1 00:00:05,640 --> 00:00:08,800 Avi comes from the Latin word Adventist, which just means 2 00:00:08,800 --> 00:00:12,760 arrival or coming. So it is that anticipation. 3 00:00:12,840 --> 00:00:17,840 There is this tension between joy and longing that exists. 4 00:00:18,080 --> 00:00:22,160 So there's this idea of we are celebrating, bored, also 5 00:00:22,160 --> 00:00:24,560 waiting. And it's just a good thing to be 6 00:00:24,560 --> 00:00:28,640 reminded, particularly around what our culture typically does 7 00:00:28,640 --> 00:00:33,440 around Christmas, which is not wait, not pause, not slow down. 8 00:00:33,440 --> 00:00:36,800 But it's just constant, you know, consumerism is always, 9 00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:40,760 always going. Hey everyone, and welcome back 10 00:00:40,760 --> 00:00:42,760 to the Grace Church Members Podcast. 11 00:00:42,760 --> 00:00:46,000 I'm your host, Whitney Maynus, and I am in the studio today 12 00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:49,520 with Scott and Bobby Rawlerson. Guys, how are we doing? 13 00:00:49,600 --> 00:00:51,320 Hey, Whitney. Hello, good. 14 00:00:51,520 --> 00:00:52,440 Good. Good to see you. 15 00:00:53,480 --> 00:00:56,920 And today we are going to be talking about Advent Happy 16 00:00:57,040 --> 00:01:00,560 December, the December 1st by the time we release this. 17 00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:04,080 And in a minute we're going to talk about some resources that 18 00:01:04,080 --> 00:01:07,400 we have coming out, some things that y'all can look forward to 19 00:01:07,400 --> 00:01:09,840 that just will help you think about this season. 20 00:01:09,840 --> 00:01:14,120 Well, but to start off, gosh, we just love to talk a little bit 21 00:01:14,120 --> 00:01:17,560 about Christmas, wouldn't we? So guys, tell us what, what do 22 00:01:17,560 --> 00:01:19,240 you like to do during this season? 23 00:01:19,240 --> 00:01:23,560 Like what resonates with you and your soul and celebrates well? 24 00:01:24,400 --> 00:01:26,920 Well, I'm going to let Bobby start because he's got, he's got 25 00:01:26,920 --> 00:01:29,120 a lot of, a lot of activity in his house. 26 00:01:29,120 --> 00:01:31,760 We're in teen esters now. Bobby's, Bobby's got lots of 27 00:01:31,760 --> 00:01:33,200 kids. What what does that look like 28 00:01:33,200 --> 00:01:34,400 for your your family? Yeah. 29 00:01:34,400 --> 00:01:37,960 So for US, one of the things that I inherited from my family 30 00:01:37,960 --> 00:01:41,920 growing up is my mom's an accountant, so she like things 31 00:01:41,920 --> 00:01:44,160 ordered. And so my dad would sit by the 32 00:01:44,160 --> 00:01:48,280 tree and he would hand out one present at a time, and then that 33 00:01:48,280 --> 00:01:51,040 person had to open that present. With everybody staring at. 34 00:01:51,040 --> 00:01:54,200 Yes, because my mom was going to watch people open the presents 35 00:01:54,200 --> 00:01:56,600 she bought them. And so that was kind of 36 00:01:56,600 --> 00:01:59,360 something that we adopted into our family because if you just 37 00:01:59,360 --> 00:02:03,160 let five children go free for all, it's going to be chaotic. 38 00:02:03,160 --> 00:02:05,480 And it lasts like, yeah, lasts like 3 minutes. 39 00:02:05,480 --> 00:02:07,600 Yeah, yes. It lasts 3 minutes and then it's 40 00:02:07,600 --> 00:02:10,400 over and there's just, you know, wrapping paper everywhere. 41 00:02:10,479 --> 00:02:12,400 So this is, you know, more organized. 42 00:02:12,400 --> 00:02:15,280 We go one at a time. We, you know, put the trash in 43 00:02:15,280 --> 00:02:18,080 the trash bag along the way so it's structured. 44 00:02:18,080 --> 00:02:20,120 Like it lasts. Yeah, it's structured, so it 45 00:02:20,120 --> 00:02:23,560 takes a while, but but it's fun. So that's one of the things that 46 00:02:23,560 --> 00:02:27,080 I kind of pulled from my family. We always read the Christmas 47 00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:30,320 story on on Christmas Eve. So that's a big, you know, big 48 00:02:30,320 --> 00:02:32,920 piece that I enjoy with with our family as well as just kind of 49 00:02:32,920 --> 00:02:35,320 watching the kids engage with that as they get older. 50 00:02:35,320 --> 00:02:39,720 Yeah, we're, we're also A1 gift at a time wrapped. 51 00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:42,120 Yeah, you know, Christmas morning kind of kind of family 52 00:02:42,680 --> 00:02:45,080 and and I do enjoy that. We know a little breakfast 53 00:02:45,080 --> 00:02:47,520 casserole and put on some kind of music. 54 00:02:47,520 --> 00:02:50,840 I I like Christmas music. Yeah, but not until after 55 00:02:50,840 --> 00:02:52,400 Thanksgiving. I mean as you. 56 00:02:52,440 --> 00:02:55,760 Said but I like it's a hot. That's a hot take though, so I 57 00:02:55,760 --> 00:02:57,480 like Careful I. Like Christmas, I like listening 58 00:02:57,480 --> 00:02:58,840 to Christmas music. I like Elvis. 59 00:02:58,840 --> 00:03:00,840 I think Elvis has a really great Christmas album. 60 00:03:01,240 --> 00:03:04,200 And then, yeah, we don't, we don't have a lot of activity at 61 00:03:04,200 --> 00:03:06,360 our house. And so I, I like getting out 62 00:03:06,400 --> 00:03:08,280 into activities. So I like going downtown, 63 00:03:08,800 --> 00:03:12,240 preferably when it's cold. I like, and I like bundling up. 64 00:03:12,240 --> 00:03:15,000 I like walking around. I like seeing everybody hustle 65 00:03:15,000 --> 00:03:18,320 and bustle. I like going into the Hyatt, 66 00:03:18,320 --> 00:03:21,040 looking at the trees. I mean, it kind of the same 67 00:03:21,040 --> 00:03:22,720 every year, but I just enjoy that. 68 00:03:22,720 --> 00:03:26,360 And then just plot twist, I like to go get ice cream even though 69 00:03:26,360 --> 00:03:28,440 it's cold. Which it is insane. 70 00:03:28,440 --> 00:03:32,760 I know so, but you know, there's something about just the way 71 00:03:32,760 --> 00:03:35,320 people are experiencing the the holidays. 72 00:03:35,320 --> 00:03:37,720 I just kind of like to be a participant and just just watch 73 00:03:37,720 --> 00:03:39,480 folks. Yeah, of people watcher. 74 00:03:39,560 --> 00:03:41,240 Yeah, good hobby to have for sure. 75 00:03:41,280 --> 00:03:45,120 What about you? I mean, I do love movies and so 76 00:03:45,120 --> 00:03:47,920 I think growing up I just remember, you know, we just 77 00:03:47,920 --> 00:03:50,600 leave on whatever channel and it would just cycle through all the 78 00:03:50,600 --> 00:03:53,000 movies. White Christmas just feels very 79 00:03:53,320 --> 00:03:55,640 nostalgic. It is related to the music, kind 80 00:03:55,640 --> 00:03:59,800 of. Your older Frank Sinatra kind of 81 00:04:00,400 --> 00:04:05,320 jazzy vibes are really great. So definitely I would I would 82 00:04:05,520 --> 00:04:10,080 much prefer something warm. The idea of eating ice cream in 83 00:04:10,080 --> 00:04:12,400 the winter is crazy to me, but. Yeah. 84 00:04:12,400 --> 00:04:15,240 And I like your question because there's there is so there's so 85 00:04:15,240 --> 00:04:18,000 many things to choose from because there's so much activity 86 00:04:18,360 --> 00:04:20,680 that goes on. And so then we're kind of back 87 00:04:20,680 --> 00:04:25,840 to our even question today is then how do I center myself 88 00:04:25,840 --> 00:04:28,680 spiritually through through that whole through that whole season. 89 00:04:28,680 --> 00:04:31,120 And so because there's room for both. 90 00:04:31,440 --> 00:04:33,240 There is, yeah. It's so right. 91 00:04:33,240 --> 00:04:34,560 We want to have some fun. We want. 92 00:04:34,560 --> 00:04:37,600 We're not against all of the fun things that the season has to 93 00:04:37,600 --> 00:04:41,400 offer, but there's also a lot of depth to be had and a lot of 94 00:04:41,400 --> 00:04:44,440 rest to be found as well, which sometimes can be easy to miss. 95 00:04:44,440 --> 00:04:46,240 So. Which had two two things. 96 00:04:46,240 --> 00:04:48,440 I do like the week after Christmas because that tends to 97 00:04:48,440 --> 00:04:50,920 be the the reset. Everybody shuts down. 98 00:04:50,920 --> 00:04:52,320 It's great. And then here's here's a 99 00:04:52,320 --> 00:04:53,880 question for the two of you. How? 100 00:04:54,240 --> 00:04:55,880 How soon can you say Merry Christmas? 101 00:04:57,040 --> 00:04:58,520 It's a good question. It's a tough one, right? 102 00:04:58,520 --> 00:05:00,760 I mean, yeah, I was trying to figure out how to start this 103 00:05:00,760 --> 00:05:02,040 podcast. So I was like, do I say Merry 104 00:05:02,040 --> 00:05:05,040 Christmas, December 1st? So we're with Happy December, 105 00:05:05,040 --> 00:05:05,360 but. Yeah. 106 00:05:05,360 --> 00:05:07,120 So do you have an answer to that? 107 00:05:07,120 --> 00:05:09,280 You have a favorite tradition? You have a favorite Christmas 108 00:05:09,280 --> 00:05:11,760 album? Please leave it in the comments 109 00:05:11,760 --> 00:05:14,440 and we'll give you a mention in future episodes. 110 00:05:14,440 --> 00:05:16,240 That's right. One more quick question. 111 00:05:16,240 --> 00:05:18,520 Favorite childhood gift that you got? 112 00:05:19,600 --> 00:05:21,960 Oh, far and away first thing that comes to mind. 113 00:05:22,680 --> 00:05:24,960 It was like 7 year old ultimate dream. 114 00:05:24,960 --> 00:05:26,520 We got in Atari. That's right. 115 00:05:26,520 --> 00:05:29,080 So for all you Gen. Xers, yes, we got in Atari. 116 00:05:30,080 --> 00:05:32,960 Yeah, for me, I was probably six or seven. 117 00:05:33,320 --> 00:05:36,040 It was a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. 118 00:05:36,160 --> 00:05:40,280 Let's. Go and this van was incredible. 119 00:05:40,880 --> 00:05:45,240 It shot pizzas from the top at enemies and man, I was just 120 00:05:45,320 --> 00:05:48,360 obsessed with getting this and I, I don't remember being more 121 00:05:48,360 --> 00:05:49,640 excited. I think it was just a 122 00:05:49,640 --> 00:05:53,640 combination of being young and really, really wanting that van 123 00:05:53,640 --> 00:05:57,880 and then my parents leaving it to the very last gift and man, 124 00:05:57,880 --> 00:05:59,320 it was just a great, it was a great morning. 125 00:05:59,520 --> 00:06:01,680 There you go. Yeah, I think I got a light 126 00:06:01,680 --> 00:06:04,480 bright at some point, and that changed my life. 127 00:06:04,560 --> 00:06:07,880 I just play with that all the time and try to keep my little 128 00:06:07,880 --> 00:06:10,640 brother from eating the pieces. And that was a good time. 129 00:06:10,640 --> 00:06:12,880 So. Well, let's talk a little bit 130 00:06:12,880 --> 00:06:16,480 about Advent. Let, I mean, let's just start 131 00:06:16,480 --> 00:06:19,440 with the idea itself. I, we've talked a little bit, 132 00:06:19,440 --> 00:06:25,520 but just, if you did not grow up in a denomination or a tradition 133 00:06:25,520 --> 00:06:29,160 that really did that, I know I didn't, you know, And then I 134 00:06:29,360 --> 00:06:33,800 have become more associated with the idea and learned a lot about 135 00:06:33,800 --> 00:06:36,680 it, but may not be familiar for everybody. 