New Advent Series Begins Sunday

This Sunday we begin a brand new series for Advent, Return of the King. The word advent means "coming or arrival."Typically we think about the Advent season celebrating the first arrival of Jesus. But historically, the church has often used Advent as a season to anticipate the second coming of Jesus.Return of the King will focus on the second coming of Jesus and the ultimate fulfillment of his Kingdom. Rather than focus on many of the controversial details that people get hung up on when they think about the end times, we will hone in on who Jesus is as King, what the second coming will accomplish, how to anticipate it more deeply, and what Jesus' Kingdom will be like.Here's how the series breaks down:

November 30 - The Kingdom is Near

We'll launch the series looking at the reality that Jesus' Kingdom is already here, but has not yet reached ultimate fulfillment. This should be a paradigm shift for many who grew up in a tradition that sees Heaven as a place we go to forever rather than Heaven as a place that comes to us.

Check out this video for a preview of this idea:

December 7 - His is the Kingdom

Next we'll focus on the reality that the Kingdom of God is all about the King, Jesus. We'll explore what it means to live with Jesus as King and how to more fully embrace his loving rule.

December 14 - Thy Kingdom Come

Jesus taught his disciples to pray that God would let his Kingdom come on earth as it is in Heaven. This should be the desire of every Christian, so week 3 will be about building anticipation, desire and hope for Jesus' Kingdom to come in fullness.

December 21 - The Forever Kingdom

Finally, we'll look at the spectacular biblical descriptions of what the world will look like with Jesus as King in the fullness of his Kingdom. Our hearts will soar and throb as we consider our ultimate hope and how far away it seems. This will fill us with gratitude that God sent the Son in his incarnation to begin the work that will someday be complete. What a powerful way to get ready for Christmas.

We hope you'll join us for this important and powerful Advent season. In a world filled with noise and busyness about everything that's temporary, spending some focused time on Jesus and his Kingdom will be one of the best things you can do.If you're looking for a short, good resource to read along with this series, check out Kingdom, Come! by Philip Ryken.