At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. He took with him Mary, to whom he was engaged, who was now expecting a child. Luke 2:1-5 NLT

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw His star when it rose and have come to worship Him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. Matthew 2:1-4 ESV

Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: “A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.” Matthew 2:16:18 ESV

God used the evil Roman political apparatus to orchestrate the fulfillment of prophecies pertaining to Christ’s first coming, including, among others, the virgin birth (Isaiah 7:14), in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), in the lineage of David (Jeremiah 23:5-6), and the massacre of the innocents (Jeremiah 31:15).

Advent is a season of commemoration of Christ’s first coming and the anticipation of His second coming. Taken from the Latin adventus (coming, arrival, invasion), Advent proclaims the coming of Christ in two ways: it celebrates His long-awaited arrival as Messiah over 2,000 years ago, and it anticipates His imminent return as King of kings and Lord of lords. Christians often speak of Christ’s “first advent” and “second advent”; that is, His first and second comings to earth. His first advent was His birth in Bethlehem (the Incarnation) that we celebrate as Christmas. In 2025, Advent begins on November 30th and runs through Christmas Eve December 24th. This year our Advent focus is on supporting players in the Christmas story: Zechariah, Elizabeth, John, Gabriel, Augustus, Herod, the Innkeeper, Simeon and Anna.