Advent Devotionals 2017
DaySpring Baptist Church
Theories to the origins of the Advent wreath tradition are varied but we do know Christians have been using the wreath as a spiritual tool and practice during the season of Advent for a long time. When it comes to the colors and the meanings that are associated with the four candles, traditions vary among denominations and branches of the church. What you read below will help explain how we have imagined and prepared this Advent guide for you this year. Thank you to Sam Davidson for helping with the liturgy and to Karen Melton, Candace Spain-Smith, Naomi King and Tiffani Harris for contributing to the family activities.
The Wreath: The wreathis a circle of evergreen branches representing eternity and the unending love of God for His people. On that wreath, five candles are arranged: three purple candles, one pink candle, and a white candle in the center. These candles represent the light of Christ coming into the world. During the season of Advent, one new candle on the wreath is lit each Sunday and throughout the week. In some traditions, the candles represent components of the Nativity story, such as the shepherds. In others, each candle represents a virtue or quality, such as love, that each Christian should strive to embody and practice as we await His coming and the reconciliation only He can bring. There are other traditions as well. The reflections in this booklet focus mostly on the virtues, but some also contain Nativity components.
The Candles: On the first Sunday of Advent, the first purple candle is lit. This candle is often called the "Prophecy Candle" in remembrance of the prophets, primarily Isaiah, who foretold the birth of Christ. This candle represents hope or expectation in anticipation of the Messiah. On the second Sunday of Advent, the second purple candle is lit. This candle represents love. In some traditions this is referred to as the "Bethlehem Candle," symbolizing Christ's manger. On the third Sunday of Advent the pink or rose-colored candle is lit. This pink candle is often called the "Shepherds’ Candle," and it represents joy. The last purple candle, oftentimes called the "Angels’ Candle," represents peace and is lit on the fourth Sunday of Advent. On Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, the white center candle is lit. This candle is called the Christ Candle and represents the life of Christ that has come into the world, pure and spotless.
Blessing for the wreath: O God, by whose word all things are made holy, pour your blessings upon our time together this Advent. May this wreath and the candles remind us to slow down our hectic pace and make our hearts ready for the coming of Christ your Son and our Lord. Amen.
Advent Week 1: Hope
Opening Reflection:
“Celebrating Advent means learning how to wait.”
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Biblical Background
Although God declares through the prophets that God’s people will be conquered because they have forsaken the covenant, they are not left without hope. The prophets speak God’s Word of hope in the midst of darkness; God will break into their history in the future, restoring not only Israel, but the whole world through God’s people.
Isaiah 11
A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
The spirit of theLORDshall rest on him,
the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of counsel and might,
the spirit of knowledge and the fear of theLORD.
His delight shall be in the fear of theLORD.
He shall not judge by what his eyes see,
or decide by what his ears hear;
but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,
and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.
Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist,
and faithfulness the belt around his loins.
The wolf shall live with the lamb,
the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
the calf and the lion and the fatling together,
and a little child shall lead them.
The cow and the bear shall graze,
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp,
and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den.
They will not hurt or destroy
on all my holy mountain;
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of theLORD
as the waters cover the sea.
On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples;
the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious.
Carol: “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”
O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here,
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Rod of Jesse,free
Thine own from Satan's tyranny;
From depths of Hell Thy people save
And give them victory o'er the grave.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
Luke 1
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be bornwill be holy; he will be called Son of God.And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren.For nothing will be impossible with God.”Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.
O come, O come, Thou Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai's height,
In ancient times did give the Law,
In cloud, and majesty and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death's dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
Closing Reflection
“Advent is a time of waiting. Our whole life is a time of waiting; waiting for the time when there will be a new heaven and a new earth. Then all people will be as brothers and sisters, rejoicing in the words of the angels’ song: ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests’ (Luke 2:14). Learn to wait! For he has promised to come: ‘Behold, I stand at the door.’ But now we call to him: ‘Yes, come quickly, Lord Jesus. Amen.”
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Conversation Starters
-How is Advent different than Christmas?
-What was a time when you had to wait for something? Have you ever had to wait for God to do something?
-Why do you think waiting is so hard?
-What was your favorite part of the readings for this week?
Activity Suggestions
Waiting is not a simple task for anyone, but especially for children. Similarly, really understanding the concept of hope is equally challenging. Waiting becomes a little more bearable when we have hope that there is something at the end of the wait. The Advent wreath and candles are a visible sign of our waiting and the light from the candles remind us of our hope. Some families also like to refrain from placing all of the nativity pieces out at the beginning of Advent. Slowly adding pieces throughout the month reminds us to wait and reminds us to remember the hope that we have in the gift of Jesus. The final culmination on Christmas morning is putting the baby Jesus in his rightful place in the nativity manger.
