Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Prepare the Way: Cultivating a Heart for God in Advent
    Prepare the Way: Cultivating a Heart for God in Advent
    Prepare the Way: Cultivating a Heart for God in Advent
    Ebook104 pages1 hour

    Prepare the Way: Cultivating a Heart for God in Advent

    By Pamela C. Hawkins

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Throughout Advent we read and sing the words Prepare the Way as we make room to welcome the Christ child into our lives once again. We prepare our city streets and buildings. We prepare our homes and workspaces. But sometimes Advent can slip away from us before we can prepare our hearts.

    In this 4-week study and prayer book, Pamela Hawkins invites us to prepare our hearts through guided prayer, readings from Isaiah and Matthew, as well as brief reflections on four scriptural themes: Peace, Justice, Fearlessness, and Faithfulness.

    Prepare the Way includes these spiritual practices:

    • Prayers of invocation, intercession, and benediction
    • Reflection through spiritual reading
    • Silence
    • Meditation on scripture
    • Call to Christian witness and service

    4 weeks • Includes Leader's Guide

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherUpper Room Books
    Release dateSep 1, 2016
    ISBN9780835815710
    Prepare the Way: Cultivating a Heart for God in Advent
    Author

    Pamela C. Hawkins

    Associate Pastor, Belmont United Methodist Church, Nashville, TN

    Read more from Pamela C. Hawkins

    Related to Prepare the Way

    Related ebooks

    Holidays For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Letters To The Editor

      Jan 1, 2021

      Dear readers, we love to hear your thoughts on the stories that we publish, what is going on around the world, and what the Lord has placed on your heart! Email your letter through to editor@joymag.co.za for a chance to be featured – please try to ke

      3 min read

    • Article

      Remember the Sabbath

      Jun 24, 2022

      Remember the Sabbath
      3 min read

    • Article

      Sanctuary of Beauty

      Aug 10, 2021

      Sanctuary of Beauty
      1 min read

    • Article

      Ask Val

      Sep 23, 2022

      Ask Val
      2 min read

    • Article

      Monday, January 2

      Dec 16, 2022

      “WHAT DO YOU WISH YOU could do better?” a friend asked me recently. Without missing a beat, I quickly replied, “Sing.” I’ve long admired those who have voices that can croon any type of music—Christian, opera, R&B, pop, jazz, or country. I love to si

      1 min read

    • Article

      Ask Val

      Dec 1, 2023

      Ask Val
      2 min read

    • Article

      ORPHANED On The Ocean

      Apr 22, 2022

      ORPHANED On The Ocean
      3 min read

    • Article

      More Inspiration at Guideposts.org

      Jan 28, 2022

      * Get Boost your spiritual wellbeing! Visit guideposts.org for web-exclusive stories, life advice, prayer tips, recipes and more. * Watch Two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson (page 40) shares the Bible verses that help him cope with anxiety, plus t

      1 min read

    • Article

      In The Novel ‘Emily’s House,’ The Dickinsons’ Irish Maid Speaks Her Mind

      Oct 27, 2021

      Amy Belding Brown’s historic novel “Emily’s House” sheds light on Emily Dickinson and her family, through the observations of their Irish maid.

      3 min read

    • Article

      BRUDERH OF The Cult Of Community

      Sep 11, 2019

      BRUDERH OF The Cult Of Community
      9 min read

    • