Welcome to our 25-Day Advent Devotional

Join us on a journey of anticipation, hope, and reflection as we prepare our hearts this Advent season. Over the next 25 days we’ll open our eyes to the coming of Emmanuel — “God with us” — and we’ll pause each day to reflect, pray, and draw nearer to the One who came and is coming again.

About this Advent Devotional

It’s funny. When we read Bible stories, we tend to view the characters as supernatural beings – heroes at the least and almost perfect people close to deities at the most. Neither is probably true. Oh sure, they accomplished heroic deeds and are worthy of admiration, but the truth is they were humans, just like us, with all our failures, fears, and worries. Maybe it’s time to see them for who they really are and learn from their experiences.

In this devotional, we take you through the Christmas story through the eyes of the story’s characters – from Mary and Joseph to the angels, shepherds, and rulers. Experience what it might have been like to witness firsthand the true Christmas miracle – Emmanuel, God With Us.

How to...

This Advent Experience features a daily devotional, scripture reading, and a simple prompt to help you step into the story of Christ’s arrival and the hope His birth brings.

Each day, offers ideas for you to “Look Up” to God, “Look In” to your family, and “Look Out” to your neighborhoods and communities. This helps you to grow personally in your faith, lead your families into a deeper faith, and serve your communities during the time of year when many people are searching for Christ.

We want this to be a hands-on and very fun experience for everyone in the family, so we’ve included a family activity:

Create an Advent Tree – Either use your general Christmas tree to add ornaments to, or make a separate, smaller (maybe tabletop) tree that is specifically set aside for your Advent devotionals. Each day, create and color, or select an ornament you already have, to hang on the tree that will remind everyone of the message and meaning. There are downloadable ornaments you can print and color to hang on your Advent Tree inside the devotional.

We hope you find these ideas inspirational as you keep your family focused on the real reason for the season – Jesus.

Hopefully, by reliving those precious moments, you will gain a fresh and deeper understanding of why Jesus became a little baby in a manger; and what that means for you today.

And as we gather with friends and family that we haven’t seen in a while, let’s share with them how the birth of Jesus 2,000 years ago is still impacting our lives today!