136 00:06:36,680 --> 00:06:40,720 So, Bobby, can you explain just a little bit of where the idea 137 00:06:40,720 --> 00:06:43,000 of Advent comes from and what we're really talking about? 138 00:06:43,280 --> 00:06:46,160 Yeah, I think this is a good distinction to make because I do 139 00:06:46,160 --> 00:06:49,280 think we have a lot of people at Grace, including myself, who did 140 00:06:49,280 --> 00:06:55,000 not grow up in a tradition that really just went through Advent 141 00:06:55,000 --> 00:06:57,000 as a church. And so I didn't really know the 142 00:06:57,000 --> 00:06:59,800 word Advent existed until I was in college was the first time I 143 00:06:59,800 --> 00:07:02,360 heard it. But I mean, Advent for us, for 144 00:07:02,360 --> 00:07:05,760 people who haven't really experienced it or just as kind 145 00:07:05,760 --> 00:07:09,920 of handled or look, read through the guides that we've had in the 146 00:07:09,920 --> 00:07:12,280 past. Advent for us is just a season 147 00:07:12,280 --> 00:07:15,480 where we want to slow down. Like we want to slow down. 148 00:07:15,480 --> 00:07:17,280 We want to pay attention to Jesus. 149 00:07:18,200 --> 00:07:20,640 There are four Sundays before Christmas. 150 00:07:20,640 --> 00:07:24,560 We kind of do two things. We look back to what Jesus did 151 00:07:24,560 --> 00:07:28,080 in his, in our incarnation is first coming in Bethlehem. 152 00:07:28,240 --> 00:07:30,680 Obviously that's Christmas and that's what we're all 153 00:07:30,680 --> 00:07:33,000 celebrating. But there's an aspect to Advent 154 00:07:33,000 --> 00:07:37,000 where we look ahead to what is promised in his return and that 155 00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:39,680 he will make all things new. And so I think that kind of 156 00:07:39,680 --> 00:07:46,120 twofold focus keeps Christmas from becoming just nostalgic and 157 00:07:46,160 --> 00:07:51,120 it reorients us to the larger story of Scripture and just 158 00:07:51,120 --> 00:07:54,640 keeps our focus on, you know, not to be corny, but the real 159 00:07:54,640 --> 00:07:55,920 reason for the season. Sure. 160 00:07:56,120 --> 00:07:58,840 Yeah, that's right. And what does the word ADVENT 161 00:07:58,840 --> 00:08:00,280 actually mean? Yeah. 162 00:08:00,280 --> 00:08:03,640 So Advent comes from the Latin word Adventist, which just means 163 00:08:03,640 --> 00:08:08,040 arrival or coming. OK, So it is that anticipation, 164 00:08:08,400 --> 00:08:14,000 there is this tension between joy and longing that exists. 165 00:08:14,240 --> 00:08:18,320 So there's this idea of we are celebrating, but we're also 166 00:08:18,320 --> 00:08:20,680 waiting. And so it's just a good thing to 167 00:08:20,680 --> 00:08:25,080 be reminded, particularly around what our culture typically does 168 00:08:25,080 --> 00:08:29,880 around Christmas, which is not wait, not pause, not slow down. 169 00:08:29,880 --> 00:08:33,280 But it's just constant, you know, consumerism is always, 170 00:08:33,480 --> 00:08:35,799 always going. Yeah, and that's a good reminder 171 00:08:35,799 --> 00:08:38,760 for us. Where, where did the tradition 172 00:08:38,760 --> 00:08:41,400 come from? Just this idea of even we're 173 00:08:41,400 --> 00:08:43,720 going to take a whole month, you know, as opposed to like Easter, 174 00:08:43,720 --> 00:08:47,840 we do Holy Week, it's one week. But yeah, what's what's kind of 175 00:08:47,880 --> 00:08:50,600 the origin of all that? Yeah, historically, Christians 176 00:08:50,600 --> 00:08:54,840 kind of began keeping a season of preparation, so to speak, 177 00:08:55,400 --> 00:08:58,760 before Christmas. Back in the early church. 178 00:08:58,760 --> 00:09:02,160 I mean probably late 4th, 5th centuries communities, 179 00:09:02,160 --> 00:09:05,520 particularly in the West, were already setting aside weeks for 180 00:09:05,520 --> 00:09:09,680 fasting and for prayer and instruction kind of leading up 181 00:09:09,680 --> 00:09:11,280 to what would be called like the nativity. 182 00:09:11,720 --> 00:09:15,840 And so there are different, I guess, patterns or different, 183 00:09:18,040 --> 00:09:20,200 you know, periods of time that people would have. 184 00:09:20,200 --> 00:09:22,240 Some would have 5 weeks, some would have six weeks. 185 00:09:22,560 --> 00:09:26,360 But over time, the pattern kind of settled into four Sundays in 186 00:09:26,360 --> 00:09:29,440 Rome in particular, which other regions sometimes would keep, 187 00:09:29,440 --> 00:09:31,600 again, 5 or 6. But for them, that's kind of 188 00:09:31,600 --> 00:09:35,480 where it all came from. And the heart of the tradition I 189 00:09:35,480 --> 00:09:39,400 don't think has really changed. It stayed pretty consistent in 190 00:09:39,400 --> 00:09:41,560 many churches. They, they use kind of Advent 191 00:09:41,560 --> 00:09:46,320 wreaths, weekly candles that are associated with hope, peace, 192 00:09:46,320 --> 00:09:49,200 joy, love, more of a visual reminder. 