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Colossians 2:16-17 ESV

Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.

I. ADVENT
A. Advent is a time to celebrate Jesus coming, coming to live in us, and His final coming in the future.

II. FOOD AND FESTIVALS (16)
A. God gave Jews dietary restrictions for their health and to portray His holiness to the world.
B. Jesus makes God known perfectly removing the need for dietary restrictions. (Mark 7:14-15, Acts 10:9-16)
C. God commanded Jews to observe festivals to commemorate their history and His faithfulness.
D. Jesus forms a new people of God & Jewish festivals are redefined as we see what they pointed to in Jesus.

III. SHADOWS AND SUBSTANCE (17)
A. Food and festivals were shadows. Jesus is the substance of life.

IV. THE SHADOW OF CHRISTMAS
A. Christmas is a summation of the Gospel. We could not get to God so God came to us, for us, to save us.
B. We miss the love of God for us in Jesus’ birth and skip straight to the love of God for us in Jesus’ death.
C. We miss the love of Jesus’ birth because birth is not a choice for us but it was for Jesus. (Phil 2:6-8, John 3:16)

NEXT STEPS:
1. See the Gospel story in old traditions.
2. Start new traditions.
3. See Christmas as both a rear view mirror and a windshield.