Celebrating the Messiah's Birth - Advent Reading PlanSample

Meditation

As we begin this Advent season, we look forward to Christmas, to the celebration of the birth of Christ. The whole world seems to be focused only on the baby. But this is no ordinary baby. As difficult as this may be to understand, let us not forget that this baby was present from the beginning, long before his birth on this earth. Nothing was created without him, not anything in the heavens above, not anything on the earth below, and certainly not us. “Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness’” (Genesis 1:26, emphasis added).

The secrets of time and space and eternity are found in this One, the Son of God, our Creator, our Sustainer, the One whose image we bear. It is only in him that we find our true dignity and purpose as people. He is the author and finisher of our faith, the One who remains faithful even when we are faithless. His entrance into our world means that we too can become all that God intended for us when he created us, that we may become more and more like his Son, who is “the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being” (Hebrews 1:3).

Prayer

Thank you, sovereign Lord and Creator, for this day of beginnings and remembering. Thank you for making us in your glorious image, for honoring us with dignity and purpose. We praise you in this season of remembering who you truly are and how you have drawn near to us because of your great love for us. Give us wisdom as we prepare to celebrate the birth of the Son you sent to us. We will rejoice in this season of remembering, knowing that everything you have ever given and done is always not simply good but very good. It is in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.