Dear Brothers & Sisters In Christ, 

"Advent" means "arrival." The word is sometimes used to refer to the "advent" of Spring or the "advent" of war.

In God's Church, of course, "advent" refers to the "advent" or coming of Christ. We use the term both in reference to the arrival of the Christ Child at Christmas, and to the second coming, the day when Christ will return to earth. To those outside the church, term "advent" has no significant meaning. If you weren't brought up in a church environment, "Advent" means nothing to you at all.

Christmas, no matter how secular or commerical they try to make it, is about Christ - Mary and Joseph, the Babe in the manger, the angels singing...The Christmas story opens people's ears (and hopefully their hearts) to hear about Christ, in a way that nothing else does.

We can use even the watered-down, distorted version of the Christmas story as an opening to the the real story. We can use the story of Christmas to talk about the events that led up to the first Advent, and also to talk about the Advent that is to come.

The Christmas story is above all things a salvation story, an Advent story, a story about how God sent the world a Savior from sin. If you should mention in the course of a conversation that your church is celebrating Advent, or having Advent services, and someone says, "What's an Advent?" - then you have just been presented with an opportunity to tel the whole salvation story.

"Advent" means "arrival".  It also means Jesus has come, and is coming again. May God give us the courage to speak and the words to say, as the season comes once again for a marvelous opportunity to share our Christmas faith. 

Serving Jesus Together With You, 

Pastor Larry