Now that we have turned the page from turkey, dressing, parades, football, and Thanksgiving, we can begin to prepare our hearts for Christmas. Our house is already decorated for the season, a large inflatable Santa is waving at everyone from our terrace, and Christmas music is proudly playing in my car as I am out and about!

Why so soon? Well, for Christians, the entire month of December is a season of preparation – a season of Advent. Advent means “Arrival,” and these weeks leading up to Christmas Day are all about preparing our hearts for His arrival and what it means for us and for the world. Here at Christ Church we’ll be spending the Sundays in December doing just that, preparing ourselves for the gift of Jesus coming into the world. We’ll be sharing a preaching series we’re calling, “Christmas Through the Bible.” We all know about the Christmas narratives in Matthew and Luke, but the story of the Messiah’s coming is found all throughout the Scriptures. The Bible may be 66 books written by 40 authors over a period of 1,500 years, but it tells one, unified message: God’s love for all people and his desire to be in relationship with all people. There is actually a cosmic battle going on throughout the Scriptures as God seeks to bring his people close to him, while Satan seeks to drive people away. Page after page, in both the Old and New Testament, point us to One who will come to win the battle, to save us, restore us, and bring us into relationship with the Father. Who is that One? Jesus, the Christ, the Son of the Living God!

So, come each week and hear the Christmas story through the eyes of Paul, Isaiah, Samuel, and John. It will all culminate on Christmas Eve as we hear the familiar Gospel passages of Jesus’ birth, sing carols, share in Holy Communion, and experience the wonder of candlelight while singing Silent Night. We’ll have two services on Christmas Eve, 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., both at the Town Center. They will be identical services, other than the Christ Church Choir will be singing at the 10 a.m. service. This will also mark the end of our time at the Town Center. We won’t have worship on Dec. 31. On January 7 we'll be back together in our  location, the Performing Arts Center at Farmington High School. We’ll be moving to two services beginning that day, 9 a.m. Contemporary Worship and 11 a.m. Traditional Worship, with a fellowship hour in between. This fellowship hour is almost as important as the worship hour, as our DNA at Christ Church is already one of connection, community, and unity as a body. Moving to two services – necessary due to the limitations of the space and the desire of so many to worship in a style where they best meet the Holy Spirit – changes the dynamic, so we want this fellowship hour, we need this fellowship hour, to hold us together now that we’re separated by service.

I invite you to prepare your hearts for Christmas by not waiting until Christmas Eve or the week before Christmas to get in the “Christmas Spirit.” I invite you to begin today: Turn up the Christmas music, get out the decorations, read Luke 1-2, and sign up for the Advent Daily Devotional from our friends over at Seedbed (you can sign up for it here). Let’s make sure that when Christmas Day gets here, we’re ready!