Use this devo as you are able, in whole or in part. Don’t feel compelled to read it all. Simply read and meditate upon whatever catches your attention. The goal is enjoying time with God through His Word and in prayer. Questions about the devotional elements?
Using the Advent Devo
The Advent Devo walks through the narrative of Jesus’ birth. It begins in the Garden with God’s promise of a Savior and ends with an eager anticipation of Jesus’ promised return. In the middle, God shows His unmistakable faithfulness in sending the promised Rescuer. We see His love for the lowly and outcast as He proclaims the news of His Son to the shepherds. We marvel at His heart to see all nations come and worship His Son through the Magi’s journey.
Even if you know the Advent narrative well, don’t rush past what God has for you in this season. For many, this may be the first time to consider all that God is saying through the birth of His Son. For others, it will be an opportunity to rediscover the way God intimately works in the details of life for His glory and the good of man. For all of us, may this season be one marked by hope, expectation, remembrance, and worship. The King has come and is coming! There is much to celebrate.
Call to Prayer
“I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope.” (Ps. 130:5)
Scripture Reading
Readings: Genesis 3:1-15 + Psalm 25:1-7
Read the passages above.
Then spend a moment in quiet stillness before God.
(Click on the link to read each of the passages, or turn there in your Bible)
Advent in the Beginning…
Many of us grew up with the story of Advent beginning in a stable. But, the story begins in a Garden.
When God created the world, all things were just as they should be. Creation functioned in perfect order according to God’s beautiful design. Man walked in unbroken relationship with God, fully known and unafraid. But in an instant, all that changed as Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s good instruction. They took of the fruit and ate, and sin entered the world. Fellowship broken. Peace shattered. Creation thrown into chaos. Darkness, depravity, fear, shame, and selfishness flooded the human heart, separating man from God. The situation was dire.
But right then, amid the darkness, God spoke a word of hope: a Savior would come, born of a woman, to defeat the enemy and deliver God’s people.
Scholars refer to Genesis 3:15 as the proto euangelion or the “first gospel.” From the first moment of our need for rescue, God’s promise was there. Before He addressed Adam and Eve, God turned to the serpent and announced that sin would not have the final say and that the schemes of the enemy would not prevail.
Dwelling
If you are a Christian, think back: When was the first moment that you realized you needed rescue?
Prayer
Living God, I confess the slant of my heart to hate you and my neighbor. But that sounds so harsh—I’m not that bad, am I God? Yet if I am brutally honest I see that I’m in deeper than I dare admit, unless I am born again by your Spirit. Fill me with the greater hope this Advent season that in Christ’s love I am on my way to new life. In the Savior’s name, amen. (prayer based on the Heidelberg Catechism, Questions 5 & 8).
*Prayer borrowed from Philip Reinders’ Seeking God’s Face: Praying with the Bible through the Year
Wonder
Advent begins in the dark. Literally. It is the darkest time of the year. Advent, which begins our church calendar, begins facing this darkness. Advent comes to us as a gift of darkness, emptiness, and says – will you enter this period of waiting with me?
Will you pause to remember and recognize your own emptiness and darkness – and practice longing for the light? These works of art invite us to enter into the wonder and waiting for the Light of the World to dawn on Christmas morn.
MUSIC
(if accessing via email, CLICK these links: Advent Playlist 1 + Advent Playlist 2)
Benediction
May the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven, shine on those living in darkness and guide our feet into the path of peace. (see Luke 1:78-79)