Category: Advent Devotionals 2020

I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, then you will produce much fruit. —John 15: 5

I believe even when….I feel DISCONNECTED. The pandemic has dragged on long enough now where even I, as an introverted person who enjoys her alone time, am feeling disconnected. I know that most of us have felt that way at some point in 2020. We have felt disconnected from each other…our families, our community, our coworkers, and our church family. For me, the disconnect has now extended to feeling disconnected from God. But what is the GOOD NEWS? God is Emmanuel, God With Us. He is not disconnected from us! And the other good news is that even though I “feel” disconnected, I know that I am actually not. I know in my heart that all I have to do is call on God and He’ll be there for me. He will always be there. He is my Rock. God is connected to us in many mysterious ways. During this Advent season, we are reminded of the most tangible way in which God has connected with us. He sent His Son to dwell on this earth with us, to live among us, to be fully human, to grow into a man who taught us the way, and who teaches us still today. The ultimate connection! God’s Son is born to us again as we celebrate this Advent and Christmas season … yes, even in the year 2020. Hallelujah!

Father, thank you for being near even when I don’t feel You. Thank you for being near even when I have not drawn near. I want to remain connected to you always; help me know Your presence. And thank you for the gift of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Kathy King

Read other Advent 2020 Devotionals or download the book as a PDF.

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the LORD. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” —Isaiah 55: 8-10

I believe in God’s presence even when I do not fully understand what God is asking me to do. At this time of year, I begin to obsess about our food ministry’s big holiday event – The Great Turkey Giveaway. This year will be the 10th annual event. When I “heard” God’s call to open a food pantry at our church, I did not fully understand. After all, I had no knowledge of opening or running a food pantry. Obstacles were everywhere. Many hurdles needed jumping and much convincing, asking, and at times begging, was necessary. I told my story over and over. Some people were clearly uncomfortable with me talking about how God told me to “feed my sheep.” At times, I felt very alone in the process. Most people do not go around speaking about a call from God. But I persevered, even when I did not know what the outcome would be. All I knew was that God had clearly spoken to me and God was with me every step of the way. Since the reality of running a food pantry requires many hands and feet, money, and food, of course, I met with multiple potential volunteers and donors …. all while the food pantry was not even in existence. It was still just a vision. But God touched many people’s hearts and opened their eyes and ears to envision the possibilities. During that first Giveaway event ten years ago, we had the funds to give away 100 turkeys. This year, we will give away at least 550 turkeys along with everything a family might need to prepare a holiday meal. Over the years, our feeding ministry has touched countless lives. Those who received food, as well as those who gave food, have all been touched. One might even say that our annual Great Turkey Giveaway is now a holiday tradition for our church. I still do not fully understand the extent of God’s call, but I truly believe I was called to keep giving food to those in need. That persistent thought – “feed my sheep” – is still there. I know that God will always be with me as we live out this calling. Thanks be to God for allowing us to be in His service. Do I love Jesus? Yes, Lord, I do. Then “feed my sheep.” (John 21:17)

Holy God, we do not always understand your ways or the plans you have for us. In this Advent Season help us to listen to your voice that calls us to be like you. Help us always, to see your face in those who are in need, and to offer ourselves where we are able. Amen.

Theresa Sandifer

Read other Advent 2020 Devotionals or download the book as a PDF.

Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. —Isaiah 40: 30-31

There are so many things in life which we want very much, but when we first think of them, we’re not ready for them. So, we have to wait, prepare ourselves, and pray they will come at last. My name is Joseph. My family prides itself on its descent from our great King David, but glory has gone from our house. My father was the carpenter of Nazareth, a village in Galilee. When he died, his shop came to me. I was the carpenter of Nazareth. What I had wanted and waited for had come and I was ready.

Now, Nazareth is small. It has few families. But at that time another family there traced its line to David also, and Mary was a daughter of that house. She was a lovely girl, my choice to be my bride. Now, as you know, negotiations in these affairs are complicated. It seemed as if I waited forever, but preparations were finally completed. We were betrothed in the time-honored Nazareth style. Marriage would come later, one year later. Till that time, Mary remained with her parents, and I was alone in my shop. I hated to think of a whole year of waiting but wait I must.

There was a bright spot though. Each day I saw her at the well drawing water with her friends. Then one day, she did not come with the others to draw water. Three days went by, and still Mary did not leave her house. I began to worry, afraid she had taken ill. I went to speak with Mary’s father. He was hesitant and distant. Finally, however, after I pressed, he spoke.

