Advent Devotional • December 27

Friday, December 27
Journal
Titus 2:11-15

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in the present age to live lives that are self controlled, upright, and godly, while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. He it is who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds. Declare these things; exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one look down on you.

Journal Prompt:

Our gift exchanges, only a few days in our past creates a tension with the “training” we are receiving in the above text from Titus. Wrestle with the concept of renouncing impiety and worldly possessions in today’s journal.

 

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Advent Devotional • December 26

Thursday, December 26
Journal
Isaiah 60:1-3

The Ingathering of the Dispersed
Arise, shine; for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
For darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you,
and his glory will appear over you.
Nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

Journal Prompt:

Write a prayer inspired by the above text from Isaiah.

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You can download a PDF of the devotional here.

Advent Devotional • December 25

Wednesday, December 25
Written by Rev. Raygan Baker
First Congregational Church of Fresno
John 1:1-14

I have refused to live
locked in the orderly house of
reasons and proofs.
The world I live in and believe in
is wider than that. And anyway,
what’s wrong with Maybe?
You wouldn’t believe what once or
twice I have seen. I’ll just
tell you this:
only if there are angels in your head will you
ever, possibly, see one.

Mary Oliver

The creative word of God took on our flesh, and revealed to us what it might look like for we mere humans to more fully participate in the Divine, even with our own flesh. The re-creation of humanity in the body of Jesus Christ is a new invitation into our truest, most free and authentic selves within the creativity of God. A new way of life is still being birthed today. Today, sit with the wonder and mystery. There is no need for certainty today. In fact, we may discover so much more if we do not resist that
uncertainty.

Enjoy this blessing today,
Pastor Raygan

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You can download a PDF of the devotional here.

Advent Devotional • December 24

Tuesday, December 24
Written by Kim Williams
First Congregational Church of Fresno
Luke 2:1-20

A common theme we will see in Jesus’ life is that he doesn’t choose the powerful and influential folks to be part of his work, instead he seeks out the people who are lower on the social ladder. This preference towards the lowest and the least can be seen as early as the story of the shepherds on the day of his birth. There they are, just tending their flock. Its night and they’re probably not anticipating too much excitement, save for a wild animal they might have to shoo away. Can you imagine how startling it
would have been to suddenly have an angel show up? The text from Luke uses the word “terrified” and I’m not even sure that’s strong enough! What’s spectacular though, is that the birth announcement went out first to the shepherds. Jesus’ initial PR campaign didn’t include a press release or involving the first-century version of Instagram influencers. Instead, the working class shepherds were chosen to be in the
know and became among the first to see this heavenly newborn.

Jesus came into the world and immediately began challenging social norms and giving hope to those on the margins. As we celebrate his birth, we acknowledge with gratitude a savior who sees all of us, including and especially those who are often unseen.

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You can download a PDF of the devotional here.

Advent Devotional • December 23

Monday, December 23
Journal
Luke 3:1-6

The Proclamation of John the Baptist
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, ‘The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of
God.” ’

Journal Prompt:

John the Baptist comes up again in the above reading from Luke. After reading it once,
flip back to December 11th and reread the Isiah text. Think about your insights from that
day, and read this text. With the theme of “Waiting for Love” in mind, how do the two
texts shape up? To quote Tina Turner, “What’s love got to do with it?”

 

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You can download a PDF of the devotional here.

Advent Devotional • December 22

Sunday, December 22
Written by Christopher Williams
First Congregational Church of Fresno
Matthew 1:18-25

One cannot help but sympathize with Joseph. There he is on the threshold of marrying the woman of his dreams and then quite suddenly she becomes laden with child. A child that he knows is not his. The world is not kind to an unwedded mother and it was especially dangerous to be so back then. Still Joseph was a standup guy, and had decided to leave Mary quietly rather than publicly disgrace her. She was not his wife yet, the child was not his, and no one would have blamed him. Then an Angel of the Lord appears to him and says to marry Mary anyhow, because the child in question is conceived of the Holy Spirit.

One can bet that this is not what Joseph had envisioned when he had planned out his life. He had wanted to get married and settle down with a nice gal and start a family all by himself but God went and threw a “wrench in the cogs.” Joseph now finds himself a stepfather to the Son of Man. Rather than planning an expeditious escape, the message from the angel soothes Joseph’s anxiety and he does take on the responsibility, never faltering to provide for both Mary and Jesus. Joseph gets to experience the rewards and challenges that many stepparents embrace. This passage isn’t just about being a stepfather, but also about embracing the path that God sets before us. Our lives never go the way that we picture them in our youth, but if we embrace these changes rather than bemoan them then things will go according to a plan. It may not be our plan, but that doesn’t make it the wrong one.

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You can download a PDF of the devotional here.

Advent Devotional • December 21

Saturday, December 21
Written by Peter Wall
First Congregational Church of Fresno
Jeremiah 33:14-16

And the “righteous branch … shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.”

