November 30 | Isaiah 40:1-11, 28-31
- Steve Turnbull
- Nov 30
- 3 min read
Advent Candles Devotional
ENGAGING IN THE ADVENT SEASON: WEEK 1
Advent is the perfect time to continue or start up the tradition of evening devotions with your family, friends or neighbors. Try this simple rhythm of connecting with God right before or after dinner:
1) Light a candle and together say “We begin this time in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.” If you have an advent wreath, you’ll light an additional candle with each new week leading up to Christmas. A new week begins each Sunday. Lighting the Christ Candle in the center on Christmas morning is always a special moment.
2) Read the assigned Scripture for the day and share any thoughts you have. Advent is a time of preparation to celebrate Christ’s birth. Reflect on the daily passages in light of this special time.
3) Have someone close in a simple prayer.
4) Conclude together by saying “We go now in peace, ending this time in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.” Blow out the candle.
Enjoying a simple pattern like this for even as few as 5-10 minutes a day can make a significant impact on how you experience Christmas. Take turns with the different roles of reading and praying. Make it as a brief or expanded as you like. There are many meaningful variations your family can try to make it your own. Enjoy this time of slowing down, receiving God’s peace and celebrating the birth of Christ!
DAILY READING
REFLECTION
Hope Fatigue
By Steve Turnbull
When was the last time you began a sentence with “I hope…”?
Maybe that phrase rolls off your tongue with regularity—"I hope they remember to pick up the kids from school today”… “I hope I have everything I need for the holidays”… “I hope this set of scans come back clear”…
Perhaps, however, you haven’t uttered those words in a while. Perhaps hope feels like too frail and fickle a thing to entertain. Individuals have let you down. Systems and institutions have failed you. Circumstances don’t seem to change, and if they do, it’s only for the worse. Sometimes we experience “hope fatigue” in our waiting. Hope can be exhausting sometimes.
The nation of Israel understood this kind of fatigue. When God’s word of comfort came to Israel in Isaiah 40, it came at the end of over a hundred years of waiting to be rescued from exile. It’s understandable that it might have been hard to place hope in this word of promise! But, as God reminded Israel in verse 8, when he speaks his word, we can rest assured that it will be fulfilled. His word is eternal and sure. If God promises comfort, his people will receive it. The prophet proclaims that the Lord is coming, and his rule and reign will make a way for comfort and restoration.
We know that this promise of God was fulfilled—Israel returned home from exile and was restored to her land. But we also know that this word of promise was fulfilled even more fully in the coming of the Living Word himself. Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of the promise of comfort for a weary world and salvation for sin-sick souls. He is the embodiment of the coming of the Kingdom of God. He is the Word—the promise—in flesh appearing. In his life, death, and resurrection, we have already seen the fulfillment of God’s restoration and salvation. The glory of the Lord has been revealed in Jesus Christ, and in this Advent season, as we await the coming of Jesus at Christmastime, we also look forward to the day when he comes again in glory, when all flesh shall see his glory together, and he will reign in eternal peace and joy.
We can say “Come, Lord Jesus!” with a hope that does not fail us or make us weary, because he has already fulfilled his promise, to Israel and to all people—including us! In Jesus, we have a hope that strengthens and energizes us as we look forward to the day he comes again. Thanks be to God!
PRAYER
Good and gracious God, we give you thanks that your word is eternal and sure, and that we can believe your promise because we have already seen your promise fulfilled in Jesus. Holy Spirit, renew our strength and hope in this Advent season as we look forward to the coming of Jesus. Amen.
THE AUTHOR
Steve Turnbull
Senior Pastor
During the holiday season, so many people touch our lives. I pray that I overcome my fear to be like Isaiah and share a spark of hope God's Word gives.
How appropriate that we acknowledge the Advent season in worship and praise. I too often view this time of waiting as one more way to join the world in finding that perfect gift, and spending money I don't have when in Christian reality we already have that perfect gift in Jesus. We only have to give it away to someone who really needs Him.
A very special devotional pair. Super set of instructions for Advent and a great look at Christmas through Christian eyes.