ADVENT DAY 1

Psalm 62:5-6

Let all that I am wait quietly before God,

    for my hope is in him.

He alone is my rock and my salvation,

    my fortress where I will not be shaken.

Isaiah 26:3

You will keep in perfect peace

    all who trust in you,

    all whose thoughts are fixed on you!

Isaiah 40:31

But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.

    They will soar high on wings like eagles.

They will run and not grow weary.

    They will walk and not faint.

Hebrews 10:23

 Let us hold tightly without wavering to the

hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.

ADVENT DAY 2

Isaiah 11:1-2

Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot—

    yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root.

And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—

    the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,

the Spirit of counsel and might,

    the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.

Jeremiah 23:5-6

“For the time is coming,”

    says the Lord,

“when I will raise up a righteous descendant

    from King David’s line.

He will be a King who rules with wisdom.

    He will do what is just and right throughout the land.

And this will be his name:

    ‘The Lord Is Our Righteousness.’

In that day Judah will be saved,

    and Israel will live in safety.

ADVENT DAY 3

Isaiah 42:1, 5-6

““Look at my servant, whom I strengthen.

    He is my chosen one, who pleases me.

I have put my Spirit upon him.

    He will bring justice to the nations.

God, the Lord, created the heavens and stretched them out.

    He created the earth and everything in it.

He gives breath to everyone,

    life to everyone who walks the earth.

And it is he who says,

“I, the Lord, have called you to demonstrate my righteousness.

    I will take you by the hand and guard you,

and I will give you to my people, Israel,

    as a symbol of my covenant with them.

And you will be a light to guide the nations.

Isaiah 60:1-3, 19-22

“Arise, Jerusalem! Let your light shine for all to see.

    For the glory of the Lord rises to shine on you.

Darkness as black as night covers all the nations of the earth,

    but the glory of the Lord rises and appears over you.

All nations will come to your light;

    mighty kings will come to see your radiance.

“No longer will you need the sun to shine by day,

    nor the moon to give its light by night,

for the Lord your God will be your everlasting light,

    and your God will be your glory.

Your sun will never set;

    your moon will not go down.

For the Lord will be your everlasting light.

    Your days of mourning will come to an end.

All your people will be righteous.

    They will possess their land forever,

for I will plant them there with my own hands

    in order to bring myself glory.

The smallest family will become a thousand people,

    and the tiniest group will become a mighty nation.

    At the right time, I, the Lord, will make it happen.”

ADVENT DAY 4

Daniel 9:4-11, 20-25

I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed:

“O Lord, you are a great and awesome God! You always fulfill your covenant and keep your promises of unfailing love to those who love you and obey your commands. But we have sinned and done wrong. We have rebelled against you and scorned your commands and regulations. We have refused to listen to your servants the prophets, who spoke on your authority to our kings and princes and ancestors and to all the people of the land.

“Lord, you are in the right; but as you see, our faces are covered with shame. This is true of all of us, including the people of Judah and Jerusalem and all Israel, scattered near and far, wherever you have driven us because of our disloyalty to you. O Lord, we and our kings, princes, and ancestors are covered with shame because we have sinned against you. But the Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him. We have not obeyed the Lord our God, for we have not followed the instructions he gave us through his servants the prophets. All Israel has disobeyed your instruction and turned away, refusing to listen to your voice.

I went on praying and confessing my sin and the sin of my people, pleading with the Lord my God for Jerusalem, his holy mountain. As I was praying, Gabriel, whom I had seen in the earlier vision, came swiftly to me at the time of the evening sacrifice. He explained to me, “Daniel, I have come here to give you insight and understanding. The moment you began praying, a command was given. And now I am here to tell you what it was, for you are very precious to God. Listen carefully so that you can understand the meaning of your vision.

A period of seventy sets of seven has been decreed for your people and your holy city to finish their rebellion, to put an end to their sin, to atone for their guilt, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to confirm the prophetic vision, and to anoint the Most Holy Place.  Now listen and understand! Seven sets of seven plus sixty-two sets of seven will pass from the time the command is given to rebuild Jerusalem until a ruler—the Anointed One—comes. Jerusalem will be rebuilt with streets and strong defenses, despite the perilous times.

ADVENT DAY 5

Galatians 4:4-5

But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a

woman, subject to the law. God sent him to buy freedom

 for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt

 us as his very own children.

Ephesians 1:9-12

God has now revealed to us his mysterious plan regarding

Christ, a plan to fulfill his own good pleasure.  And this is

 the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together

 under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and

 on earth.

Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have

 received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in

 advance, and he makes everything work out according to

 his plan.

God’s purpose was that we Jews who were the first to trust

 in Christ would bring praise and glory to God

ADVENT DAY 6

Numbers 24:17

I see him, but not here and now.

    I perceive him, but far in the distant future.

A star will rise from Jacob;

    a scepter will emerge from Israel.

It will crush the foreheads of Moab’s people,

    cracking the skulls of the people of Sheth.

Revelation 22:16

 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this message for the churches. I am both the source of David and the heir to his throne.[I am the bright morning star.”

2 Peter 1:19

Because of that experience, we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. You must pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place—until the Day dawns, and Christ the Morning Star shines in your hearts.

ADVENT DAY 7

Malachi 3:1

“Look! I am sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. Then the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his Temple. The messenger of the covenant, whom you look for so eagerly, is surely coming,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

Luke 1:67-79

Then his father, Zechariah, was filled with the Holy Spirit and gave this prophecy:

“Praise the Lord, the God of Israel,

    because he has visited and redeemed his people.

He has sent us a mighty Savior

    from the royal line of his servant David,

just as he promised

    through his holy prophets long ago.

Now we will be saved from our enemies

    and from all who hate us.

He has been merciful to our ancestors

    by remembering his sacred covenant—

the covenant he swore with an oath

    to our ancestor Abraham.

We have been rescued from our enemies

    so we can serve God without fear,

in holiness and righteousness

    for as long as we live.

“And you, my little son,

    will be called the prophet of the Most High,

    because you will prepare the way for the Lord.

You will tell his people how to find salvation

    through forgiveness of their sins.

Because of God’s tender mercy,

    the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us,

to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,

    and to guide us to the path of peace.”

ADVENT DAY 8

Micah 5:2-5

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,

    are only a small village among all the people of Judah.

Yet a ruler of Israel will come from you,

    one whose origins are from the distant past.

The people of Israel will be abandoned to their enemies

    until the woman in labor gives birth.

Then at last his fellow countrymen

    will return from exile to their own land.

And he will stand to lead his flock with the Lord’s strength,

    in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.

Then his people will live there undisturbed,

    for he will be highly honored around the world.

    And he will be the source of peace.

ADVENT DAY 9

Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11

“Comfort, comfort my people,”

    says your God.

“Speak tenderly to Jerusalem.

Tell her that her sad days are gone

    and her sins are pardoned.

Yes, the Lord has punished her twice over

    for all her sins.”

Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting,

“Clear the way through the wilderness

    for the Lord!

Make a straight highway through the wasteland

    for our God!

Fill in the valleys,

    and level the mountains and hills.

Straighten the curves,

    and smooth out the rough places.

Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed,

    and all people will see it together.

    The Lord has spoken!”

O Zion, messenger of good news,

    shout from the mountaintops!

Shout it louder, O Jerusalem.

    Shout, and do not be afraid.

Tell the towns of Judah,

    “Your God is coming!”

Yes, the Sovereign Lord is coming in power.

    He will rule with a powerful arm.

    See, he brings his reward with him as he comes.

He will feed his flock like a shepherd.

    He will carry the lambs in his arms,

holding them close to his heart.

    He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young.

ADVENT DAY 10

Mark 13:33-37

 And since you don’t know when that time will come, be on guard! Stay alert!  “The coming of the Son of Man can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. When he left home, he gave each of his slaves instructions about the work they were to do, and he told the gatekeeper to watch for his return.

You, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know when the master of the household will return—in the evening, at midnight, before dawn, or at daybreak. Don’t let him find you sleeping when he arrives without warning. I say to you what I say to everyone: Watch for him!”

Luke 21:27-28

Then everyone will see the Son of Man coming on a cloud with power and great glory.  So when all these things begin to happen, stand and look up, for your salvation is near!”

ADVENT DAY 11

Romans 13:11-14

This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living. Because we belong to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see. Don’t participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness, or in sexual promiscuity and immoral living, or in quarreling and jealousy. Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires.

Psalm 85:8-9

I will listen to what God the Lord says;

    he promises peace to his people, his faithful servants—

    but let them not turn to folly.

Surely his salvation is near those who fear him,

    that his glory may dwell in our land.

ADVENT DAY 12

John 1:6-9

God sent a man, John the Baptist, to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light. The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.

Matthew 3:1-3

 In those days John the Baptist came to the Judean wilderness and began preaching. His message was, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” The prophet Isaiah was speaking about John when he said,

“He is a voice shouting in the wilderness,

‘Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming! Clear the road for him!’

