Speaker: Pastor Classy Preston
Advent is a four-week season of preparation for the coming of Christ at Christmas and it always has a theme of looking towards the future coming of Christ at the end times. One of the prayers of the early Church, which is linked with the season of waiting and longing, was the Aramaic word 'MARANATHA', which means 'Come Lord'.
God shows his mercy through the face of Jesus. We need to be the face of Jesus in the world today. During this Advent season, we are waiting "for all the individuals and nations on earth to grow into the kind of relationship with each other that will encourage mutual help instead of competition and conflict. Then the Kingdom of God will be established!".
The message is the same as John preached to the Jews: "Prepare by seeking forgiveness." What gets in the way of our appreciating God's gift of Jesus as Savior is that we have let idols clutter our lives as the Jews of old did.
Today, I am highlighting Three Elements of Advent:
Expectation:
The word expectation comes from the Latin word expectationem, meaning "an awaiting." If we have great expectations, we believe something good will come our way, but if we keep our expectations low, we risk being disappointed.
Preparation:
A proceeding, measure, or provision by which one prepares for something: preparations for Christmas. •Any proceeding, experience, or the like is considered as a mode of preparing for the future.
An act of preparing or the state of being prepared. SOME WORDS RELATED TO PREPARATION ARE arrangement, construction, education, formation, groundwork, plan, rehearsal, study, training.
Participation:
The act of actively taking part in something. Similar words are involvement, engagement, contribution, sharing, association, or partaking.
