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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A good marriage is the spice of life (notice the hot sauces!). Love.

Love on Valentine’s Day?

Someone at work griped that Valentine’s Day was just a day invented and promoted by Hallmark to have another opportunity to sell cards. I knew that wasn’t accurate, but it made me dig a little bit to find out about the origins of the holiday. You may be aware of this information, but some of it was new to me.

The actual history of Valentine’s Day is rather obscure. Legends and tall tales seem to have become interwoven with the truth. The roots of the day can be traced back to the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia, an intensely pagan fertility celebration held on February 15th. When the Roman Empire finally embraced Christianity, Pope Gelasius I began to recast many of the pagan holidays and festivals as Christian celebrations. Somewhere around 496, the Catholic Church declared February 14th to be St. Valentine’s Day.

The “Catholic Encyclopedia” admits that it is a mystery which St. Valentine the pope intended to honor. Apparently there were at least three early Christian saints by that name. Remarkably, all three of the saints were said to have been martyred on February 14th.

Most scholars believe that the Valentine that was meant to be honored by the holiday was a priest from Rome who stirred the wrath of the Roman emperor Claudius II around the year 270. According to one legend, Claudius II had prohibited marriage for young men, claiming that bachelors made better soldiers. Valentine continued to secretly perform marriage ceremonies for the church, but was eventually put to death.

The legend grows. While in prison, awaiting his death, Valentine fell in love with the jailer’s daughter. Before he was executed, he allegedly sent a letter to the young lady, and signed it “from your Valentine.” Of course, the legends all develop the idea that the love was not romantic, but the godly agape love.

And so, my love, at the risk of copying an ancient phrase, as we settle into our sixties, here are the wishes and dreams from your Valentine.

If only I could slow my life and schedule down. We have dreamed for years that when you retired, we could finally have time to be together. We started our marriage with a ready-made family. We moved quickly into helping them launch their adult lives. We thought that eventually there would be time … time for us, time for dreams, time for time.

If only I could provide you more security. You have never wanted much. You knew from day one that the priorities of your life left little room for horded possessions and stockpiles of gold coins. But you have always wanted your security to be stable … sure, unchanging, trusted. I’ve too often pointed you to the spaces just over the horizon.

If only I could keep you from worrying. I’ve pleaded, begged, taught, prayed, and hoped. I’ve settled the shifting of a foot on one sand, only to find an earthquake trembling ‘neath the foot of the other. You are biblical … you don’t worry about tomorrow. But I would like to help you worry less about today.

If only you knew.

How much more I love you today than when we first met.

How I have wanted to be more for you than what I am.

How amazed I am at your strength.

How I am in awe of the sincerity and depth of your faith.

How I long for our trailer by the sea.

Happy Valentine’s Day

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