More on Making the Most of Advent

December 2, 2009 By revheff in Church Year Tags: Advent, Christmas, covetousness, incarnation, temptation Leave a comment

Here is another thought on making the most of this Christmas season in light of a biblical worldview.

Beware temptations to covetousness and greed which surround the cultural trappings of Christmas. Jesus warns in Luke 12:15 Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses. Madison Avenue bombards us daily with just the opposite message. Ask God to help you not let the world squeeze you into such a treacherous mold (Rom. 12:2).

How will you guard your heart from the temptation to excess during this holiday season? God will give you grace to exercise self-control in all things as you rely on His Holy Spirit.

Making the Most of Advent 2009

December 1, 2009 By revheff in Church Year Tags: Advent, Christmas, incarnation, worship Leave a comment

advent Last Sunday, November 29, marked the beginning of Advent, traditionally the beginning of the church calendar year. The word advent comes from the Latin adventus meaning coming. Advent focuses our worship for the four weeks which precede Christmas on the significance of Christ’s incarnation. Christians began to organize worship around various seasons of the year as early as the second century. In more liturgical churches the entire calendar often revolves around these seasons of the year.

At OGC we celebrate a tradition in Advent worship involving the lighting of an Advent wreath. Each Sunday before Advent, as well as on Christmas Eve, different individuals/families lead us in the lighting ceremony with appropriate readings from Scripture. An Advent wreath communicates many powerful things. Its circular form stands for the eternity of God. The burning candles represent Christ, the light of the world (John 8:12). The evergreens in the wreath speak to eternal life. The use of colored candles originated in Eastern Germany prior to the Reformation. Traditionally, the three purple candles symbolize the penitence due from sinners at the prospect of Christ’s coming. The single pink or rose candle calls for joy at the idea of the Son of God incarnate. And the white candle in the center, of course, points to Jesus Christ in all His purity and power.

May I encourage you this year, as in previous years, to form an intentional strategy for making the most of this coming Advent season? Without a plan we can easily fall prey to a worldly tis-the-season-to-be-frantic kind of December that leaves us at best exhausted and at worst resentful.

For the next several days I will post some thoughts for how to make the most of the Advent season now upon us. The first of those is this:

Refuse to abandon time for reflection, worship, and contemplative disciplines. Mary, the mother of our Lord, excelled as one who kept all these things and pondered them in her heart (Luke 2:19). Determine to hold a tenacious line against the tyranny of the urgent and give yourself to the priority of seeing the unseen and eternal (2 Cor. 4:18).

May the Lord help us to treasure in our hearts the deep things of God that accompany this joyous season where we celebrate Immanuel, God with us.

Advent Preparation with Handel's "Messiah"

November 28, 2009 By revheff in Sunday Morning Tags: Advent, Christmas, Handel, incarnation, Messiah, worship Leave a comment

handel7 Tomorrow marks the first Sunday of Advent, 2009. The Advent season in the church year covers the four Sundays before Christmas, as well as Christmas Eve. Throughout the season we prepare our hearts for the worship of Christ for the gift of His incarnation.

We begin this journey of faith tomorrow morning at 9:30 with what I am calling a partial journey through Handel’s Messiah. Our families are invited to gather in the SDA sanctuary at 9:30 AM (please be prompt; we will begin on time) for a worship event including the telling of the story of the writing of Handel’s masterpiece, music from selected portions of the score, media, prayer, and congregational sharing.

There will be two opportunities to share in groups. First, we will talk about ways we have seen Jesus this year be our Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, and Prince of Peace. This will follow a time of singing along with For Unto Us a Child Is Born.

Then we will have an opportunity to hear from some about how they came to know Christ as their Savior. This will follow a media presentation of the piece Glory to God.

Don’t worry, we won’t leave the beloved Hallelujah Chorus out of the mix. Some of your other favorites might be missing, but I trust that this different initiation to the Advent season might prove to prepare all our hearts in such a way that our worship of Christ this Christmas will be in spirit and in truth.

See you tomorrow at 9:30!