For the past several years, our church has been celebrating Advent during the Christmas season. The season of Advent is traditionally the four Sundays leading up to Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. This year, we authored our own Advent booklet for families to use in their celebrations at home. My friend, Josh Byers, is responsible for the formatting and great graphics. Below is the blog post I wrote to introduce the resource: 

Have you ever been singing Joy to the World and wondered,  "Why we would ever sing that song during the Christmas season?" If you take a look at the lyrics, they are clearly teaching about the return of Jesus as King. Yet, many people would miss the song dearly if we didn't sing it during the Christmas season.

For many Christians, when we think of Advent, we associate the season with the incarnation, which is commonly referred to as the birth of the God-man: Jesus. However, the history of the church paints a different picture. 

Throughout most of church history, the first Sunday of Advent marked a season of celebration which God started with the birth of Jesus and which God will finish when Jesus returns as the victorious King. 

A closer look at the carols we sing throughout the season gives evidence to this. Joy to the World is one of many carols that teach about the second Advent of Christ. 

As a church, we want to use this season of celebration to do the same. Each year we sing songs and read Scripture passages that point our attention to both Advents of Christ: His incarnation and His victorious return. 

In addition to celebrating Advent together as a church each Sunday, we are excited to provide an Advent Resource for your families to use in your own Christmas celebrations. We hope you enjoy the season and have a renewed thirst for Christ. Click on the link below to download a free copy. 

Download our 2015 Advent Guide

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My wife and I were able to go to the Catalyst One Day Leadership Conference. I love a short little time away at a conference like the Catalyst One Day because it clears my head of the day-to-day grind and invigorates my hope in the gospel. While we both had a lot of take-aways from the one day intensive conference, I want share two of my favorite things. 

First, the big take away from the entire day summed up in a sentence would be something like this: Great leaders identify people who are passionate about Jesus and more talented than themselves to grow the church to the glory of God. Being sinful people, this is easier said than done. Many people feel intimidated if they surround themselves with people who can do certain skills at a higher level. However, a truly great leader will not let this sinful reaction detract them from their purpose. They will let people serve where God has blessed them with talent. Jesus' Church is big enough for all of our talents. 

Second, the conference was a mixture of great teaching on leadership and great music from the fantastic band from North Point Church led by Steve Fee. The band led us in songs from their newest album, Hear. This album is a fun, energetic album. We have identified at least one song from the album that will fit well into our theological and cultural context.  We are looking forward to having this song be make it onto our setlist in the months to come. Click Here to listen to the album on Apple Music or use the Spotify button below. 

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