Advent 2011

Advent means “coming.” In the church calendar, the Season of Advent begins four Sundays prior to Christmas Day. In many ways it is a time of preparation for the celebration of Christ’s birth, much like Lent is a season of preparation for Holy Week – Christ’s Passion, death, and resurrection.

Nowadays, churches that celebrate Advent do so typically with a candle lighting ceremony. There are five candles within the Advent wreath, each one lit in succession weekly, culminating in the lighting of the Christ candle on Christmas Eve. The four weekly candles are typically deep purple in color to signify the royalty of the Christ child. In some traditions a pink, or rose colored candle is lit on the third week of Advent to signify the joy of the occasion of the shepherds’ discovery of the birth of Messiah in Bethlehem. The Christ candle is white symbolizing his purity, being born of the virgin, conceived by the Holy Spirit, and being without sin in his life.

In our church, the candles symbolize the prophets who foretold of Christ’s coming (advent), the city of David (Bethlehem) where Christ was born, the shepherds who first witnessed the baby Jesus, the angels who heralded the Incarnation, and of course Christ himself who is the light of the world. These themes help us to focus on Jesus during this busy time of the year.

Every Advent at First Presbyterian Church, we decorate the sanctuary with greenery, we hang wreaths, we display Chrismon Trees, and we light the Advent candles. These are ways in which we remind ourselves of the true reason for the celebration of Christmas – Jesus Christ. We encourage you to consider some like traditions in your home if you do not already celebrate Advent and Christmas in this way.

The Advent Sermons

• Christmas Meditation December 25, 2011 ...
• Herod December 18, 2011 In this fourth lesson of the Advent season, we learn about Herod and his impact on the Christmas story. This sermon is based on Matthew 2:13-23.
• Out of Egypt December 11, 2011 As a baby, Jesus was hidden from King Herod in Egypt. His life was saved temporarily so that He could save our lives for all eternity. This sermon is based on Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23.
• The Magi December 4, 2011 This passage may be familier...the three wise men come with wonderful gifts for the baby Jesus. But as familier as it may be, there is always something new to learn. This sermon is based on Matthew 2:1-12.
• Joseph November 27, 2011 Have you ever considered the sacrifice that Joseph, the fiancee of Mary, made in staying with the mother of Jesus? Nazareth was a small town. People would talk. What was the gossip? Did everyone assume the baby was in fact Joseph's? Was it thought that there was another father, meaning Joseph was ridiculed for marrying this defiled woman and raising her illegitimate son as his own? Did Joseph's carpentry business suffer from this choice? This sermon is based on Matthew 1:18-25.

Advent Meditations

• Our Door to the Nativity December 25, 2011 Today, of all days seek Christ. Find him in his Word. Search him out through prayer. Go after him in the fellowship of the Spirit you share with family and friends. Be like the shepherds who left their flocks in the hills to find the babe in a manger. Seek him out, knowing he has already found you! Merry Christmas!!!
• The Christ Candle December 24, 2011 On Christmas Eve many churches celebrate the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. This visible act of worship helps us to remember that Jesus took on flesh. It helps to remind us that the helpless babe grew up to become the Savior of the world. May this sacrament and this season be a reminder to us that as Christ’s church we are called to be his body in creation working in and through him to make all things new until he comes again. He will come again!
• Angels Worship December 24, 2011 Angels worship – and every creature in heaven and earth responds: “Amen!”
• Angels Unaware December 23, 2011 We never know as we go about our daily rounds when an angel – actual or symbolic – will spread his “glimmering wings” over us, gracing our lives with its unexpected presence. Let us keep our hearts and homes open to the unexpected “angel” – be it a family member, a neighbor, a child - a stranger. Who knows: it may be an angel unaware!
• Angels Proclaim December 22, 2011 Even as the angels proclaimed the Advent of Christ to earth, an angel will likewise announce the second advent – Christ’s return to earth to claim His own: “For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, and with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.”
• Angels Minister December 21, 2011 What a wonderfully comforting thought: that ministering spirits surround me at the ready to respond to God’s command concerning me!
• Angels Praise December 20, 2011 Let us proclaim our praise in the manner which truly pleases God: bringing glory to Him through our lives.
• Angels Prepare December 19, 2011 However miraculous, however spectacular the angels’ preparatory role in this great on-going drama spanning centuries never did they act as independents, taking it upon themselves to meddle in the affairs of fickle, faithless and fearful mankind. Always they acted as agents of the Divine and Holy God, carrying out His orders to implement the details of God’s grand purposes.
• The Angel Candle December 18, 2011 As tension builds and action accelerates in the crowded days before Christmas, let us remain attuned to the many touches and glimpses of grace this season. May we not miss the protecting, proclaiming, praising angels who shimmer about us mortals, so often preoccupied and unaware of God’s matchless grace.
• Our Response December 17, 2011 The Apostle John, in a pastoral letter, speaks to the basis for our life response: “Dear friends, since God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.” Our life response should be first to love God, because He first loved us, and then to love others as we have been loved. Read More...
• Shepherds' Life Response December 16, 2011 It is the most natural thing in the world to rave about any product, person, or experience that has especially satisfied or thrilled us. Indeed it is, likewise, the most natural thing to fall down and worship that which transcends the common, ordinary and earthbound. Read More...
• Shepherd's Faith Response December 15, 2011 The shepherds spontaneous response to the angel’s astonishing message was “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened.” What if they had postponed the journey? After all there were the sheep, you know – arrangements to be made… details to work out… But no, their faith response was immediate and trusting. Read More...
• Paradox: Shepherd and Sheep December 14, 2011 Could the Old Testament believers begin to decipher Isaiah’s message? And what about the New Testament followers of Christ? Could they associate the “Good Shepherd” with the “slaughtered lamb”? Read More...
• Christ the Shepherd December 13, 2011 We jump ahead in the Advent narrative to Jesus’ own words concerning His identity: “I am the good shepherd” – and to His mission: “I lay down my life for the sheep.” Read More...
• Birth Announcement December 12, 2011 A baby – The Baby – was born in a simple manger stable in an obscure part of town . He was alone but for the mother, and Joseph – and lowly barn animals. Who should receive the birth announcement? Kings? Governors? Religious leaders? People of high rank with “contacts” who could spread the word around?
• The Shepherd's Candle December 11, 2011 Up until now, everything has been in the future tense: anticipation; promises by the prophets; preparation by angels of the principle characters – Mary, Joseph, Zechariah. Now the “future” becomes present tense in the form of an announcement: “Today, in the city of David, a Savior has been born to you.”
• Christ's Humility: Our Example December 10, 2011 How do I respond when my rights are at stake? How do I react when the menial or lesser tasks are assigned to me? And what about the issue of obedience. Am I willing to comply with God’s law and His will in life much less death?
• Word Became Flesh December 9, 2011 The Incarnation – God become flesh – is impossible to comprehend with our finite minds. John clearly states that Christ, “The Word” was present at creation, fully participated with God in creating all things - indeed, was God. John the Baptist likewise attested to Christ’s pre-existence in his testimony concerning Him: “He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.”
