Advent 2023
Advent Devotional December 25th
December 25, 2023 • Pastor Brandon • Revelation 21:1–8
Merry Christmas! Today's Advent reading and devotional are out of Revelation 21:1-8, looking at God's promise of the new heaven and new earth. Monday, December 25th family discussion questions: How does it feel to wake up on Christmas morning? Parents, talk through the excitement and joy of Christmas morning together as a family. How did your kids feel waking up to that this morning? What does God promise to us in Revelation 21? These verses are a picture of God’s promise for our world. We become citizens of God’s kingdom in Jesus, and that kingdom will be fully realized when Jesus returns! The joy we have at Christmas today is a glimpse of what all creation will be in the Kingdom of God!
Advent Devotional December 22nd
December 22, 2023 • Pastor Brandon • John 1:9–14
Today's Advent reading and devotional are out of John 1:9-14, looking at Jesus as the Light of the world. Friday, December 22nd family discussion questions: Do you have a favorite place to go and see the Christmas lights? This question is to get kids thinking about the way we celebrate Christmas with light shining in darkness. Parents, talk through what your kids like about the tradition of Christmas lights. All these traditions celebrate Jesus being the Light of the world! What does it mean for us that Jesus came to be the light of the world? Jesus is the true light that gives light to everyone! The good news of the Gospel is light in darkness. Parents, talk through the basics of the Gospel with your children. What is the darkness Jesus rescues us from? What is changed in us when the light of Jesus comes into our lives? Here are 4 truths of the Gospel in scripture to cover with your kids: God - We were created by God to know Him, but were separated by sin. (Gen 1:26, Romans 1:18-20, Psalms 14:1) US - We are separated from God by our sin and need Him to make a way for us to be saved. (Romans 3:23, 6:23, John 3:3-5, 3:16-18) Jesus - Jesus died on the cross to give us the free gift of salvation (Romans 5:8, 6:23, John 5:24, 14:6) Response - When we believe and follow Jesus we are saved from our sin and live as his disciples. (Matthew 11:28, Romans 10:9-11, Ephesians 2:8-10)
Advent Devotional December 19th
December 19, 2023 • C.J. Cooper • Luke 2:22–40
Today's Advent reading and devotional are out of Luke 2:22-40, looking at the prophecies of Simeon and Anna. Tuesday, December 19th family discussion questions: How does it feel to wait for something? Parents, talk through the feeling of waiting with your kids. Is it hard? Easy? How does it feel when we have to wait longer? How could we wait like Anna did in our verses? Talk through what made Anna’s waiting different from our normal attitude. Is it trust in the person or thing we wait for? Is it a promise from someone trustworthy? Talk through how we can wait like Anna did, with trust and praise for God in our waiting.
Advent Devotional December 15th
December 15, 2023 • Pastor Jeff • Luke 1:57–66
Today's Advent reading and devotional are out of Luke 1:57-66, looking at the birth of John the Baptist. Friday, December 15th family discussion questions: Have you ever been disappointed by something unexpected or different than you planned? Parents, talk through how we feel when things are different than we expect, and how we deal with those feelings. Do unexpected things ever turn out better than we hoped? How did God use the unexpected in the birth of Jesus to be exactly what we need? The birth of Jesus is full of the unexpected! Jesus’ humble birth in a manger, the first visitors being lowly shepherds, this isn’t what we would expect for the birth of God’s Son! Yet God used the unexpected to bring exactly what we needed into the world. Parents, talk through how we can trust God to use the unexpected for our good.
Advent Devotional December 12th
December 12, 2023 • C.J. Cooper • Luke 1:26–38
Today's Advent reading and devotional are out of Luke 1:26-38, looking at the Angel telling Mary of Jesus' coming birth. Tuesday, December 12th family discussion questions: What feels impossible for you right now? Parents, talk through what feels impossible to your kids. These might be things they feel they can’t handle, things they can’t change, or just things that are hard for them. Talk through how we feel in these impossible situations. What does God’s word promise us He can do in our impossible situations? We have the Holy Spirit, and the promise that nothing is impossible with God! Talk through what it means that God is bigger than our impossible situations. What would it look like for us to trust Him with those things?
Advent Devotional December 8
December 8, 2023 • Pastor Jeff • Matthew 2:13–15
Today's Advent reading and devotional are out of Matthew 12:13-15, looking at the escape to Egypt. Tuesday, December 5th family discussion questions: In our verses today God protects Jesus by sending his family to live in Egypt. Are there things in your life where you trust God to protect you? Parents, talk through the things in our life that we trust God with. These may be simple things like prayers for our pets, friends and family, or putting our trust in God with scary situations. Where do we need God to protect and save us just like He did for Jesus? This is a great opportunity to talk through not just our trust in God for safety, but also the way God saves us from our sin. Jesus traveling to and being brought out of Egypt should make us think of God’s constant rescue of His people throughout history, and point us to Jesus saving us from sin on the cross!
Advent Devotional December 5
December 5, 2023 • C.J. Cooper • Matthew 1:1–17
Today's Advent reading and devotional are out of Matthew 1:1-17, the tracing of Jesus' ancestry. Tuesday, December 5th family discussion questions: What special Christmas traditions does your family have? Parents, talk through the specific family traditions your kids love. Each family is unique in their traditions, and we get to celebrate Jesus being born in a specific family because of God’s promises! What traditions can help us focus on Jesus this Christmas? Traditions are one of the ways we remember God’s fulfilled promises, and the ones we are still waiting for! Talk through how your family's traditions can help us focus on Jesus this Christmas. This might even be a time to make new traditions to celebrate!
Advent Devotional December 1st
December 1, 2023 • Pastor Brandon • Luke 1:1–4
Join us for Life Community Church's Advent reading plan this Christmas season. Follow along in the Bible reading section of the LCC app with the daily scripture readings, and enjoy the video and family discussion devotionals posted every Tuesday and Friday leading up to Christmas. We hope join us on this journey through God's word in the advent season! Friday, December 1st family discussion questions: What is your favorite part of the Christmas story? Parents, talk through your kids favorite parts of the Christmas story. These are real events that Luke passed down so we could know the truth of Jesus’ birth! Why is the story of Jesus’ birth important to us? Talk through why the story of how Jesus was born is important to us as Jesus followers. The amazing story of Christmas highlights the great things that God is going to do in Jesus!