Come, Behold, Adore

 

Advent…

The beginning of the Christian year.  The first of three seasons in the Cycle of Light.  Part of the celebration of the Incarnation – God with us.  The season of waiting.  Begins on the fourth Sunday prior to Christmas Day.  Comes from the Latin adventus which means “coming.”

 

Advent is the season of thoughtful reflection and repentance.  To spend time in observance of Advent means to spend the weeks before Christmas pondering our priorities, realigning our lives with God’s desires for us, and seeking forgiveness.  It also means to begin anew.

 

Observing Advent as it has traditionally been serves to remind us that we are waiting for Christ.  It is a time of great wonder, a time of AWE.

 

The Problem…

Shopping, baking, decorating, entertaining, recitals, concerts, programs, parties, traditions, and more!!!

 

The activity of Christmas.  Fun, enjoyable, anticipated, time consuming.  Our calendars fill with them making it difficult to “fit in” those needed times of thoughtful reflection and repentance.  With our attentions diverted, our focus pulls from the meaning and wonder of this glorious season.

 

Come, Behold, Adore…

Last year, even as an empty-nester with no school concerts or programs or sporting events, I felt that pull.  Full calendar, attention diverted, lost AWE.

 

Through the weeks of Advent as my pastor preached through the Biblical theology of some of the traditional Christmas carols, my heart was touched.  My soul was in need.  How could I begin to regain the wonder, the AWE?

 

With sermon notes, Christmas carols, and Bible in hand, day by day in little ways I set out to regain the AWE!

 

I CAME… pulling away from the season’s activity if even for only a few minutes to draw near to Christ.

I BEHELD… looking intently at my Jesus, my Savior.

I ADORED… treasuring Him as precious and worthy.

 

This year, I invite you to journey with me.  Pull away.  Come, Behold, and Adore.  In the busy of this incredible season, care for your weary soul and seek to regain the wonder and the AWE.

 

Come, Behold, Adore is a nineteen day Advent experience aimed at helping each participant move toward Jesus with intention and clear focus… and at seeing Him as the Only One worthy of our AWE!

The following is an excerpt from Come, Behold, Adore: An Advent Experience:

Day 1 –

“She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus,

for he will save his people from their sins.”

Matthew 1:21 (ESV) (emphasis added)

 

“Jesus — There’s just something about that name!” *

Make some hard stops in the busyness that is your today, and simply breathe His name as a breath prayer. “Jesus.”

• THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT THAT NAME (Bill Gaither/Gloria Gaither © Fox Music, Inc.)

 

Click here for your FREE copy of Come, Behold, Adore: An Advent Experience.