Why Do We Follow the Christian Calendar?

There’s no clear command in Scripture to observe the Christian Calendar rhythm. So why do we do this at Park? Here are just a few reasons:

1) To Remember Jesus’ Story 
It’s a way to year after year remember and order our calendars & days around the Good News of Jesus and His Story. We are quick to forget Him, so observing the Christian Calendar is one of the things we can do to call our forgetful hearts back to its roots in Christ!

2) To Link Arms with our Forefathers
It’s a way to link arms with our forefathers from centuries before us who celebrated the Christian Calendar. The church was not born a couple years ago, but rather comes with a great heritage we join in.

3) To Prepare Our Hearts
It helps prepare our hearts for Christmas and Easter. Too often we hit Christmas & Easter completely distracted by everything else except Jesus’ birth or His resurrection. Not only does it help prepare us for Christmas (through Advent) and Easter (through Lent), but both Christmas and Easter are not simply days but also seasons. We’re allowed a bit more time to sit in them, worshiping our Savior, and thinking on these amazing truths!

4) To Humble Us
Lastly, it reminds us we’re a part of a much bigger Story. Eugene Peterson said, “When we submit our lives to what we read in Scripture, we find that we are not being led to see God in our stories but our stories in God’s. God is the larger context and plot in which our stories find themselves.”

If you’re looking for a couple books to read on the Christian Calendar, check out a couple below:

“Living The Christian Year” Bobby Gross
“Ancient Future Time” Robert Webber

Here are a couple Advent devotionals (one of which is free!):

“Good News of Great Joy” John Piper Free! If you want an actual copy, click here. We also carry them in our bookstore.
“Counting The Days, Lighting the Candles” Elyse Fitzpatrick. Includes activities for kids.