193 00:09:49,200 --> 00:09:52,800 But I think the heart of it and the heart behind why we're kind 194 00:09:52,800 --> 00:09:56,120 of creating an Advent guide and wanting people to experience 195 00:09:56,120 --> 00:09:58,280 this is has stayed the same throughout the years. 196 00:09:58,480 --> 00:10:02,440 Yeah, which is cool because, I mean, we did not invent Advent, 197 00:10:02,840 --> 00:10:05,560 you know, like it's been around for a while. 198 00:10:05,560 --> 00:10:09,320 And it is always good to be reminded that we are part of 199 00:10:09,320 --> 00:10:12,360 this greater church that has existed for a long time. 200 00:10:12,360 --> 00:10:15,560 A lot of people have thought about the Scriptures and brought 201 00:10:15,560 --> 00:10:19,440 a lot of great practices to bear to help us to reflect on them 202 00:10:19,440 --> 00:10:20,240 well. Sure. 203 00:10:20,680 --> 00:10:25,760 Yeah, that idea of expectation, joyful expectation for The 204 00:10:25,760 --> 00:10:31,600 Arrival, I mean that that is just a little lost on on us when 205 00:10:31,600 --> 00:10:35,760 we need instant gratification. And so I do, I do love that 206 00:10:35,760 --> 00:10:37,720 idea. I don't know, a few years ago, 207 00:10:37,720 --> 00:10:40,360 it's been several years ago now, but we do, we did a teaching 208 00:10:40,360 --> 00:10:42,320 series. We'll probably do it in the 209 00:10:42,320 --> 00:10:45,480 future, but it was called The Arrival and we looked at the 210 00:10:45,480 --> 00:10:48,520 Christmas story through the lens of four specific characters. 211 00:10:48,520 --> 00:10:50,960 And, and I remember that was one of the first times that I had 212 00:10:50,960 --> 00:10:55,240 really made this connection with coming or arrival and Advent 213 00:10:55,760 --> 00:10:59,240 again, again, not growing up in a tradition where we did, we had 214 00:10:59,240 --> 00:11:01,680 the candles and all of that. I mean, we, we may have 215 00:11:02,800 --> 00:11:04,840 celebrated in different, different ways. 216 00:11:05,640 --> 00:11:07,920 And you know, there's a lot of people listening and you have 217 00:11:07,920 --> 00:11:10,560 your own traditions, and there's not one one way. 218 00:11:11,600 --> 00:11:15,840 It's just that every way should lead to the same point, which is 219 00:11:15,840 --> 00:11:19,120 this idea of expectation sure of the coming Christ. 220 00:11:19,120 --> 00:11:23,520 So absolutely. So then as we are getting ready 221 00:11:23,520 --> 00:11:27,560 to enter into this season, the good news and the exciting news 222 00:11:27,560 --> 00:11:30,600 feel like we need some sound effects like shoot, shoot off 223 00:11:30,600 --> 00:11:35,400 Something is that we have a new Advent book that Bobby and Jeff 224 00:11:35,400 --> 00:11:38,120 Ennienberg and a lot of our staff have worked really hard on 225 00:11:38,120 --> 00:11:41,560 putting together for us. And so we really just wanted to 226 00:11:41,560 --> 00:11:44,160 give Bobby the opportunity to share a little bit of the 227 00:11:44,160 --> 00:11:47,960 thought behind that and how it's structured and give you guys a 228 00:11:47,960 --> 00:11:51,720 little sneak peek into it. So Bobby, yeah, let's just start 229 00:11:51,720 --> 00:11:57,160 with how did y'all approach this project and kind of land on the 230 00:11:57,160 --> 00:11:58,840 focus that you did? Sure. 231 00:11:58,840 --> 00:12:02,640 Yeah, we had a great team that all sat down and kind of thought 232 00:12:02,640 --> 00:12:05,840 through how are we going to approach Advent this year and 233 00:12:05,840 --> 00:12:08,000 how is that going to look different from what we've done 234 00:12:08,000 --> 00:12:10,600 historically. And this year we took a a bit of 235 00:12:10,600 --> 00:12:12,360 a different approach than we have in the past. 236 00:12:12,360 --> 00:12:17,320 We created a simple Advent guide that's built around for 237 00:12:17,320 --> 00:12:20,720 spiritual practices, right. If you, if you're more around my 238 00:12:20,720 --> 00:12:23,680 age, you're probably thinking more for spiritual disciplines. 239 00:12:23,680 --> 00:12:25,560 That's kind of the language that has been used. 240 00:12:26,000 --> 00:12:30,920 And each week what the guide is going to help you do is engage 241 00:12:30,920 --> 00:12:33,360 with a short teaching. There's going to be a brief kind 242 00:12:33,360 --> 00:12:37,280 of set up a few clear steps and then like a closing prayer 243 00:12:37,280 --> 00:12:39,440 prompt each week. And that's going to center 244 00:12:39,440 --> 00:12:42,440 around and help you dive into each of the practices. 245 00:12:42,560 --> 00:12:44,880 So just to give you a general idea of what those practices 246 00:12:44,880 --> 00:12:46,240 are, you're going to have scripture. 247 00:12:46,240 --> 00:12:51,560 So the idea that Jesus is his incarnation and also his second 248 00:12:51,560 --> 00:12:53,600 coming are both promises that we see. 249 00:12:53,600 --> 00:12:58,240 And so as a, as a person who's going through this Advent or as 250 00:12:58,240 --> 00:13:01,560 a family, you know, you're going to read Isaiah 9 two through 7, 251 00:13:01,560 --> 00:13:05,920 you're going to memorize Isaiah 9/6 and kind of just be thinking 252 00:13:05,920 --> 00:13:08,960 about that. The second is simplicity. 