Advent is a time of waiting—not in anticipation of unwrapping presents on Christmas day—but in eager anticipation of Christ’s return. In fact, that has been the tradition of Christianity from the earliest of times. The Christian year does not begin on January 1, nor with “...the merriment of Christmas or the triumph of Easter. We do not begin with the work of the church or the mandate of the Great Commission. Instead, we begin in a place of yearning.” We wait with eyes and hearts ready to receive our King, but also looking back, rejoicing in God’s faithfulness in coming to us throughout human history.

In this four-part series, we’ll immerse ourselves in this advent season of waiting—simultaneously preparing ourselves to celebrate Christmas—through the lens of four songs featured in the Gospel of Luke. These songs—sung out by Mary, Zechariah, some angels, and Simeon—not only rejoice in the coming of Jesus, but also in the coming of God’s Kingdom through him. We discover not only the greatest cause for joy, but also the shape of lives orientated in praise to the King of Kings.