First Sunday of Advent

Advent has arrived!  Well, that's a bit of a repetition, since Advent means "coming".  But hey, I for one am glad that Advent has arrived!

In Advent we celebrate the coming of Jesus: Jesus has come, Jesus comes, Jesus will come again.  Really, we could do this all year round. But during these 4 weeks (approximately) leading up to Christmas, we rehearse the familiar Christmas stories to remind us in a special way that God loves his creation so much that he comes to be with us.

As a church, we will look in the Gospel of Matthew for our inspiration this Advent season. We will bring the question, what perspectives do the characters in Matthew's nativity stories provide for us?  Perspective is crucial, you see; the life experiences that you bring will change how you view a situation. By looking at their perspectives, we hope to also re-examine our own perspectives--to deepen our faith in Jesus, the one who came, who comes, and who will come again.