ADVENT is a word with Latin roots, meaning “coming.”   Advent designates a period before Christmas when Christians prepare for the celebration of Jesus’ birth. This practice may have begun in some churches as early as the late fourth century.  Sermons focused on the wonder of the Incarnation. By the Middle Ages four Sundays had become the standard length of the Advent season. Since then, Advent has been considered to be the beginning of the church year.

At CIL, we are introducing the concept of Advent in my current sermon series.  Yesterday (December 2), we started with the theme of “Hope.”   We’ll continue with the following themes during this Advent Season:

December 9 – Love
December 16 – Joy
December 23 – Peace

I desire for these themes to prepare us for a Jesus-centered Christmas!