Resilient Faith
ADVENT SPIRITUALITY FOR A TIME OF PANDEMIC

ADVENT 2020

"Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse,
And a branch from his roots will bear fruit.
The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him,
The spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The spirit of counsel and strength,
The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.
And He will delight in the fear of the LORD,
And He will not judge by what His eyes see,
Nor make a decision by what His ears hear."

(Isaiah 11:1-10)

A Word of Welcome

In the three videos below, you will find a short 2-3 minute introduction to topic and texts each of the three presenters have chosen to explore in this Advent course:

Praying the Psalms in Advent: Honest Prayers When Life is Hard

"How Long Will You Hide Your Face From Me?"

Part One – Psalms for a Time of Crisis
In this presentation, Jessie looks at two psalms that were composed to be prayed in a time of crisis: Psalm 13 and Psalm 42.

"O Israel, Hope in the LORD from this
Time On and Forevermore."

Part Two – Psalms for Disapointment & Doubt
In this presentation, Jessie focuses in particular upon Psalm 77, one of the longer texts in Book of Psalms. Towards the end, the shorter Psalm 131 is explored.

Reading Mark in Advent: Wakefulness in Winter as We Attend to the Gift

"And What I Say to You, I Say to All:
Keep Awake"

Part One – Mark in His Time: Why Paying Attention Matters
In this presentation, Seán provides an overview of Mark the evangelist and his context, before looking in-depth at the Gospel used in the First Sunday of Advent: Mark 13.

"I Have Baptized You with Water,
But He Will Baptize You in the Holy Spirit"

Part Two – Mark's Good News of the Kingdom: The World on its Head
In this presentation, Seán further explores the layout and structure of Mark's Gospel, and turns toward the reading for the Second Sunday of Advent which goes back to the first eight verses of the narrative, Mark 1:1-8.

Learning from Paul: Holding on to the Word of Life (Phil 2:16)

"I Have the Righteousness that Comes by Way of Christ’s Faithfulness"

Part One – Introduction & Context
In this first presentation, Kieran provides an introduction to St. Paul's Letter to the Philippians, noting the context in which the letter was written and how an understanding of the historical situation influences many of the themes present.

"Rejoice in the Lord Always.
Again I Say, Rejoice!"

Part Two – St. Paul & Salvation in Philippians
In this presentation, Kieran goes more deeply into Paul's understanding of salvation and how he applies that in his advice to the Philippians on how to live through their own difficulties. 

Webinar Recording