Devotion Week 1
On that day it will be said,
“Look, this is our God;
we have waited for him,
and he has saved us.
This is the Lord; we have waited for him.
Let’s rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”
Isaiah 25:9
Advent is a season of waiting. As any parent knows, the waiting is typically centered around waiting to open presents on Christmas morning. However, the waiting of Advent is an opportunity to prepare our hearts for the coming Messiah. The Israelites were waiting for the One since the time of Moses, and they built their lives around the fact of God sending the Chosen one who will speak to them the words of God. And as time went on, God revealed this Chosen one to also be the redeemer and rescuer. This long history of waiting for the Coming Messiah instilled a deep, rich hope and expectancy in God’s people. While waiting may not be fun or enjoyable, and sometimes even painful, waiting builds in us hope to see what our faithful God will do to fulfill His promises to His people.
Reflection
1. How are you experiencing waiting now? How can you shift your perspective from discouragement to hope in the waiting?
2. In what way or ways are you hoping for God to show up in your waiting? How does that lead you to His faithfulness?
3. How can you ready yourself in your waiting to be ready for what God has in store for you?
Practices
As long as Advent has existed, there have been 3 core habits and practices that Christians have taken up to prepare their hearts for the 3 comings of Christ. Prayer, fasting, and giving. Prayer, fasting, and giving are tangible ways to learn to follow Christ not only with our minds, but with the entirety of our beings.
Prayer Practice - Posture
Throughout church history, the posture in which one prayed was a pivotal part of prayer itself. Some early Christians stood when they prayed with hands raised (as Paul commends in 1 Tim 2:8), or knelt in imitation of Daniel (Dan 6:10), or they lay prostrate like Moses (Deut 9:18-20).
Early church prayer meetings looked more like a Pilates class than our staid, contemporary “moments of silence.” The invitation to grow in prayer is not to try and pray more and not to try to have a longer quiet time, but to explore different ways of praying.
Consider taking 5-10 minutes to pray but in a way that uses your body. Consider raising your hands, kneeling, or even laying prostrate before the Lord.
Fasting
Fasting involves abstaining from certain foods or activities as a way to foster a deeper connection with the sacred and to prepare one’s heart for the celebration of the birth of Jesus.
While fasting from food is a traditional approach, some also choose to abstain from non-essential elements in their daily lives, such as social media, TV, alcohol, or other distractions. Tish Harrison Warren says, “Fasting is a way to take away the props, devices, and numbing agents that keep us from true comfort in God. By fasting we confess that food is good, but it is not the ultimate good.” Fasting is also a way to experience solidarity with the poor and those who struggle with food insecurity.
We encourage you to start small (maybe one meal or for 24 hours) and do it with someone else.
Toy Drive
On Saturday, December 16th, the Lancaster Vineyard Food Pantry & Outreach is having their Christmas meal box give away and we are providing extra support for some of these families.
You can help by providing a gift or a gift card for a family in need. Stop by the Outreach/Food Pantry table in the Lobby for more information and to sponsor a child. Gifts need to be dropped off at the church by Sunday, December 10th. Please leave gifts unwrapped or in gift bags.
Worship Circle
Join us on Friday, December 8th, at 6pm for a Christmas Worship Circle.
Worship circles are great way for everyone to participate in an extended time of worship, to connect with each other as worshippers and to praise the Lord together in a new way.
You are welcome to bring your own instruments and/or accessories or feel free to just bring yourself and your lovely voice!