The Sovereign Love of God

12

T he S eason of A dvent

First Sunday of Advent: Anticipation November 29 - December 5, 2020 Advent joyously affirms the First and Second comings of our Lord. Through the prophets, God foretold the Messiah’s appearing to his people, Israel. Through the angels, he announced his birth to Zechariah, Mary, and the shepherds. Let us reverently ponder the sure promise of God – the Deliverer will come and ransom captive Israel and the world. As we await the coming of Christ, let us humbly confess our faults and shortcomings, affirming to our God that we are the clay, the work of his hands, and that he is the potter, our maker and Lord. Only the Father can forgive and help us, and only his Son can provide healing for us. We all today must prepare ourselves for the coming of the Lord. As we anticipate the coming of the Lord at the beginning of this Advent season, so let us too humble ourselves under God’s mighty hand, cleanse ourselves from our foolishness and distraction, and prepare our hearts for a visitation from the Lord from heaven. THIS WEEK’S THEME Come, and Make Your Name Known, Isaiah 64.1-9

WEEK 1

Daily Devotional Guide

Preparing Our Hearts

Invocation: Our Prayer of Acclamation O LORD, for whose advent thy Church has waited long: save us lest the hope of thee grow dim, and we say: Where is the promise of his coming? And lest we, forgetting to watch with lamps trimmed and loins girded, be found unprepared tomeet thee, when thou comest at such an hour as we think not. But grant that we be numbered with the wise, who, looking to thy promises, prepare the way for the Son of Man to come in his glory. Amen. ~ W. E. Orchard (Ferguson and Wallis, p. 7)