Advent Week One - The Candle of Hope

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By Dawn Ford

2 out of 5

In my first teaching on Advent we explored the beginning origins and why we prepare and celebrate these four weeks prior to Christ’s birth (http://bit.ly/uD0ZUW).  In teachings 2 through 5 we’ll look at a theme for each week of Advent; hope peace, joy and love and a scripture to correspond.  This week we’ll be discussing the hope of Advent. 

Our scripture,

“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners...” 1Timothy 1:15.

The back story

Paul wrote 1Timothy in approximately 64 AD to Timothy, a trusted protégé.  Timothy is the first second generation Christian mentioned in the bible; his mother Eunice and his grandmother Lois were believers.  Paul has entrusted Timothy to lead the church in Ephesus, a tough assignment due to the city being full of pagans and the church being infiltrated with false teachers.  Paul is writing to encourage the young leader. ¹

Scripture in Context

Let’s look at the scripture as it appears in context through the NIV version verses 12-16:

“I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service.

Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief.

The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst.

But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.”²

As Saul, Paul was a hater of Christians.  He took great pride in hunting believers, and ordered Stephen’s death; (Acts 7:57-8:3).  Before he was saved he was the worst of the worst, yet God used him to bring the Good News to the Gentiles.

What is your hope?

Your sin does not disqualify you.

Paul’s past did not disqualify him from serving God. God’s mercy and grace were enough to cover his past and enable him to serve God. You should never feel that your past makes you unable to be used by God.

To qualify you have to be a sinner.

Since Jesus came into the world to save sinners, this is the first necessary qualification

for being a child of God - being a sinner. Sinners are not disqualified from coming to God, because Jesus came to save them.  So he came to save you and me.

God wants to pure abundant grace on you. 

Paul killed Christ followers, yet God loved him all the same.  He forgave him and lavished him with acceptance and love.

“After Paul was saved, he became a foremost saint. The Lord did not allot him a second-class place in the church. He had been the leading sinner, but his Lord did not, therefore, say, ‘I save you, but I shall always remember your wickedness to your disadvantage.’ Not so: he counted him faithful, putting him into the ministry and into the apostleship, so that he was not a whit behind the very chief of the apostles. Brother, there is no reason why, if you have gone very far in sin, you should not go equally far in usefulness.” (Spurgeon) ³

What does God have planned for you?

Paul was an ordinary man who did extraordinary things for the kingdom of God.  What does God have in store for you?  Do you think you’re the worst of the worst?  That your sins are far too great and God could never love you.  Oh my friend here is your hope, our hope.  God sent his only son to save you and me.  Only the sick need a physician. The sicker you are the greater the healing.  

Questions

1.  Reread the scripture above, 1 Timothy 1:12-16.  Reading how God treated Paul despite his offenses, what hope does that give you?

2.  Do you believe you are worthy of God's abundant grace? Why or Why not?

1  Commentary by David Guzik, www.blueletterbible.org, 1Timothy 1.

2  Life Application Study Bible, New International Version, 1991, pp 2187-88.

3  Commentary by David Guzik, www.blueletterbible.org, 1Timothy 1.

Dawn Ford is the founder and VP of Infinite Love Ministries, INC.  a not for profit corporation Dedicated to showing all the infinite love of Christ.  If you would like Dawn to speak at your next women's event please contact her at www.infiniteloveministries.com .

 

Advent - Celebrating the Coming of our Lord

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By Dawn Ford.   

Part 1 in a 5 part series.

Looking Both Ways

When I was a little girl, my best friend Holly lived around the corner and down the block. Before I was able to walk by myself, I had to prove to my mother that I could get there safely.  Part of the proof was that I looked both ways before I crossed the street.

It seems to me many Christians today have forgotten the necessity of “looking both ways.” I don’t mean looking to the left and right on a specific street, but rather to events in the past and events in the future.  Like the rest of our culture, all too often we get so caught up in the urgency of our daily lives that we fail to notice the larger picture of which we are only a small part.

