Why is Advent important?

I was raised in a Southern Baptist Church in Northeast Louisiana and I don't ever remember hearing the word Advent until I was an adult. When I finally heard the word I thought it was just a churchy word to describe the Christmas season. Years later I was visiting FBC West Monroe and they were celebrating the Advent in their worship service. This began me on a search to try and understand what is Advent and why is it important? This is the basics of what I discovered.

1. When is Advent? Advent is the season in the Christian year that lasts approximately four weeks. It begins four Sundays before Christmas and it ends on Christmas Eve.
2. What is Advent? The word "Advent" comes from the Latin word adventus, which means "coming" or "visit." For the church it is a time for us to remember the longing that the Jews had for the coming of the Messiah and for us to long for and be prepared for Jesus' return.
3. Why is it important? Over and over again we find Jesus telling us that His return will come at an unexpected time and that we are to be on guard and we are to be ready (Luke 12:40; Matthew 25:14-30). I believe that Advent is a perfect opportunity for us to celebrate the first coming of our Messiah, while refocusing our attention on being prepared for His final coming. 

The world is in desperate need of the church to live out the truth that our Savior is coming again! This will enable us to hold the things of this world loosely, knowing that this is not our home. It will help us focus our time, energy, talents, and possessions to be about the work of fulfilling the commission that we were given to make disciples of all nations!