...AN ADVENT DEVOTIONAL...

Wait Wait for for It It is is an an Advent Advent devotional devotional for for famifamilies: lies: preparing preparing hearts hearts for for aa fuller, fuller, richer richer celebration celebration of of Christmas Christmas through through aa season season of of Waiting Waiting in in Anticipation, Anticipation, Repentance, Repentance, Worship Worship and and Expectation. Expectation. Each Each week week scripscripture ture reading, reading, discussion, discussion, prayer prayer and and activiactivities ties endeavour endeavour to to turn turn your your heart heart towards towards the the Advent Advent Theme. Theme. Each Each theme theme is is broken broken down down into into six six segments, segments, designed designed to to be be done done all all at at once once or or spread spread out out throughout throughout the the week week accordaccordingly. ingly. The The Read Read It It passage passage introduces introduces the the theme. theme. It It can can be be read read once once during during aa family family time, time, or or daily daily from from different different versions. versions. A A devotional devotional passage passage based based on on the the scripture scripture is is found found in in Know Know It. It. This This is is aa focused focused time time of of discussion, discussion, equipping equipping your your family family to to underunderstand stand how how waiting waiting in in this this way way will will better better prepare prepare your your hearts hearts for for Christmas. Christmas. The The Ponder Ponder It It section section probes probes the the heart heart further further with with questions questions to to meditate meditate on on and and revisit revisit together together and and individually individually throughout throughout the the week, week, and and Pray Pray It It guides guides your your family family prayer prayer time time through through the the simple simple ACTS ACTS prayer prayer strucstructure ture (Adore, (Adore, Confess, Confess, Thank, Thank, SuppliSupplicate/Ask). cate/Ask). Memorize Memorize the the Remember Remember It It verse verse together together each each week, week, create create your your own own actions actions or or put put it it to to music, music, display display it it in in your your home home and and use use it it as as aa focal focal point point for for that that week week of of waiting. waiting. A A specific specific activity activity for for the the week week is is assigned assigned in in Live Live It; It; along along with with further further prompts prompts designed designed to to help help you you live live out out the the Advent Advent theme theme in in other other practical practical ways. ways. As As your your family family enters enters into into this this Season Season of of Advent Advent waiting, waiting, may may your your hearts hearts turn turn again again towards towards God, God, and and may may you you to to discover discover anew anew the the hope hope and and great great joy joy that that is is this this babe babe lying lying in in aa manger, manger, foretold foretold by by prophets, prophets, and and promised promised by by God. God. “He “He will will come come again!…This again!…This time time he he will will bring bring salvation salvation to to all all those those who who are are eagerly eagerly waiting waiting for for Him.” Him.” (Hebrews (Hebrews 9:28b) 9:28b)

...WEEK ONE...

...WAIT WITH ANTICIPATION... READ IT... ROMANS 13:8-12 “Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law. 9 For the commandments say, “You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not covet.” These—and other such commandments—are summed up in this one commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law. 11 This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living.” KNOW IT... Advent is a time of anticipation. To anticipate is to look forward to something you are certain is going to happen. What are some things that you anticipate or look forward to happening? It is sometimes hard to wait for these exciting things we look forward to, but when we spend our waiting time anticipating, it helps our hearts get even more excited about what we know is coming! How do you feel about waiting? When is it hard to wait? What are some things you do to help yourself to “wait?” Is waiting always just “sitting still” or is waiting sometimes “doing?” Can you think of examples? During Advent we look forward to Jesus coming at Christmas, but we also anticipate Jesus coming again to earth like He promised He would! Our Bible reading today tells us that the day Jesus comes again will soon be here, and while we are waiting and anticipating, we have a job to do! We need to take off our dark deeds like we take off dirty clothes. What do you think “dark deeds” might be? Once we take off our “dark deeds,” we are to put on the shining armour of right living… which looks a lot like love! If we love others by feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, welcoming the stranger, visiting the lonely, giving water to the thirsty: the love of Jesus can be seen in us. His love-through us-brings light to our dark world!

