Advent 2022
Saturday, December 24: Christmas Eve Candlelight Service, 5:00 p.m. 123 Arlington Ave.
Sunday, December 25: Christmas Day/Worship Service only at 10:00 a.m.
Please note, West End Baptist Offices will be closed:
December 23rd and December 26th for Christmas
December 30th and January 2nd for the New Year
Praying the Scriptures during Advent
HOPE in God
11/27 When Elizabeth was six months pregnant, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a city in Galilee, to a virgin who was engaged to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David’s house. The virgin’s name was Mary. When the angel came to her, he said, “Rejoice, favored one! The Lord is with you!” She was confused by these words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. The angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Mary. God is honoring you. Look! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great and he will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of David his father. He will rule over Jacob’s house forever, and there will be no end to his kingdom.” Luke 1:26-33
11/28 For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you. Psalm 33:21-22
11/29 I know the plans I have in mind for you, declares the Lord; they are plans for peace, not disaster, to give you a future filled with hope. Jeremiah 29:11
11/30 This hope doesn’t put us to shame, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. Romans 5:5
12/1 But this is precisely what is written: God has prepared things for those who love him that no eye has seen, or ear has heard, or that haven’t crossed the mind of any human being. 1 Corinthians 2:9
PEACE in His Presence
12/2 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.” Luke 1:39-45
12/3 The wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat; the calf and the young lion will feed together, and a little child will lead them. Isaiah 11:6
12/4 Then the peace of God that exceeds all understanding will keep your hearts and minds safe in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7
12/5 Yes, goodness and faithful love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the Lord’s house as long as I live. Psalm 23:6
12/6 I’ve said these things to you so that you will have peace in me. In the world you have distress. But be encouraged! I have conquered the world.” John 16:33
12/7 The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his face to you and grant you peace. Numbers 6:25-27
JOY in Expectation
12/8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. Luke 2:8-14, 20
12/9 When they [the Magi] saw the star, they were filled with joy. They entered the house and saw the child with Mary his mother. Falling to their knees, they honored him. Then they opened their treasure chests and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Matthew 2:10-11
12/10 Every good gift, every perfect gift, comes from above. These gifts come down from the Father, the creator of the heavenly lights, in whose character there is no change at all. James 1:17
12/11 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! John 1:29
12/12 The people who lived in the dark have seen a great light, and a light has come upon those who lived in the region and in shadow of death. Matthew 4:16
12/13 Yes, you will go out with celebration, and you will be brought back in peace. Even the mountains and the hills will burst into song before you; all the trees of the field will clap their hands. Isaiah 55:12
LOVE from God
12/14 And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. Luke 2:6-7
12/15 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16
12/16 I’m convinced that nothing can separate us from God’s love in Christ Jesus our Lord: not death or life, not angels or rulers, not present things or future things, not powers or height or depth, or any other thing that is created. Romans 8:38-39
12/17 This is how we know love: Jesus laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 1 John 3:16
12/18 But you, my Lord, are a God of compassion and mercy; you are very patient and full of faithful love. Psalm 86:15
12/19 “Be careful that you don’t look down on one of these little ones [children]. I say to you that their angels in heaven are always looking into the face of my Father who is in heaven. What do you think? If someone had one hundred sheep and one of them wandered off, wouldn’t he leave the ninety-nine on the hillsides and go in search for the one that wandered off? If he finds it, I assure you that he is happier about having that one sheep than about the ninety-nine who didn’t wander off. In the same way, my Father who is in heaven doesn’t want to lose one of these little ones. Matthew 18:10-14
12/20 Adopt the attitude that was in Christ Jesus: Though he was in the form of God, he did not consider being equal with God something to exploit. But he emptied himself by taking the form of a slave and by becoming like human beings. When he found himself in the form of a human, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore, God highly honored him and gave him a name above all names, so that at the name of Jesus everyone in heaven, on earth, and under the earth might bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Phillipians 2:5-11
OUR LORD JESUS, THE CHRIST
12/21 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the one who is first over all creation, because all things were created by him: both in the heavens and on the earth, the things that are visible and the things that are invisible. Colossians 1:15-16
12/22 I came so that they could have life—indeed, so that they could live life to the fullest. John 10:10b
12/23 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because the Lord has anointed me. He has sent me to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to liberate the oppressed, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. Luke 4:18-19
12/24 Then he replied to John’s disciples, “Go, report to John what you have seen and heard. Those who were blind are able to see. Those who were crippled now walk. People with skin diseases are cleansed. Those who were deaf now hear. Those who were dead are raised up. And good news is preached to the poor. Luke 7:22
12/25 But these things are written so that you will believe that Jesus is the Christ, God’s Son, and that believing, you will have life in his name. John 20:31
12/26 He said to them, “This is what is written: the Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and a change of heart and life for the forgiveness of sins must be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. Luke 24:46-47