The Meaning of Advent

The word “advent” comes from the Latin word adventus and means “arrival” or “coming.” The season of Advent, which originated in the 6th century A.D., is a four-week period preceding December 25^th.   During this time, Christians dedicate themselves both to remembrance and to anticipation. Advent is all about looking both ways, because during these four weeks, we take time to slow down and look behind us to Christ’s first coming (the adventus) and ahead of us to the Second Coming (the parousia).

 A Time of Anticipation

The important thing Advent helps us remember is that we are located between these two arrivals, seemingly stuck somewhere after the “already” but still within the “not yet” of God’s kingdom. Jesus Christ, the Lord of Life, has already come in the flesh. He has already been crucified. He has already been resurrected. He has already defeated death. The victory has already been won.

Nevertheless, we do not yet see the full effects of Christ’s victory played out in our world. Death is not yet merely a distant nightmare. Our lives are not yet free from all sin. Peace and justice are not yet ubiquitous. Hunger has not yet become a thing of the past. HIV and AIDS have not yet been defeated.

Admittedly, this can seem quite confusing. We may find ourselves despairing—wondering why, if Christ were really victorious, so many awful things continue in our world. Why does my friend have cancer? Why can’t I find a job? Why do thousands die every day from lack of clean water or millions in the developing world suffer from treatable diseases?

A Time of Self Examination

No, things most certainly are not as they should be. Yet the great hope of the good news we profess is that all things will one day be put right. We look both ways at Advent to remind ourselves of this. But we mustn’t do this lightly or halfheartedly. After all, the whole point of looking both ways before crossing the road is so you’ll know what you ought to do: If there is a car approaching, you shouldn’t step into the street. By helping us remember exactly where, or rather when, we are, Advent reminds us of the kind of people we ought to be during the brief years we are given in this life.  

And in the meantime, we wait. Too often, though, we think waiting is a passive thing. We just go about our business, and sooner or later, God will do His thing. But this thinking is deeply flawed. Again and again in the New Testament, Jesus gives us parables that suggest that waiting must be active. This waiting is less like watching a sunset and more like preparing for winter: The wood must be chopped and stacked, the harvest brought into the barn, the leaky roof mended. After all, it is the slothful and lazy servant—the one who merely buries the talent he’s been entrusted with by the master—who receives a harsh punishment upon the master’s return (Matthew 25:14-30).

A Time of Celebration

By looking into the past, we’re reminded of all that Christ has done. By looking into the future, we’re expectant of all Christ will do. Advent helps us remember that we’ve got work to do while we wait. Not so that God will love us, but rather because He already does. We love, after all, because “he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). The intentional practices of Advent frame our responsibilities and help us take a good, sober look at our lives during the in-between times.

Christ has come. Christ is risen. Christ is coming again. He’s given us work to do in the meantime. How are we living: selfishly or selflessly? Are we caring for our world? Are we loving our God? Are we loving our neighbors?

Hope, Peace, Joy and Love

The above picture shows the traditional Advent wreath.  A candle is lite each week to represent a biblical theme.  Over the coming weeks I'll be discussing the themes of hope, peace, joy and love.  In the center of the wreath is the fifth candle, the Christ candle, which is lite on Christmas Eve to make the Messiah's arrival.  I'm looking forward to taking this journey with you.  

Questions:

1. How does your family get ready to celebrate the birth of our Lord?

2. What things could you and your family do differently this year to slow down, and actually enjoy this time of year?


Dawn Ford is the founder and VP of Infinite Love Ministries, INC.  A not for profit corporation dedicated to showing all the infinite love of Christ.  For more information, check out our website at www.infiniteloveministries.com.

Excerpts taken from —Mike Yankoski foreword from the World Vision Advent Study Guide
Author of Under the Overpass: A Journey of Faith on the Streets of America and executive editor of Zealous Love: A Practical Guide to Social Justice