2021 Daily Advent Guide

Every year around Christmas time, my family would read the Gospel of Luke together. Sometimes it was in our living room; other times it was at church. The second chapter of Luke was probably the Scripture I heard the most. I didn’t appreciate it much then — I just wanted to get to the gifts! It wasn’t until much later that I realized the gift was truly Jesus. As a child, I did not realize the severity of sin or the weight of suffering. I didn’t realize what it meant that this child we read about every year was God himself stepping out of heaven to be tempted by sin and to defeat it through suffering on the cross.

While the book of Luke is the story of Jesus, it is also the story of us. It shows the difference that Jesus made in the lives of sinners and sufferers. In the same vein, the whole story of Scripture is the story of God, but also the story of us. It tells us who God is, who we are, and why we so desperately needed Jesus to rescue us. Over the next 4 weeks we will walk through selected passages of that story and see what it has to say about hope, peace, joy, and love. These reflections on Scripture have been written by sinners and sufferers like you and me, for sinners and sufferers like you and me. Our prayer this Advent season is that, while you are eagerly awaiting Christmas, your mind’s attention and heart’s affections would be stirred toward Jesus and eagerly wait for His triumphant return as we reflect on His humble entry. Hallelujah, what a Savior!

Sincerely,

Stephen Searles, Hallows Church Planter in Residence