Advent Devotions

2 Peter 3: 8-15 by Dan Stevens Our Scripture for today comes from 2 Peter, a letter written to warn second century Christians against accepting the leadership of some in the early church who professed to be Christians but were not following the teachings of Jesus. The...

Luke 3:1-6 by Carolyn Briggs In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, God’s word comes to John in the wilderness, far from the centers of Roman order and Jewish temple rites.  John is alone in the waterless wild, a landscape evocative of human...

Malachi 3:1-4 by Doug Anderson Advent celebrates the birth of the long-awaited Messiah, the one we know as Jesus. God fulfilled his promise, as foretold in Scripture, but the manner in which he did this was unexpected. The fulfillment did not fulfill the expectations...

Luke 3:23-38 by Tom Graves Today’s passage is Luke’s version of the genealogy of Jesus. Genealogies were important in Jewish culture. Exodus 6 sets the pattern by providing a genealogy of Moses. A biblical priest had to prove an unbroken family line all the way back...

Psalm 148:1-14 by Susan Rucker One of my favorite Christmas carols is “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing.” I have always assumed that the carol was right, and the angels really did sing that night of Jesus’ birth. Not everyone agrees. In fact, on several Internet sites...

Romans 1:1-7 by Susan Rucker Paul Harvey was an iconic radio personality. Broadcasting to a national audience from 1951 until his death in 2009, his Wall Street Journal obituary stated that his broadcasts brought in more than 10% of all of ABC radio’s advertising...

Micah 5:2-5 by Tom Graves It is the day after Christmas and the observance of Advent has come to an end. It is easy in the hectic pace of the Christmas season to forget its meaning. In fact, the way our modern-American culture celebrates Christmas, with its emphasis...

Philippians 2: 5-11 by Rob & Bettina Sandford We are usually shocked to discover that someone could ascend to fame from such humble beginnings as, for example, the poor, self-educated lawyer who became the 16th President of the United States. We are just as...

Romans 16:25-27 by Martha Lou Green There are folks who have made a living because so many of us love a good mystery. In every mystery there is a secret somewhere and we anxiously await its discovery at the end. Through the message of the prophets God hinted that...

Romans 13:11-14 by Mike Clingenpeel Everyone pays attention to time. We take classes to learn to manage time, wear watches to measure time, purchase devices that promise to save time. We are time-driven and clock-conscious. According to Paul, author of Romans, there...

Luke 3:7-18 by Sheryl Johnson I was looking up today’s Scripture passage online and one of the ads running on the webpage caught my eye. “Share your faith with free tools and apps,” it proclaimed alongside a picture of a smart phone and computer screen. Want to...

by Jim Slatton John 1:6-8; 19-28 Well, here he is again, old John the Baptist. We get him every year at this time, the forerunner come to prepare the way, the voice crying in the wilderness, the man sent from God.  This year we meet him in the narrative of John the...

John 1:1-5, 10-18 by Cathy Whitty God sent his son Jesus to be the light of our world-- to love us unconditionally – never ceasing. His loving arms are open and ready to embrace us with his love. What a wonderful gift that God has given us. How do we share the gift of...

Luke 1:67-79 by Ann Hays In this passage, the father, Zechariah, is prophesying the intention of his newborn son, John, that he will prepare the way for the ministry of Christ. God sent him as a messenger because God’s people needed to become refocused, to be in the...

Luke 1: 46-55 by Henry Holland Mary said, “My heart praises the Lord; my soul is glad because of God my Savior, for he has remembered me, his lowly servant! From now on all people will call me happy, because of the great things the Mighty God has done for me. His name...

Luke 1: 5-20 by Ellis M. West All births are miraculous, but some are more miraculous than others, and I’m referring not just to Jesus’ birth. The Bible tells of several: Sarah was barren all her life, but God told her at age ninety that she would have a son--Isaac....

Mark 13:24-37 I was never bitten by the running bug. In college, in an effort to make it to class on time, I learned to walk speedily and efficiently, my short legs taking two steps for others’ one. Still, I never quite “got” the charm of running. Ten years ago my...

Mark 1:1-8 by Page Highfill In the midst of Advent, do you sometimes feel scattered among so many different emotions we experience? There’s the feeling of gratitude for God’s gift to us through his son’s poetic birthday. We may also feel his spirit hug us during...

Matthew 1:1-16 by Scott Leake I’ve never known a Baptist ladies’ Sunday School class or circle named after a woman in Jesus’ lineage other than Ruth. The New Testament’s Mary and Martha get their due but never the Old Testament’s Tamar, Rahab or Bathsheba. What’s up?...

Zechariah 9:9-12 by Rob James Both Matthew 21 and John 12 quote the first verse of our reading for today. They say it was fulfilled when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey in the middle of a popular demonstration. Three of the Gospels also tell us that Jesus...

Zephaniah 3:14-20 by Ashley Evans “...He will take great delight in you. He will quiet you with his love. He will rejoice over you with singing...” - Zephaniah 3:17 DELIGHT...What a terrific word that we do not use very often. give great pleasure to be highly pleased...

Isaiah 40:1-11 by Eric Johnson A voice says, “Cry out!” And I said, “What shall I cry? We’ve all been thrust into circumstances where we’re told to say something to somebody but we’re not prepared for it. Maybe when you were young, after your uncle died your mother...

Isaiah 52:7-10 by Eleanor Nurney Peace. How often we hear that beautiful word, especially this time of year. When the Israelites heard this message they were experiencing nothing close to “peace.” In fact, they were experiencing one of the darkest moments in the...

Isaiah 35: 1-10 by Tyler Hays The Christmas season is one of the most joyful times that we experience through the year. There is the joy of taking extra time to get together with friends and family. The joy of finding gifts for your loved ones that you know will make...

Isaiah 11:1-10 by Frank Schwall In today’s passage Isaiah prophecies the birth of a special child. The “shoot that shall come out from the stump of Jesse” is Jesus. Jesus is the one the spirit of God rests upon. Isaiah concludes the passage with a lovely portrayal of...

Isaiah 9:2-7 by Bill Tuck It is impossible for me to read these words from Isaiah without bringing to mind the majestic refrain from the Hallelujah Chorus of Handel’s Messiah. The prophetic words resound with unspeakable joy, “And his name shall be called: Wonderful,...