PONDER IT... What are the “dark deeds” I need to take off this week? What does it look like to “wear love” like armor? Do people around me see the love of Jesus? When? How? How do all the commandments together equal love? LIVE IT... Go for an evening walk or a drive in your community. Make special mention of how dark it is and look for things that are bringing light to your street (House lights, street lights, Christmas lights). As you walk/ drive through your neighbourhood, ask God to show your family some specific ways you could show love to your community. This could mean doing some yard work for a neighbour, cleaning up a park or local business, taking care of a neighbour’s pet, or visiting someone who might be lonely…and much more! Point out or name the families or businesses on your street and ask the questions, “What needs to be done?” “How can we bring the light of God’s love to our neighbourhood?” Make a plan of what you will do, as well as how and when during the week you will carry out your plan to bring light to someone in your community. Keep the above questions in mind all week, and as a family seek to love the people around you in specific, practical ways. As we anticipate Jesus’ coming, remember that even now He can appear IN US through such acts of love towards others! PRAY IT... God, Your love is perfect and never stops. You have loved us so much! We know You are coming again soon and we can’t wait for that day. Forgive us for our “dark deeds” and help us to wear Your love like armour. Thank You for pouring Your own love into our hearts by your Holy Spirit. Help us to understand how great Your love is that You would send Your own Son to earth as a baby and then to die for us. Please fill our hearts so full that Your love overflows to the people around us. Amen.

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...WEEK TWO...

...WAIT WITH REPENTANCE... READ IT... TITUS 2:11-14 “For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people. And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with self-control, right conduct, and devotion to God, while we look forward to that wonderful event when the glory of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, will be revealed. He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing what is right.” KNOW IT... Advent is a time to think about our sin. Sometimes we like to quickly say sorry for wrong things we have done and then forget all about it. Taking time to stop and think carefully about the sin in our life, should remind us of how sad our sin makes God; how it separates us from Him because He is Holy. Sin is not just a list of bad things we do, it is “falling short” of God’s perfection. Think about the bullseye on a target as God’s perfection or holiness. Sin is missing the mark of God’s perfection. None of us can hit the bullseye. We need a Saviour! Take a moment to think about specific sin in your life. How have you disobeyed God? When have you been selfish? You might want to talk about this with your family. The Bible tells us to “confess our sins to one another and pray for each other” (James 5:16). This can help us to feel sorry for our sin. Feeling deep sadness for our sin is called repentance. Part of what it means to repent is to change our mind and our direction. When we truly feel sadness about our sin, we should want to do things differently. We should turn away from our sin and walk in a new direction; the direction that is following Jesus! Remember the first week of Advent? What were we taking off like “dirty clothes?” And what were we putting on instead? Waiting with repentance reminds us that we need forgiveness for our sin. That’s what Jesus came to do! He broke the power of sin by giving His life for us! We are no longer in darkness, repentance brings us into His light. This is what we wait for during Advent; a child born to be our Saviour. “Let’s look forward with hope to that wonderful day!”

PONDER IT... What sin do I need to confess this week? What do I need to change my mind about? What is the new direction I need to walk in? What does it mean for Jesus to break the power of sin? In what ways do I walk in a different direction than my friends/classmates/co-workers? What have I been “totally committed to” lately? LIVE IT... Look at the “From Darkness to Light” cards. For each black “dark deed” card, consider what we can trade each sin for in repentance. Match each black card with a white “armor of right living” card. Play a memory game with the cards, or hang them up in your home as a way to remind your family of what it means to repent, and how we can trade “darkness” for “light” through it. This week of Advent, be quick to repentance. When you do wrong to someone, ask forgiveness from them and also be quick to forgive if you are wronged. PRAY IT... God you are Holy and Righteous. Only You are perfect and good. We confess that we have sinned with our words, our thoughts and our actions. We have missed your mark, we are sinners. Thank you for saving us from sin and making our hearts clean and new. Thank you for freeing us from sin so we can be called your friends - even your children! Help us to turn from sin and follow you. By Your Spirit, show us where we need to change our minds or our direction. Please help us to be totally committed to you above everything else in life. Amen.

