Tag: family devotions

Advent How-To’s and Hot Tips

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Thanksgiving is going to be over (Thanksgiving–the holiday, not thanksgiving–the act) in a blink and Advent will be in our sights. Here are some tips for making this a tradition that sticks.

Zeroth tip. The most important tip that comes before all the others is to subscribe to my “Come, Lord Jesus” blog. During the month of December (and only then) daily Advent posts will magically appear in your email and will include everything you need for your celebration (except the snacks). 

  1. Don’t make Advent an add-on to an already busy holiday schedule. Make it a replacement. If you’re already in the habit of having daily family devotions, put them on hold and do the Advent celebration instead. Substitute celebrating Advent for a 1/2 hour of screen time. Scale back on the more stressful elements of the season (you know what those are for your family) and focus on something of lasting value.
  2. Prepare. If you’re doing the trinkets in the envelopes or jars or whatever, get them all ready by the weekend prior to Advent. If you’re doing the coloring pages from the “What’s In Those Jars” page print them out and bind them or put them in a folder. Make sure you have a plan in place for taking turns opening the envelopes, lighting the candles in the jars, blowing the candles out, reading the passages etc… to avoid unnecessary squabbles. 
  3. Download the songs from the “Advent Music” page links onto a playlist. If you’re planning on singing the hymns/carols together print out song sheets for each family member. I’ve included a page number from Hymns of Grace for most of them and they can be downloaded for 25 cents a song straight from that website. 
  4. Stock a secret Advent “pantry” with treats to serve each day. We have a simple treat (cookies or popcorn and hot chocolate or a candy cane etc…) set out on the table before we even start so the kids can enjoy it as soon as we’re done with the song and reading. We also play the day’s selection from Handel’s Messiah while they’re having their treats.
  5. Invite your friends and neighbors to join in. We usually do this on the 4 Advent Sundays but it also happens spontaneously at other times. This has been one of our favorite parts of this tradition. Neighbors that would never be open to reading the Bible and singing a hymn are suddenly willing to participate during the holidays. We even had my professors from the Philosophy department at a secular university join us for our Advent celebrations while I was still in school. 
  6. Take Advent on the road. If you’re traveling during the holidays, the daily blog posts have all the music and scripture links included so all you need is your phone. You can even hit the audio icon in the upper left hand corner of the ESV scripture reading links and it will read the passages to you! The coloring books and special Advent road treats can make this a truly memorable time.
  7. Remember Advent isn’t just about Christ’s first coming. It’s about His second coming. It’s a time to prepare our own hearts and the hearts of our children for that great and awesome day. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

“Right Now Counts Forever”

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I stole that title from RC Sproul. Those words are more timely than ever. We all just learned we might be in this state of social isolation for another month. We’re now facing not just 2 weeks but possibly 6 weeks of lost wages, lost investments, lost fellowship opportunities, lost milestones like graduations and weddings and funerals, lost advances in education, in health, in orthodontic progress :). But what if we lived the next 4 weeks in the reality of Romans 8:28? “That for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.”

If you haven’t read the rest of Romans 8 in a while, right now is the perfect time. In that one chapter you will find no condemnation, freedom from sin and death, fulfillment of the law, life and peace, the indwelling Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ in you, the Spirit of life, Jesus Christ risen from the dead, life to our mortal bodies, life through the Spirit, the Spirit of adoption, fellow heirs with Christ through our suffering with Him, future glory revealed in us, redemption of our bodies, hope in salvation, help in our weakness, intercession of the Spirit, calling, purpose, foreknowledge, predestination, conformity to the image of His Son, justification, glorification, God for us, ALL THINGS, Christ Jesus at the right hand of God interceding for us, victory over tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, the sword, and the inseparable love of Christ Jesus our Lord…

What if we took just one hour of each day in April to set our minds on the things of the Spirit rather than the things of the flesh (Rom. 8:5-8). You could choose any hour during which you would normally be filling other obligations outside the home.  Are there lessons or practices you are now missing on Monday? Make that hour count forever.  Tuesday’s playdates canceled? Make that hour count forever.  Ladies Bible Study on Wednesday no longer meeting? Make that hour count forever. Thursday’s client consultation postponed indefinitely? Make that hour count forever. Friday’s date night on hold? Make that hour count forever.

Start now. Instead of spending another hour scrolling through social media and blog posts click on this link to a short 25-minute devotional called “Right Now Counts Forever” given by RC Sproul during his last year on earth. Then read Romans 8.  Spend time in prayer thanking God for the bounteous gifts laid out in that one chapter. Don’t know how to pray? Whatever groanings this Corona Virus has produced inside of you, know that “the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words (Rom. 8:26).” Maybe use part of that hour to memorize a verse a day from that chapter.  By the end of this quarantine you could have the whole thing hidden in your heart!

Below is a list of other ways your family could make an hour a day count forever during the month of April. What a triumph it would be if holy habits cultivated during the Covid quarantine resulted in life long practices among God’s people!

  1. Did you know that there are 30 books in the Bible that contain fewer than 10 chapters? That means they can be read aloud in there entirety by your family in 30 minutes or less. You can alternate daily through the month of April between Old and New Testament books.
  2. Do you have young people in the house? There’s no better time to start reading aloud the wisdom book of Proverbs than on April 1.  There’s one chapter for each day of the month and the last one, Proverbs 31 can be saved for Mother’s Day on May 10.
  3. What’s the best weapon against Covid-19? God’s Word!  Psalms 1, 9, 19, 91, and 119 are great reminders of how God makes Himself known through His Word and that it will stand forever as surely as He is eternally seated on His throne. If you’re not in the habit of singing Psalms try learning Psalm 19. We use the version from the “Book of Psalms for Singing” but you can click here for a link to a more familiar version that even your youngest family members will enjoy.

Since I’m a spreadsheet kind of gal, I’ve put all these options (including memorizing Romans 8) on a calendar to help make April count forever. You can choose just one of the options to redeem that extra hour or all of them and still have time for prayer!  In this time of uncertainty, the promises of God are the only investment that promises guaranteed returns. Isaiah 55:10,11 says,

“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”

Now more than ever, it’s time to keep the feast. Click the link below for a printable copy.

April 2020 Printable

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* I just listened to Allie Beth Stuckey’s podcast “10 Tips to Make Quarantine Count” and she recommends memorizing Romans 8, too! Furthermore she says John Piper just said the same thing! So if you won’t take my word for it, take theirs! And make sure you click this link to Allie’s podcast!

Week 30

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Memory Verse: Romans 13:12

“The night is far gone; the day is at hand.  So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.”

Questions:  What are works of darkness and how can light be an armor against them?

Reading #1: Acts 9:1-19

Questions: What stops Saul in his tracks?  What physical affect does the light have on Saul?  In verses 17 and 18 how is his condition resolved?

Reading #2: Acts 22:1-21

Questions:  Describe the works of darkness Saul was engaged in.  Why do you think he includes them in his defense?

Reading #3: Acts 26:12-32

Questions:  According to verses 16-18, what does Jesus say is the purpose of His appearing to Paul?  According to verses 22 and 23 what message were Paul and Moses and the prophets testifying to?  What did they say Jesus would come and indeed came proclaiming?

Reading #4: Ephesians 4:17-5:21

Questions:  According to verses 17-19 what is the condition of the unbeliever’s mind, heart and body?  How does this compare to the description in verses 20-32 of the one who has been taught and learned the truth in Jesus?  Describe what it looks like in Ephesians 5:1-21 to walk as children of the light?

Psalms and Hymns:

Abide With Me:  “Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;  shine through the gloom, and point me to the skies:  Heaven’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee: In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.”