Advent Devotions
First Week of Advent 2025
During Advent we remember the fulfillment of God's promised Messiah who already came and whose birth we celebrate at Christmas, and we look forward in hope to Christ's second coming when we and all creation are taken into God's Presence forever! In the present, we live in hope, the hope that is based on God's promises, nourished and sustained by God's living, loving Presence with us through the power of the Holy Spirit, and through hearing God's Word and sharing Jesus' Presence in the sacraments. We pass on our hope to others as we love and serve them.
Psalm 124:8
Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
Matthew 24: 29b-31
...the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will be shaken.
"Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see 'the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven' with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Romans 8:20-25
for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its enslavement to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning together as it suffers together the pains of labor, and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope, for who hopes for what one already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
Romans 12:12
Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; persevere in prayer.
Romans 15:4
For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.
Romans 5:1-5
Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
Romans 15:11-13
and again, "Praise the Lord, all you gentiles, and let all the peoples praise him"; and again Isaiah says, "The root of Jesse shall come, the one who rises to rule the gentiles;in him the gentiles shall hope." May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Music
Stay Awake - Christopher Walker
My Soul in Stillness Waits - Marty Haugen
Third Day - Mountain of God with lyrics - YouTube
Path of Hope | Uplifting Christian Song for Advent & Worship | ThriveOnFaith (Official Video)
Spencer LaJoye - Plowshare Prayer (Live)
Wake Up - All Sons & Daughters w/ Lyrics
