Joy found in this Season
At St. Philip we are a Congregation which is foundationally southern Baptist in our denomination affiliation, but it is not wasted on us that our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ was of the Jewish faith. Therefore, we embrace our connection to the Jewish faith where possible.
During the Christmas season, rather than simply portray Christmas as a Western Civilization shopping holiday adopted from Druidic tradition, our Pastoral Leadership has utilized the liturgical calendar to bring our focus on what Christmas means for Christians-Celebration of Jesus Christ’s “first coming”.
The Liturgical Calendar states Advent season runs from November 28th thru December 23. During this time, we have an entire program each Sunday worship service with scripture readings, calendar lighting and appropriately selected Christmas carols that align with the sentiment.
John 14:3
Expression within the Meaning
The word advent means “coming” or “arrival”. The focus of the entire season is the celebration of the birth of Jesus the Christ in His First Advent, and the anticipation of the return of the Christ King in His Second Advent.
The symbolic elements of the Advent table are as follows:
The Advent wreath – its circular shape symbolizes God Himself, His eternity and endless mercy, which has no beginning or end. The green color speaks to the hope that we have in God, the hope of newness, renewal and of eternal life.Candles – There are 5 candles, four around the wreath and one in the center. Three are purple, one is pink and one is white.The three purple and one pink candles symbols the 4 centuries of waiting between the prophet Malachi and the birth of Christ.The white candle symbolizes Christ, the candle signifies purity in remembrance of Jesus whose birth we celebrate.