Reading these words of Jeremiah through a Christian lens (which is not the only way to read them), I think of the long “farewell discourse” of Jesus in the gospel according to John, especially this part:

I am the true vine and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away; and every branch that bears fruit he trims clean so that it might bear more fruit. … Remain in me—and I in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit from itself unless it remain in the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. *

Radical hope is not about waiting. It is about seeing subversively and recognizing the more challenging truth. And I submit to you that the challenge here stems from this: that Jesus did not “execute justice and righteousness in the land”; rather, the Christ entered the world as the root of the vine, and we are the branches, charged with bearing the fruits of justice and righteousness.

The hope of Advent is not a passive waiting for a divine skyhook. The hope of Advent is an active practice of growing into, and trimming clean, the righteous branches that shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.

How will you execute justice and righteousness in the land today?

* Look up John 15 to read more. The excerpt above is from the recent translation of the New Testament by David Bentley Hart.

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You can download a PDF of the devotional here.

Advent Devotional • December 20

Friday, December 20
Written by Rev. Dr. Garner Scott Odell
First Congregational Church of Fresno
Psalm 33

Devotional: Yes, our lives are busy, and during this holiday season they seem to reel even more out of control. God’s power and dominion loom so much larger in our lives than any chore we have to do at Christmas. During this season of anticipation, we take time to stand in awe of God as we wait in joyful hope for the Incarnation. God is about to do a new thing this season, and we must stand in attention. The Psalmist points to God’s omnipotence while also saying that His word is perfect. He speaks
and it happens.

Knowing this, our souls wait for Him because we need Him, we trust Him, we can’t live without Him. Without His word and love, we have no hope. We immerse ourselves in the expectation of His inbreaking because the life-giving breath of God is about to be birthed in us. And that is the best gift we could receive this Christmas.

Prayer: Precious Lord, it is with great humility that we turn our attention from the demands of this season to focus on you. We need you, we trust you, we hope in you. Let your steadfast love be upon us. It is in your most holy name that we pray these words. You, the Alpha and the Omega, from ages unto ages.

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You can download a PDF of the devotional here.

Advent Devotional • December 19

Thursday, December 19
Written by Rev. Dr. Norman Broadbent
First Congregational Church of Fresno
Isaiah 9:2-7

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness— on them light has shined. You have multiplied the nation, you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as people exult when dividing plunder. For the yoke of their burden, and the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian. For all the boots of the tramping warriors and all the garments rolled in blood shall be burned as fuel for the fire. For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

The words of Isaiah 9, immortalized by the great George Frideric Handel, are linked forever for most Americans to the holiday of Christmas. But the theme of great light and Wonderful Counselor carry resonances that reverberate throughout Israelite history in a profoundly different context. In Isaiah 7, God offers to all of Israel a prophetic sign of peace in the face of imminent political disaster from conquering nations. This sign is the birth and name of an actual child, Immanuel, meant to be a physical sign of God’s intimate presence and an assurance that no disaster will befall Jerusalem. But the frightened and faithless king ultimately rejects it, and with it, God’s saving help. The people are instead rousing dead spirits to ask them for help. Isaiah 8 seems determined to shove any hope of redemption into the dimmest corner of possibility.

But then, Isaiah 9 — floodlights: “The people who walked in darkness / have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness — on them light has shined” (Isaiah 9:2). The nation which caused divine revulsion in Isaiah 8 is showered with joy — big joy — REALLY big joy — in Isaiah 9:2.

Over the centuries, empires came and went, but their oppressive practices remained the same, up to and including empires of today. As Christians, we read this text at Christmas in defiance of the decrees of Emperors, past, present, and future. We read this text in rejection of those who seek to count, to categorize, to control, in the vein of Emperor Augustus. We read this text in the hope of a child, a child who will break the oppressive bars of terrorists and of tyrants; a child who will rule with justice and
righteousness from this time on and forevermore. Joy, joy, joy!

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You can download a PDF of the devotional here.

Advent Devotional • December 18

Wednesday, December 18
Written by Rev. Dr. Garner Scott Odell
First Congregational Church of Fresno
Psalm 146:5-10

Devotional: As we prepare to greet and celebrate the birth of the Christ Child, let us approach each day with our eyes, ears, minds, and hearts open to finding glimpses of Christ in all our daily encounters. Let us start each day observing and appreciating each member of our household. Move on to those we meet regularly at our work and study places.

Remember to observe those who serve us by bringing mail, tending our stores, repairing our roads. Keep in mind many whom we do not see who are suffering from infirmities, lost or fighting in desperate situations, some even oblivious to their surroundings. These souls are all children of God, and Christ looks to us to be one with them as we expectantly approach the gift of the Holy Babe in Bethlehem.

Prayer: Dear Lord, guide and lead us as we seek each day to recognize your presence in our midst. Help us to be sensitized to your love for all humanity and humbly accept all people of your creation as our sisters and brothers. Amen.

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You can download a PDF of the devotional here.