253 00:13:09,280 --> 00:13:13,480 Simplicity is about making room. So in this season, we have a ton 254 00:13:13,480 --> 00:13:16,000 going on. Everyone's being pulled in so 255 00:13:16,000 --> 00:13:19,320 many different directions. So simplicity is not about not 256 00:13:19,320 --> 00:13:22,400 doing anything. Simplicity is about choosing the 257 00:13:22,400 --> 00:13:26,400 one thing that matters most. So making room in your life for 258 00:13:26,400 --> 00:13:31,200 Christ to experience this season in a way that's going to be a 259 00:13:31,200 --> 00:13:33,360 discipleship moment for you in a lot of ways. 260 00:13:33,840 --> 00:13:36,480 And so that's one of the areas where we'll encourage someone to 261 00:13:36,480 --> 00:13:40,160 subtract something, maybe add something to their, their 262 00:13:40,160 --> 00:13:43,760 calendar. A generosity, the idea of giving 263 00:13:43,760 --> 00:13:47,760 first, right? And being kind of anchoring that 264 00:13:47,760 --> 00:13:51,240 in the idea of, of 2nd Corinthians 8 through 9, that 265 00:13:51,280 --> 00:13:53,880 Jesus became poor so that we might be rich in him. 266 00:13:53,880 --> 00:13:57,200 And so we're going to invite people to decide in advance, 267 00:13:57,240 --> 00:14:00,760 like how they're going to be generous outside of just, you 268 00:14:00,760 --> 00:14:03,400 know, what we typically do with our children and buying gifts. 269 00:14:03,400 --> 00:14:04,880 But how are we going to be generous? 270 00:14:04,880 --> 00:14:06,360 Like, what is that going to look like with your church? 271 00:14:06,360 --> 00:14:09,240 What is that going to look like maybe with a neighbor, maybe 272 00:14:09,240 --> 00:14:12,960 with like a kind of a global partner, a missionary that you 273 00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:14,880 support? Like what is generosity going to 274 00:14:14,880 --> 00:14:17,680 look like for your family? Bobby, I like, I like what you 275 00:14:17,680 --> 00:14:22,080 said somewhere in the notes, you know, you said choose how you're 276 00:14:22,080 --> 00:14:26,480 going to give before the season chooses for you and I and I love 277 00:14:26,480 --> 00:14:31,160 that, you know, because I think that we have a very, very 278 00:14:31,160 --> 00:14:33,680 generous church. We're growing in our generosity. 279 00:14:33,680 --> 00:14:36,160 We were created by God to be generous people. 280 00:14:36,680 --> 00:14:41,640 But there is a lot of ideas, lot of opportunities, lot of things 281 00:14:41,640 --> 00:14:43,840 vying for our attention. And you can either be reactive 282 00:14:44,440 --> 00:14:46,120 or you can be intentional. Sure. 283 00:14:46,160 --> 00:14:49,400 And and I love the fact that you you included that. 284 00:14:49,720 --> 00:14:52,640 And it seems to build off of these, these concepts seem to 285 00:14:52,640 --> 00:14:55,840 build off each other. Week 1 scripture, Week 2, 286 00:14:55,840 --> 00:15:00,040 simplicity, Week 3, generosity. And then tell us about week 287 00:15:00,040 --> 00:15:01,680 four. Yeah, Week. 4 is prayer and 288 00:15:01,680 --> 00:15:04,800 waiting. So it, it is really focused on 289 00:15:05,920 --> 00:15:11,840 Psalm 130 and being diligent to not only understand that we're 290 00:15:11,840 --> 00:15:15,080 reading God's word, we're making room, we're giving first, but 291 00:15:15,440 --> 00:15:18,640 there's this idea of longing that exists and that's why 292 00:15:18,640 --> 00:15:21,840 that's prayer and waiting. So we are engaging with prayer. 293 00:15:21,840 --> 00:15:24,400 We're, you know, lighting a candle, maybe reading scripture, 294 00:15:24,680 --> 00:15:27,720 naming a real longing that you have, you know, thinking about 295 00:15:27,720 --> 00:15:31,080 it from that perspective that maybe it's a healing, maybe it's 296 00:15:31,360 --> 00:15:33,160 a salvation for someone who's close to you. 297 00:15:33,640 --> 00:15:36,160 Maybe there's an issue that you're just going through that's 298 00:15:36,560 --> 00:15:39,920 difficult with you, your family. Like cry out to the Lord in 299 00:15:39,920 --> 00:15:43,560 those in those moments and pray in the midst of the fact that we 300 00:15:43,560 --> 00:15:44,880 are all waiting for him to return. 301 00:15:44,880 --> 00:15:48,720 And so that's kind of the last spiritual practice that we'll be 302 00:15:48,720 --> 00:15:50,600 doing together. But yeah, yeah. 303 00:15:50,600 --> 00:15:53,560 And that reminds me, too. Just that last piece about 304 00:15:53,560 --> 00:15:55,760 longing and just crying out to God. 305 00:15:56,040 --> 00:16:00,880 We did an episode with Joey Altam last Advent season, and he 306 00:16:00,880 --> 00:16:04,000 just did a great job of laying out just the challenges that can 307 00:16:04,000 --> 00:16:07,080 come with this season with grief and loss, but just how much hope 308 00:16:07,080 --> 00:16:10,600 there is to be had as well. So if that resonates with you, 309 00:16:10,600 --> 00:16:13,600 that's episode 44 would definitely encourage you guys to 310 00:16:13,600 --> 00:16:17,280 go back and listen to that. But overall, I mean, I'm 311 00:16:17,280 --> 00:16:21,560 certainly just excited to take the time to slow down. 312 00:16:22,160 --> 00:16:28,040 And is it built to go like you do it each Sunday or kind of 313 00:16:28,040 --> 00:16:29,520 stretch it out throughout the week? 314 00:16:29,760 --> 00:16:31,480 Yeah, I think you could do either. 