Advent

Advent is the season of the liturgical year that focuses on the celebration of the coming of Christ at Christmas and looks forward to His return at the Second Coming. The word “advent” comes from a Latin word for “coming.” Typically, the Advent season either begins four Sundays before Christmas or on the first of December. Across the world, churches and Christians will light candles around Advent wreaths of evergreen to recognize the shining light that Jesus is for the world and to reflect upon the eternal nature of our God.

 

Traditions for celebrating Advent vary from denomination to denomination, and according to different areas of the world. The celebrations often include calendars, wreaths and candles, reading of Scripture, and the preparation and eating of foods.

 

Advent allows us to touch the hem of the garment of Jesus every day as we think and meditate on Him in the days leading to Christmas. The thoughts each day prepare our hearts for His coming – celebrated as a moment in history, but transforming as a monument in our lives. For this Advent, our new series of lessons and devotions center on the theme The Music of Christmas.

 

In the hymnal we used when I was growing up, hymn number 282 did little to distinguish itself from among other songs. So commonplace was this hymn, it was known equally by two different names. It was the only hymn in the book by its composer, Robert Claire Loveless. More is known of the father, Wendell, than of the son, Robert.

 

Wendell Loveless was born on February 2, 1892 in Wheaton, Illinois. He died over ninety years later on October 3, 1987 in Honolulu, Hawaii. He served as a Marine Corps officer in World War I and became a Christian as a result of reading the Bible at home. Following the war, he toured America with an entertainment group before returning to Illinois. He became the director of the radio department and station WMBI at Moody Bible Institute. He later served as pastor for churches in Wheaton, Boca Raton, Florida, and Honolulu. He authored nearly a dozen devotionals and song books for Eerdmans Publishing and Moody Press.

 

We know that his son, Robert, was married to Phyllis Jean Harstick, that he graduated from Wheaton College in 1943, and that he served in World War II. The obituary in the Honolulu Advertiser on April 5, 2009 described him as a pastor and educator.

 

The words of his hymn pop up in my mind on occasion and they are more than fitting for the theme of our advent lessons this year – Jesus Every Day. The hymn was included in twelve different hymnals, some using the name Every Day with Jesus and others calling it Sweeter than the Day Before.

Every day with Jesus is sweeter than the day before.

Every day with Jesus I love him more and more.

Jesus saves and keeps me and He’s the one I’m waiting for

Every day with Jesus is sweeter than the day before.

 

As we think about the Music of Christmas, let’s spend every day with Jesus.

 

Advent Calendars

Here is an Advent calendar for you to follow throughout the days leading to Christmas, and for the twelve days following Christmas. Each day will take you to a different Scripture verse that will help prepare your heart for the coming Messiah. This year there are some added surprises for your journey!

** [If all of the images below do not appear, refresh the webpage. That usually clears the problem.]**

December 2021 – January 2022

Jesus Every Day

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
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Advent Small Group Bible Studies

One of the joys of the holiday season is the opportunity to study Scripture with family and friends. The hectic pace of the season often causes our plans to change a bit, but we almost always carve out some time for fellowship and devotional meditations.

Our current Bible study series is called The Music of Christmas. The table below has links to each lesson’s webpage, handouts, and trivia questions. You are welcome to study along with us. New lessons will be posted each Saturday evening.

Lesson 1 Lesson 2 Lesson 3 Lesson 4
webpage
handout [doc id=5829] [doc id=5835] [doc id=5836] [doc id=5837]
trivia

 

Here are three other Advent-based studies for your Christmas season for you to use with your small group. One of the studies will fit the number of times your group will get together – or pick a lesson that meshes with your interests.

Series Lesson 1 Lesson 2 Lesson 3 Lesson 4
Christ of our Christmas [doc id=3946] [doc id=3947] [doc id=3948] [doc id=3949]
Tis the Season [doc id=5857] [doc id=5858] [doc id=5859] [doc id=5860]
Home for the Holidays [doc id=5848] [doc id=5849] [doc id=5850] [doc id=5851]

 

Advent Trivia

One of the advent traditions of our Adult Bible Study group at Eastside Christian Church in Jeffersonville, IN is to ponder some of the facts of trivia that is connected with the Holiday Season. My friend Bill Van Hook mines the gems from the caves of trivia. This year’s Advent Trivia follows the theme of “The Music of Christmas.” Links to each week’s fun appear above.

