He will come again in glory!
I trust you had a wonderful Thanksgiving despite any changes or challenges you had to manage. It’s difficult to believe we are into the Advent season and still dealing with all the upheaval and uncertainty of the effects of the pandemic and the grief it is causing in so many people’s lives. As we continue to hang on in these difficult days, now more than ever, we need to have a “living hope”. 1 Peter 1 reminds us… “In God’s great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.”
"The celebration of Advent is possible only to those who are troubled in soul, who know themselves to be poor and imperfect, and who look forward to something greater to come." ~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Each Monday during Advent, we will post a series of reflection questions that highlights our theme for the Advent season, "Living Hope".
We believe if you commit the time to connect with God each day through this Advent devotional, you will experience the Holy Spirit in a whole new way during this Christmas season. You will come to understand why God is called: “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isa. 9:6)
WEEK 1 - HE WILL COME AGAIN IN GLORY
Monday, 11/30 - This has been a hard year. What words would you use to describe 2020? What difficulties or challenges has made this year especially stressful, painful, or discouraging?
Tuesday, 12/1 - How do you tend to think of the word hope?
Wednesday, 12/2 - Read and reflect on 1 Peter 1:3–5, 13. What does it look like to embody a “living hope”? How does this passage challenge you?
Thursday, 12/3 - Read Romans 5:3–5; 8:18–30. In your own life, how have you experienced the connection between suffering, hope, and love? How does waiting in expectation of Christ’s return play a part in that hope?
Friday, 12/4 - Read Revelation 1:4–8; 21:1–5, 22–27; 22:1–5. What draws your attention in these passages, particularly in light of the hardships you named earlier? Why is having the Second Advent in view so crucial for our lives in the here and now?
Saturday, 12/5 - Read Revelation 22:20. Reflect candidly on your own life: What does it mean for you to pray, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus,” that today?
May hope come alive in your life during this Advent season, and may you “be strong and courageous, all you who put your hope in the Lord!” (Ps. 31:24)
God’s arrival always brings hope!