SATURDAY
DAILY PSALM
Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell.
Psalm 43:3
CONNECTION
REFLECT ON THE WEEK TOGETHER1
- Where did you see God at work this week?
- What did you learn about love this week?
- How did you practice being God’s loving hands and feet to others this week?
- Is there a time when you experienced God’s love this week?
FAMILY DEVOTIONS
Light the Advent Candles Gospel Reading: Matt. 24:1-14
SHARING THE GOOD NEWS OF LOVE
It’s an incredible idea to think about the whole world hearing the good news of Jesus. Sometimes, living in our society, it’s easy to believe that everyone around us has heard about the good news of Jesus’ birth, death, and resurrection, and that they’ve simply chosen not to accept that good news. But I am confronted by how many people, who are now following God, tell the story about how someone finally told them about Jesus, and about how excited they were to meet the Savior their heart had always longed for.
The gospel passage today says that our God, who has been pursuing us out of love for thousands of years, longs for the whole world to hear the good news before Jesus’ return.
In our preparation for Advent, we recognize that we are called to preach the good news to the whole world. But Jesus’ commands to us — to love God and to love others — suggests that we, unlike the Pharisees, should preach the good news, with our mouths, embody the good news of love and hope with our actions, and believe the good news in our hearts. Let us participate in this wonderful opportunity by sharing the good news with those around us today.
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, the Advent candle burns with love. Its flame is warm and inviting, unlike the little town of Bethlehem, where your love first came shining. We long for the day your light with vanquish the darkness.1
AMEN
Notes:
1) Adapted from Paul Sheneman, Illuminate: an Advent Experience. Kansas City, MO: Beacon Hill of Kansas City, 2011. Print.