Without a word I left him. I could hardly believe what I was told. I sat in my room alone. I tried to think. What could I do? How could we marry now? But how could I expose the woman I loved to shame? There was no answer. At last I slept. In my dream, I saw someone standing at the foot of my bed, someone bathed in a golden light. A quiet voice filled my small room. The words I heard were gentle and reassuring. They told me what I was to do.

When I awoke, I went to Mary’s father a second time. We came to an agreement. The wedding would be small and would take place within a week. Mary and I entered the home that we would share with joy. Here her son would grow up. Here as his earthly father I would keep him safe. Soon he would be born, but still there were months to wait.

Lord Jesus, we long for your coming. The days pass slowly, but we wait with joyful expectation. Come soon. Amen.

Guy Johnson

Read other Advent 2020 Devotionals or download the book as a PDF.

You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. —Matthew 5: 14-16

Americans have faced serious trials in the last ten months that may or may not have tested their faith in God. However, when a survivor of the Holocaust can say “I believe in God” even when enduring the horrors of genocide and the systematic persecution of their race, I know I want to have that same kind of faith. My own journey of faith has grown and faltered over my lifetime. Since the shutdown, due to the coronavirus in March, my candle has been flickering, growing stronger as conditions improved but then weakening again due to the political climate, racism, and the natural disasters of hurricanes and fires. Innocent lives have been snuffed out, homes and properties destroyed, and Americans have displayed a profound hatred toward others of conflicting political views. My faith was tested. What was happening and how could it be stopped? I know the answer is FAITH, faith that our God is always with us and will provide. I keep looking for simple words I can fall back on in difficult times to keep my faith strong and alive. Sometimes those words for me can be found in a song. Songs and hymns are often a source of comfort in times of need. As I remember the songs of my childhood, I feel my faith come alive and grow. One of those is a gospel song, called God on the Mountain, made popular by Lynda Randle.

The lyrics are so true and simple:

Life is easy, when you’re up on the mountain
And you’ve got peace of mind, like you’ve never known
But thing change, when you’re down in the valley
Don’t lose faith, for you’re never alone.

The second verse continues:

We talk of faith way up on the mountain
But talk comes easy, when life’s at its best
Now it’s down in the valleys, trials and temptations
That’s where your faith is really put to the test.

The beautiful chorus finishes with:

For the God on the mountain, is still God in the valley,
When things go wrong, He’ll make them right
And the God of the good times, is still God in the bad times
The God of the day, is still God in the night.

We thank you God for the gift of music and the way in which it can refresh us when we are discouraged. Remind us that whether we are up on the mountain top or down in the valley, you are with us, we are not alone. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Bobbi Marino

Read other Advent 2020 Devotionals or download the book as a PDF.

Advent Week 3
Sunday December 13, 2020

This week we turn to Luke’s writing which is an account in two acts: the  Gospel biography of Jesus and then the story of the early church–the “Jesus community.” Whether you were a Jew or Gentile in those days, deciding to become a part of this illegal, early Christian movement could bring punishment for your allegiance. Surely the message in both Luke and Isaiah that the downcast, lowly, and oppressed would rise up is a welcome and inspirational account. Like the Jewish exiled people of Isaiah’s time and like the early Christians, we also sometimes wonder where God is in our suffering. We long to hear the promise that a reason for joyful praise is the good news on the way!

Holy One, 
we thank you for the glimpses we catch 
of your gift of the depths of joy.
Even in the midst of fear, 
of challenge, of struggle–
even when we are not sure of your presence,
ignite the flame of joy within us, 
that we might glow with its brilliance
from the inside out. Amen.

(Light the candle of Joy and relight the candles of Hope and Love.)

Read Isaiah 57:14-19 and Luke 1: 1-4; 26-56

Litany of Joy

In times when humanity disappoints,
perhaps when even our own thoughts and behaviors disappoint,
it is an important act to call out, name and claim 
the consequences of our wrongs.
And in times of distress, it is a prophetic act to call out, name and claim
our belief in the promise of joy. 

Hear these statements of belief from members of our own congregation:

Hear the good news of Joy, Emmanuel is coming
On the hills or in the valleys, God is with us.

Hear the good news of Joy, that a child is to be born
In our slumber and in our work, God is with us.

Hear the good news of Joy, that the angels sang so long ago
To Mary so meek and mild, and to us is Joy foretold

The ancient song still echoes on, of peace and joy to all the world.

Benediction

We wait for justice
but we do not wait to work for change;

We wait for restored health
but we do not wait to work towards healing;

We wait for wholeness
but we do not wait to work at binding brokenness;

We wait for peace
but we do not wait to work to eliminate hatred.