315 00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:35,880 It's really up to you. I mean, it's a weekly, you know, 316 00:16:36,080 --> 00:16:39,000 chapter by chapter is a one week of a, of a practice. 317 00:16:39,240 --> 00:16:41,000 So you could do that on a Sunday, you could do it. 318 00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:43,160 You know, if Thursday works for you, Thursday is great. 319 00:16:43,480 --> 00:16:46,320 You know, if you want to break it up and do it a little bit as 320 00:16:46,320 --> 00:16:49,080 you go throughout the week, I think that's also a possibility. 321 00:16:49,520 --> 00:16:52,720 One of the things we really would love is for just getting 322 00:16:52,720 --> 00:16:56,880 in into this with other people. So you know, family, great. 323 00:16:56,880 --> 00:17:00,400 If you are single, there are some, you know, community group 324 00:17:00,600 --> 00:17:03,320 that you are involved in where you're getting community at your 325 00:17:03,320 --> 00:17:05,960 campus, see if there's a few people that want to, you know, 326 00:17:06,040 --> 00:17:08,119 walk through this together. That's an option. 327 00:17:08,880 --> 00:17:11,640 At the end of the day, I think what Scott said is, is really 328 00:17:11,640 --> 00:17:13,480 the goal is like being very intentional. 329 00:17:13,880 --> 00:17:18,240 And so that is that is going to save us from being washed away 330 00:17:18,400 --> 00:17:21,839 by the wave of consumerism in this, in this kind of culture 331 00:17:21,839 --> 00:17:24,599 that we live in is being intentional from the beginning. 332 00:17:24,960 --> 00:17:27,200 And so that's the that was the goal behind this. 333 00:17:27,200 --> 00:17:29,760 You know, we have two types of people really. 334 00:17:29,960 --> 00:17:33,200 We have the, the person who's Christmas tree has been up since 335 00:17:33,200 --> 00:17:36,480 the day after Halloween, right? So those people are those people 336 00:17:36,480 --> 00:17:38,960 are a little crazy in my eyes, but that hey, that's, that 337 00:17:38,960 --> 00:17:41,920 works. And, and what I, I think for 338 00:17:41,920 --> 00:17:44,560 those types of people, we're wanting to, to pull back and 339 00:17:44,560 --> 00:17:47,680 say, Hey, slow down. I understand you love Christmas, 340 00:17:47,680 --> 00:17:48,520 right? I get that. 341 00:17:48,760 --> 00:17:51,200 But are you really focusing on the right thing? 342 00:17:51,440 --> 00:17:54,400 And then for the person who is kind of like my family growing 343 00:17:54,400 --> 00:17:56,760 up, which we started thinking about Christmas trees on 344 00:17:56,760 --> 00:18:00,600 December 23rd, like we probably should get one of those trees 345 00:18:00,600 --> 00:18:03,560 that we put lights on because we just had so much going on. 346 00:18:03,760 --> 00:18:05,520 I think for them, it's a little bit different. 347 00:18:05,520 --> 00:18:07,040 It's still a pullback like you need. 348 00:18:07,040 --> 00:18:11,120 You need to be intentional, take time and not just treat December 349 00:18:11,120 --> 00:18:14,120 as any other month, but really engage in in what we're doing as 350 00:18:14,120 --> 00:18:15,160 as a church. Yeah. 351 00:18:15,280 --> 00:18:18,440 And I do love the practical nature of this because I do 352 00:18:18,440 --> 00:18:21,840 think I've observed Advent in the past in a very reflective 353 00:18:21,840 --> 00:18:24,160 way, which is super helpful, super important. 354 00:18:24,160 --> 00:18:28,720 But I like the idea of attaching an action step to it just so you 355 00:18:28,720 --> 00:18:33,400 know it, because it is just you are fighting for brain space 356 00:18:33,400 --> 00:18:36,040 during the season and there's a lot of things fighting for your 357 00:18:36,040 --> 00:18:41,080 attention, a lot of good things. And so just not just trying to 358 00:18:41,080 --> 00:18:45,240 not do something, but trying to do something else productive, 359 00:18:45,240 --> 00:18:48,240 not just for the sake of it. And we've talked on this podcast 360 00:18:48,240 --> 00:18:53,520 before, not for performance, not to check a box, but really to 361 00:18:53,520 --> 00:18:56,600 help us engage with the spiritual truths that you've 362 00:18:56,600 --> 00:19:00,760 paired with each of these things and that we would really just 363 00:19:00,760 --> 00:19:04,480 dwell with the Spirit of the Lord during this season. 364 00:19:04,480 --> 00:19:07,840 And receive, I mean, just he's holding out joy to us. 365 00:19:07,840 --> 00:19:11,200 He's holding out peace to us. Like, he has already offered 366 00:19:11,200 --> 00:19:16,360 that all within himself as he's condescended to this Earth to 367 00:19:16,360 --> 00:19:19,920 come be with us as we've been in Exodus and we've talked about 368 00:19:19,920 --> 00:19:23,320 this idea of eminence, like how perfect it is that we're getting 369 00:19:23,320 --> 00:19:26,080 ready to go into the Christmas season. 370 00:19:26,080 --> 00:19:28,800 And so I'm excited. I just think that this will be 371 00:19:28,800 --> 00:19:32,400 really, really helpful for us. Bobby, while you're here, if you 372 00:19:32,400 --> 00:19:35,800 could talk just a little bit more around just the importance 373 00:19:35,800 --> 00:19:38,240 of practices, spiritual practices, just to build off a, 374 00:19:38,240 --> 00:19:40,720 Whitney said. I mean, traditionally, you know, 375 00:19:40,720 --> 00:19:44,880 like the Advent weeks or hope and faith and joy and peace and, 376 00:19:44,880 --> 00:19:48,840 and, and those are all still a part of this Advent guide for 377 00:19:48,840 --> 00:19:51,280 us, but but they're not the main titles. 