Tag: Christmas

Advent Reflections: Philippians 2:5-11

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“Adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus, who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited. Instead he emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity. And when he had come as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death — even to death on a cross. For this reason God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow  — in heaven and on earth and under the earth  — and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

I love babies. That’s just a fun season of life as a parent. Oh, it’s plenty hard as well. It’s exhausting and stressful and frustrating and the like. But every time that little one looks at you and smiles, you pretty well forget about all the rest of that and just bask in the love and trust inherent in that little face. But babies are helpless little things. They can’t do anything for themselves. At all. A baby left alone will die. A human baby is about as humble a creature as exists in the world. Well, the Advent season is about celebrating that humble creature. It is about celebrating one particular of those humble creatures who was also God. Let’s talk about it

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Advent Reflections: 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

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“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. He comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

We’ve all been there before: hurting and in need of comfort. That’s never a fun place to be. In fact, we’ll often do just about anything we can to avoid it. And, when it comes to us anyway, we are often equally committed to getting out of it. Where do you go when you are in need of comfort? The season of Advent is a time when hurts from our past can feel a bit heavier than usual. Fortunately, it is also the season when God’s comfort became real in a way no one has ever experienced before. Let’s talk about finding comfort and the purpose of God’s comfort.

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Advent Reflections: Psalm 40:1-3

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“I waited patiently for the Lord , and he turned to me and heard my cry for help. He brought me up from a desolate pit, out of the muddy clay, and set my feet on a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and they will trust in the Lord.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Misery loves company. This saying is true in a couple of different ways. The first is that someone who is miserable will often try to make the people around him miserable, dragging them down into the much of life with him so that he isn’t alone down there. That’s the more common meaning of the phrase. It is also true, though, that someone who is in a miserable place in life can find hope and comfort by knowing she is not alone in her striving and struggling to get through a hard season of life. The season of Advent is a reminder that even when it feels like all the people around us are leaving us to our own miserable devices, there is one who is always ready to meet us there and bring comfort to us. Let’s talk about it.

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Advent Reflections: Psalm 42:9-11

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“I will say to God, my rock, ‘Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about in sorrow because of the enemy’s oppression?’ My adversaries taunt me, as if crushing my bones, while all day long they say to me, ‘Where is your God?’ Why, my soul, are you so dejected? Why are you in such turmoil? Put your hope in God, for I will still praise him, my Savior and my God.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Christmas is the happiest time of the year except when it isn’t. During the Advent season everything is supposed to be perfect. For many people, though, this season is hard. They’ve experienced loss or hurt that makes the season anything other than sweet. The cultural pressure to be happy just makes it harder. What do we do when we’re supposed to be happy, but we’re just not. We go to the Scriptures, and especially the Psalms. Let’s talk about this one and what it has to do with Advent.

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Songs of the Season: Colossians 1:15-16

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“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For everything was created by him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities — all things have been created through him and for him.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

The idea of gods coming to Earth and posing as humans to be able to interact with their people is not one that was invented by Christians. Indeed, if the gods never interacted with their people at all, they would be far more difficult for us to worship. Many religions across human history, then, have included some sort of a story – and in the case of polytheistic religions, many stories – of gods putting on humanity like a disguise in order to be among their people for one reason or another. But Christianity did introduce to the world the idea of a god becoming fully human. Throughout the Advent season we are preparing to celebrate the fact that God became a man. The ruler and creator of the world took on human flesh as a newborn baby. Today’s song of the season celebrates the wonder of this reality in a powerful way. Here is Manger Throne from Phil Wickham.

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