Kicking Off the Advent Season.

Exodus 1:15-22
15 The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, 16 "When you help the Hebrew women in childbirth and observe them on the delivery stool, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live." 17 The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. 18 Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, "Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?"
19 The midwives answered Pharaoh, "Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive."
20 So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. 21 And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.
22 Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: "Every boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live."

If all goes well, I plan on spending the next month or so talking about Advent. Yesterday marked the first week of the season, the fourth week before Christmas lasting through the holiday. It's a beautiful season and sometimes we forget what it's all about. So I'm going to give you a little history about it.

Advent of course is one of the seasons in the Christian calendar. The other primary season is Lent, which occurs around the time of Easter. They are similar seasons in that it offers us a time to prepare for the Lord's second coming. However, in Advent, we usually recognize Jesus Christ's birth. Every year on the first Sunday of Advent, my church calls it "Hanging of the Greens" Sunday. It's a time when kids sing favorite songs to the congregation and some of the kids give us the inside scoop on things like the meaning of candy canes and what a Christmas tree symbolizes. It is also a time where the church brings in a wreath from home and hangs it up on the wall.

So why wreaths you ask? Wreaths symbolize God's eternal love for us and its indefinite end - he loves us forever and ever and ever - and, well, he has no beginning or end. The thorns on holly are remarkably similar to the crown of thorns that was worn for us and for our salvation.

Finally, candles are a symbol for Jesus being the light of the world. The four candles, one for each week in Advent, represent hope, peace, joy, and love. Thus, this week I will talk about hope.

As far as today's Scripture is concerned, relate it to this scenario:
You borrow someone's CD or mp3 player. You want to listen to some songs because your friend said they were fabulous. If you return that CD or mp3 to them in the same condition then chances are they'll let you borrow something from them again in the future. I know I would. I enjoy getting something back 'unscratched.' This shows respect for one's property and in turn, and you can be trusted.

I would call that a reward. Just because you're courteous and respectful, you have the offer to borrow something again. Similarly, God rewarded the midwives of Egypt because they did not kill the children. They may not have obeyed the government, but they certainly obeyed God (and you know the government isn't good when they command such evil).

We all know that children are a part of God's beautiful creation. It would be so unworthy do anything to hurt anything that belongs to God. As a result, the bottom line here is that if you take care of God's belongings, he will ALWAYS take care of you! Remember that the next time you ask to borrow something.