The most significant danger in evangelical churches is not ritualism but sentimentality. When Advent devolves into warm feelings, nostalgic stories, and cultural coziness, it loses its theological weight. The biblical themes of longing, judgment, promise, and hope are replaced with the generic “holiday spirit.” A biblical Advent draws from books such as Isaiah, Micah, Luke, and John. It does not turn sermons into spoken Hallmark movies.

Within Reformed circles, Advent often sparks mixed reactions. Some embrace it gladly as a season that draws the church into deeper meditation on the incarnation and the promised return of Christ. Others approach it cautiously, fearing that it may introduce unhelpful traditions, sentimentalism, or violations of the Regulative Principle of Worship. Both instincts contain truth. Advent can be a fruitful season of discipleship, and it can also drift into practices that obscure the gospel.

A wise, historic, thoroughly Reformed approach is to practice Advent with conviction and care: embracing what is biblically beneficial and rejecting what is unbiblical or unhelpful. Here is my attempt at a pastoral defense of Advent, along with a critique of the ways it often goes wrong.

A Defense of Advent

It must first be said that the Reformers did not reject all Christian seasons—only their abuses.

While the Reformers removed superstitious feast days and rejected compulsory observance of holy seasons, they did not abolish all rhythms of redemptive focus.

Calvin regularly preached on Advent texts, and Geneva used a simple Advent lectionary. The Westminster Directory for Public Worship allows sermons that “upon occasion” address Christ’s birth, and certainly does not forbid sustained attention to themes of the incarnation. The Puritans primarily opposed making days of observance obligatory, not meditating on the incarnation over several weeks.

Historically, Reformed churches have used seasons like Advent to help their people contemplate major events in redemptive history. Adequately understood, Advent is simply a pastoral and pedagogical tool, not a ritual mandate. Therefore, Advent can honor, rather than violate, the Regulative Principle of Worship.

Advent does not introduce new elements (no new sacraments, no new acts of worship, etc). It simply organizes the church’s preaching and praying around Scripture’s own themes: the long-promised coming of Christ, the incarnation and humility of the Son, and the hope of His return in glory.

If a pastor preached a four-week sermon series on the incarnation, no one would accuse him of liturgical compromise. Advent is just that, a Scripture-rich structure for sustained biblical reflection.

Secondly, Advent strengthens catechesis and discipleship.

In a biblically illiterate age, Advent provides an annual opportunity to rehearse the storyline of redemption: the promises of the prophets, the need for a Redeemer, the miracle of the incarnation, and the hope of Christ’s second coming.

Families often read Scripture together more consistently during this season.

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