Sunday, November 30, 2008 First Sunday of Advent

Thanks be to God!
2 Corinthians 2:14-16 (HCSB) 14 But thanks be to God, who always puts us on display in Christ, and spreads through us in every place the scent of knowing Him. 15 For to God we are the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. 16 To some we are a scent of death leading to death, but to others, a scent of life leading to life.

Some translation render “puts us on display” as “leads us into triumph.” This is the picture of the returning heroes from war, or the championship team returning home and having a victory parade. We won! And we won because of Christ! Thanks be to God!
We become the fragrance of God to everyone. To some, the fragrance of life, to others, the fragrance of death. The whole idea of fragrance intrigues me. There are many fragrances that surround us during the holiday season. You probably have some fond memories related to fragrances. Our brain connects memories to smells. Just this past week we had the fragrances of Thanksgiving!

As we go through this advent season I want to explore some of the fragrances of Christ!

Questions for Discussion:
What are smells and fragrances you associate with Christmas?
Do you have certain memories associated with smells or fragrances?
How can we be the fragrance of Christ and of life to those around us?

Prayer:
Dear God, Thank you for your wonderful gift of a Savior! May we be the fragrance of Christ to the world around us! Amen

Sing:
“Joy to the World”

What is Advent anyway?

Advent literally means the “coming or arrival, especially of something extremely important.”
The focus of Advent is two-fold. On the one hand, we prepare to celebrate the coming (birth) of Jesus, the Son of God who came into the world as a human child to give us forgiveness for our sins. On the other hand, we can look forward to the end of the world with hope because through faith in Jesus, it will mean His coming again and the beginning of a new life with Jesus for eternity.
Advent then is a time for us to repent and believe. Knowing that Jesus was born to forgive our sins, we repent (admit our failures to God) and believe that we are forgiven because of Jesus. Also, knowing that Jesus is coming back to Earth to take us to a new heaven and earth, we repent and believe that when Jesus returns, He will give us eternal life.

So, we celebrate His coming, and His coming again!