A Net in Time

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Advent

Free Advent Devotionals

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The crew challenge this month is preparing our hearts for December.  I was giving some thought to that and isn’t that what advent is all about? Preparing our hearts for the coming of the Lord. Now, our Lord has come.  This sent me on the search for free advent devotionals.

I got to thinking, so if we believe in him, do we need to prepare our hearts for his coming?  After all, it’s like we’re preparing our hearts for something we already possess.   Imagine though for a moment: little ones needing to see the wonder of Christmas, the need for a Son of God to be born, for the hope we hold and why we hold it. Can you see the importance to introduce our littles who don’t know?  Sometimes though, we as adults need to remember it as well, don’t you find?   

Affiliate links will be used in this post. 

free advent devotionals

Family Devotionals

Sharing devotions as a family gives food for children, youth, and parents.  Some devotionals give questions to ask, or points to ponder, prayers to read together.  They are a great way to introduce children to doing their own devotions.  Some you might want to consider this year that are free:

I shared last week that we’ll be doing the Joy to the World Advent Devotional from DesiringGod.org.   

joy to the world advent

Children’s Devotionals

For years I bought the advent calendars from Lego.  They gave my lad something to make/do as I read from a devotional.  I was looking on Amazon this year and I was SO tempted by some of the new calendars they have.   They have a Harry Potter one (which honestly I had a mixed opinion of as I loved most of the Harry Potter novels, but mixing them with an advent devotions doesn’t read right to me).  The Thomas and Friends one brought back happy memories of playing trains with my lad.  This Hot Wheels one my lad would have adored as a 5-6 year old!  

And what sort of devotionals worked?  

When he was younger we did a lot of reading bible verses and just talking about them.  One of my joys was introducing him to an advent wreath and talking through the candles each week.  My mom did this when I was a child.  Nothing as fancy as an advent ring, we had candle holders made from potatoes wrapped in foil.  

As he grew older he participated in church with the advent readings we did in there, and we followed that up by talking at home.   

Occasionally we’d use free devotionals such as these

free advent devotionals

Adult Advent Devotionals

Perhaps you don’t have children, or you have teenage or adult children living in your house.  You might find thesefree devotions suit your household better. 

Do you know of any other free advent devotionals for family, children or adults?   Let’s share the resources that are out there. 

Sunday Sermon: Christ is the Answer to Doubt

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This past Sunday was the start to the third Sunday in Advent.

Today we answer the question: What happens when we doubt?
The answer: Christ is the answer to doubt.

Hymns:

O come,  o come Emmanuel
O come, all ye faithful
God rest ye merry gentlemen
Joy to the world
What child is this?
Silent night
Glory to be the father.

 

Scripture:

 Matthew 11:1-19
When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities.
2 Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples 3 and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” 4 And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5 the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. 6 And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”
7 As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 8 What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. 9 What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10 This is he of whom it is written,

“‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
    who will prepare your way before you.’

11 Truly,
I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater
than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of
heaven is greater than he. 12 From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. 13 For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, 14 and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. 15 He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

16 “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates,

17 “‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
    we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’

18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.”

Sermon notes:

Intro: driving a route that was well known and feeling like you are going the wrong way because what you expect doesn’t happen.

So doubt sets in.

So Jesus recalls the tale of John the Baptist. 

John didn’t expect to land up in prison.  He expected to preach his message of judgement.   And he hears the Jesus’ ministry is one of grace.  He expected Jesus to have a ministry of judgement.  So he wondered if Jesus was the one he had foreshadowed so he sent his disciples to ask….are you the one I pointed the way to???

John had doubt.
It’s no different from the fact we have doubts about Jesus too.

Doubts about how God is working, with churches close who honour him, when illness strikes, or Christians diminish in number, etc.

Jesus did not leave John in his doubt.   Jesus pointed him to what he was really doing.  The blind see.   This was unique to Jesus’ ministry.   The dead live, the lame walk, the poor have good news preached to them, the deaf hear etc.

The poor, the ignored among society are being addressed.

Isaiah 29.   Isaiah 35.  Isaiah 61.  
Jesus says to John,  look I am doing exactly what God said I would do.
And all this action I do know doesn’t mean that judgement isn’t coming.  Judgement is coming, no question about it.