378 00:19:51,280 --> 00:19:54,680 We chose different titles. A little bit more about your 379 00:19:54,680 --> 00:19:57,640 thinking around that and then just kind of use that as a 380 00:19:57,640 --> 00:20:00,720 Segway just to talk about the the the role that spiritual 381 00:20:00,720 --> 00:20:03,160 practices really play in helping us become. 382 00:20:03,600 --> 00:20:05,280 Fully devoted followers of Jesus. 383 00:20:05,280 --> 00:20:07,960 Yeah, if you're, if you're going to take, I think your faith 384 00:20:07,960 --> 00:20:12,160 seriously, like you have to be engaged in daily, weekly, 385 00:20:12,200 --> 00:20:16,920 monthly practices where you are intentionally carving out time 386 00:20:16,920 --> 00:20:19,120 to be with the Lord. You know, the things that we 387 00:20:19,120 --> 00:20:23,440 most have heard of growing up is, you know, you read, pray, do 388 00:20:23,440 --> 00:20:24,720 your quiet time, that kind of thing. 389 00:20:24,720 --> 00:20:26,800 I mean, those are essentially just spiritual practices. 390 00:20:26,800 --> 00:20:30,240 And so when we're thinking about Advent, we, we wanted to make 391 00:20:30,240 --> 00:20:34,240 sure that it wasn't just information that was being kind 392 00:20:34,240 --> 00:20:39,960 of given, it was information that's tied to taking a step and 393 00:20:40,200 --> 00:20:43,760 doing these things together in community is one of the things 394 00:20:43,760 --> 00:20:47,160 that we hope happens because doing spiritual practices, I 395 00:20:47,160 --> 00:20:50,280 think particularly in the West in the 21st century, a lot of 396 00:20:50,280 --> 00:20:53,880 these things are kind of individualized. 397 00:20:53,880 --> 00:20:57,040 And so bringing those out of kind of just this is my 398 00:20:57,040 --> 00:20:59,880 relationship with Jesus type thing and actually engaging with 399 00:20:59,880 --> 00:21:03,040 family or friends or whoever is one of the things I think is 400 00:21:03,440 --> 00:21:06,000 really important, not only for the Advent season, but just with 401 00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:10,440 spiritual practices in general. And we really do want to have a 402 00:21:10,440 --> 00:21:13,960 focus as a church on taking what we're learning and putting it 403 00:21:13,960 --> 00:21:16,760 into practice so that our relationship with the Lord is 404 00:21:16,760 --> 00:21:19,720 vibrant and it's growing and we are being disciple. 405 00:21:19,840 --> 00:21:22,480 And these are some of the things that we've been thinking about. 406 00:21:22,960 --> 00:21:25,800 You know, one of the things that we're working on is the next 407 00:21:25,800 --> 00:21:30,160 Essentials mod module, which we did Acts and now we're going to 408 00:21:30,160 --> 00:21:33,840 be looking at spiritual practices for an entire semester 409 00:21:33,840 --> 00:21:36,880 of essentials. Take 9 spiritual practices, 410 00:21:36,880 --> 00:21:39,200 walking through them, putting them in the practice. 411 00:21:39,440 --> 00:21:42,760 You know, one of the days is just to practice and plan how 412 00:21:42,760 --> 00:21:44,840 this is going to be a part of your life going forward. 413 00:21:45,120 --> 00:21:48,440 And so I think this is a kind of a season for our church to think 414 00:21:48,440 --> 00:21:51,920 about. Am I engaging with the Lord in 415 00:21:51,920 --> 00:21:53,640 the ways that he is he's offered? 416 00:21:54,160 --> 00:21:57,200 Am I being intentional about it? Yeah, and I, I think about the 417 00:21:57,320 --> 00:21:59,880 just the word active, intentional and active comes to 418 00:21:59,880 --> 00:22:02,080 mind. You mentioned nostalgia. 419 00:22:02,480 --> 00:22:04,920 And I just know for me personally, you know, one of the 420 00:22:04,920 --> 00:22:07,720 issues, you know, you're getting into the month and there's all 421 00:22:07,720 --> 00:22:10,840 the things that we enjoy, right? The Walking downtown, the 422 00:22:10,840 --> 00:22:14,440 listening to Christmas music, the shopping, the watching the 423 00:22:14,440 --> 00:22:16,360 movies. And it brings back, you know, 424 00:22:16,400 --> 00:22:18,160 for for a lot of us, really good memories. 425 00:22:18,480 --> 00:22:21,200 And it's easy to be nostalgic and kind of stuck in the past. 426 00:22:21,360 --> 00:22:24,200 Sure. But the irony is this idea of 427 00:22:24,240 --> 00:22:29,640 anticipation and expectation. That's an active characteristic. 428 00:22:30,360 --> 00:22:34,640 And and I love the the week 4 is longing and we all have things 429 00:22:34,640 --> 00:22:37,960 that we are longing for. But but how active are those 430 00:22:37,960 --> 00:22:40,880 longings? And how are we applying what we 431 00:22:40,880 --> 00:22:45,600 know about the hope of Christ, the whole purpose of which we 432 00:22:45,600 --> 00:22:49,000 celebrate his his incarnation, right And taking flesh. 