Go into your lives humming the tunes that keep that joy alive in you and that spur you on in your work of justice and reconciliation. Raise your voices and say, “Do not be afraid!” Amen!

Adapted from Worship Design Studio materials by Marcia McFee.
Used With Permission.

Read other Advent 2020 Devotionals or download the book as a PDF.

One of the things we all love about Advent and Christmas is spending time with loved ones. One favorite tradition is to watch beloved Christmas movies. Each Saturday we will recommend one such movie geared toward families that relates to that week’s Advent theme and includes related Scripture and prayer. We invite you to read aloud these passages and prayers and consider how they may relate to the movie each week. There is also a movie option for grown-ups who want to dive deeper into that week’s theme.

Family Movie: How the Grinch Stole Christmas

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you. I will remove your
stony heart from your body and replace it with a living one.
—Ezekiel 36:26

Let’s watch a movie that captures the essence of this lovely Bible verse.
The Grinch tries to keep Christmas from coming, but can anything
really stop Christmas? When the Grinch’s heart grew what else changed?
Christmas is not about things. When we let go of what we think
Christmas is “supposed” to be, we open our hearts to what Christmas
already is – an amazing gift from a God who loves us very much.

Loving God,
Thank you for the gift of Christmas.
Thank you for the gift of love.
Thank you for the gift of you.
Amen.

Dive Deeper into Love: Film Suggestion for Grown-ups

Girls on the Wall, available to rent on Amazon

In this second week’s film, Girls on the Wall, the teenage girls of
Warrenville Prison are not your average delinquents. Having “graduated”
from juvie to prison, these are the kids most likely to remain in the
correctional system their whole lives. They are also some of the sharpest
and most irrepressible young women you’ll meet. When the girls of this
heartland prison are given an unlikely shot at redemption — the chance
to write and stage a musical based on their lives — they must relive their
crimes, reclaim their humanity, and take a first step toward breaking
free of the prison system.

Adapted from Worship Design Studio materials by Marcia McFee.
Used With Permission.

Read other Advent 2020 Devotionals or download the book as a PDF.

For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that
everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God
sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world
through him. —John 3: 16-17

I believe even when the world is and has been full of injustice. Instead
of waking up pleased with my own lot and apathetic to others, I wake up
and want to fight for a better world. Jesus said that the first and greatest
commandment is to “love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and
with all thy soul, and with all thy mind … And the second is like unto
it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Matthew 22: 37, 39, KJV).
Many, perhaps most, Christians can repeat these lines by rote, and yet
we often fail to recognize their significance. These two commandments
are together for a reason. The concept of loving the Lord is necessarily
abstract and up for interpretation. But the task of loving our neighbor as
ourselves is a call so clear that it is painful. Every day, we see neighbors
who could use our love, and we look away.

In this world, loving is hard. It requires taking risks with no promise of
reward. It requires helping those who may never be able to help back
and confronting the forces promising a select few peace and prosperity.

Our collective failure to love has made this world unjust. I believe even
when injustice surrounds us, because I think God wants us to see it
in order to really see each other. Through these commandments, God
offers us a path to real justice, peace and prosperity on earth as it is in
heaven.

Holy God, we come this Advent season asking for our eyes to be opened to
those around us. Move us to acts of love where we see the needs of those
around us. Help us to love others as you have loved us. Amen.

Caleb Doan

Read other Advent 2020 Devotionals or download the book as a PDF.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him
—1 John 4:16

I am brought to my knees by a commercial on television. A newborn baby is placed on his mother’s chest, his head turned toward her face. From his little wrinkled countenance, his eyes immediately scrutinize his mother’s face, looking with intensity and love at the one in whom his search for hope and trust and life itself resides. I feel as if I am looking at a miracle and at a truth. We are born from love, we are made of love, and we search for love.

Everything good springs from love. All of creation comes from God’s power and love. He was so in love with his creation that he sent Love itself in the form of his son. He wanted to show us the truth and power of love.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Jesus spoke these words, understanding that the creative force of the universe not only loved the creation but was love itself. The miracle and mystery of creation are testaments to the creator’s unfathomable genius and love—from the beginning when massive exploding stars produced all the elements from which all matter is made, through the formation of the galaxies, the mountains and the oceans of our precious planet, and the emergence of abundant and exuberant life.

