Thanksgiving and Advent are two beloved seasons the Christian communities in the United States of America celebrate for centuries. The two are connected by an attitude of gratitude. I urge you to join me in thanking God that we are privileged to celebrate another Advent season. Advent reminds us that God loves us, interested in our personal struggles, and keeps His promise to save us. Please be very prayerful and earnest as we observe this Advent season, which begins this Sunday and goes up to the Sunday before Christmas. We will observe Advent with a wreath with 5 candles that represent 1) Hope; 2) Joy; 3) Peace; 4) Love; and 5) Jesus, which will be lit each Sunday.
We should be thankful for the Incarnation, which is the embodiment of God the Son in human flesh as Jesus Christ. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14. Jesus took on a human body and human nature to experience humanity in all his/her experience so that he (Jesus) might become our Savior. God, in the state of His eternal glory, cannot die. Therefore, it became necessary for God to become man that He might be able to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself (Hebrews 9:26). The Good News is that Jesus came to us in human body, to share the life experience of humanity, and to save us (Luke 17:11-13).
This Advent season we should be encouraged on one hand to acknowledge that the world is full of pain and suffering, hardships and turmoil, disappointment and regrets, and on the other hand be comforted by the fact that the Gospel is good news for everyone. The Advent message is that the mission of Jesus is Salvation – deliverance, healing of broken hearts, and supplying of needs. Jesus is the embodiment of hope, joy, peace and love, but there is something special about hope among the people of God. Without hope we have no power to walk in love; no power to keep going on and not give up; no power to hold fast to the way of righteousness; and no power to hold ourselves to resist some brief unsatisfying pleasure.
We should be thankful that we have another opportunity to celebrate Advent as a time of expectation, waiting, and preparation for the second coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Let this Advent be for you personally a time of reflection, daily bible reading, and ceaseless praying. Let us with enthusiasm and expectation join the Christian Church in purposeful preparation for Advent and the celebration of Christmas. Let us join the voices of generations of saints past and present in the refrain, O come, O come Emmanuel!
Yours in Christ, Rev. Dr. Peter E. Grinion, Pastor
We should be thankful for the Incarnation, which is the embodiment of God the Son in human flesh as Jesus Christ. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14. Jesus took on a human body and human nature to experience humanity in all his/her experience so that he (Jesus) might become our Savior. God, in the state of His eternal glory, cannot die. Therefore, it became necessary for God to become man that He might be able to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself (Hebrews 9:26). The Good News is that Jesus came to us in human body, to share the life experience of humanity, and to save us (Luke 17:11-13).
This Advent season we should be encouraged on one hand to acknowledge that the world is full of pain and suffering, hardships and turmoil, disappointment and regrets, and on the other hand be comforted by the fact that the Gospel is good news for everyone. The Advent message is that the mission of Jesus is Salvation – deliverance, healing of broken hearts, and supplying of needs. Jesus is the embodiment of hope, joy, peace and love, but there is something special about hope among the people of God. Without hope we have no power to walk in love; no power to keep going on and not give up; no power to hold fast to the way of righteousness; and no power to hold ourselves to resist some brief unsatisfying pleasure.
We should be thankful that we have another opportunity to celebrate Advent as a time of expectation, waiting, and preparation for the second coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Let this Advent be for you personally a time of reflection, daily bible reading, and ceaseless praying. Let us with enthusiasm and expectation join the Christian Church in purposeful preparation for Advent and the celebration of Christmas. Let us join the voices of generations of saints past and present in the refrain, O come, O come Emmanuel!
Yours in Christ, Rev. Dr. Peter E. Grinion, Pastor
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