Advent…it’s all about waiting. Literally, the word means “to come”. But what is to come? During the Advent season, we celebrate not what is to come, but who. It is a time to make room in our busy lives for a little sprout from the family tree of Jesse. Who could it be, this sprout, this glimmer of hope, this feeling of butterflies in our stomachs at Christmas? It is Jesus!
All of the busyness and the shopping, the carols, cards and craziness are a build up to His big day, the birthday of our Savior Jesus Christ. But sometimes we forget that Jesus is the center, the very middle, the beat in the heart of Christmas, and instead we make the shopping, the getting, the cards and craziness the most important thing.
During Advent we are called to something different, we are called to slow down, to think, and to ready our hearts for who is to come. We are called to remember that we are God’s children, and God has a long, amazing history of loving and rescuing His people. The Jesse Tree helps us to do just that, to remember. As we remember, we will travel through God’s word and God’s never-ending rescue of his children from Adam and Eve to the Messiah in the manger.
Each day of Advent, you and your family are invited to take part in this journey together through a devotion and by making an ornament designed by Artist-Mom-In-Residence Shannon Thomas Howell, that symbolizes the day’s Bible story. You can simply drag the picture for the day to your desktop and print it to create your own unique ornament.
You will also be invited to join the ministry of our missionaries, Josh and Betty Stewart, through prayer. For each day of Advent, there is a prayer request that Josh and Betty have sent for their work in Southeast Asia. It is their hope and our church’s, that with every family praying, God will do amazing things to bring salvation the people that Josh and Betty minister to and also a renewed passion for Christ and motivation to the fellow Christians that they minister with.
You will also be invited to join the ministry of our missionaries, Josh and Betty Stewart, through prayer. For each day of Advent, there is a prayer request that Josh and Betty have sent for their work in Southeast Asia. It is their hope and our church’s, that with every family praying, God will do amazing things to bring salvation the people that Josh and Betty minister to and also a renewed passion for Christ and motivation to the fellow Christians that they minister with.
Advent is all about waiting for the hope of Christ to enter a dark world. May that very hope be with you, and may your hearts be filled with wonder at the amazing story of God’s love for God’s people from creation to the manger.
Blessings,
Mrs. Beca
Advent 2014
No comments:
Post a Comment