Advent 2019 - Introduction
The season of Advent is here, beginning on December 1 until Christmas Eve. Advent comes from the Latin word adventus meaning “coming” or “visit.” We usually think of Advent as a time to celebrate the birth of Christ but it actually is a time to celebrate the past of Christ’s birth as well as look forward to His second coming. Advent as a time to remember the longing of Jews for a Messiah as well as our own need for forgiveness, salvation and a new beginning. So, it is a time of reflecting on the past and a time for anticipating the future, a future full of all that has been promised through Christ.
It is a common practice during the season of Advent to light a candle each Sunday in representation of a theme for that week. At Hillside we recognize these themes as:
For the next 4 weeks you will receive devotionals related to each week’s theme to encourage you to spend quiet time with God each day. We will begin with Hope. In a Christian context, the word hope indicates certainty. It means having a confident expectation, an eager anticipation of what is promised. It is different then a wish or simply hoping for something. From a worldly perspective to hope for something means to have a thought for something without promise or past action that gives you confidence it will occur. Hope from scripture gives us confidence what is promised will occur. It is backed by God’s promise and a Bible full of testimony that God will never leave us, never forsake us, always lead us in the path we should go and ultimately grant us eternal salvation in His heavenly kingdom. These promises are grounded in the actions of Christ, His life, His teachings, His love and His sacrifice on the cross. When we spend time with Christ each day, we learn who He is, what He is about, why He did the things He did and how a relationship with Him impacts us. As we learn these things about Him, we grow in trust and confidence, and we understand the basis of what we hope for is firmly rooted in a history of perfect word, deed and love. When hope is founded in perfectness, there is no reason to doubt the promised expectations given to us through Christ’s birth, life and death.
Grace and Peace,
LeAnn Jones
It is a common practice during the season of Advent to light a candle each Sunday in representation of a theme for that week. At Hillside we recognize these themes as:
Week 1: Hope (or promise)
Week 2: Faith
Week 3: Joy
Week 4: Peace
For the next 4 weeks you will receive devotionals related to each week’s theme to encourage you to spend quiet time with God each day. We will begin with Hope. In a Christian context, the word hope indicates certainty. It means having a confident expectation, an eager anticipation of what is promised. It is different then a wish or simply hoping for something. From a worldly perspective to hope for something means to have a thought for something without promise or past action that gives you confidence it will occur. Hope from scripture gives us confidence what is promised will occur. It is backed by God’s promise and a Bible full of testimony that God will never leave us, never forsake us, always lead us in the path we should go and ultimately grant us eternal salvation in His heavenly kingdom. These promises are grounded in the actions of Christ, His life, His teachings, His love and His sacrifice on the cross. When we spend time with Christ each day, we learn who He is, what He is about, why He did the things He did and how a relationship with Him impacts us. As we learn these things about Him, we grow in trust and confidence, and we understand the basis of what we hope for is firmly rooted in a history of perfect word, deed and love. When hope is founded in perfectness, there is no reason to doubt the promised expectations given to us through Christ’s birth, life and death.
Grace and Peace,
LeAnn Jones
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