like/rate us on some social media sites, which makes it easier for others to find us when they are searching for a church in Boston!