Series Intro: If you've been a reader of jaquelle.ca (previously Jaquelle's Rose Garden) for any amount of Christmases, you'll know that it's my practice to post every single day of December leading up to Christmas Day in an eclectic, mash-up sort of series, sharing reflections on the season, poignant quotes, songs, videos, Scripture, links and this year even some reviews. In past years I've called the whole series Countdown to Christmas, but this year, in order to make reference easier, each post will have a different title, so it's really just like twenty-five posts in no specific order about Christmas. And each Sunday I will share the Advent Scripture from my church service - beginning today.
Advent is a celebration of the coming of Christ. We prepare for His birth four weeks leading up to Christmas and then on Christmas Eve. We reflect on Scriptures each time, focusing on a particular theme. This week's theme was Waiting for the Christ Event and, following the Scripture reading, we sang O Come, O Come Emmanuel.
It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, and many peoples shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord. (Isaiah 2:2-5)
Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. (Romans 13:11-14)