The Spiritual Journey Of Advent Worship

Advent is a corporate spiritual journey that calls for expectant waiting and readiness for the coming of Christ. When the church travels this journey and treats it as a discipline of life and prayer, the joy of Christmas is immeasurably intensified. What we do during Advent finds its meaning in the Pasch, the death and resurrection of Christ. Christ was born to die and to be raised to new life for the sake of the world's redemption. Therefore Advent is never celebrated as a season to itself, but the season in which the one who has died for the restoration of the world is awaited. The Light for which we wait in Advent is the Light that dispels the darkness at Easter. Incarnation and atonement must always be brought together as two vital parts of the redemption tapestry. The word advent means "coming. " During Advent, we celebrate the coming of Christ at Bethlehem, his coming into our hearts, and his Second Coming. For four weeks before Christmas, our worship calls us into a time to …