Advent 2023 | Week 1

Advent | Christmas | Emmanuel | God with Us

Featured image credit: Advent on Crosswalk.com

Dear Readers,

Happy December 2023! During my prayers about my next posts on Night Owl Christian, asking the Lord what He wanted me to write about, a quiet phrase rose up:

“Take a break.”

And, honestly, I needed those words, especially after my recent Meditations on a Book series. But, I didn’t want to go silent and not post anything during the Christmas season. Solution? Night Owl Christian now has many new Subscribers and Followers who joined mid-2023, and I’ll repost my 2022 Advent Series with a few modifications for 2023. To my long-time readers, I hope you’ll re-read these Advent posts and find new gems for this wondrous time of the year.

Thank you, everyone, and Advent blessings to you!

~NOC

Advent Series 2023

December 3, 2023 | December 10, 2023 | December 17, 2023 | December 24, 2023 | December 25, 2023

Advent 2023: Introduction

Advent, “coming”, from the Latin “adventus” (from the Koinē Greek “parousia”)

December 3rd is the first Sunday of Advent 2023, and it begins a four-week season of waiting and preparation for the coming of Emmanuel, God with us, through the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. During the Advent season, believers also remind each other of Christ Jesus’ second coming, as the triumphant King of Kings and Lord of Lords at the end of the age.

Advent is a season of great joy!

Advent also restarts the church’s Liturgical Calendar which takes us on a scriptural journey through the events of Jesus’ earthly ministry from His birth to His resurrection and ascension. Advent begins on the Sunday closest to November 30th (the feast day of St. Andrew the Apostle), and continues each Sunday until Christmas Day.

Why Celebrate Advent?

Many believers who were not raised in liturgical churches (I was raised in the Lutheran Church in the USA), but attend wonderful biblical churches may never have observed the Advent season in their worship services. So, why celebrate?

Christ’s followers have observed the Advent season since about the fourth or fifth centuries anno Domini (A. D.) through to the present time in many churches around the world, Protestant churches as well as Orthodox and Roman Catholic.

Advent is a beautiful and exciting season of worship, one of the most anticipated times in church worship second only to Easter. During Advent, the inside of churches pop with the royal color blue or purple, dressing up the sanctuaries and the ministers’ vestments or robes. We light candles for each week of Advent to prepare for our coming King. The best part of Advent is on Christmas Eve (or, Christmas Day in some churches) when the Christ candle is lit and church attendees celebrate His birth, along with Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds.

My fellow believers whose churches don’t observe a traditional Advent season can celebrate in their homes. If this describes you, I encourage you to do so, and begin this year. It’s easy and simple to do. The most important aspect of the Advent season is your heart. So, if you’re unable to follow what I describe below, no worries, that’s fine. All you need is your Bible and a heart eager to focus on Christ’s first coming as that humble baby born in Bethlehem, and to anticipate (hope for) Christ’s promised second coming.

How Do I Celebrate Advent?

Candles, Calendars, Fasting and Prayer

Candles

We use candles during Advent to remind us that Christ is the light of the world.

First, choose four candles, either flame (candles with wicks) or flameless (battery operated), one pink candle and three purple candles. Place the candles in an area where you can easily see them as constant reminders of Advent’s message. For the Christ candle, the last candle to be lit, choose a large white candle to represent His sinless nature. Some people set up an “Advent wreath” for these five candles, a tradition that began after the Protestant Reformation. An internet search on advent wreath will give you several ideas. (I don’t include any links because, over time, links can “break” when pages go offline.)

For each Sunday in Advent you light a candle and meditate on the devotional for that Sunday (scripture verses, application to your life, and prayer). Each candle is lit again when the next candle is lit for that Sunday. For example, on the second Sunday of Advent, we light the first Sunday’s candle and then the second Sunday’s candle.

In our home, we use flameless candles because we like to keep each Sunday candle lit and “burning” throughout the week. We also don’t use an Advent wreath. Instead, our candles surround a small crèche (Nativity set) because we enjoy looking at the manger scene which reminds us of why we celebrate Advent.

Today, we light the first purple candle, the “prophets’ candle” which represents hope, the hope the prophets of old held in their hearts as they spoke of the Messiah to come.

Calendars

The Advent season is one where we slow down to focus on the coming Christ child. An Advent Calendar guides us in reading a daily devotional and in spending time in prayer. This time prepares our hearts for celebrating the miracle of Emmanuel, God with us. Again, an internet search on advent calendar will give you many links to calendars you can download and either view on your devices or print to hard copy and put in your Bible or somewhere on display in your home.

Fasting and Prayer

Early believers incorporated prayer and fasting, and Advent is sometimes called “little Lent”. I confess I haven’t been faithful in fasting because my childhood church didn’t emphasize that practice. I find morning devotional times help me extend the overnight fasting period, when I focus on reading my Bible.

What Can I Expect from Celebrating Advent?

Excitement, anticipation, and joy!

Bottom line, whether you use (or not) candles, a calendar, and fasting and prayer, the most important part of the Advent season is your heart. It’s a time for you to slow down and reflect daily on the life of Christ Jesus, and the miracle of His coming. Meditate on the Hebrew prophesies of His coming, and how many in Israel waited and waited for that wonderful day. And then, as one of today’s believers, think about the prophesies of His promised second coming.

During Advent, as you reflect on His first coming and His promised second coming, you can expect joy, anticipation, and excitement to fill your heart. He came for you, to preach God’s kingdom, and then to suffer and die for you to rescue you from sin and death. And, He’ll come again, in His glorious resurrection body, wearing His crown of triumph over our adversary.

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Revelation 19:11-16 (ESV)

11 I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. 12 His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. 13 He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. 14 The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: king of kings and lord of lords.

Maranatha, come, Lord Jesus!

Soli Deo Gloria!

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