The Advent

We have entered the season of Advent. Advent is the beginning of the Church Year for most churches in the Western tradition. It begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas Day, which is the Sunday nearest November 30, and ends on Christmas Eve. Most of you have seen Advent observed in your church by the lighting of five candles in a wreath of evergreens or gold. As a preachers son I have observed over forty-five seasons of Advent and I have to confess it had become just another religious ritual in the middle of a very busy month. Don’t get me wrong I felt a lot of warm fuzzy feelings while cute families lit the Advent candles each Sunday and somehow I knew I needed to pay more attention, maybe even talk about it with my family but those thoughts passed as quickly as the next Christmas shopping day. You know what I mean? Men, I know you do.
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 Coming, and the anticipation of the return of Christ the King in his Second Coming. The word Advent to me feels like anticipation, not like the waiting for ketchup anticipation but more like the waiting for D day anticipation. I wonder if this is how the angels felt in the day’s before Christ first coming. I imagine angel armies staged and focused in silence awaiting the words that will begin the greatest rescue operation the world has ever seen. The word comes “A child is born this day in the city of Bethlehem” The Advent is here! Then something astonishing happens, the entire angelic army begins a victory celebration, a coronation of the one true King and all creation joined in announcing his return.
As my family prepares for Christmas this year like so many years before we will decorate our house with evergreen on our windows and lights on our Christmas tree. I will climb a ladder and hang ice cycle lights from the eaves. Sheri and I will spend an entire day putting out all kinds of Christmas decoration that will literally change the look and feel of our house and I’ve got to tell you I haven’t been a good sport about it for a lot of years. As a matter of fact I have considered it a waste of time for a lot of years but I have continued do it grumpily for my wife. Something is different for me today though, not a warm fuzzy feeling but a deep knowing in my bones. The Advent is upon us I must prepare.




We live now in anticipation of the Second Advent, Christ second coming. New Wilderness Adventures mission continues to be reaching Men for Christ and the life of adventure as his followers and allies.  This special mission NWA has been called into is the continued advancement to good news of Christ victory and to teach men to live as victors not slaves to the world, the enemy, or the flesh. We do this because we believe it is vital for men to live as spiritual leaders passing on the ways of victorious living in a hostile world against a hostile enemy, Satan. The work is difficult at times and opposed most certainly but when a man steps into the role of spiritual leadership the affect is undeniable. Whole generations come to Christ!