Christian Living on Advent

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Advent is God Coming to Us

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Advent is a coming, not our coming to God, but his to us. We cannot come to God, he is beyond our reach; but he can come to us, for we are not beneath his mercy. Even in another life, as St. John sees...

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Author

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

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Scripture

Psalm 34:18, Matthew 5:3, Romans 8:23, Isaiah 64:1, Isaiah 9:6-7, Zechariah 9:9

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.

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Waiting is Not Wasting Time: Advent 2024

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

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Scripture

Luke 2:29-32

God’s dealings with us are always on the order of what he did with Abram and Sarai. He makes his promises, and he will keep his promises; but just how and when he will keep them is something for which...

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Leader: Come, let us be about our

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Ruth C. Duck

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Leader: Come, let us be about our preparations for a new advent of love among us. people: The wastelands of life around us cannot shut out the promise of life-giving water. leader: Hatred and warf...

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Anticipation Lifts the Heart

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Luci Shaw

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Anticipation lifts the heart. Desire is created to be fulfilled – perhaps not all at once, more likely in slow stages. Isaiah uttered his prophetic words about the renewal of the natural Creation into...

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Good morning, Father

Author

Richard Herman

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Philippians 4:6-7, Luke 15:11-32, Matthew 6:19-21, Psalm 51:10-12, James 4:8, 1 John 1:9

Prayer of Adoration Good morning, Father. While we slept last night – You were awake, sustaining our world, protecting us and readying a new day. Jesus – You hold us in the palms of Your hands: str...

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Lord Jesus–You’ve come, are coming and

Author

Richard Herman

Scripture

Revelation 22:12, Titus 2:13, John 8:12, Psalm 119:105, Proverbs 3:5-6, Psalm 34:18, Matthew 5:44

Lord Jesus–You’ve come, are coming and will come again. Whether we know it or not, we live on the edge of Your advent every moment of every day either with anticipation or with anxiety. As if stumblin...

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O God, who looked on us when we had

Author

Ambrose of Milan

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Romans 8:38-39, Matthew 3:13-17, Luke 1:26-38, Titus 2:13-14, Galatians 4:4-5, John 1:14

O God, who looked on us when we had fallen down into death, and resolved to redeem us by the Advent of your only begotten Son; grant, we beg you, that those who confess his glorious Incarnation may al...

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Loving God: Abba—our Father; Jesus—our

Author

Richard Herman

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Scripture

Romans 8:15, Galatians 4:6, Hebrews 10:24-25, John 14:27, James 1:5

Loving God: Abba—our Father; Jesus—our Savior; Spirit—our Comforter. As Advent begins ... we take a deep breath, we grit our teeth and steel our nerves anticipating the fast pace of the next few week...

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Longing for Eden

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Caroline Cobb

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In a letter to his son, J. R. R. Tolkien famously wrote, “We all long for [Eden], and we are constantly glimpsing it: our whole nature at its best and least corrupted, its gentlest and most humane, is...

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Burnout and A Loss of Meaning

Author

Will Willimon

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Scripture

Isaiah 40:31

Burnout is the disease of our age. Time magazine had an editorial way back in the 1980s about “the burnout of just about everybody.” I concluded that the metaphor of burnout was not quite right, parti...

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Author

Phillips Brooks

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Scripture

Isaiah 7:14, Genesis 12:1-3, John 4:25-26

It was not suddenly and unannounced that Jesus came into the world. He came into a world that had been prepared for Him. The whole Old Testament is the story of a special preparation. . . . Only when ...

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Almighty God, you have surprised us

Author

Scott B. Bullock

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Scripture

Isaiah 55:8-9, Matthew 13:44, Lamentations 3:22-23, Psalm 139:7-10, 1 John 1:9, 2 Corinthians 3:18, Luke 2:1-20, John 4:7-26, John 21:1-14, Luke 24:13-35, Matthew 17:1-8, Luke 2:25-38, Luke 1:35-38, Hebrews 13:2, Isaiah 43:19

Almighty God, you have surprised us with your presence in unexpected ways. In the expectations of our routine, we have missed the treasure that you place before us. We come to worship you in community...

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Author

Christopher L. Webber

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Scripture

John 1:1-14, Galatians 4:4-5, Isaiah 60:1-2, Titus 2:13, Revelation 1:7, Hebrews 13:5

Christ came to earth in the past, but Christ comes to us now in prayer and sacrament and human need, and he will come again at the end of the world.

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Loving God ~ Father, Son and Holy (A)

Author

Richard Herman

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Loving God ~ Father, Son and Holy Spirit: We are a people who are waiting: waiting to celebrate Messiah’s birth; waiting to see what this day – and every day – holds as Your blessings for us; and wait...