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...WEEK THREE...

...WAIT WITH WORSHIP... READ IT... ROMANS 15:1-7 “We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord. For even Christ didn’t live to please himself. As the Scriptures say, “The insults of those who insult you, O God, have fallen on me.” Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled. May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory. KNOW IT... Advent is a time to worship. Worship means to “give worth to,” or “to show deep love for.” People are always worshipping. You can tell what they are worshipping by what they spend their money on, what they talk about, and what they do with their time. People worship possessions (like toys, clothes and cars!), money, God, jobs, family, and even themselves! Advent is a time when we should stop and think about what it is we are worshipping. It is a time to think about the One who is most deserving of our worship. Take a moment to worship God as a family by speaking truth statements about who He is and what He has done. Who is God? What has He done? What do you know about Him? Jesus did not only save us from sin and rescue us from our darkness, He is making all things work together again! He is bringing unity to the world. Remember - it’s His world, He made it! He is fixing what sin has broken, healing what sin has hurt and making us friends with God and each other! He is restoring all of Creation to the way He intended it to be. Advent is a time to join together and worship with others who love Jesus. It is a time when we celebrate His kingdom here on earth among us. We are a part of God’s family now! This week, let’s look forward with worship to the new kingdom He will build when He returns and all of His children are brought together in unity. Imagine the worship party that will be!

PONDER IT... What do we give worth to in our family? What do we think is really important? How do we worship those things? What are some different, creative ways we could worship God throughout the day as a family? Who are other people in God’s family that we can worship together with? What will we spend this week worshipping? LIVE IT... Do you see how wonderful God is? Doesn’t He deserve our worship? What are some ways you can worship God? As a family, set aside time this week to worship Him in different ways. Read Psalm 96 or 103 together aloud, sing some of your favourite worship songs together, get out some instruments or dance along to a video of your favorite worship song online. You could worship Him in a time of giving thanks, or even a time of silence before Him. You might even decide to worship Him by giving an offering to a missionary or church project instead of spending that money on your family this Christmas. Get together with others in your Faith Community and “join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” He is awesome and worthy of our worship - let’s spend this Advent season telling Him so! This week, find ways to worship God in the everyday moments of life. In all you say and do, do it with an attitude of worship that points to God as the One most worthy of your worship! PRAY IT... God, you alone deserve our worship! You are great in love and patience. There is no one greater than You. Forgive us for letting other things be more important. Forgive us for loving other things; even other people more than you. Thank You for coming as a baby to bring your peace to the world. Thank You for fixing what sin has broken and for healing our friendship with God and also with each other. Show us how we can encourage each other, and live in harmony with your people. Help us to worship YOU ONLY this week, in everything we do. Amen.

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...WEEK FOUR...

...WAIT WITH EXPECTATION... READ IT... HEBREWS 10:16-23 “This is the new covenant I will make with my people on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.” Then he says, “I will never again remember their sins and lawless deeds.” And when sins have been forgiven, there is no need to offer any more sacrifices. And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. KNOW IT... Wow! Our bible reading today is just FULL of promises! God is going to forgive our sin, remember it never again and welcome us into His Holy presence. Do you think God will do what He says He’ll do? That is a good question to ask yourself this week as we wait with expectation. Expectation means a “strong belief that something is going to happen.” During Advent we wait with expectation because we KNOW God will keep His promises. He came to earth as a baby and He will come again! Do you know some of the other promises God has made to us in the Bible? As a family, look up the verses below; and make note of what is promised in each verse. Some of these promises God has already kept…some we are still waiting for. So…do you think God will do what He says He’ll do? Can we trust Him to keep His promises? Of course! We just read that the reason we have hope is because God can be trusted to keep His promise. You can always count on Him to keep His promises. This week of Advent, let’s live like we’re expecting Him to keep His promises!

