In The Garden

HopeInMadison

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. - Romans 5:12–13 (ESV) Christmas time is nostalgic. We pull out decorations from years gone by. We listen to music from people and genres from years ago. We eat those secret family recipes. We rehearse memories of days gone by. One of the anchors of this nostalgia is the story of Christmas. We think back to shepherds, mangers, and a child, but in fact the story of Advent is much, much older than we usually think. This Advent season we will look back, way back. We will consider the full story of Advent that points much farther then most think. This week we will look back to the very beginning, not just to Mary, Joseph, or even John the Baptist, but back to the very beginning, the beginning of everything. In this beginning we will discover why Advent was even necessary. This is a great time to invite a friend to join you.