CDPunt(igam) Writes

Ever since we’ve been married, we’ve done a family Advent devotional on Sundays. Some years, we’ve added in daily readings and enjoyed a variety of different things. There is more than enough options out there if you have small kids. When ours turned into a tween I began seeing that the things we’ve always done weren’t being enjoyed quite the same by any of us so I wrote a devotion for families with older kids like us. You can still access it online here. Now that our kid is no longer a teen, I thought it might be a good idea to transition again. Below, you’ll find a simple Sunday devotional to use on the first Sunday of Advent using a text from Year C. I hope you enjoy!

There once was a boy who wanted to sit in the shade of a fine tree and play games. He planted a seed. There in the quiet darkness of soil he gave it all the good things it needed to grow, but still it remained a seed. Then one day, after many days of waiting for his shade tree to appear, something changed. Once, where there was bare ground, a small shoot appeared. Still, the boy was impatient. The tiny shoot had no leaves and so he gave it all the good things it needed and he waited. One day, a leaf appeared, then another. It wasn’t enough shade for the boy to play in and besides; he was getting tired of play as he grew in years. The tree continued to grow. The boy, finding himself a man, went off to war and when he came home, he found that the seed had grown into a tree. He was still disappointed because it wasn’t enough shade to rest in. The boy married and had children. When his children had children, he remembered his desire to sit in the shade of a tree. He went and found that old seed that he’d planted. When he found it, he sat in its shade and watched the children play, seeing what he’d desired finally fulfilled.


Light the first Advent Candle

Jeremiah 33: 14-16
‘The days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will fulfill the good promise I made to the people of Israel and Judah.
“In those days and at that time
I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line;
he will do what is just and right in the land.
In those days Judah will be saved and
Jerusalem will live in safety.
This is the name by which it will be called:
The LORD Our Righteous Savior.’

NIV: New International Version

When we’re in the thick of it, sometimes we can lose sight of what it is that we’re really trying to accomplish. It’s easy to get caught up in the current conversations on the internet of doom and betrayal. But we are a people of Hope. That hope means that we have to seek God first and in all things. And even though it might feel like in the moment, God is ignoring our desires, he is constantly working towards the best things for us. Hope requires patience. Like the boy in the story, we have to be willing to see God’s goodness when it shows up. Just because things aren’t happening fast enough doesn’t mean that nothing is going on. And that may be the core of our Hope in God. That even though things are looking bleak and hopeless, God is still at work. Even when we can’t see the seed splitting in two and forming roots and shoots, even when we wander away and don’t see each new leaf join the one before, God is at work. God is answering our prayers. It may not be the way that we desired, but it will be what’s best for us and for the Kingdom of God.

Discussion Questions:
What’s something that has been a struggle for you lately? If you could fix it, what would you do?
What’s something that is going well right now? Is it an answer to prayers?
When you think of the word “Hope” what other words come to mind?
Do you have a favorite scripture that focuses on hope?

Prayer
Creator of the Universe, help us to remember that you are creating the answers to our struggles before we even experience them. Give us hope that rests only in you and your ability to work things together for your glory. Keep us mindful of you this week and our hearts and minds open to seeing you at work in our lives and those around us. Amen

If you’d like to sing or listen to music, O Holy Night, O Come Emmanuel, and Behold the Lamb of God. Lonestar’s Christmas album and Andrew Peterson’s Behold the Lamb of God album will have the majority of songs I mention. I’d also recommend Stephen Bautista’s A Wondrous Journey if you want some more Christmas type music already.

Take some time this first week to discuss activities that you’d like to experience this advent season.