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Advent Devotional

Advent Devotional

Dec. 1 - Dec. 25

A Weary World Rejoices
An Advent Devotional for When It Doesn't Feel Like Christmas

Download Advent Devotional Descargar Devocional de Adviento

Introduction

“For more than a millennium, Christians around the world have set aside a season to remember and proclaim the arrival (or “advent”) of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The story of Christmas is way more than just one day can hold. We need a whole season to marvel at the incarnation of our Lord. We need time to let our hearts prepare him room. We need space to retell his story to our friends and family.

But life doesn't often create time and space for us to reect on the gospel. In fact, for many of us, our circumstances make it dicult to celebrate at all this Christmas season. Sometimes, it doesn't feel like Christmas, and so we need a little help to see the light of Christ in the darkness around us.

We designed this devotional for that purpose-to help our church family remember and proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ, right there in the middle of the ups and downs of real life.

The devotional begins on December 1. Each entry takes a few verses from the Summit Bible Reading Plan for the day and provides a Christmas devotion, with an opportunity for you to respond. It should take about 10 minutes each day to do.

At the end of each entry we've provided a prompt for “Engaging with Kids.” Whether you spend time with kids this season because you are a parent, a doting aunt or uncle, a caregiver, or an invested community member, these prompts will help you contextualize the verses you are reading. Celebrating Christmas with kids always seems to make it more fun, and practicing Advent with kids may increase your sense of wonder. You can use these prompts every day, once a week, or just when it works out. Whether you choose to use these prompts with kids or not, we hope that they help you reclaim the joy of this season.

So from the young ones making their first Christmas memories, to those who have celebrated more Christmases than we can recall, this Advent season we join the crowd of Christians who came before us, along with our brothers and sisters around the world, to welcome the King again as we await his return in glory.

Daily Devotional

Day 3 - The Family of God

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
1 John 3:1

Advent is a time to celebrate the coming of Jesus, the Son of God, as a baby. In Advent, we remember that Jesus was made like us “in every respect” (Hebrews 2:17). He shares our humanity and is not ashamed to call us sisters and brothers (Hebrews 2:11). He is the one that made it possible for us to become part of God’s family, through his life, death, and resurrection. What a great joy for us, to be called God’s children and treated as his heirs!

At Christmas, many of us will gather with our earthly families to celebrate the birth of Jesus. We plan for it to be a time of great joy and happiness, but it so often does not work out the way we intend. Instead, Christmas becomes a time where anxiety, stress, and difficulty grow inside us. Families are broken. Plans overwhelm us. Grief over absent family members can overtake our hearts. At times, the events around Christmas can feel less like a celebration and more like an obligation.

As we prepare for this time with (or without) family members at Christmas, it is good for us to remember that we have been adopted into God’s family. He brought us near to himself and he wants us in his tribe.

No amount of grief or brokenness changes that reality. We can rejoice that our heavenly Father loves us as his dear children and has promised to never leave us or forsake us. We can celebrate the birth of Jesus regardless of our family circumstances because we have been adopted into a greater family—a lasting one from which we will never be separated. Praise the Lord!

Respond

Name one thing that is difficult for you this Christmas season. Spend time sharing your burden with God and remind yourself that you can trust him with it. Praise and thank your heavenly Father that we have been adopted into his forever family.

Engage with Kids

Ask kids how people can tell they belong in their family. Do they have their mother's eyes? Do they laugh just like their grandpa? Do they wear matching shirts on vacation? Discuss: What does it mean to be a part of someone's family? Read 1 John 3:1 and talk about what it means to be a part of God's family. Why does it show God's love that we are called his children?

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