The Gift: Advent Bible PlanSample

O’ Come

“So keep going, it ain’t over

His love brings us closer

O’ come and adore the new life here for me and you.”

Most folks are familiar with “telephone,” a popular game kids learn to play as early as kindergarten. The game usually goes like this: kids gather in a circle and one of them comes up with a message to whisper into the ear of another, who then goes on to start a chain of whispers until the last child in the circle gets the message and says it aloud. The excitement of the game is fulfilled in this final act of theatre when the last child announces the message with confidence and reveals the groups ability or lack thereof in preserving the message until that deciding moment.

The message is generally inconsequential, but we see something special unfold in the relationship between waiting for the message to circulate and wondering if the message will be accurate in the final moment. There’s a similar waiting and wondering aspect in the birth of Christ that is central to the advent season we celebrate each year at Christmas time. When we wait for something with wonder, it’s arrival produces adoration in our hearts.

From the opening of the Bible, we are met with an all powerful God who creates the world through speech. Shortly after displaying God’s power, the character of love is displayed in the creation of man, who is made in the image of God to enjoy the world God created, as well as a perfect relationship with this God. This created man acts in such a way that puts a cosmic rift between the relationship he has with both God and the world created as his home. But, similar to the game of telephone, God speaks a promise to make things right by the birth of a Savior who would redeem the relationship and rid the world of the effects brought on by the act of that one man.

Centuries after this initial promise is spoken, mankind awaits to see how the message will translate when it comes to fruition. A cursory read through the Bible would show God’s prophets taking up this game of telephone to share the message with generation after generation to pass down the promise, until one day something miraculous happened. In the Gospel of Luke, we’re brought into the moment in history when the promise is again announced by the birth of Jesus Christ!

Through the stories of Simeon and Anna, we can access the drama of this heralding announcement. These two believers were near the end of their lives, lives spent in anticipation and hope of the promise. This gospel account tells of the tension of waiting and wonder present in their lives. Take a moment to read these stories and see if your heart doesn’t feel hopeful as you imagine how the chance to lay eyes on the baby Jesus surely has produced a deep sense of adoration for this miracle in the flesh!

Prayer: Assess your life. As you find yourself at the beginning of Advent season, does the birth of our promised savior inspire hope and adoration for Jesus in your life? If this year has been particularly hard for you, imagine the weight of Simeon and Anna’s lives. See how waiting didn’t dim their worship and hope. Pray that God ministers to your heart and reminds you of the goodness of his giving Jesus to bring salvation to our world!