ADVENT

We base our life around the rhythm of a week - 6 days, 1 day, 6 days, 1 day. That pattern gets pulled out more broadly into seasons. Just like we have seasons of fall, winter, spring, summer, our life following Jesus benefits from rhythms and seasons. Seasons of waiting and hope, seasons of reflection and repentance, seasons of celebration. The Christian life isn’t flat, and only one emotion - following Jesus encompasses all of life and the whole range of our experience. Jesus is with us while we’re waiting with hope, Jesus is with us while we’re grieving, Jesus is with us while we’re celebrating. Our life together as followers of Jesus must reflect that range of experiences.

Advent is one of the seasons observed by the church since the 4th century. The word “Advent” comes from the Latin word “adventus,” meaning “the one who is on his way.” Each Sunday of Advent is meant to focus our attention on the reality of Jesus coming into our world. We are called to join in with waiting, as Christians have done all over the world.

As we wait in Advent, we remember and anticipate. We remember what was prophesied, promised, and fulfilled in Jesus, and we anticipate his return when he will set everything right. As pastor and author Rich Villodas recently said, “The good news about Advent is not that we are faithful in our waiting but that God is faithful in his coming.”

You can use these Advent Guides by yourself, with your family or roommates, or with your community.

During Advent, lighting a candle is used to symbolize Jesus as the Light of the World coming into darkness. Find a candle somewhere in your house. (It doesn’t matter what it looks or smells like. If you’d like, you can also purchase an Advent candle wreath wherever you get your Christmas supplies or make your own.)
Once you have a candle, turn off or dim the lights, light your candle, and have one person read the following prayer out loud:
God of Love,
 Your Son, Jesus, is your greatest gift to us.
 He is a sign of your love.
 Help us walk in that love during the weeks of Advent,
 As we wait and prepare for his coming.
 We pray in the name of Jesus, our Savior.

Though it is often overused and misused in our culture, love is something that we as humans desire and need at both a conceptual and an emotional level; it is the glue to our relational connection and wholeness.

And it’s not just a human thing: God’s base emotion towards us is love. When God looks at us, he brims over with delight and affection. The Scriptures even say that God is Love, meaning that the main element making up the Trinity(Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) is love. And so it’s no surprise that love plays a central role in the Christmas story—from Joseph’s protective Love for Mary, to Mary’s deep love for her newborn son, to the Father’s Love for us in sending Jesus in the first place, love is intertwined the whole way through. As the people of God, we get to sit in this love, abide in it, and let it wash over us. And as we allow it to reach us to our core, we realize that it is our call to embody it, as well.

For the next part of your time, watch the following video from BibleProject.

What is one thing that stood out to you as you watched the video?

God’s Love and Ours
7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is Love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is Love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us.
13 This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the Love God has for us.
God is Love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 17 This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
19 We love because he first loved us. 20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.

Where did I experience God’s Love this last week?
Where do I need to experience God’s Love this coming week?
How can I embody God’s Love this week?

For the week ahead, spend some time coming up with a way in which you can embody love to someone. Make it simple, practical, and authentic. This could look like buying coffee for the person in line behind you, sending flowers to someone who is having a tough season, or telling someone what they mean to you. If you’re a kid, it could be doing the dishes for your parents without being asked, giving your mom or dad a big hug, or helping them take out the trash.

Before you finish, take a moment to pause together and ask the Holy Spirit: What is one thing you can do to show Love this Advent season?

Finally, set aside a specific time for the week ahead to share with your family, friends, or roommates about your encounters with love: both how you received it and how you gave it.