God is Love

Why celebrate Advent?

• Many Christians celebrate Advent not only by thanking God for Christ's first coming to Earth as a baby, but also for his presence among us today through the Holy Spirit, and in preparation and anticipation of his final coming at the end of the age.

Did you know?

• Have you heard about the Jesse Tree? The Jesse Tree tradition is rooted in Isaiah 11:1: “A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.” Jesse was the father of David, Israel’s greatest king. And Jesus is descended from the line of David. He is the branch God promised would grow from Jesse’s family tree. Each symbol represents a story from within this family tree and a step toward the birth of Jesus.

A Message of Love

Love is the light of the world. When we know God’s love for us we are able to know our own importance and self worth. We can rely on His love, because it is pure and will never lead us astray. The very reason He created us was out of love. When we live in love we live in God. Our dependence on Him will guide us in everything we do. Living in dependence on God helps us to have the perspective of love. Leading with love is how others will see the light of God and we can be the most effective extension of Him. Looking to the birth of Christ and why God set in motion this plan of salvation will always remind us of how great His love for us is. This encourages us to love as He loves, since He is the ultimate example of how to live.

This is how we remain within the virtue of love. Staying humble, gentle and patient with one another is how we keep love at the forefront of all our interactions. It is also how we maintain love for ourselves. It is not enough to be humble, gentle and patient with others. We must do all these things for ourselves. When we can extend this courtesy to our own lives we can more easily do it with others. We all deserve humility, patience and a gentle way. Let us lean into the example of Christ coming into the world as a baby to a poor family and be humbled that no matter where we are in life we are worthy of the greatest love of all.