I've started to see Christmas trees. In fact, Black Friday is not the only noticeable event (or maybe we should say "madness") that is tied to Thanksgiving Weekend. A whole of people try to take advantage or the time and yet mild weather to at least get those outdoor Christmas decorations in place.
In the Christian church, Christmas is preceded by a less flashy and certainly less materialistic time called Advent. Advent can be translated as "coming" or "arrival."
It begins four Sundays before Christmas (this Sunday being the First Sunday in Advent) and is a time of preparing the birth of Jesus, but also to prepare people for the second coming or arrival of Jesus. The first time He comes is as an infant king born into humble circumstances. The first time is the Incarnation, "God becoming flesh and living among us." The first coming leads ultimately to the Cross on Good Friday where Christ takes the sins of the world into his grace and the resurrection where by we are giving a second chance to truly be the people of God.
The second coming is when he comes to put an end to the world as we know it and to establish a new heaven and a new earth where no one can deny that He is God and that we are under his authority. It is also the time when we once again live unashamedly and joyously in His presence, eternally.
NOTE: Tuesday we begin a set of blogs called "The Purpose of Christmas."
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