Advent Study
'At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and gret glory. When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.' Luke 21:27-28
An “Advent” is about the preparation, anticipation, and expectation of something that is coming. Every Advent season, Christians look forward to celebrating the day when love was born – the day our Savior, Jesus Christ, was born in Bethlehem.
We can’t exactly say what people did in
expectation of Christ’s first coming, except that it may be like our awaiting
the time of His return. Jesus tells us that His second coming will be preceded
by all kinds of anguish, perplexity, and terror. These are not the sorts of
things that give us hope, but Jesus tells us to stand up in hope because our
redemption is near. It takes great faith to be hopeful when it seems like the
whole world is falling apart all around you. Such faith does not come by
accident; instead it comes from God. This faith is also often strengthened by
the very hope that sees us through pain and suffering.
We prepare during the season of Advent so
that our faith can be strengthened in the confidence that our redemption is
near. As we pause to prepare for the annual celebration of the Savior’s birth,
we live in confidence that Christ Jesus has redeemed us and no matter what
chaos is going on in the world He will come to rescue us from it.
Prayer
God, thank you for bringing joy to the
world by sending your son, Jesus, to take away the punishment for my sins so I can
have a relationship with you. I am grateful that you are always in control and
you give me hope. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
Ponder
Let your mind wander to your memories of
Christmas as a child, the excitement, lights, colors, etc. How do you compare the anticipation you had
about Santa and getting gifts with your anticipation of the coming of Jesus
Christ?
Worship Video
Christmas Story
1 John 1:1-5
The Incarnation of the Word of Life
That
which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our
eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim
concerning the Word of life. The life
appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal
life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and
heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with
the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete.
Light and Darkness, Sin and Forgiveness
This is the message we have heard from him
and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.
Bible Verse
1 John
1:5Bible Verse
This is
the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him
there is no darkness at all.
You can see our creative responses at AdoreHimCreations and NewlyCreative.
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Oh, I can not see the video. What a pitty. I love Michael. W. Smith! (It is because of a leagal thing in Germany.)
ReplyDeleteThe legal thing is annoying isn't it. Can you look the song up some other way?
DeleteLoved the video. What a great song and message to lead our hearts and minds into the Advent season. Preparing the way in our own hearts is so important if we want to help prepare the way for others to meet the Lord. Thank you for all of the hard work you have done to prepare this for us.
ReplyDeleteLove the drums in that music video, very powerful!
ReplyDeleteI agree, love the drums. Thanks to everyone who has set this up for the world to share <3
ReplyDeleteWhat a powerful worship video, so relevant for the beginning of our advent study. Thank you for this devotional emphasis for our first day.
ReplyDelete