In this season of Advent — even in the tumult that the year 2020 has brought to us — as we await once more the coming of the Messiah, how can we not feel ourselves enveloped by the hope and assurance that are promised to us by the immeasurable gift God has given — to become flesh and blood just like us and to live on this earth with us in a quest to show us what love is and what life can be.

Go outside. Listen to the song of the birds, breathe in the crisp air, look at the amazing structure of a bright orange pumpkin, gaze at the heavens in the silence of a black winter night, revel in the sounds of children playing, enjoy a cup of hot coffee. All of these things are gifts to us from the creator. How can we in turn not respond with love?

Come, Lord Jesus, come. We welcome you in love.

O God Most High, help us to embrace the miracle of redeeming love that this Advent season celebrates. Enable us to see the unspeakable mystery of your breaking into our human world and humbly living here on this earth with us. We have no words to express our awe and reverence in the face of this towering miracle. Grant that our hearts and actions reflect the fathomless love that you offer us and that we live every day of this season and beyond as your witnesses and ambassadors to all people. Amen

Betty Schroeder

Read other Advent 2020 Devotionals or download the book as a PDF.

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, where is the one who is born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him. —Matthew 2:1-2

Shimon Ben-Aaron is my name. I am not a prophet—there have been no prophets in Israel since the days of Zechariah—but I have studied the sacred writings for many years. When I came to understand many of their secrets, I began to speak in the forecourt of the Temple sharing my message with all who would stop to listen.

With good reason my words offended the great King Herod. Three times his guards arrested and beat me. After that third time they roughly threw me beyond the city gates where I lay for hours in the dust by the roadside.

Many passed by, carefully turning their faces away from me. A caravan of strangers in our land, however, stopped to give me aid. The leaders of the caravan were three learned students of the stars, who had come from beyond the eastern desert. Their investigations had revealed to them that a new King of the Jews, the Messiah, was about to be born. Wishing to honor the young child, they had come to Herod’s palace to learn where they might find him. The old king had made a great show of finding the correct location, assuring them that he would also honor the new king. “The Messiah is to be born in Bethlehem, of King David’s line,” I said. “That is what we were told,” they answered, “But where in Bethlehem will the baby be? Is there a palace there?” “Herod has a mansion on the hill overlooking the town, but you will not find descendants of David there,” I said, “the Romans are taking a census right now and by their law members of David’s line are crowding into Bethlehem to be counted.”

Since I wished to pay homage to the baby Messiah also, the three scholars agreed to let me come with them to Bethlehem. We traveled through the night. The great star which had alerted them to the royal birth brightened the whole sky and lighted our way to the little town ahead. We went first to the inn in the town square. When he learned our purpose in coming, the inn keeper told us of a child recently born and honored by town shepherds. In the stables behind the inn we found the baby. The three wise men honored the young Messiah with rich gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Then they warned the child’s parents of the threat they felt Herod posed for their son, but Joseph, the boy’s earthly father, had already learned of this danger. We watched the family depart from Judea on their way to safety in Egypt.

When I saw the new king there in the manger, I had no gift to give except my love. In the years since that time, I have spread his story to everyone I meet everywhere I go. Perhaps that is my gift.

Once again, we await your coming. Help us to love you and our neighbors more fully. Come quickly, Lord. Amen.

Guy Johnson

Read other Advent 2020 Devotionals or download the book as a PDF.

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? —Matthew 6:25-27   

I believe even when
    the sky is a beautiful blue, or maybe even another hue
    my foot has a bad nerve, or I am allowed to serve
    that beautiful bee stung me, or my son is high in a tree
    the entire area decides to flood, or my husband’s finger is covered in blood
    my Mother has cancer in her lung, or when hymns of praise are being sung
    all of my body has an ache, or my son decides brownies to bake
    my son calls to say he is in a wreck, or when we are watching Star Trek
    after a rain, the sky gives me a rainbow, or my son drops an engine on his big toe
    the outside is covered in ice, or my neighbor is being extremely nice
    we are totally without power, or I see a magnificent flower
    the bills are all due, or the baby’s brand new
    when we are cold, in the rain, in a tent, 
    or just waiting for the Season of Advent when a tiny Baby will save me
    How can that possibly be?

     the soldiers put him on a cross
     and it is to be their great loss
     because they know not who is the Boss

Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for the beauty of creation, the blue of the sky, the gifts of music, and the joy of family and fellowship. We thank you too that in the difficulties of life, you are still with us to lead and guide us on our way. In this Advent season we thank you that you humbled yourself to become a tiny baby and in this gift of love we too are offered new life. Amen.

Daphne G. Grady

Read other Advent 2020 Devotionals or download the book as a PDF.