Dwell On It: The importance of Advent

Question: What is Advent and why is it important?

Answer: The word “advent” means “coming”. As followers of Jesus Christ, when we talk about celebrating Advent, we are celebrating the first coming of Jesus and what that means for us (the gospel, salvation), as well as looking towards His second coming.  

Advent is celebrated the four Sundays before Christmas, on Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day. On each of these four Sundays, we light a candle in the sanctuary to represent four themes: hope, faith, joy, and peace.

Why is Advent important? As we talked about in our recent Habakkuk and Ruth series, we are going to have dark seasons. Those seasons may last a few days, a few weeks, or years. Advent reminds us that our hope, faith, joy, and peace are not in whatever circumstance we are facing, but rather in Jesus. Advent reminds us where our hope ultimately stands firm and who is ultimately in control. It is a time of recalibration for our hearts, eyes, and minds to put it back on Jesus. He came for the first time two thousand years ago, and because of that we have the opportunity to have a real relationship with God the Father. He’ll come again, as He has promised, and ultimately those who follow Him will be with Him forever.

For more resources on Advent, check out Capstone’s RightNow Media page!