Advent Devotional: Week Four - Saturday

Scripture Reading: Colossians 1:15-20 (HCSB)

He is the image of the invisible God,

the firstborn over all creation.

For everything was created by Him,

in heaven and on earth,

the visible and the invisible,

whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—

all things have been created through Him and for Him.

He is before all things,

and by Him all things hold together.

He is also the head of the body, the church;

He is the beginning,

the firstborn from the dead,

so that He might come to have first place in everything.

For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him,

and through Him to reconcile everything to Himself

by making peace through the blood of His cross —

whether things on earth or things in heaven.

Have you ever had a parent, friend, or significant other tell you something you desperately needed to know?

What was it about?

In this poem, Paul is reminding the church that what they need to know above all, if they are to grow as Christians, increasing in wisdom, power, patience, and thanksgiving, is the centrality and supremacy of Jesus Christ. It is by looking at Jesus that we discover who God is; and the more we look at Jesus, the more we realize that the true God is the God of utter self-giving love. Moreover, Jesus holds together the old world and the world to come, creation and new creation; he is the firstborn of all creation, and the firstborn from the dead. Finally, Jesus is the blueprint for genuine humanness, the pattern for reconciliation and peacemaking. Ask God to make Jesus central and supreme in your life and the life of the world this Christmas.

Prayer: Dear Father, we thank you for the gift of your Son--that you've chosen to reveal yourself to us through Him. As we begin to celebrate His birth, help us to remember the glory and power that was cloaked in humility. Help us to give Jesus first place in our hearts and in our lives.

Advent Singing: "Hark, the Glad Sound"

Hark, the glad sound! The Savior comes, the Savior promised long! Let every heart prepare a throne, and every voice a song.

He comes the prisoners to release, in Satan’s bondage held; the gates of brass before him burst, the iron fetters yield.

He comes the broken heart to bind, the wounded soul to cure, and with the treasures of his grace to enrich the humbled poor.

Our glad hosannas, Prince of Peace, your welcome shall proclaim, and heaven’s eternal arches ring with your beloved name.