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Advent–Hope and Repentance
Advent: The Season of Hope
by Tish Harrison Warren
I have almost finished reading Advent by Tish Harrison Warren for the second time this season. It is a small book that packs a powerful punch and is worthy of a reread.
In the Protestant churches of my childhood and most of my adult years, “advent” was a word I rarely heard. The focus was on Christmas and making sure the cultural aspects of the celebration (e.g. decorations, gifts, and parties) did not take prominence over the spiritual foundation: “Jesus is the reason for the season.” In more recent years, I have worshiped in Protestant churches that follow the liturgy found in the Book of Common Prayer. Warren’s book has helped me unravel the church calendar year which begins with Advent and to understand Advent itself.
This tiny book explains the three comings or advents of Christ. We celebrate His birth in Bethlehem at Christmas and look forward to what we refer to as “His Second Coming” when He will reign as King of Kings. Warren says there is a third coming which we currently experience when He dwells in our hearts as we are filled with the Holy Spirit.
There are many themes of Advent discussed in this book, but the ones that impact my heart the most are “repentance and hope” and “darkness and light.” Warren refers to four prayers composed for the Advent season in the Book of Common Prayer. In addition to talking to God, these prayers or collects lead the reader to a deeper understanding of Christian theology and what we believe as Christians. She explains eight practices of Advent for those who want to use this season to meet with God and draw closer to Him during the course of the four weeks of Advent that lead up to Christmas.
Perhaps my favorite chapter in the book Advent is entitled “Crying Out: Two Prophets of Advent.” Who prophesied most about the advent or coming of Jesus? Isaiah in the Old Testament and John the Baptist in the New Testament. It is a good beginning place if you want to learn more about prophecies from the Old Testament that were fulfilled in the New Testament and prophecies that are yet to be fulfilled when Jesus comes again, not as a baby in a manger, but as the Messiah who returns to banish Satan and evil and rule on Earth for eternity with justice, peace, and love.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Christian, Theology
Notes: 1. “Each volume in the Fullness of Time series invites readers to engage with the riches of the church year, exploring the traditions, prayers, Scriptures, and rituals of the seasons of the church calendar.” These are standalone books, each written by a different author: Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, Pentecost.
2. This is a choice for my book club and lends itself well to group discussion, but it is also perfect for devotion, study, and meditation for individual readers.
Publication: 2023—InterVarsity Press
Memorable Lines:
Advent comes each year and quietly asks me to pause, to remember that we do not bring the kingdom of God to the world through our own effort or on our own timeline. We wait for one outside of us and outside of time. We wait for our coming king.
Advent is training in hope because this season tells us that when things lie fallow they do not lie in waste; things that seem dormant are not dead, and times of waiting are not without meaning, purpose, or design. God is working, sometimes almost imperceptibly, deep beneath the surface of time. Waiting is part of his redemption. It is part of his gift to us. It is part of his grace.
The love of God is the blazing fire that purifies us, remakes us, and sets right all that is broken in us and in the world. The love of God brings us to repentance. The love of God sets the oppressed free and makes all things new. The love of God insists on truth and justice. The love of God reveals every hidden thing. And it is this love that is coming for us.
Some Golden Daybreak–the Second Coming of Christ
Some Golden Daybreak
by Lee Roberson, D.D.
Having worked through two different current Bible studies on the book of Revelation, I came away with more questions than answers. I learned that there are three major perspectives that scholars adopt to address this New Testament book of prophecy. I remember clear teachings when I was a child at Highland Park Baptist Church in Chattanooga, Tennessee, so I searched online for a book by the pastor at that time. On a used book site, I found Some Golden Daybreak, a collection of 17 sermons on the Second Coming of Christ written by Dr. Roberson. Since then, I discovered that Amazon has both paperback and a Kindle version so this book has clearly passed the test of time.
I highly recommend Some Golden Daybreak. Its teachings are based on Scriptures found in both the New and Old Testaments and address such topics as the mark of the beast, Armageddon, and the much debated Great Tribulation. It answered many questions for me satisfactorily. If you have wondered about eternal life and salvation, this book will provide hope, inspiration, and answers.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Christian, Religion
Publication: 1957—Sword of the Lord Publishers
Memorable Lines:
He invites all sinners to come and to drink of the water of life. No one is excluded. All are invited. What is the water of life? It is salvation through faith in Christ. How do we take it? Freely, without money and without price. It is for everyone.
He is coming again. He is coming in power and great glory. The Christ who was prophesied to come as Saviour hundreds of years before He was born; the Christ who walked upon the earth and died upon a cross; the Christ who arose triumphant from the grave; the Christ who ascended back into Glory; the Christ who gave His promise before leaving this earth that He would come again—this Christ is coming.
The more we study the truth of His coming and the more we observe the trends of the times, the more we feel like fervently praying, “Even so, come Lord Jesus.”
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