2. Advent
a.The liturgical period preceding Christmas, beginning in Western churches on the fourth Sunday before Christmas and in Eastern churches in mid-November, and observed by many Christians as a season of prayer, fasting, and penitence.
b.Christianity. The coming of Jesus at the Incarnation.
What is Advent?
The word 'Advent' is from the Latin 'Adventus,' which means 'coming.' Advent is the beginning of a new liturgical year (in the Western churches), and encompasses the span of time from the fourth Sunday before Christmas, until the Nativity of Our Lord is celebrated.
Advent will always fall somewhere between November 27th at the earliest and December 3rd at the latest. http://observationandprinciples.com/bible-study/what-is-the-meaning-of-adv
The season preceding Christmas is a time for preparation and a time for choices. A lot of time, energy and money are spent preparing for our celebration of Christmas.
This is a season for sales and storing up of earthly gifts. This is a time for decorating and arranging our homes for visits from family and friends. This is a season of joy!
Matthew 2:10-11 (New International Version, ©2010)
10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Christmas is truly the arrival of something extremely important in Christian lives but we must not fail to remember that Advent is a time for celebration of Christ’s first coming and preparation for His second coming.
Matthew 24:30-31 (King James Version)
30And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
We must not fail to teach our children the significance of being a Christian. This is a time to introduce or reinforce the concepts of prayer, fasting and penitence so that these premises become a part of our being. This is the time to make prayer, fasting and penitence a part of the common language of our families.
This is a time to encourage a strong relationship with the Holy Spirit and to talk about the importance of the gift of The Comforter. Now is when our children should be introduced to the peace that comes from knowing that our God is a Living God and that and that we are never left alone while we await His second coming.
Matthew 2 (New International Version, ©2010)
The Magi Visit the Messiah
1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi[a] from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
Have a great time. Enjoy the food and the fellowship, but remember that our first obligation is to “come to worship Him”.
May God Forever Be a Blessing in Your Life!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment