Advent Guide 2017
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Advent The Promise Advent guide 2017 December 3 - December 30 “The awareness of a spiritual tradition that reaches through the centuries gives one a certain feeling of security in the face of all transitory difficulties...The Advent season is a season of waiting, but our whole life is an Advent season, that is, a season of waiting for the last Advent, for the time when there will be a new heaven and a new earth” - Dietrich Bonhoeffer God's Message, the God who created the cosmos, stretched out the skies, laid out the earth and all that grows from it, Who breathes life into earth’s people, makes them alive with his own life: “I am God. I have called you to live right and well. I have taken responsibility for you, kept you safe. I have set you among my people to bind them to me, and provided you as a lighthouse to the nations, To make a start at bringing people into the open, into light: opening blind eyes, releasing prisoners from dungeons, emptying the dark prisons. I am God. That’s my name. I don’t franchise my glory, don’t endorse the no-god idols. Take note: The earlier predictions of judgment have been fulfilled. I'm announcing the new salvation work. Before it bursts on the scene, I'm telling you all about it. Isaiah 42.6-7, The Message An Introduction to Advent Advent is a word that means “coming” or “arrival.” It is a four-week period in which the church looks back to Jesus’ first coming as our Savior, and it looks forward to his second coming as our Judge. Just as John the Baptist told the Jewish people to “prepare” for the Lord’s coming, we need to encourage each other to be ready for His coming again when he will fulfill God’s promises and renew all things. Indeed, the Kingdom of God will come “on earth as it is in heaven.” As Isaiah the prophet says, “Prepare the way for the Lord... The glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together” (Isaiah 40:3-5). So what do we do during Advent? We wait and we prepare ourselves. We commit ourselves to spiritual renewal through weekly Sunday evening gatherings and daily meditation and study in this guide. We walk through special prayers, readings and activities both individually and with our families or friend groups. We tell others about the fulfilled promise in Jesus’ coming as a baby and his return to be King and to put the world to right. We pray the final prayer in the Bible, “Come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20). Why the Theme of Promise for Advent? Paul says in 2 Corinthians 1:20 that, “no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.” The promises of God, scattered throughout scripture, were made because he desired us. He desired to rescue us from the world and ourselves; He desired to give us a better home and a better future; He desired to destroy the things that threaten to destroy us. So God made a promise that he would send hope, peace, joy, love, rescue – and they all arrived in the person and work of Jesus. Therefore, Advent signifies the fulfillment of every promise God ever made; It signifies the greatest climax in the history of the world when God became flesh and lived amongst his people; It calls us to observe and respond to the grand narrative that has unfolded in Jesus. In the most desperate time in human history, Jesus arrived. We want Advent to be an event that takes place every day. We want to consider the faithfulness of God and how Jesus makes hope, peace, joy, and love not just something we anticipate in the future, but something to be enjoyed right now. Faithful you are Faithful forever you will be Faithful you are All your promises are, “Yes and Amen” Page 1 | cco.church/advent | 2017 Advent Guide A Rhythm of Breathing Have you ever come to the end of a scary scene in a movie and realized that you didn’t breathe at all during the scene? Have you ever held your breath during a roller coaster ride, then wondered why you didn’t enjoy it as much as your screaming, laughing, arms-waving friend in the seat next to you? Or maybe you’ve woken up on December 26 with a feeling of relief that the holidays are finally over, that you don’t have to do that again for 11 more months. I think there might be a better way to celebrate the coming of Jesus and the dawning of our freedom. In fact, the stress of the season and the expectations that come with it may be the very thing from which you need to be freed! How would it feel to be able to breathe in all that God wants to say to you during this time, rather than gritting your teeth and getting through it? So this year we invite you to join us in a rhythm of breathing in and breathing out. If you want this year to feel different than years past, make an active choice to set a new rhythm. Rather than just getting through the holidays, make it a priority to focus on the important things of God. Gather with us each Sunday night and breathe out songs of worship, prayers of the people, and encouragement during our food and fellowship times. And then use this guide as a means of breathing in all that the Word of God has to say to you. Read the devotions and Scriptures. Sing the songs. Pray the prayers. Experience the conversations, crafts and community projects. The fullness of Christ’s freedom is available to you in this season if you’ll allow yourself to breathe it in and breathe it out. Use the two pieces of Advent celebration, the worship services and the elements in this Advent guide, to set a new rhythm of celebration week after week for yourself and your family or friend group. Breathe in the Word of God, breathe out a song of hope. Breathe in the peace of Christ, breathe out a prayer of joy. Breathe in the story of love, breathe out an act of compassion. Breathe in freedom, breathe out Advent. How is Advent Different from Christmas? Christmas is a word that derives from “Christ Mass,” the celebration of the birth of Jesus. It is a period in which the church rejoices over the Incarnation (becoming really human) of Jesus. Advent expectations have been fulfilled, the long-awaited Messiah has come, the freedom has been born into the world, a new day has dawned. God became man to destroy the evil that destroys us, to restore creatures to their Creator, and to give us eternal life. God united himself with humans in order for humans to be reunited with God. As John says in his Gospel, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). This is why the angels praised God at Jesus’ birth saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven” (Luke 2:14). So what do we do during Christmas? We rejoice in Emmanuel, God with us. Beginning with Christmas Eve, we party! In some families, it is traditional to give Christmas gifts for each of the twelve days of Christmas (Dec. 25 – Jan. 5). Moreover, celebrating Christmas means that we focus on becoming more like Christ who “came not to be served but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). Thus, Christmas is an exercise in humility. As Paul says, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same attitude of mind Christ Jesus had: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness” (Philippians 2:3-7). While we party at Christmas, we also look for ways to be united with Jesus in his humiliation so that others in our lives can know the joy of the Incarnation, God with us. Because of his coming, we are free to be united with him in all that we think, say and do. 2017 Advent Guide | cco.church/advent | Page 2 What's in the Advent Guide? This guide is intended to be an all-encompassing tool and framework for you to use for the Advent season. If you’ve never celebrated Advent in this way, you will find this to be a helpful instruction to all that this season can be for you and your household. If you are familiar with Advent, you will find this framework to be a comforting reminder of the purpose of this time together: focusing our hearts, minds and hands on the coming light of Christ to this earth to set us free to live a new life. This resource is divided up into the four weeks, and there is a set of elements for each week.