Celebration of Psalms & Hymns & Spiritual Songs

Throughout the history of God’s people, the reading of Scripture – especially reading in public – has been a vital part of the celebration of God, of His providence and activity, and in the lives of the believers. The season of Advent often comes threaded with verses from the Bible. Prepare your heart for the coming Messiah by lighting Advent candles each week. Here are some key verses for each of the weeks of Advent, corresponding with the Advent candles.

Scripture Readings

  • First Week – The Week of Hope (Isaiah 9:2, Isaiah 9:6-7)
  • Second Week – The Week of Preparation (Isaiah 40:3-5)
  • Third Week – The Week of Joy (Matthew 2:10-11)
  • Fourth Week – The Week of Love (John 3:16-19, Luke 2:4-6)

Hymns

  • First Week – The Week of Hope (Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus – Charles Wesley)
  • Second Week – The Week of Preparation (O Come, O Come Emmanuel – John Mason Neale)
  • Third Week – The Week of Joy (Joy to the World – Isaac Watts)
  • Fourth Week – The Week of Love (Hark, The Herald Angels Sing – Charles Wesley)

Spiritual Songs

  • First Week – The Week of Hope (Mary, Did You Know? – Mark Lowry [If you have never heard the version by Pentatonix, find and watch it this Christmas])
  • Second Week – The Week of Preparation (Light of the World – Lauren Daigle)
  • Third Week – The Week of Joy (Christmas This Year – TobyMac)
  • Fourth Week – The Week of Love (Miracle of Love – Chris Tomlin)

Bible Translations

The website features links to some of the many different Bible versions of translation. The main translation used in the Advent calendar is the English Standard Version (ESV). There are links on the calendar and website to other versions, including

New International Version NIV John 1:1 NIV
New American Standard Version NASB John 1:1 NASB
Holman Christian Standard Version HCSB John 1:1 HCSB
The Message MSG John 1:1 MESSAGE
New Living Translation  NLT John 1:1 NLT
New Century Version NCV John 1:1 NCV
King James Version KJV John 1:1 KJV
New King James Version NKJV John 1:1 NKJV
New English Translation NET John 1:1 NET
Reina Valera Revisada (1960) RVR60 John 1:1 RVR60
Nestle-Aland Greek New Testament NA27 John 1:1 NA27

 

In addition, references may be made to other older translations. Biblia Hebraica is the standard Hebrew text for the Old Testament that is used. The Septuagint (LXX) was the first Greek translation of the Old Testament Hebrew Scriptures. The Vulgate was the translation of the Bible into Latin.

Celebrating Advent and Anticipating His Comings

The Christmas time of year is hectic with activities planned on every front. The ever-expanding list of places to be mounts pressure to stick to a budget and not over-commercializing the holiday. In the midst of this, the true meaning of Christmas can easily be lost or overlooked. These ideas about advent will keep Jesus with you each day.

 

Feel free to share your prayer requests and praises here.

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I have always loved “punny” humor – gags that were built around clever uses and misuses of the English language. I enjoyed “dad jokes” long before I was a dad and long before I knew that they had any jokes. I would stay up to watch Johnny Carson when he had guests like Milton Berle, Henny Youngman, Rodney Dangerfield, or Groucho Marx on his show.

Yesterday I watched one of the greatest “dad joke” movies ever made. Leslie Nielsen carved a second career around a specific genre of comedic movies. His first was the movie Airplane! It handles a broad range of satire and silliness to perfection. The movie was made in 1980 to poke fun at the disaster films of the era.

As we were watching the movie, I would announce when a particularly clever scene was about to appear. Here is where he first has his drinking problem. Here is where he is going to pull out the electrical cord. Here is where Nielsen is going to say,

“Can you fly this plane and land it?”

“Surely you can’t be serious.”

