Bible Verse:
All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means God is with us). Isaiah 7:14
Today we also receive many
signs of the coming Christmas season:
Often,
I feel that Christmas is too commercialized, people are too busy with stuff to
enjoy the holidays, family dysfunction is annoying and quite frankly, there is
a lot of stress weaved into our Christmas season. But, then, I take a minute and
remember this wise saying:
All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means God is with us). Isaiah 7:14
By clicking the above song title, you will be directed
to a video of our worship song for today.
Hope you enjoy this song selected specifically to go along with our
devotion! (Tip: if you right
click on the link it will open in a separate window and you can listen to the
song while you read)
The word Advent comes from
the Latin word advenio, meaning “coming”.
Advent is celebrated the four Sunday’s before Christmas. In my family we had a Advent wreath that we
used and lit a different candle each week.
The purpose of this
celebration is twofold. First, it prepares us for the celebration of the birth
of Christ and second, it reminds us that we are eagerly awaiting a second
coming of Christ.
Today is the first week of
Advent. If we were lighting the candles
on a wreath, we would be lighting the first purple candle. This week is the Prophesy Candle. This is to symbolize hope and expectation for
the coming messiah.
There are more than 40 clear
prophecies that refer to the coming Messiah in the old testament. Here are just a few of them:
· God spoke through
Moses to say that the Savior of the world would be born of a woman and would be
a descendant of Abraham. (Genesis 3:15 & Genesis 12:3)
·
Isaiah prophesized
that the Messiah would be born of a virgin. (Isaiah 7:14)
·
The prophet
Micah, reveals that the Messiah would be born in the quiet little town of Bethlehem. (Micah 5:2)
·
Hobby Lobby’s aisles
are filled with Christmas craft supplies beginning in July!
·
Christmas carols
are played in every store starting the day after Halloween.
·
Events start to
fill up our December calendar by the first week of November!
“Maybe Christmas” he thought, “doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas…. perhaps…. mean’s a little
bit more!” - The Grinch
So, what can we do different
this year to get back that anticipation, that expectancy for something really big to happen, that build-up in our
mind for something amazing to happen?
For me I am planning on using the advent wreath and candles, kept in the center of our kitchen table as a reminder of the true meaning of Christmas. We also have a advent devotion book with daily devotions that we read as a family when we sit down to dinner. I am eagerly anticipating a wonderful Christmas season this year!
Heavenly Father, Thank you for the gift of your Son, for the humble beginnings of a King, the promised Messiah. Be with us this week as we celebrate the first week of Advent, you’re coming, both the first and the second, as we anticipate with great eagerness the fulfilment of your promises. Amen
Heavenly Father, Thank you for the gift of your Son, for the humble beginnings of a King, the promised Messiah. Be with us this week as we celebrate the first week of Advent, you’re coming, both the first and the second, as we anticipate with great eagerness the fulfilment of your promises. Amen