Tonight’s message was inspired by Advent calendars..The tradition of Advent calendars dates to the mid-19th century, when German Protestants made chalk marks on doors or lit candles to count the days leading up to Christmas. The first Advent calendars were probably printed in the early 1900s by Gerhard Lang, and although production of these calendars were stopped during the 2nd World War, they soon resumed after that, with Richard Sellmer emerging as the leading producer of commercial Advent calendars. According to the Guinness Book of Records, the world’s largestadvent calendar was built in 2007 at the St. Pancras train station in London. The massive calendar, which measured 232 feet and 11 inches tall, and 75 feet and 5 inches wide, celebrated the reopening of the station following its renovation.
The doors on Advent calendars usually open to reveal an image, Bible verse or gift (often chocolate!), and God is the God who opens doors. (Rev 3:7-8) There is a time for everything and a season for every activity (see Eccl 3:1-11), but it can be hard for us when doors close (particularly when we do not understand why) and hard sometimes to discern which doors are opening. God is able to use every situation and change in our lives for good (Rom 8:28) and has good plans for all of us (Jer 29:11). We can be confident that the doors He opens for us to go through are the right ones.
God wants us to open the doors of our hearts to Him (Rev 3:20), allowing Him access to every part of our lives. He also wants us to open wide our hearts to each other (2 Cor 6:11-13), not allowing hurts and wounds to fester and cause us to withdraw from each other. He calls us to love each other deeply from the heart, reminding us that love covers over a multitude of sins. (1 Pet 4:8)
As we prepare during Advent to celebrate the birth of our Lord and as we face a new year which will bring change and upheaval to every life, we pray for courage to walk through the doors of opportunity God will surely open for us.