Advent 1: Surprised by an Angel

If you were to walk through the door in this picture you would be entering Orchard Baptist Church and it probably wouldn’t surprise you to meet any of the members or the minister there.

Zechariah was a priest who was chosen to go into the temple to burn incense. He did this in the part of the temple where only priests were allowed because that is where God’s most holy presence lived. You would have thought that he would be expecting a divine encounter but in contrast, when he encountered an angel there he was shocked and surprised.

What about us? When we come to worship do we expect to experience God’s presence or are we just going through the motions? Do we want to know that God is with us or is our expectation that he is probably going to feel far away?

I pray that God would give us a greater expectation that we would know and be transformed by his presence.

This is the first in a series of short thoughts for advent to help us to consider the events surrounding the birth of Jesus as we prepare ourselves for Christmas.

There is one each day leading up to Christmas day, so check back tomorrow to find out about ‘the God who promises the Impossible’.

You can read more about Zechariah and the angel in Luke 1 starting at v5 and you can find links to my other advent reflections by clicking here.