Preparing for corporate worship: To 'all things new'

We will worship as the church of Christ this Sunday for the final time in 2012. We will do so with the knowledge we are not headed just toward a new year but toward a new heaven and a new earth, as well as a new Jerusalem descended from heaven prepared as a bride for her husband, as described in Rev. 21. “And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.’ And He who sits on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new’” (Rev. 21:3-5a, ©NASB). As we gather Sunday, may we do so in the complete confidence we are headed to that day when our God makes “all things new.” This work of renewal will take place because God in His grace and in His good pleasure sent His Son to reconcile us to Him through the blood of Jesus. As a result, may we arrive Sunday with hearts and minds full of adoration, thanksgiving, rejoicing, humility, and submission.