Advent 22- Oh, Come! Emmanuel

December 18

Read Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:1 – 25, and Luke 3:23 - 37

The long genealogies emphasize how very long the wait for the Messiah was, how long humanity waited for God to be truly with them again. How long they waited for God to keep His promise of the Messiah. The very short Advent season cannot begin to compare even with the two millennial wait since the resurrection, but we, in these end times, still feel the need to cry out for God to be with us again. 

The ancient hymn ‘Oh, Come, Oh, Come, Emmanuel’ has been the heart felt song of the church for almost 1,000 years. Sing it again and know that it is a prayer answered before it was prayed. Christ is our Emmanuel, He is God with us.

O come, O come Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel,

That mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appear.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!

O come, Thou Wisdom from on high, who ord’est all things mightily; 

To us the path of knowledge show, and teach us in her ways to go.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!

O come, O come, Thou Lord of might, Who to Thy tribes on Sinai’s height

In ancient times didst give the Law in cloud and majesty and awe.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!

O come, Thou Branch of Jesse’s tree, free them from Satan’s tyranny

That trust Thy mighty pow’r to save, and give them vict’ry o’er the grave.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!

O come, Thou Key of David, come, and open wide our heav’nly home;

Make safe the way that leads on high, and close the path to misery.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!

O come, Thou Dayspring from on high, And cheer us by Thy drawing nigh;

Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, and death’s dark shadows put to flight.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!

O Come, Desire of nations, bind in one the hearts of all mankind;

Bid Thou our sad divisions cease, and be Thyself our King of Peace.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!

For the Family:

The hands clasped in prayer remind us of the prayers of the church triumphant and militant, our own prayers, and the great high priestly prayer of Christ for His church. Hang the symbol on your Tree of Promise and pray pleading for Christ to come soon.

Bible Journaling:

Advent 22-

Oh, Come, Emmanuel
Bible Journaling
 Connie Denninger

From the Kitchen:

I got this recipe from Mary Zalmon at St. John the Baptist Lutheran Church in Emporia, VA. When I asked about any special instructions she said, “You know how to work with yeast dough and how to roll out a pie crust. You won’t have any trouble.” If you make this now, be sure and put some of the loaves in the freezer, you will want to get one out on Christmas morning. I’ve never added apples to the filling.

Kolach

Dough:

½ butter 1 pkg yeast

3 C flour 4 T granulated sugar

1 C milk, warmed and cooled 3 egg yolks, beaten

½ tsp salt

• Cream butter. Add sugar and beaten egg yolks; mix.
• Dissolve yeast in ½ C warm milk and allow yeast to proof
• Add remaining ½ C milk, salt and flour
• Place in oiled bowl, cover and place in refrigerator overnight.

Filling:

3 egg whites, stiffly beaten ¾ C brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla ½ C apples, chopped (optional)

1 tsp cinnamon, (optional) ¾ lb ground nuts (pecans, roasted peanuts)

• Beat egg whites until stiff, add brown sugar 1 TBS at a time. Add vanilla.
• Fold in apples, cinnamon, and nuts. Do not beat. The oil in the nuts will break down the whites
• Divide the dough into 3 or 4 equal parts. 
• Roll out the dough, one piece at a time, keeping the remaining dough covered and refrigerated while working on that piece.
• Spread 1/3 or ¼ of the filling on the dough. 
• Roll up as jelly roll. Place in greased baking pan.
• Repeat with remaining dough.
• Let rolls rise for 2 hours.
• Bake 40 minutes at 325 – 350.

Tree of Promise Devotions

Natalie Hartwig