Consider with your family what it means to have hope. Hope is more than a feeling or emotion. Hope is often a choice, made in faith, to keep our eyes on our heavenly home even though the storms of this world may swirl around us. The body of Christ is a conduit of hope and we are called upon to share that hope with our brothers and sisters who are struggling. Who do you know that needs a reminder of the hope that Christ brings? How can you as a family share the hope of Christ with others? Is there a kind gesture that you can give? Can you invite someone for a meal or walk with someone in a way that shares the hope of Christ with them? Maybe there is a family or someone who is struggling financially, or struggling with illness that could use some encouragement. Consider being a “secret Santa” to someone and drop off a note of encouragement, a gift and a tangible reminder of God’s presence with them during their tough days. Children can really get excited about picking out a gift or making a gift and giving it in secret. Let them experience the joy of giving secretly.
Saint Nicholas Feast Day (December 6)
We don’t know very much about the real Saint Nicholas, who is now remembered as Santa Claus. He lived a long time ago, around the year 300, in what is now the country called Turkey. He grew up as part of the small church community there, which we think the Apostle Paul probably started on one of his missionary journeys. Nicholas became the bishop, or pastor, in the city of Myra, and lived a long life of faithful witness and service to Jesus. His legacy was preserved through all kinds of stories and legends, and what we know about his life and character is actually pretty different from how the world celebrates Santa Claus.
Lord, today we celebrate Saint Nicholas.
We want to learn from him how we can be more like you.
Use his example to grow and transform us.
Teach us the real meaning of Christmas.
At the time when Nicholas was bishop, Christians were being persecuted and arrested for their faith. Everyone in the Roman Empire was supposed to give their highest allegiance to the emperor, but Christians said that they only had one real king—and that was Jesus. As the leader of the Christian community in his city of Myra, Nicholas would have gotten in a lot of trouble for this. He was probably put in jail and even beaten up for saying that only Jesus was Lord, but he persevered and remained strong in his faith. Nicholas reminds us that following Jesus isn’t always easy.
James 1
My brothers and sisters,whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy,
because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance;
and let endurance have its full effect,
so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.
Many of the stories that were later told about Saint Nicholas are probably legends. They may not have really happened, but they are based on the kind of person Nicholas was and the kinds of things that he did for God. One of the things that Nicholas almost always does in these stories is take care of people that are vulnerable in trouble—especially children and people who were poor. As a leader of the church, Nicholas considered it his responsibility to care for the people around him who were most in need.
James 1, cont’d
Let the believerwho is lowly boast in being raised up,and the rich in being brought low,
because the rich will disappear like a flower in the field.
For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the field;
its flower falls, and its beauty perishes.
It is the same way with the rich;
in the midst of a busy life, they will wither away.
The most famous story about Nicholas is a story about giving unexpected gifts:
Once upon a time, there was a man with three daughters. They used to be very rich, but times were hard and they lost almost all of their money. They were so desperate that the man was going to do something terrible: He was going to sell his oldest daughter into slavery so that the family could have enough money to eat. But Pastor Nicholas heard about it, and one night he secretly threw a bag of gold into the man’s house so that the daughter could afford to get married instead. When the family ran out of money again, Nicholas did the same thing for the second daughter; and when it happened a third time, he did it for the third daughter. But the last time, the father chased Nicholas to find out who had shown his family so much kindness. Nicholas told the man it was him, but made him promise not to tell anyone as long as he lived, because he wanted to obey Jesus by giving humbly and secretly.
James 1, cont’d
But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves.
For if any are hearers of the word and not doers,
they are like those who look at themselvesin a mirror;
for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like.
But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere,
being not hearers who forget but doers who act—
they will be blessed in their doing.
When we talk about Santa Claus now, we talk about all of the many material gifts that he gives to people who have been good. But Saint Nicholas gave gifts in a different way. He gave gifts to people who barely had enough to get by, and who maybe didn’t even deserve it. He gave gifts to people like God gives gifts to us; not because we earn them, but because he loves us. Sometimes Santa Claus distracts us from the good news that Jesus is born. But the real Saint Nicholas reminds us that Jesus wants us to celebrate him and care for the people that he cared about.
James 1, cont’d
Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this:
to care for orphans and widows in their distress,
and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
Conversation Starters
-What was your favorite part of these stories about Saint Nicholas?
-How do you think Nicholas is different from Santa Claus like we see him now?
-What do you think it means to give sacrificially?
-How did Saint Nicholas live like Jesus?
Advent Week Two: Love
Deuteronomy 6-10
This is what Moses said to the Israelites before God led them into the Promised Land:
Hear, O Israel:
TheLORDis our God, theLORDalone.
You shall love theLORD your God with all your heart,
and with all your soul, and with all your might.
Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart.Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise.Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblemon your forehead,and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates….
So now, O Israel, what does the LORDyour God require of you?
Only to fear theLORDyour God,
to walk in all his ways, to love him,
to serve theLORDyour God with all your heart and with all your soul,
and to keep the commandments of theLORD your Godand his decrees that I am commanding you today, for your own well-being….
For theLORDyour God is God of gods and Lord of lords,
the great God, mighty and awesome,
who is not partial and takes no bribe,
who executes justice for the orphan and the widow,
and who loves the strangers, providing them food and clothing.