For those of us on this journey as Christians this Sunday marks the beginning of a brand new year.  The first Sunday of the season of Advent is the start of a new "Christian" year.  You will notice that our Gospel lessons will be from the Gospel according to Matthew.  As Matthew unfolds the story for us, we will journey through his unique way of story-telling for his Jewish Christian audience.  He presents Jesus as a teacher and gives the most detailed description of the life of Jesus. 

This Sunday, as we begin this season of Advent, we will incorporate the "Hanging of the Greens" in our service.  We will begin to decorate our sanctuary and review the meaning of our decorations.  We will also hear the reminder that we must always be "Developing A Habit of Readiness".  All of the scripture lessons for today remind us of this.  But let's take a closer look at what it means to "be ready".