Hello Bridge Town Church and those of you joining us online. My name is Gavin Bennett.

And I'm Bethany Allen and this is the second of a four-carb Bridge Town Daily for the Advent

season. This week will continue on in our journey. You remember that in Advent we

practice and embrace the rhythm of watching and waiting. And in that we move through both

the aches and joys in it, allowing each to draw our attention to God's presence, to

the reality that Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us. While waiting can be a difficult task,

particularly for the small humans among us, it is the space where our anticipation grows.

It's the last week of school before summer vacation. It's the final week before our due date.

It's the callback from the interview. Or it's that window of time before your post-mate

order arrives. Anticipation is both a great cultivator and a great connector. While anticipation

can produce anxiety or fear, in Advent we remember that God's original plan was that

it cultivate joy and connect us to love himself.

As we mentioned last week, the perfect expression of love is God embodied. Love is God putting

on flesh and moving into our neighborhood. With this in mind, joy then is the fruit or

byproduct of knowing that God is near. Not just to the ancient Israelites, but to us.

Christmas historically has been a mixed bag of both joy and sadness. For some it's the

most wonderful time of the year, and for others, well, it can be the most painful.

The truth is, many of us, especially those of us in the Christian tradition, often confuse

joy with feeling good. We've been sold and have bought into a story of happiness, whose

false promises wreak of self-medication, ultimately leaving many of us numbed and unable

to experience true joy. If joy is the culture sells it, only leaves us numb. Where does true

joy come from? Well, joy as we find it in the scriptures is ultimately born of and from

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