The fourth Sunday of Advent this year falls on Christmas Eve, and we will light the fourth candle, the candle of love. In the Evening Service we will light the center candle, the Christ candle.

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)."

We are God's creation and He created us in His likeness. As most of you have likely experienced and as I have experienced we have this innate desire within us to satisfy something and we don't know what it is or how to satisfy it. I know I tried for years to satisfy that yearning with money, possessions, sex, booze and in all kinds of ways, but none of that worked. That burning desire inside of me was still there.

For myself and for anyone, that desire can only be satisfied when we have the love of God in our heart. As this Advent season comes to a close and Christmas day is just around the corner let us remember that these four attributes that Jesus brought into this world - Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love - the meaning of the four candles are meant for us. But we won't possess these four attributes until we make that decision to repent of our sins and ask Jesus to be the Lord of our life. When Jesus is in our hearts, we will have the hope of a future, peace of God, the joy of knowing our final destination and the love of Christ. And, until we take that step, the yearning in our gut will never be satisfied.

When we take the steps to become a Christ-Follower, we will enjoy these four attributes in our lives and having these, including the peace of God and the love of God will definitely satisfy that deep yearning in our gut. May the peace and love of God be with you all, Merry Christmas!