433 00:22:49,480 --> 00:22:53,360 How can we connect that to the to the everyday and not just in 434 00:22:53,360 --> 00:22:57,480 the past, in the nostalgia, in maybe even the the frustration 435 00:22:57,480 --> 00:23:00,800 of what not what, what is not happening in our lives, but just 436 00:23:00,800 --> 00:23:04,120 to kind of keep looking forward, keep looking forward, keep 437 00:23:04,120 --> 00:23:06,600 looking forward. And so I even think that the, 438 00:23:06,680 --> 00:23:11,400 the practice that that expectation and remembering are 439 00:23:11,440 --> 00:23:14,080 also practices that are, that are baked into all of this. 440 00:23:14,080 --> 00:23:16,800 Absolutely. And so, so, yeah, don't just 441 00:23:16,800 --> 00:23:20,680 settle for nostalgia. Nostalgia is, is, is a, is a 442 00:23:20,680 --> 00:23:23,480 part of remembering God's goodness and God's faithfulness. 443 00:23:23,800 --> 00:23:26,640 But then how does that activate your faith for the future? 444 00:23:27,120 --> 00:23:30,000 And I love how you've given us some some language and some some 445 00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:31,440 tools for that. Yeah. 446 00:23:31,440 --> 00:23:34,160 And along those lines as well, something else you guys can look 447 00:23:34,160 --> 00:23:38,720 forward to is we will have a two-part teaching series the 448 00:23:38,720 --> 00:23:41,880 week before Christmas and then the week of Christmas where we 449 00:23:41,880 --> 00:23:46,200 finished Exodus and we'll focus on Christ's first arrival. 450 00:23:46,200 --> 00:23:49,520 And then we will have a second teaching on his second arrival 451 00:23:49,520 --> 00:23:52,280 that we are waiting for with expectations. 452 00:23:52,280 --> 00:23:55,000 So it is that idea of we're looking back, we're seeing what 453 00:23:55,000 --> 00:23:58,720 God has already done and then we are expectant for what is still 454 00:23:58,720 --> 00:24:00,360 to come. And then of course we've got 455 00:24:00,360 --> 00:24:03,320 Christmas Eve services as well. So y'all be looking out for 456 00:24:03,320 --> 00:24:07,440 those dates from your campus. But lots of good opportunities 457 00:24:07,440 --> 00:24:11,960 to celebrate, to worship, to be in community and to think about 458 00:24:11,960 --> 00:24:16,200 these things with intention. Well, and we are just grateful 459 00:24:16,200 --> 00:24:18,640 for our staff, just the work that they've put into all of 460 00:24:18,640 --> 00:24:20,520 these things to to help us do that. 461 00:24:20,520 --> 00:24:23,280 So guys, anything else y'all got before we wrap up? 462 00:24:23,560 --> 00:24:25,840 Yeah. I would just love to maybe just 463 00:24:25,840 --> 00:24:30,320 read just a couple of verses just to kind of summarize it's 464 00:24:30,320 --> 00:24:33,360 the intent of all of this and really tie these things 465 00:24:33,360 --> 00:24:34,880 together. We've been studying the book of 466 00:24:34,880 --> 00:24:38,720 Exodus, like Whitney mentioned, the idea of God longing to be 467 00:24:38,720 --> 00:24:41,840 with his people to to Tabernacle with his people. 468 00:24:41,840 --> 00:24:44,200 That just still blows me away. Like, like, why would God want 469 00:24:44,200 --> 00:24:46,040 to do that? Like what does he have to gain? 470 00:24:47,640 --> 00:24:50,280 And then the ultimate fulfillment of that in Christ. 471 00:24:50,280 --> 00:24:53,720 And so you know, we've been doing RTS know a number of you 472 00:24:53,720 --> 00:24:57,360 are we've been reading the book of Leviticus and and just 473 00:24:57,360 --> 00:25:03,480 thinking to Hebrews and I just wanted to end this proclaiming 474 00:25:03,480 --> 00:25:05,400 just the unbelievable nature of Christ. 475 00:25:05,400 --> 00:25:08,920 If I could from Chapter 9, just a couple of verses here 11:00 476 00:25:08,920 --> 00:25:11,880 and 12:00. So Christ has now become the 477 00:25:11,880 --> 00:25:14,880 high priest over all of the good things that have come. 478 00:25:15,400 --> 00:25:19,160 He has entered the greater, most perfect Tabernacle in heaven, 479 00:25:19,520 --> 00:25:22,720 which was not made by human hands and is not part of this 480 00:25:22,720 --> 00:25:25,520 created world. And with His own blood, not the 481 00:25:25,520 --> 00:25:29,560 blood of goats and calves, he entered the Most Holy place once 482 00:25:29,800 --> 00:25:33,480 for all time and secured our redemption forever. 483 00:25:34,080 --> 00:25:38,800 And when you think about longing and anticipation and then the 484 00:25:38,800 --> 00:25:43,640 beauty of God's plan, sending Jesus for His ultimate purpose, 485 00:25:44,680 --> 00:25:47,960 and then us having the being the beneficiaries of that being in 486 00:25:47,960 --> 00:25:51,160 Christ looking forward to that second coming. 487 00:25:51,640 --> 00:25:56,320 It just if you just can just drown out the noise that is such 488 00:25:56,320 --> 00:26:01,520 a reason to celebrate such a reason to celebrate, such a 489 00:26:01,520 --> 00:26:04,720 reason, a reason to slow down, be intentional to gather with 490 00:26:04,720 --> 00:26:08,520 others and just really proclaim the goodness of of Christ. 491 00:26:08,520 --> 00:26:10,840 And so we're on the beginning of the season. 492 00:26:10,880 --> 00:26:14,760 And so just just ask you guys just take small steps to be able 493 00:26:14,760 --> 00:26:18,760 to reclaim that each and every day so that it can grow and that 494 00:26:18,760 --> 00:26:21,880 we can really have a have a Worshipful Worshipful Advent 495 00:26:21,880 --> 00:26:23,880 season together. So Bobby, thanks again for your 496 00:26:23,880 --> 00:26:25,120 work on this. No, absolutely. 497 00:26:25,400 --> 00:26:26,040 Thanks for having me.