The Advent Season, preparation for Christmas, Christ coming, and a new start, a new year, occurs within the next 31 days. Advent is all about preparation, being prepared for the coming of Christ, that is Emmanuel, God is with us.

Some might say, “Well, if God is already with us, then why get prepared?”  Good response, yet, probably not good enough.  Sort of like telling children to get prepared, clean up your rooms, after the grandparents have already arrived, instead of before. 

As I prepared my Advent sermon series, “CSI:Algiers; Christ, Savior, Incarnation”, I realized that in order to get prepared I needed a refresher course on the who and the how.  You see, I saw a CSI show a while back, where a victim said the main question should be, “Who done it and how.”  So I figured this would be a good approach on the series and my refresher course focused on the who came up with the Jesus Christ plan and the how was it done!

Hey, I am not going to give away my findings right now.  I want to invite you and yours to show up on Wednesday nights, 6-7:30 pm, for the Advent Study and then, Sunday school and Worship services to see if the who and the how works out.  I really pray it does and that the preparation was worth it.  When it’s over, let me know. 

How about you and yours anyway?  How is the prep coming?  You know, that God is with us stuff.  How goes it with you and yours?  Are you pleased with how everything went last year?  Do you see where more blessings might benefit you, your family, and your friends more in the years to come?  You suppose if there was more focus on God being already with us, instead of God being in some far away place, that our life would be different, would be better?

I don’t know.  Yeah, I do know.  Many “have gone astray like a lost sheep” (Psalm 119:176).  I guarantee you and yours, that if you live next year like God is with us, enabling us, loving us, leading us, holding us, just being the God of our life, life will be different next year and in the years to come.  If the family does this, the entire family will change for the better.  I guarantee!

I lift up each in prayers as we close out another year and prepare for a new year.  May God’s greatest act of love, Jesus the Christ, bring you and yours closer to God, family, church, and neighbor this amazing Christmas season.  For “Emmanuel, which means, God is with us” (Matthew 1:23).

Merry Christmas and Blessed New Year to all,
Pastor Ray Varnado