ADVENT 2023 (7576)

Advent began on December 3rd and it lasts until Christmas Eve, December 24th. And millions of Christians have entirely lost sight of this beautiful and I believe NEEDED season. 

For many, celebrating Christmas begins right after Thanksgiving, and by the time the actual Christmas holiday arrives, most are ready to start thinking about the New Year. That is NOT the way Christmas was celebrated for most of church history. Celebrating Christmas only began AFTER Advent ended. My father told me that when he was growing up the Christmas tree wasn't even decorated until Christmas Eve. 

Admittedly, Christmas and Advent were traditions that developed later, namely after the Apostolic Age. The earliest evidence of Christians commemorating the Birth of Christ is from the early 2nd century. I blogged about that back in November in a post entitled, "Is Christmas a 'Pagan' Holiday?" - To read it: LINK

However, when one considers WHO Jesus was it was/is only right that Christmas became a core Christian celebration. And as for Advent, when we consider the problems that Jesus' coming to earth was to address and solve, a season to reflect upon our dire circumstances BEFORE CHRIST came, is theologically rich and transformative. It PREPARES us for Christmas!!!

That is exactly what I attempted to do in an Advent message I gave to our church this past weekend. In it, I looked comprehensively at the situation humanity was facing from the time of Adam's Fall (and Lucifer's), and the effects of both human sin and the angelic rebellions (yes, plural!), and the subsequent perversion and corruption that resulted.

I don't ever recall hearing an Advent message that focused upon anything more than Adam's sin and that one day a Savior would come. Our dilemma was far greater and we see the impact of it all today. 

My contention is that Christmas becomes FAR GREATER when we have a fuller picture of how Christ's coming to earth addressed far more than we may have thought. 

This is what I attempted to capture in this podcast - take a listen. I promise your celebration of Christmas will be impacted. 

Advent Podcast - LINK:

#advent #christmas