“I am serious, and don’t call me Shirley.”

I wanted everyone to be prepared to watch. Humor was on its way and it shouldn’t be missed.  Let’s all enjoy this together.

Sometimes we announce bad news the same way, so that all can be prepared for it. Bad weather is approaching. The worst is yet to come for the virus crisis. The stock markets will take a hit.

Before the events of the arrest, trial and crucifixion, Jesus told the disciples how the events would unfold. “I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does you may believe.”

We tell people ahead of time so they wont miss what is coming. We warn them so they can be prepared. We don’t want them to be surprised. We want them to understand how to handle the circumstance.

Jesus had been telling the disciples what was going to happen so they might be prepared. On several occasions, Jesus looked ahead to the events of this week and warned the disciples. He wanted them to be prepared. He wanted them to believe.

From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised (Matthew 16:21 ESV).

As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men” (Matthew 17:22 ESV).

And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again (Mark 8:31 ESV).

J.K. Rowling, in the book Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, “Enter, stranger, but take heed Of what awaits the sin of greed, For those who take, but do not earn, Must pay most dearly in their turn.”

Take heed of what awaits.

On this, the last Thursday of the earthly ministry of Jesus, He was delivered before the chief priests, elders and scribes. He was given the sentence of death and condemned. Honor Jesus on this day by reading some of the account of the crucifixion from the gospels. You can find a good summary by reading Mark 15:16-19, Mark 15:20-23, Mark 15:24-37; Mark 15:38-41 and Mark 15:42-47.

According to the polling website, Rasmussen Reports, at the last election, voters believed more strongly than before that the president of the United States is the most powerful person in the world. They see the position as the leader of the world community and that the level of power that is in the office is appropriate.

Since 2009, Forbes magazine has published an annual issue featuring the “World’s Most Powerful People.” Vladimir Putin of Russia has been awarded the recognition twice. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi top the list. The Forbes’  list not only includes political rulers, but also business executives like Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Apple’s Tim Cook, and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos.

What makes a person powerful? We probably should think a moment about the difference between power and influence. Power forces people to compete a task, while influence leads them to understand why the task is necessary. In his latest book, Power: Why Some People Have It and Other’s Don’t, Jeffrey Pfeffer says there are two sources of power. The first is bases on a person’s title – the former position of power. The second is informal or personal power. This is not based on your position, but on your abilities, knowledge and skills. You have heard the expression, “information is power.” Are you perceived as being an expert in an area? Pfeffer says you have the power, the question is “Do you know how to use it?”

When things go wrong, or deviate from the prescribed plan, people assume things are out of control and the person in charge has lost power and influence.

In the Upper Room, the lives of the disciples are beginning to spin at an unmanageable pace. Does God know what He is doing? Is He still in control? Where is God when we are hurting? These important questions are a part of our obedience to God and our perception of His will in our lives.

The disciples had to be thinking, “What is our world coming to?” Jesus’ answer to the disciples  is the exact answer that He would say to us today, whether we are contemplating wars, rumors of wars, or the coronavirus. The reality is we live in a world where Satan reigns. We live in a godless world. There is another force who is at work.

John records Jesus saying that Satan is the ruler of this world four times. When we are swamped with difficulties and challenges that rival the Old Testament character Job, we should not be confused about their origins. We live in a world that chosen to follow the wiles and the deception that is the Devil.

Sin has left its flavor on the world. Our own decisions have narrowed our choices while increasing our liabilities. When things don’t go the way we planned, let’s place the blame at the right place.

The ruler of this world has nothing to do with Jesus.

On the last Wednesday of Jesus’ ministry on earth, He seemed to spend the day wrestling with the prince of this world. Disciples arguing over who would be greatest, lessons about what it means to be a servant, predictions of denial and betrayal, and agonizing prayers in the garden seem to remind us that Satan has a stronghold on this world. Honor Jesus today by reading these important Scriptures, always remembering that greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world: John 8:44-47, John 12:31-33, John 14:30, John 16:11, Ephesians 2:1-3, Ephesians 6:12-13, 1 Peter 5:8-10

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