ADVENT DAY 13

Psalm 43:3-6

Send out your light and your truth;

    let them guide me.

Let them lead me to your holy mountain,

    to the place where you live.

There I will go to the altar of God,

    to God—the source of all my joy.

I will praise you with my harp,

    O God, my God!

 Why am I discouraged?

    Why is my heart so sad?

I will put my hope in God!

    I will praise him again—

    my Savior and my God!

John 8:12

 Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”

ADVENT DAY 14

2 Corinthians 4:6-10

For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.  We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.

We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair.  We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.

ADVENT DAY 15

Psalm 130

From the depths of despair, O Lord, I call for your help.

Hear my cry, O Lord.

    Pay attention to my prayer.

Lord, if you kept a record of our sins,

    who, O Lord, could ever survive?

But you offer forgiveness,

    that we might learn to fear you.

I am counting on the Lord;

    yes, I am counting on him.

    I have put my hope in his word.

I long for the Lord

    more than sentries long for the dawn,

    yes, more than sentries long for the dawn.

O Israel, hope in the Lord;

    for with the Lord there is unfailing love.

    His redemption overflows.

He himself will redeem Israel

    from every kind of sin.

Romans 15:13

 I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

ADVENT DAY 16

Jeremiah 31:31-34

 “The day is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife,” says the Lord.

 “But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day,” says the Lord. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’

For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already,” says the Lord. “And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.”

ADVENT DAY 17

Matthew 1:18-21

This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

1 Peter 3:18

Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God.

1 John 3:16

 We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us.

ADVENT DAY 18

Luke 1:30-33 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

Joshua 1:9

This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Matthew 6:33

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

ADVENT DAY 19

Luke 1:46-55

And Mary said:

“My soul glorifies the Lord

    and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

for he has been mindful

    of the humble state of his servant.

From now on all generations will call me blessed,

    for the Mighty One has done great things for me—

    holy is his name.

His mercy extends to those who fear him,

    from generation to generation.

He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;

    he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.

He has brought down rulers from their thrones

    but has lifted up the humble.

He has filled the hungry with good things

    but has sent the rich away empty.

He has helped his servant Israel,

    remembering to be merciful

to Abraham and his descendants forever,

    just as he promised our ancestors.”

ADVENT DAY 20

Luke 2:16-18, 20

 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Isaiah 6:8

And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”

Matthew 28:19-20

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

ADVENT DAY 21

Matthew 2:9-11

The wise men went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose, went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Psalm 95:6

“Come, let us bow down in

worship, let us kneel before the

Lord our Maker;

for he is our God and we are

the people of his pasture, the

flock under his care.”

James 1:17

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

ADVENT DAY 22

Isaiah 9:2-7

The people who walk in darkness

    will see a great light.

For those who live in a land of deep darkness,

    a light will shine.

You will enlarge the nation of Israel,

    and its people will rejoice.

They will rejoice before you

    as people rejoice at the harvest

    and like warriors dividing the plunder.

For you will break the yoke of their slavery

    and lift the heavy burden from their shoulders.

You will break the oppressor’s rod,

    just as you did when you destroyed the army of Midian.

The boots of the warrior

    and the uniforms bloodstained by war

will all be burned.

    They will be fuel for the fire.

For a child is born to us,

    a son is given to us.

The government will rest on his shoulders.

    And he will be called:

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

His government and its peace

    will never end.

He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David

    for all eternity.

The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!

ADVENT DAY 23

Zephaniah 3:14-17

Sing, O daughter of Zion;

    shout aloud, O Israel!

Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,

    O daughter of Jerusalem!

For the Lord will remove his hand of judgment

    and will disperse the armies of your enemy.

And the Lord himself, the King of Israel,    will live among you!  At last your troubles will be over,

    and you will never again fear disaster.

On that day the announcement to Jerusalem will be,

    “Cheer up, Zion! Don’t be afraid!

For the Lord your God is living among you.  He is a mighty savior.  He will take delight in you with gladness.

    With his love, he will calm all your fears.

    He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”

ADVENT DAY 24

Revelation 7:9-12

After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice:

“Salvation belongs to our God,

who sits on the throne,

and to the Lamb.”

All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying:

“Amen!

Praise and glory

and wisdom and thanks and honor

and power and strength

be to our God for ever and ever.

Amen!”

CHRISTMAS DAY

Read Luke 2:1-21 from your Bible.

John 3:16

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

2 Corinthians 9:15

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!