By Ron Glusenkamp. Communications. Creative. Sample. Elements of Advent. by Ron Glusenkamp with music by Peter Mayer

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1 By Ron Glusenkamp Elements of Advent by Ron Glusenkamp with music by Peter Mayer 1

2 Elements of Advent Welcome to The Elements of Advent. Each day in this booklet we will explore a different element of Advent which connects us to Christmas and bonds us to Christ. To enhance your devotional experience, audio versions of songs by Christian musician Peter Mayer mentioned in this booklet are available at I pray that these devotions cause a positive reaction in your hearts as you prepare for Christ. Ron Glusenkamp, author 2

3 By Ron Glusenkamp The First Sunday of Advent The Element of Readiness Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come. And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake. Mark 13:33, 37 Advent may mark the beginning of the Church Year, but it is also about the end of the world and the Second Coming of Christ. There has been a great deal of information lately regarding the end of the world. In the midst of these concerns our Advent journey calls us to a state of readiness, our first element of Advent. Throughout the gospels Jesus reminds his hearers to stay awake. The notion of sleep is used in a variety of ways in the Bible. One of the major thoughts about sleep, and, consequently, about waking up, is the idea of being ready. If one is asleep, one is not ready. On the other hand, if one is awake, one is ready, mindful and good to go. Readiness in Advent isn t so much about storing away supplies and equipment for the end. Readiness means being aligned and stored up with the Good News of Jesus our Savior, who promises a new beginning. Peter Mayer tells of readiness in Love Is Born Anew with the words, Won t you sing til the end, dance from the start, raise your hands and your hearts and sing?... And each Christmas night the star s guiding light will find you. So let us live in readiness this Advent and be awake to God s love in Jesus. Prayer Love is born anew through your promises, O God. Inspire us to be ready in our living, our dying, our crying and our laughing. + Amen + Element Activity Join hands with someone today, and pray that he or she is ready for Christ s return. Listen Go to com/advent2013/ to listen to Love Is Born Anew. 3

4 Elements of Advent Monday, the First Week of Advent The Element of Promises God told Abram, Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them. Then he said to him, So shall your offspring be. Genesis 15:5 Advent is the season of stars and promises, Peter Mayer sings. The Bible is full of text messages called promises, our next element of Advent. Promises are the foundation of our life together. For a better understanding of the element of promises, we go to Abraham. When Abraham was feeling down about who his descendant would be, God told Abraham (then called Abram) to look up and promised that his descendants would be as many as the stars in the sky. After this promise of descendants, Abram and his wife Sarai received name changes. God changed their names as a way of highlighting the promise of offspring. They were now Abraham and Sarah. Abraham means father of a multitude. Sarah means princess. The promise of offspring made both of them laugh. Yet God had the last laugh because nine months later, at the ages of 100 and 90, Abraham and Sarah become parents. Isaac (which means laughter) was born! God is still making the promise of a Son, his Son, to you and me this Advent and through him he gives us new names of brother and sister of Christ. And this Son will bring joy and laughter to all the world. Prayer O Lord, you are a God of stars and promises. Guide us to the star of your Son and the promises fulfilled in him. + Amen + Element Activity Make a list of all the promises you make today. Listen Go to com/advent2013/ to listen to Stars and Promises. 4

5 By Ron Glusenkamp Tuesday, the First Week of Advent The Element of Justice But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. Isaiah 64:8 This is one of my favorite passages in the Bible. It conveys an artistic, creative intimacy which surpasses all other relationships. We come from the earth (God made Adam of dust from the ground, Genesis 2:7 says), and we are in the hand of God. God holds us, molds us and enfolds us with love and grace. There are still boundaries and limits to what we can do and who we are, however. Not long after being created, Adam and Eve fell for the tempter s crafty words of deceit. God stated there would be consequences for behavior which was not in accord with his will. The consequences of bad behavior are clearly delineated in Isaiah 64:6, We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. Peter Mayer describes our predicament in Sing Joy : Come gather together, you children who wander, looking for dreams that the whole world has squandered. You ve lost them, you ve sold them for pockets of gold and you long to come in from the cold. God s justice, a tough but necessary element of Advent, requires punishment for our sin. But the joy of Advent is that God has transferred his justice for sin onto his Son, who is born to save us. When the Father looks at us, what he sees is the gift of the Son on the cross. That s holy justice for you and for me. Prayer God, thank you for moving the justice we deserve onto your Son so that we might be saved. + Amen + Element Activity Make cookies and get your hands into the dough to remind you that God molded you into his image and he molded a plan to save us. Listen Go to com/advent2013/ to listen to Sing Joy. 5

6 Each day of Advent Pastor Ron Glusenkamp explores the meaning behind elements of Advent that help us bond with our Lord during this busy time. Then he connects those elements to songs by Christian musician Peter Mayer, which can be accessed through a website. May this booklet s unique combination of words and music bring about a positive reaction in your hearts, souls and minds this Advent season. This book, along with many other for the Parish products, is available on and Devotions by Ron Glusenwkamp. Songs by Peter Mayer. Art and design by Paul Berkbigler for the Parish, 1564 Fencorp Dr., Fenton, MO 63026, (800) Printed in the USA. All rights reserved. RG1