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Now Available | Advent Devotionals

Dan Smith  |  News  |  Advent & Christmas

advent

adventus, parousia: to come/coming, arrival

“We are bombarded by distractions. Every single day is shrouded in noise competing for our attention, our time, our affection and our worship. If we don’t intentionally commit ourselves to healthy rhythms of disciplined Christian living, we run the risk of being swept off our feet in a cultural tide of distorted priorities where sin can easily take root.

Advent, though, is a special period of time and an opportunity in the Christian calendar to re-align ourselves with God through the celebration of Jesus’ first coming. Advent means arrival or coming, and its purpose is to help prepare us to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ - the first advent of the Son of God. Additionally, it is meant to turn our hearts to anticipate the return of Christ our King in His Second coming. Through Advent, we celebrate the revelation of God in Christ through whom all creation has been reconciled and no longer separated.

Advent brings with it a spirit of anticipation, expectation, longing, and hope. Like the Jews of the Old Testament waiting in hope for the coming Messiah, we now join in that longing as we anticipate Jesus’ second coming to rule with righteousness over His people and creation bringing peace, joy and eternal life. We participate in this active waiting by meditating on four specific themes that you will discover in the weeks ahead: Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love each of which recalibrates us for the final day devoted to Christ, the King.

As a former professional photographer, I always relished the moment when I would lift my camera towards a subject and watch as the lens would adjust its focus to bring the entirety of the image into a crisp, clear view. It is not enough to merely fix our eyes on Jesus, but we also must focus them. Like a camera lens, we cannot just point our eyes and our hearts towards Jesus, but we also must turn the dial so that the full picture of who He is might come into a beautiful and fully focused image. It is the aim of this book and the hope of its contributors to reorient your attention, your mind, your heart, and spirit daily on Jesus Christ; that the lens of your heart might fully bring into focus the image of the invisible God made visible in the revelation of Jesus Christ so that you might worship more deeply and live more fully in His presence in this Christmas season and beyond.”

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This is a sample of what you can expect from our Advent Devotionals, which are available in the lobby at CFC this weekend. These devotionals, which were written and illustrated by members of CFC, are our gift to you this holiday season! We ask that you only pick up one copy per household, however, additional copies can be purchased by donation.