The Season of Advent
Advent begins the fourth Sunday before Christmas Day. The word “advent” means “arrival.” During the season of Advent, we celebrate Christ’s coming into the world and watch with expectant hope for his coming again. We celebrate the incarnation of Jesus, “God With Us” and, at the same time, eagerly await the day he arrives again — to redeem, restore, and renew all things.
This is what the Book of Common Worship says about Advent:
In Advent we expectantly wait for the One who has already come. We anticipate the promised justice of God’s new world, yet we praise God who raised the “righteous branch” to rule with justice and righteousness. We hope for the restoration of the afflicted, the tormented, and the grieving, yet we delight that healing has come in Christ. We long for the beating of swords into plowshares, yet we rejoice that the Prince of Peace has appeared. We yearn for the barren deserts of our inner cities to flourish, yet we laud the desert Rose that has bloomed. We dream of the land where lions and lambs live in harmony, yet we acclaim the child born to lead us into the promised land.
The PC(USA) Directory for worship says, “As God created and appointed days, God created a rhythm of time and appointed seasons for worship.” Advent is a gift — a time for us to slow down, breathe, worship, and hope again.
During our worship gathering, we shared some ideas for practices that we can engage to remind ourselves that God is with us. Here are a few of them:
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- Not being envious of what other people have / receive as gifts
- Spending quality time in Scripture and in prayer
- Unplugging from technology to be more present during family time
- Using technology / plugging into our calendar apps for reminders of Bible verses, time to pray, etc.
- Being more intentional about how we spend our time and money
- Slowing down
- Volunteering and serving others to make San Diego a better community
- Invite a friend over and see how they’re doing. Listen well. (This one’s from the AC site!)
Advent Conspiracy
Anchor City is proud to continue to be a part of the Advent Conspiracy movement. Here’s what Advent Conspiracy is all about (from their website):
Advent Conspiracy was founded on the radical idea that we can celebrate Christmas humbly, beautifully, and generously. Advent is the story of a wondrous moment when God entered our world to make things right. It is the greatest story ever told and it changes everything—including the way we celebrate Christmas.
You can watch the video below to catch a glimpse of what it means to be a part of a different story this Christmas, one that celebrates our King and brings hope to the watching world.
Advent Conspiracy Resources
Here are some resources our friends at AC have generously provided to help you grow deeper in faith, hope, and love this Advent season:
Advent Conspiracy Offering
On the fourth Sunday of Advent, December 22nd, we will have our Advent Conspiracy offering. This year, through our offering, we are thankful to support:
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- Justice Ventures International
- Freely In Hope
- Waves Soccer Club San Diego
- Our NextGen Sunday School students will be supporting World Vision by purchasing farm animals to help a family • donate.worldvision.org
Anchor & Hope Church 