Advent Devotional

This morning, I mentioned a devotional for those who were interested in walking through a daily reading, prayer and (for the REALLY ambitious!) activity for the whole family. You can download the main devotional in PDF form here, and the supplement (with activities) here. It's called "The Mothers of Christ" (walking through the stories and perspectives women listed in Jesus' geneology in Matthew 1:1-17) and includes detailed instructions on how to use it, if you've never done anything like this before! Here's a great excerpt/explanation of the meaning of advent to spark your digging into it:

“Advent” means a “coming” or “visitation.” That is exactly what we, as followers of Christ, are waiting for. This waiting frames our experience as Christians in the holy season of Advent. This practice of waiting for things of ultimate concern helps us prioritize life in an age obsessed with the temporality of the now and the new. This is truer in the month of December than in any other month, for our culture’s conception of these Holidays (Holy-days) is largely focused around what one will buy or be given. The Christian conception of this season begins with the realization that what, or who, we really want and need cannot be bought and is not “just a click away,” but must be waited for with patience, submitting to God’s timing, embracing our limits and finitude.

During this season, we rehearse the dramatic plot of scripture, going back in time to revisit the story of God’s creation of the world, its devastating Fall into sin and misery, and His plan to “visit and redeem” his people in the Messiah. In doing so, we find our place within God’s story as a people living in the already and the not yet. We know the Messiah, we know where the Story is going, and so we acutely know how unfinished it really is. So we look and love into a world with a holy impatience, wanting our hearts to mirror the King’s and longing for the earth to mirror His Kingdom.

Many thanks to Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Winston-Salem, NC for creating this outstanding resource!