Advent: November 29

NOVEMBER 29, 2022
Light the first (purple) candle (the Prophecy Candle), which represents hope or expectation in anticipation of the coming Messiah
Read: Psalm 113
Thoughts for Parents: It is right to begin this season of advent by saying:

“Praise the Lord!… From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised!”

Yes, of course we know that we should praise the Lord. We know that He is good and that He deserves our worship, but sometimes we find it difficult to get there. And then, when we discover that coldness in our souls, we wonder whether He still loves us at all, which results in a complete dearth of heartfelt praise.

Here’s the good news from our reading: “The Lord is high above all nations, and His glory is above the heavens!” Yes, He “sits on high” but He also looks far down on the “heavens and the earth.” He “raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap.” You see, the good news is that God isn’t only transcendent and sovereign. No, not at all. The good news is that He’s also imminent—He’s with you right there, right where you are, right now. How do we know? We know because of Christmas; God the Son came to earth as Jesus the Man for one primary reason: to raise the poor from the dust and rescue the needy from the trash. Rejoice! He came for you and your family, no matter how lowly, how insignificant, or how much you struggle. He sees your poverty and your neediness, and He’s come to answer it all.
Thoughts for Children:

Do you ever feel like God is far away from you?
Or like He is so big and powerful that He would never notice a little child like you?

Our verses today in Psalm 113 talk about that very thing. You see, God is big and powerful. Our verses say, “He is seated on high.” Imagine some one in a very big throne looking down on everybody else, thinking important thoughts, and doing important things. You probably think that someone so important doesn’t care about unimportant, little kids; but, you see, our God is different. Our verses say that God takes the most unimportant people and raises them up to sit with all the princes. God really does see you. God really does love you. As we get close to Christmas, we are going to see that God loves us so much that He gave us the best gift possible. He gives gifts to the people that most everybody else wouldn’t even bother with. God gives gifts to us because He loves us, not because we are big and powerful.