Celebrating Advent this Christmas Season

Celebrating Advent this Christmas Season

Christians have an amazing opportunity every Christmas.

Not only do we have the opportunity to have quality family time, but we get to discuss the true roots of this international holiday season with skeptical friends and family. Jesus truly is “the reason for the season.” Christmas was celebrated in 336 A.D. and the celebration of Advent was started shortly thereafter. Christmas and Advent were celebrated long before the Roman Catholic Church became more corrupt in the latter half of the first millennium. Consider this definition from Wikipedia, “Advent is a season observed in many Christian churches as a time of expectant waiting and preparation for both the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas and the return of Jesus at the Second Coming. The term is a version of the Latin word meaning ‘coming’… The Latin word adventus is the translation of the Greek word parousia, commonly used to refer to the Second Coming of Christ. For Christians, the season of Advent anticipates the coming of Christ from three different perspectives. Philip H. Pfatteicher, formerly a professor at East Stroudsberg University, notes that ‘since the time of Bernard of Clairvaux (d.1153), Christians have spoken of the three comings of Christ: in the flesh in Bethlehem, in our hearts daily, and in glory at the end of time’.”

What an awesome focus of this season… celebrating the incarnation of God in Jesus at Christmas, abiding in Him as we pray to continually be filled with the Holy Spirit, and looking forward to and being ready for His second “adventus!” May we all be a true light for Him in these longest nights of the year and let the light of Christ shine boldly! Praying the Lord’s anointing on you this Advent season.

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