• Joseph's Story December 8, 2011 Joseph’s role surely was the most awkward in the unfolding drama. To begin with, his bafflement must have been overwhelming. His normally sane, sincere betrothed was declaring herself pregnant – but not with his child. Many a story has been contrived throughout the generations to explain an unexpected pregnancy. But Mary’s story – conceived by the Holy Sprit – was, paradoxically, inconceivable!
• Mary's Song December 7, 2011 We can only speculate the thoughts of Mary after the angel’s departure. Did she worry “what people might think”? Did she ever doubt her perception of an angel visitation? Did she puzzle, Why me? Why was I singled out from all women for this singular honor?
• The Visitation December 6, 2011 Try to imagine the three months Mary and Elizabeth spent together leading up to the birth of Elizabeth’s baby John. They must have compared notes of their pregnancies, the older woman instructing and encouraging the younger.
• The Annunciation December 5, 2011 Is it possible for us to imagine the improbabilities of this dramatic narrative? An angel visitation at start, was not a common occurrence. But consider the news the angel brought: Mary, a virgin, will be with child! As if this phenomenon was not staggering enough – consider the description of the child – the baby would be a son, a king destined to rule over the house of Jacob, a never-ending kingdom. In view of all that Mary was processing, the angel’s P.S. – “Your elderly cousin Elizabeth also is pregnant” may have hardly fazed her.
• The Bethlehem Candle December 4, 2011 This week the action narrows down to a place – Bethlehem; to a habitat – a stable outside an inn; to a crib – a hay-filled manger; to a baby – the long awaited Christ. In preparation for the great Event, the principle characters – Mary and Joseph – are given a special light.
• Prepare for His Coming December 3, 2011 As God anticipated man’s clouded vision, He not only offered prophetic clues to clarify His intention, but He promised a “messenger” to prepare the way for the Lord, the long-awaited Messiah.
• Details Revealed December 2, 2011 As the “fullness of time” draws nearer, the Old Testament prophets reveal clues yet more specific in nature. Micah states the place of birth – Bethlehem small among the clans of Judah. What a surprising birthplace for one who would be ruler over Israel! Isaiah provides a yet more astonishing sign – the baby would be born of a virgin! Did they really hear the prophet? What did they think? And could they even begin to fathom the significance of the name chosen for this royal son? Immanuel: God with us. By now the sky of Old Testament history was literally studded with stars of prophecy, lighting the horizon for that great coming day! Read More...
• The Plan Unfolds December 1, 2011 Many years after God’s promise to the Patriarchs, He revealed more “clues” through His prophet Jeremiah. “I will raise up to David a righteous Branch a King who will rule wisely.” Isaiah proceeded to elaborate on the nature of His reign, describing a creation at peace within the scope of His rule. Read More...
• The Promise November 30, 2011 After testing Abraham with the sacrifice of his son for his obedience, God promised to bless all nations through his offspring. God reaffirmed that promise to the Patriarchs Isaac and Jacob, keeping the light of hope alive in their hearts. Read More...
• Paradise Lost November 29, 2011 The gospel is bad news before it is good news. For without darkness, there is no need for light, there is no need for salvation. It was into this sin-darkened world that the first dim light flickered – the light of the hope of the prophets. Read More...
• The Plan November 28, 2011 Genesis starts at the very beginning of the history of man: the crown of God’s creation. The Plan – God’s intention – was Paradise: Man governing the created order; all relating in harmony with each other. “It was very good.” Perfection. Read More...
• The Light of the Hope of the Prophets November 27, 2011 As we light the first candle of advent, we see the first flicker of hope – light in a dark world. At first, the prophets – even the angels – were mystified by the exact nature of that “hope”. Read More...

Advent Activities

• Family Activities for the Fourth Week in Advent December 18, 2011 This week’s focus is on the wonderful role of the angels who anticipate and proclaim both Advents of Christ to earth. As busy as we will be as the pressure increase while time decreases, let’s keep our hearts open to the pure joy and gladness of this ...
• Family Activities for the Third Week In Advent December 11, 2011 The focus this week is on the shepherds keeping watch over their flocks and how their routine duties were interrupted by the wonderful news of the angels. Many splendid carols, legends, and stories have been inspired by this biblical narrative of the shepherds. Select picture books or stories related to the shepherd theme to read aloud.
• Family Activities for the Second Week In Advent December 4, 2011 The focus this week is on the manger at Bethlehem. Setting up a crèche (or making a simple one from a craft book) encourages a visualization of this important event in history.
• Family Activities for the First Week in Advent November 27, 2011 The thrust of this week’s activities is to prepare the house as we prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ. As we anticipate the “hope of the prophets” we ready our hearts and home by calling attention to the spiritual parallels to our material preparations.