Isaiah 41:10 1 John 5:14 Jeremiah 30:17 1 John 1:9 James 1:12 Revelation 22:12 Matthew 6:31-33 Revelation 21:4 Acts 1:8 Isaiah 26:3 Psalm 103:12 Isaiah 40:29-31 Deuteronomy 31:8 Proverbs 3:5-6 Revelation 3:20 PONDER IT... What are the promises God has kept to me and my family? (has he healed, protected, guided?) What are the things I have worried about lately? What has made me afraid? How can I apply the promises of God to these areas of my life? Which of these promises are we expecting God to keep? How might we live if we don’t fully expect that Jesus will come again? LIVE IT... Make a simple paper chain together, writing one of God’s promises on each link. As you work, talk about the ways God has kept those promises to people in your family. Find a prominent place to display your Promise Chain in your home, and let it remind you that we are waiting with expectation - we KNOW God will keep His promises - that He will come again! You may also want to think about people in your life who might need to hear one of these promises. Ask God to bring those people to your mind and think of ways you can creatively share God’s promises with those in need. You might write them in a card, attach them to a special treat or read them in a video message. Spend the week giving God’s promises to those who need to hear them! PRAY IT... Lord, the Bible tells us that you are trustworthy in all you promise and faithful in all you do! We believe that we can count on you. It is hard for us to keep our promises, we can never be completely faithful like you. Forgive us for the times we have we have doubted and worried and been afraid. Thank you for all the promises you have kept to our family. Speak to us this week Lord, about who around us needs to hear one of your promises. Help us to be people who live life expecting You to do what You say You will do. Amen.

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WHY WAIT? “Please “Please listen, listen, O O Shepherd Shepherd of of Israel... Israel... Show Show us us your your mighty mighty power. power. Come Come to to rescue rescue us! us! Turn Turn us us again again to to yourself, yourself, O O God. God. Make Make your your face face shine shine down down upon upon us. us. Only Only then then will will we we be be saved.” saved.” [from [from Psalm Psalm 80] 80] Advent Advent [meaning [meaning “coming”] “coming”] is is aa four four week week season season of of preparation preparation for for the the coming coming of of Jesus Jesus at at Christmas. Christmas. While While we we are are eager eager to to rush rush to to Christmas Christmas celebration celebration and and joy, joy, any any good good celebration celebration requires requires careful careful preparation. preparation. In In Advent Advent we we hear hear the the prophecies prophecies of of Jesus’ Jesus’ coming coming as as addressed addressed to to the the people people of of Israel Israel –– aa conquered conquered nation nation who who waited waited for for centucenturies ries while while God God was was silent silent -- they they needed needed aa Saviour. Saviour. Our Our own own Advent Advent waiting waiting helps helps us us to to notice notice and and confess confess all all the the ways ways that that we we need need to to be be saved. saved. In In Advent Advent we we also also hear hear the the prophecies prophecies of of Jesus’ Jesus’ coming coming as as addressed addressed to to us us -- people people who who wait wait for for the the second second coming. coming. Our Our Advent Advent waiting waiting helps helps to to heighten heighten our our awareness awareness that that not not all all is is well well with with the the world world and and increases increases our our longing longing for for the the world world to to be be made made right right again. again. In In Advent, Advent, we we ask ask “turn “turn us us again again to to yourself, yourself, O O Lord Lord God” God” and and our our Advent Advent waiting waiting prepares prepares for for genuine genuine Christmas Christmas joy joy –– We We need need aa Saviour, Saviour, the the world world needs needs aa Saviour, Saviour, aa Saviour Saviour has has been been born! born!

COME LORD JESUS!