Advent: Reorienting The Busy Heart

It is our prayer to not only provide resources that help equip individuals and parents for discipleship moments within the home, but that there is an understanding of why we are choosing certain tools. With the beginning of our current sermon campaign, “The Family Tree of Christ,” we are encouraging families and individuals to utilize The Family Tree of Christ Advent Cards. These cards not only correspond with the sermon campaign, but most importantly they help reorient our busy hearts towards the coming of Christ—Advent. 

“So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.” Hebrews 9:28

We celebrate the season of Christmas in a lot of different ways: decorations, lights, visiting family, gifts, reading the nativity story, and discussing the reasons why we celebrate Jesus’ birth. But if you’ve never observed Advent or don’t know what it is, it might feel like an additional “to do” in an already packed season. Here’s the big thing we need to remember—

Advent serves the purpose of helping us mark the days leading up to Christmas, reminding us to focus on the “why” of celebrating Christmas at all. Advent gives us a necessary reminder that Jesus came and walked the Earth, but that there will be a second arrival of Christ. 

This is especially good news for us in 2020. The world needs a Savior and Advent reminds us that Jesus came as a baby to provide for that need and He will provide once again. The purpose of Advent is that we will prepare our hearts to celebrate the coming of Christ. As Christians, we live between two Advents. In thankfulness that God has already sent a Savior in His Son, Jesus who walked the Earth and died as a sacrifice for our past, present and future sins. We also live in the hopeful anticipation of the second coming of Christ, that He will come again. God’s fulfillment of past covenants gives us the assurance we need to cling to the promise He has made that He will come again. Simply put, Advent helps us practice what we should desire to do every day of the year—practicing the discipline of turning our eyes toward Jesus.

Taylor Bumgarner

The Director of Doxa Kids