John was a testament to Jesus.   He immediately prepared the way for Christ.

John was reminded by Jesus that his place was the greatest prophet.  See what Jesus is doing. 

See the restoration that Jesus has wrought in your life.
It is so easy to not really see what Christ does .  
But Jesus reminds us what he is doing.   
Sight to the blind: physically and spiritually
Raises the dead: those who are dead to God see and hear the reality of God and that he calls them out to him.

Sometimes God sends a famine of his word so that people start to hunger for him.
Sometimes growth happens in one area while death occurs in another.

Never fear, God sees it, Jesus acts all the time, completing all of his mission.

Doing this through his people.

Look and see his action.
Look and see that he is coming again.

John: A Call to Repent

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Hymns

Break thou the bread of life
On the banks where Jordan rolled
Hark the glad sound, the Saviour come
Come thou long-expected Jesus
Angels, from the realms of glory
Thou didst leave thy throne

 

 

Scripture Reading:

 Matthew 3:1-12

 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said,

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
    make his paths straight.’”
4 Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, 6 and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 10 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
11 “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

Sermon

Sermon Notes

400 years of silence, no prophets since Malachi

Suddenly there was a man in the wilderness.  He looked like Elijah.
Calling people to repentance,  for the kingdom of God was at hand.
He caught the attention of the Israelites.

Many came, many heard, of those many quite a few were baptized.
Repenting of their sin.

The call of repentance rings out throughout in the bible.

Repentance, people see it as old fashioned and don’t really know what it means.

Repentance. It means turning around your life and going in a different direction.

Isaiah 55…let him return to the Lord who will have compassion.

A turning to God after all the fleeing from him we do.

Repentance starts with the turning away from the things you placed so high in your life, and turning to see where God is.

People sometimes fail to see what fleeing from God truly is.  They see it only as the bad sins….prostitution, theft, sex etc.   And fail to see it is anything that takes the place of God.

The pharisees were fleeing from God because
1. They were trying to be so good to show that he owed them and
2. The claimed sonship with Abraham and therefore safe

All the good deeds we do are like a polluted garment.   They won’t save us.
Your birthright won’t save you.   If God can raise up stones to be children of God,  the our birthright means nothing.   So don’t rest in the fact you came from a family of faith.

What matters is this.   Are we people of faith? Do we repent of our sin?

Repentance is not a one time thing.
It is an ongoing process in life.  It’s a daily turning away from wrong, and a turning to God for cleansing.

Advent reminds us that he has come and that he will come back.  And he will gather his own safely to himself.  The wheat gathered, the chaff burned. 

So look and see , let yourself be shown where your sin is,  turn to Christ and his great mercy.

Sunday Sermon: Keep Awake, Be Ready

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Hymns:

Hark the herald the angels sing
Hail to the Lord’s Anointed
O come O come Emmanual
The race that long in darkness pined
Rejoice, rejoice, believers
Be known to us in breaking bread
Joy to the world

Scripture: 

Matthew 24:36-44 (ESV) 

36 “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. 37 For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, 39 and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. 42 Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

During advent we are looking forward to Christ coming again.   Too often we only focus on the baby Jesus.
Or people focus on trying to figure out when Jesus will return.  Like the timing is important.

Even in Jesus’ day the disciples wanted to know when Jesus would return.

Jesus answers the when question.  No one on earth knows.  Only God the Father knows.

The angels don’t know, he (Jesus) doesn’t know, people don’t know, only God the Father knows that time.

When Christ was on earth he was limited in many ways by his humanity.   He was still God,  but he was very human.    He walked , talked, asked questions, needed to know things and get places.

While Noah built the ark,  he was continually calling people to know the Lord,  to turn to him and be saved.

2 Peter.   Scoffers  will be around to mock the Lord and his eventual return.

Jesus is clear    we don’t know when he is returning but we have an antidote for that….stay awake!!   Always be expecting.   You know it will happen so simply be alert and be ready.

Whatever we do, be prepared for the Lord to return.

We shouldn’t be surprised like those who live in the dark. Always ready, always prepared.

So how does live a life of readiness?
1. Live like any moment could be your last
2. Live in grounded obedience to God’s will
3. Live a life of faith.
4. Live a life of love

So stay awake.   Be alert.