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Inspired by John 1 and Matthew 25

Author

Ellen R. Dawson

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Scripture

John 1:14, Matthew 25:31-46

You came to us, Word made flesh, to show us what it means to love. You came to us, Word made flesh, to teach us how to serve. You came to us, Word made flesh, to remind us to clothe the naked and fe...

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Author

Clement of Alexandria

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Scripture

Hebrews 11:8-10, Luke 1:38, Matthew 21:22 , Isaiah 40:31, Philippians 1:6, James 1:2-4

Faith is a voluntary anticipation.

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Adapted from John Francis Wade’s "O Come, Let Us Adore Him"

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

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Scripture

Luke 2:10-11, Psalm 100:2, Luke 2:8-20, Micah 5:2, Matthew 2:1-2, Matthew 2:1-12, Luke 2:15-16, Revelation 19:16, Luke 2:8-20, Psalm 95:6, Philippians 2:10-11, Luke 2:25-38, John 1:14, Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 2:11

Leader: O come, all ye faithful, Joyful and triumphant, People: O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem. Leader: Come and behold Him, Born the King of Angels! O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us ador...

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In this season of waiting

Author

Austin D. Hill

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As you continue in this season of waiting, may your waiting refine you. May you grow in the likeness of Jesus each day while we await his return. And may the love of God, the grace of our Lord Jesus ...

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Adapted from Isaiah 9:2-4

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Scripture

Isaiah 9:2-4

Leader: The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. All: The light has shined on those who lived in the land of the shadow of death. Leader: You have multiplied the nation. You have...

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Author

Henri J. M. Nouwen

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Scripture

Psalm 25:5, Isaiah 40:31, Lamentations 3:25-26, James 1:2-4, Matthew 11:15, Romans 5:3-5, Isaiah 30:18

Waiting is a period of learning. The longer we wait, the more we hear about him for whom we are waiting.

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Author

Frederick Buechner

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The birth of the child into the darkness of the world made possible not just a new way of understanding life but a new way of living it.

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Gracious and faithful God – our

Author

Richard Herman

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Scripture

Isaiah 43:1, John 14:16-17, Proverbs 3:5-6, Exodus 13:21-22, Isaiah 43:16-19, Matthew 19:26, Acts 17:26-27

Gracious and faithful God – our Creator, Redeemer and Comforter: When we don’t know the way – You show us the way; and When we can’t find a way – You make a way. Thank you! Thank you for Your gif...

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Adapted from Luke 1:46-55

Author

Dustin Ray

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Scripture

Luke 1:46-55

Pastor: "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant." All: "for he who is mighty has done great things ...

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Lord Jesus, Master of both the light

Author

Richard Herman

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Scripture

Matthew 4:12-17, John 1:1-14, Genesis 1:3-4, John 8:12-20, James 1:1-18, Ephesians 5:8-9, 1 John 1:5-10

Lord Jesus, Master of both the light and the darkness, send your Holy Spirit upon our preparations for Christmas. We who have so much to do seek quiet spaces to hear your voice each day. We who are an...

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Author

Henry Law

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Scripture

Philippians 2:5-8, John 1:14, 1 Corinthians 10:13, 1 Peter 2:24, Romans 8:3, Matthew 20:28

What self denial! What self abasement! What self emptying! He, whom no infinitudes can hold, is contained within infant’s age, and infant’s form. Can it be, that the great ‘I AM THAT I AM’ shrinks int...

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Adapted from Isaiah 40

Author

Austin D. Hill

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Scripture

Isaiah 40:1-5

“Comfort, comfort my people,” says your God. A voice cries: “In the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord. Make straight in the desert a highway for our God Every valley shall be lifted up, ...

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Lord—we’re so anxious we can’t

Author

Richard Herman

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Scripture

Isaiah 40:31, Psalm 27:14, Romans 12:2, Matthew 1:23, John 11:25-26, Hebrews 13:3

Lord—we’re so anxious we can’t wait! Some of us can’t wait for Christmas to come, while (honestly) some others of us can’t wait for it to be over. We’re not proud of it—but that’s just the way it is ...

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The Child Born in the Night Among Beasts

Author

Frederick Buechner

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Scripture

Isaiah 7:14, Micah 5:2-4, 1 Kings 19:11-13, Luke 2:6-7, Philippians 2:5-8, Psalm 22:6-8 , Matthew 1:22-25

In this excerpt, Frederick Buechner shares a meditation on the vulnerability of Jesus’ birth: The child born in the night among beasts. The sweet breath and steaming dung of beasts. And nothing is...

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Lord Jesus Christ, you are loving and

Author

Chip Hardwick

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Scripture

Colossians 1:15-16, Luke 9:23-24, Romans 7:18-19, 1 John 1:9, Hebrews 4:16, Psalm 51:10

Lord Jesus Christ, you are loving and merciful. Forgive us for being so captivated by Christmas that we forget that you, the little baby in the manger, grew up as the Lord over all creation. It is som...

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