When I was young, once Thanksgiving had passed, all my thoughts turned to Christmas. Even before I had ever heard of "Advent" in my Southern Baptist home, I remember the month-long season being one filled with anticipation of what was to come. I wanted Christmas to come – today!! At times, the waiting seemed endless. I held on to the hope that to be sure Christmas really was getting closer.
The anticipation also brought a few fears as I would hear the frequently expressed grim reminder, "You'd better be on your best behavior, Greg, because somebody is watching." But always, those excruciating periods of waiting and anxiety were overwhelmed by the joyful anticipation of what was to come.
Advent is once again upon us at LAC. The word Advent means "coming" or "arrival." The focus of the entire season is the celebration of the birth of Jesus the Christ in his First Advent and, at the same time, the anticipation of the return of Christ the King in his Second Advent. Advent therefore points both back to what has happened as well as forward to what God has promised. Advent is far more than simply marking a 2,000 year old event in history. It is celebrating a truth about God's present and coming Kingdom, i.e., that Jesus came and inaugurated a work whereby all of creation will eventually be made new with all creation reconciled to God. That remaking work of God is a process in which we now participate, and the consummation of which we anticipate. We believe that the Jesus who came to Bethlehem long ago will come again soon.
In this double focus on past and future, Advent also symbolizes the spiritual journey of individual followers of Jesus as we affirm that Christ has come, that He is present in the world today, and that He will come again in power. That acknowledgment provides a basis for holy living arising from a profound sense that we live "between the times" and are called to be faithful stewards of what is entrusted to us as God's people. So, as the church celebrates God's inbreaking into history in the Incarnation, and anticipates a future consummation to that history , it also confesses its own responsibility to "love the Lord your God with all your heart" and to "love your neighbor as yourself."
Advent is about anticipation. In 2013, we anticipate the return of the One who was anticipated long ago. Our celebration is rooted in the hope that once anticipated, and now anticipates anew, the reign of an Anointed One, a Messiah, who will bring peace and justice and righteousness to the world.
With that in mind, our Advent series is simply entitled Anticipation. We will follow the traditional four weeks of the season and ask God to deepen our love for him and to strengthen our lives with him as we await Jesus' Second Advent.
To His Glory,
Dr. Greg Waybright
Senior Pastor
Anticipation Series Schedule
- The Grand Prophetic Vision We Anticipate
Week 1 • Nov 30/Dec 1
Revelation 4:1-5:10
Saturday/Sunday Speaker: Greg Waybright, Senior Pastor - Anticipating the Light that John could Never Be
Week 2 • Dec 7/8
Isaiah 9:1-7
Saturday/Sunday Speaker: Scott White, Interim Executive Pastor of Ministry & Annie Neufeld, Pastor of Junior High Ministries - Anticipating the Shepherd King
Week 3 • Dec 15/16
Micah 5:1-6
Saturday/Sunday Speaker: Greg Waybright, Senior Pastor - Anticipating the Unexpected
Week 4 • Dec 22/23
John 1:43-51
Saturday/Sunday Speaker: Greg Waybright, Senior Pastor - The Purpose of Christmas
Week 5 • Dec 24
1 John 1:1-4
Saturday/Sunday Speaker: Greg Waybright, Senior Pastor - Anticipating the Gift of Christ
Week 6 • Dec 29/30
John 14:15-16
Saturday/Sunday Speaker: Jeff Mattesich, Associate Pastor of Children & Students