This is a pretty impressive though isn’t it.  To think that from the beginning of time God had a plan for sin. To think that it would mean sending his own son to earth.  To take on flesh (God become flesh- amazing!)  To think that the plan wasn’t just to incarnate on earth, but for his son to suffer and die on earth.

And so Christmas Day is a day that forever changes things.  It’s a day that looks back, that calls on people to glory in a God that is so powerful that he has perfectly controlled history to bring things together in this moment so that he could come to earth.  It’s a moment that celebrates that God took the risk of putting himself into flesh, and not as a mighty warrior or king, but in the flesh of a tiny baby, laid in a manger.

And Christmas Day is a day that looks forward.  It looks forward to the purpose of Jesus’ life, which was his death.  It’s a day that looks forward, knowing that his life and death would give us a chance for new life.

And I love love that this song just celebrates that.  The title , “I celebrate the Day” and the last line is perfect

“And I, I celebrate the day
That You were born to die”

That is what we should be doing in this season and on Christmas.  We should be celebrating.  We should feel it and sing it, and shout it, and let it really shine forth on that day, that we have something incredible.  We should truly be caught up in the joy of the season which is the Christ child and his purpose.

This past weekend at Faith was awesome!  On Sunday morning the preschoolers and their families braved the -25 degree windchill to come and celebrate Jesus’ birthday at the 9:15 service.  I don’t know what was cuter:  the little kids dressed up in their Christmas outfits singing their little hearts out or their parents sitting on the edge of their seats mouthing all the words to the songs their kids were singing!

And to top it all off, on Sunday afternoon there were 2 performances (cause there are sooooo many kids here we can’t fit them all at 1 service!) of grade school children retelling the Christmas story to a packed house of papparazzi parents and smiling grandparents.

And in the message at all the weekend services, we used cartoons to help us see the meaning behind the mystery of Advent.  Here are two of my favorites.  Happy ‘End of Advent’ and Merry Christmas!

video from Igniter Media

image from Cagle’s Professional Cartoonists Index

Rejoice in the Lord always.  I’ll say it again: Rejoice!

–Philippians 4:4

This Week in Advent follows what has traditionally been called ‘Guadete’ Sunday.  Gaudete is Latin for ‘Rejoice!’.

Anticipation and excitement overflows in us this week so we rejoice in what we know is about to happen:  that our King is Coming!

He will right the wrongs

He will nourish the broken

He will turn our hearts to him

He will change everything

So, REJOICE today!  Jesus is king now and forever!

Everyone’s waiting for something.

What are you waiting for?

Some things are full of expectancy:  the last hour of the last day of school before summer break, the last day of work before you hop in the car and drive home for Christmas, and even the final few uncomfortable weeks before the birth of a child (that’s what we’re waiting for right now).

Pastor Dan @ Faith reminded all of us at worship this past weekend that waiting for Jesus to come can be a confusing thing (hear the audio here).  Our Christmas celebrations bring out the best in us, as we spend time with each other, donate money & gifts, and are filled with a generic Christmas ‘cheer’.  But in the midst of all of this, brutal wars all over the globe remain.  8000 people die from AIDS each day.  Thousands of people are losing their jobs each month just in the US.

What is there really to celebrate about?

I guess that it matters what you’re waiting for.  If you’re waiting for a ‘Happy Holidays’ filled with lots of shopping and parties and Santa and good will toward men then you will be disappointed.  Not the gifts or the fun times or a positive outlook or especially Santa can change the evil that always tempers our Holiday celebrations.  Orphaned children with AIDS are still going to suffer while you’re out shopping.

But if you’re waiting for a ‘Merry Christmas’ filled with the love of a savior who was born to change the world by defeating evil, then you won’t be disappointed.  In fact, waiting for Jesus changes our whole Holiday/Christmas experience.  Giving gifts to one another reminds us of the gift of life Jesus won for us.  Going to Christmas parties is an opportunity to reconnect with people and deepen loving relationships.  Yes, orphaned children with AIDS will still suffer and die at the hands of that cruel disease, but if you’re waiting for Jesus, there is a sure hope that he will come again to set the world right once and for all.  Justice, peace, and love flow from him even now, but much more fully in the future!

What am I waiting for?  I’m waiting for the day that I don’t have to write ‘orphaned children with AIDS are going to die today’.  My only hope for that is for Jesus to return and gather all his children into his arms.  So I wait, expectantly!

It’s about this time of year when you might have the opportunity to work the word ‘Advent’ into a conversation or two.  Normally, your opportunities to use ‘Advent’ will be limited to joining it with ‘calendar’ and ‘chocolate’ as such:  “Who ate my Advent calendar chocolate today?”  However, you may find yourself in a hip place with hip people discussing hip things when all of a sudden, the word ‘Advent’ will pop up.

Picture yourself at Starbucks (or Caribou – which is now sold at my local grocery store!) with a friend or two discussing the complexities of our modern, Apple-infused life when, without warning, the phrase, “Guess what – it’s advent season now!” just blurts out of your mouth.  When this happens, you can choose to say 1 of 3 things:

(1) “Oops, excuse me.  That skinny venti pumpkin spice latte extra whip really puts words into my mouth!”

(2) “The heathens, *ehem* everyone else calls it the Christmas season, but we Christians know that it’s truly called Advent.  It’s what we’ve always called it.  We like to get excited about Christmas after the actual birth of Jesus.  Duh, people.  ”

(3) “I was just reading the LCMS FAQ page and it said that the word “advent” is from the Latin word for “coming,” and as such, describes the “coming” of our Lord Jesus Christ into the flesh.”

After those conversation stoppers, just be prepared with a “So, did you see that new iPod commercial?” to promtly get the glazed over look off your friends’ faces.

Any other ‘conversation stoppers’ you can think of?
Bonus points for dead language or Apple product references.