The Angels Herald Peace: The Fourth Sunday of Advent
- Anna Portillo
- 12 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Sunday, December 21, 2025
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Advent is a season of waiting, a season of preparation, a season of remembering. As we enter the fourth week of Advent, drawing close to Christmas, we remember that the time of waiting is not forever: the end is in sight! HIS coming is near! We celebrate because the Messiah has come; He has drawn near to us; He has won the victory; and as we feel the lingering effects of sin while waiting for His return, we wait with hope. Just as Jesus has come, so He will come again. On the first Sunday of Advent, the candle of hope foretold pointed to God’s plan of salvation even from the beginning. The second week of Advent pointed to the specific plan for God’s love to be displayed in Bethlehem, as He knew when, where, and how He would send His Son. Last Sunday, the light of a third candle, reminding us of the shepherd’s joy at the Messiah’s birth, joined the flickering light of the first two: joy because God had neither forgotten nor abandoned His people; joy because HIS promises were coming true; joy because HIS Messiah had come for lowly, humble people like the shepherds.
And the reality is that HIS advent - Emmanuel’s coming - brings not only joy at the fulfillment of promises long foretold, but another reality as well, even as we continue to feel tension of living in a world still waiting for His return. This Sunday, we lit the fourth candle on the Advent wreath, which points to the incredible truth that the Angels herald ... [click here to read more]
Anna Portillo is the wife of HLI's Executive Director, José Portillo. Aside from being a wife and mother, Anna is a freelance author and editor in her spare time, with a number of published books and devotionals for adults and children. She also writes regularly for the Retratos blog, and serves in Women's ministries and in leading worship and Vive Charlotte Church.
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