Are you ready?
Are you prepared?
He's coming,
so you better watch out,
you better not cry, you better not pout I'm telling you why.
That's right, Jesus Christ,
is coming to town.
So here we are, at that time of year,
where we are, all around the world, especially
here in America, frantically preparing for Christmas and,
as we have all the Christmas preparations of course,
we're going to hear lots of Christmas music and
we'll hear about Santa Claus coming to town.
I really do hope and pray that you and yours
have a splendid Christmas this year.
But as you make all these preparations,
don't forget about the real meaning of Christmas–
Christ.
God sent His own son to this world, Jesus, for you,
for me, to be savior of all.
And as you prepare for the celebration of Jesus' first coming,
let's not forget that Jesus is coming again.
This is where we get that special word Advent,
have you heard that word before?
Advent is not just a time where you have
a countdown calendar with little, bitty chocolates
for children to enjoy.
Advent is really an important time.
It comes from a Latin word, it means "coming."
And so during this time of Advent,
we think about how Jesus came to us once,
that's what we celebrate at Christmas,
and he comes to us now, in His word, the Bible.
But he's also going to come back one last time,
on Judgment Day.
So, Jesus is coming,
now what?
Well, that's what we're going to talk about this week.
So today, one quick point for you,
Jesus is coming, so keep watch.
One time, Jesus told a story about
a great wedding celebration.
Now keep in mind,
in those days, wedding celebrations would be
often up to an entire week long.
And the wedding party would often wait
for the groom to come.
And when he finally arrived, they would have this big,
grand, procession to the wedding feast and the banquet.
So as Jesus tells this parable,
there were ten virgins
who were waiting for the groom to come.
And five of them were very foolish, as they were waiting
they got tired, they fell asleep.
But five were very wise.
They kept watch, they were waiting, their lamps were
trimmed and burning, and the light was ready.
And sure enough, when the groom finally arrived,
the five foolish ones were left out.
They were shut out of the wedding feast.
And the five wise ones who were ready,
they were there at that great celebration.
And so here's how Jesus concluded that parable, Jesus said
"Therefore, keep watch, because you do not know
the day or the hour."
Do you feel like you are completely bogged down right now,
with Christmas preparation?
Maybe you have all kinds of to do lists, and checklists,
and decorations, and parties to plan for,
and all those kinds of things.
Let's not lose track of what we're really preparing for.
We're preparing to celebrate Jesus coming to this world,
but our mind is also on the big picture.
The grand scheme of things, that Jesus will come back for us.
Keep Christ in mind this Christmas, His first Coming,
His last Coming, and keep watch.
And then keep watching this week, because we'll talk
more about how you can prepare for that great day
when Jesus returns.
Wow, we have so much going on at Christmas time.
Please share with us, what do you do at Christmas
to keep your focus on Christ,
and rejoicing in our Savior's birth?
Share in the comments below so we can help each other out,
and then come back and join us again tomorrow.