Full disclosure: I have been listening to Christmas music in my office since November 11th. It wasn't a full blown "Christmas music only" kind of deal, but just an album here or there. And now, I am listening to nothing but Christmas music on the good old internet radio stations! For some reason I have been more excited this year for Christmas than I have in the past! Maybe it is because Sophie is going to get it more this year. Or, maybe it is because I am excited about the Advent Conspiracy. Or, maybe I just love Christmas. But I honestly hit mid-October and thought, "Man, I cannot WAIT for Christmas!"

As we prepare for Christmas and we go through Advent, I think one of the big themes of the season is waiting. Waiting with anticipation. We await the celebration of the most mysterious and remarkable event in our history, the incarnation of the second person of the triune God in human flesh! God became a man! Wow! Through entire Old Testament, from the very beginning of the world, all of creation waited in anticipation for the coming of this Messiah who would redeem the world from sin, death, and Satan's grip. God promised Adam and Eve one of their descendants would come and crush the head of the serpent, Satan, and restore all that had fallen. (Genesis 3:15) Since the very creation of the world, the coming of this Messiah, this Redeemer, had been anticipated.

And it is His coming that we celebrate in Advent and at Christmas. God came in flesh to take up our sins on a cross and die. He rose again to welcome us into everlasting life with Him. And now He has ascended into heaven where He sits at God's right hand, ruling and reigning over all of creation. And we rejoice, and we celebrate, and we wait with great anticipation. Because He is coming again! His reign of redemption has begun already, but it is not yet complete. He has promised to return to take you and me, sinners whom He has purchased with His own blood, to dwell in the presence of our triune God for all of eternity!

As much as I look forward to Christmas every year, I have to learn to recognize that it is crumbly fruitcake compared to what God has in store for us upon His return! A new heavens and a new earth free from corruption, free from suffering, free from pain and sickness, free from sin, free from death! An eternal celebration in the midst of a loving God and a beloved family full of singing, dancing, laughing, joyful weeping, thanking, giving, receiving. How can we help but sing the songs of heaven as we await that glorious feast!

As we wait for Christmas this Advent season, let us not lose sight of the fact that there is a far greater purpose than simply presents and family. Christmas is a celebration of what God has done in Jesus Christ and a foretaste of what He will do when Christ comes again! So, as we wait with great anticipation that glorious return of our beloved Jesus, let us join in the chorus of the great Christmas hymn, "Oh, Come, Oh, Come, Emmanuel!" And come soon!

As we enter this season we will be participating in something called the Advent Conspiracy. Please see the article in the newsletter for more information about this exciting endeavor! See me if you want to get involved!