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How Will You Celebrate Advent This Year?

11/28/2021

Apathy at Advent

The Christmas season is upon us. For many Christians, myself included, Advent is a season of excitement and joy as we celebrate the incarnation (putting on flesh) of the Son of God. While it's easy to get wrapped up in the excitement of gifts, food, family time, and fun, there's another subtle distraction that can keep us from enjoying Christ during the Advent season—apathy.

Who could be apathetic during such a joyful time of year? I can't speak for anyone else, but I know I tend to struggle with apathy. It's a sneaky little thought that creeps in every year: "I've read the Christmas story a million times. There's nothing more to get out of it. A virgin birth. Check. Shepherds. Check. Three wise men. Check." Some years I gloss over these magnificent and eternity-altering words without even a spark of excitement or joy. I can hear John Piper exhorting me to "LINGER....LINGER...LINGER!!"

You may be thinking that Advent and Christmas aren't even biblical holidays, so we shouldn't even be worried about lacking holiday joy. You're right in saying that the Bible doesn't command Christians to celebrate Advent or Christmas. I've had some friends make a huge fuss about this, but you can't convince me that it's sinful to celebrate the Son of God coming in the flesh. However, I am fully convinced that there's something wrong with my heart when I don't get excited about Jesus.

The Gift of Gifts

I'm ashamed to admit that I get excited about lesser things. If you turn on a UK game, I'll find myself drawn to the screen. If you buy me a new tech gadget, I'll spend a day or two getting it set up and playing with it. If you hand me a new book, I'll spend some time flipping through the table of contents and reading the opening chapters. If those things bring me excitement, why doesn't Jesus?

Part of my problem is that I let lesser gifts capture my attention. Flame, a Christian rapper, once said that we are like a pig in a pin who will pass up a steak to eat slop. C.S. Lewis said we settle for mud pies. I don't want pig slop or mud pie faith. I want the joy of the Shepherds and the Magi who dropped everything to celebrate the Life and Light of men who burst on the scene to save His people from their sins and be with them. I want to rejoice in the God who came to be with sinners in order to save them.

For me, Advent is a time to be lifted from the miry bog and set on the firm ground. I find myself distracted more now than ever. Too often, my eyes have been set on this earth below rather than on the things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Advent is a time to grab my Bible, a great devotional, and a notebook to feast on the glory of Christ. He is the greatest of all gifts.

6 Ways to Meet With God During Advent

This year, my Advent plans are to:

Read The Dawn of Redeeming Grace by Sinclair Ferguson and the relevant Scriptures in the book.
Study some passages about Jesus' incarnation.
Eat dinners lit by oil lamp with my family on several evenings as we read a family Advent devotional and the Bible.
Help my kids set up Advent Blocks that will help us remember various aspects of Jesus' first coming.
Meditate and jot some short and quick prayers in my journal to stir up my affections for Jesus.
Listen to biblical, Christ-centered Advent playlists (along with my Christmas jazz playlist, of course!).

I'm not doing every one of these things every single day. None of this guarantees that I'll be happier this Advent season. None of it earns me a spot closer to God. However, I want to do most of these on most days because they're simple ways to connect with God.

I want to saturate my heart with Christ more than I saturated my mind with Covid-19 variants and social issues. I want to discuss the glories of Christ and His coming in the flesh more than I scroll social media. I'm not saying that any of those things is inherently wrong to think about and discuss, but it is wrong to be consumed by them, and we need seasons to stare at the glory of Christ and be transformed in that beholding of our Savior. Advent will be a much needed time to enjoy the Lord.

What are your Advent traditions? How will you celebrate Advent differently this year than other years?

If you need an Advent reading Guide, check this one out!

Photo by Katie Evensen from Pexels

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A Jesus Christmas

1/5/2019

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*I received a free copy of this book from the publisher. I was not required to leave a positive review. Also, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

You may be wondering why I'm still talking about Christmas books in January. For many parents and grandparents, Christmas is a wonderful and exhausting time of year. If you're like me, you're too tired to even think about Christmas 2019!

However, before you put Christmas 2018 on the shelf, I want you to ask yourself some questions: Was your Christmas a "Jesus Christmas"? Was Jesus as much at the center of your Christmas as you desired? Did you make time to emphasize Christ during your family's devotional time last month?

Whether you're disappointed with the Christ focus of your Christmas or just want to keep up the steam from this Christmas, A Jesus Christmas: Explore God's Amazing Plan For Christmas by Barbara Reaoch is something you'll want to add to your bookshelf for Advent 2019.

Barbara Reaoch has made this book friendly for families of all ages and sizes. Each day families are called to explore, explain, engage, and enter in to a passage of scripture. The "engage" questions are keyed to different age groups so that all of your children can get in on the discussion. There is even an answer sheet on thegoodbook.com so parents can be confident that they give their children the correct answers to all the questions!

This isn't your average children's Christmas devotional guide. It is gospel-centered, richly theological, and sound in doctrine. Children will be exposed to biblical Christology as well as the amazing Christmas story throughout the month of December.

My most favorite aspect A Jesus Christmas is the family journaling space. Parents and older kids can journal directly in the book, bringing the experience even closer to home. Younger children and those with some artistic flair even have a large blank page to draw a picture or word art.

