Friday, December 10, 2010

Anticipation and the Advent

Have you ever walked into a room and been overcome with anticipation? Your heart beats faster. Your widened-eyes dart from side to side. You can hardly stay still, because you know something is about to happen.

Similarly, do you remember waking up on Christmas morning when you were young? Maybe you expected to unwrap something great!

Now think about the sense of anticipation that the Magi from the east (Matthew 2) felt as they discovered where and when the Messiah would be born or the shepherds outside of Bethlehem (Luke 2) hearing the angels sing "glory to God in the highest!" They moved into action to find the Savior, Jesus!

I hope that this Advent season, you come to God with the same sense of anticipation and excitement. The birth of Jesus into human flesh is not only exciting as a story, but it paved the way for our eternal salvation and for Him to give us the gift of the Holy Spirit until He comes back again.

As you plan and prepare worship experiences, give your congregation or attendees the opportunity to be caught up in anticipation that the Spirit of Christ might be born afresh in their hearts and lives.

*This article was featured in the enewsletter, "Best Practices for Adventist Worship" in its December edition.