If you want a more Christ-centered Christmas for you and your family in 2019, get your copy of A Jesus Christmas today!

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The First Noel

12/24/2018

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“But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us…” Titus 3:4-5a

Since the day sin entered the world, we have been searching and waiting. Our relationship with God has been broken, not only by Adam’s sin but by our own sin as well. When we look at the world around us, we see the painful evidence of our brokenness and our fallenness. We see suffering, sickness, sadness, and death. This isn't how things were supposed to be on that sixth day of creation, but that's what came when we chose to go our own way rather than trusting God.

In Titus 3:3, we see vividly what life is like without Christ. We are foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others, and hating one another. We can simply turn on the news, scroll on our newsfeed, or look in the mirror to see this.

We need a Savior. We need something more than a list of laws and good works to fix this. And that's exactly what God gave us in Jesus’ birth. Titus 3:4-5 show us the hope and reality that came on that first Christmas morning.

Let’s look at how glorious this first Noel (which means Christmas) truly was:

Our Savior entered into time and space. "But When... God our Savior appeared". God the Son took on flesh and submitted Himself to 24 hour days and the womb of His virgin mother Mary. Could you imagine the God of the universe entering a womb that He created? Let the awe of that mystery sweep over you this Christmas. Consider that the Son of God allowed His skin to be warmed by the sun he created. The stars He made would shine in the right place and the right time to serve as a sign that He would burst into creation to show us His Father's glory!

Our Savior brought goodness and loving kindness. When God the Son came into such a sin-sick world, He could have brought wrath and judgment to the wickedness He saw. He could have given us the wages of our sin, which is death. We have all fallen short of His glory and deserve the just penalty. One day He will return for this very purpose. But in His first coming, Jesus brought compassion and love for dead sinners. He brought good news and freedom to the captives. He brought grace; the kind of grace that binds up the wounds of the broken, gives sight to the blind, and hearing to the deaf. He brought the kind of grace that brings dead sinners to life.

Our Savior brought salvation. Some of the most amazing words ever spoken are found in Titus 3:5: "He saved us". We didn't save ourselves because we couldn't. We wouldn't have saved ourselves if we could because we love this world too much. God knew sin would do this to us, so He sent His Son, at the right time, to save us from our sins if we cast off our pride and self-righteousness.

If our Savior didn't appear on Christmas morning, salvation wouldn't have appeared either.

But He did on the first Noel.

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Add These Books To Your Last-Minute Christmas Shopping List

12/21/2018

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*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

If you're anything like me, you love to buy good books for the people you love, but you've somehow missed someone on your list. If so, I have a few books that will make great Christmas gifts for the people you love:

Diehard Sins by Rush Witt deals with those pesky, seemingly smalls sins that just seem to never let go. These diehard sins are the ones that take constant daily attention to destroy because they aren't always loud and visible public sins, but they always seem to show back up in our lives. Witt takes readers through the process he has used to help himself and his counselees destroy those diehard sins.
Images and Idols by Thomas Terry and J. Ryan Lister is all about God-centered creativity. It is part of their Reclaiming Creativity series. Images and Idols explores the foundations of creativity (as found in the Genesis creation story), the destruction of pure creativity in men due to sin, and how the gospel redeems our creativity for God's glory. See my full review here. This one in on sale right now for $1.99 if you like the Kindle version!
In Praise of Old Guys by Nicolas Alford and Nicholas Kennicott is something for a pastor or other ministry leader in your life. Better yet, get it for any young guy on your Christmas list! It's a not-so-subtle nudge for young men to seek older, more godly mentors who have been around the block a few times. Also, there's a really nice appendix with other recommended readings from some of the greatest authors in Christian and literary history!
Reformed Preaching by Joel Beeke is another great gift idea for the pastors and preachers in your life. This is a summation of Joel Beeke's many years of preaching and teaching on experiential preaching. Beeke's aim is to help preachers, by the Spirit, reach the heart of their hearers with deeply applicable sermons that preach the Biblical text faithfully while also reaching into everyday life with the sanctifying power promised by God Himself. This one is well worth the money and the time it will take to read it!
The Gospel Comes with a House Key by Rosaria Butterfield is a great gift for the moms and wives on your list (though husbands will greatly benefit, too!). Butterfield takes the phrase "love your neighbor" literally and shows how her life was changed by some hospitable Christians who shared their lives and the love of Christ with her. More than just merely giving a theological treatment of hospitality, Butterfield gives examples—both successful and painful—from her efforts to show radical hospitality and reach people with the gospel.
The Gospel In Color by Curtis Woods and Jarvis J. Williams is a gift for both parents and children. Their desire is to show that true racial reconciliation can only come through God's glorious work in the gospel. The gospel doesn't save people so they can continue to accept cultural norms and remain in segregation and hatred of one another. Rather, the gospel allows us to talk about and move forward from these things. Though each can be purchased separately, it's valuable to grab the box set so parents can engage their children in this vitally important discussion. It's sure to be a blessing this Christmas and throughout their lives.

If you waited this long, you better hurry! If you're buying in store, you'll be fine, but if you're an online shopper, it looks like you've only got about a day to ensure that your gifts arrive before Christmas day with one or two-day shipping!

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How Will You Celebrate Advent This Year?

A Jesus Christmas

The First Noel

Add These Books To Your Last-Minute Christmas Shopping List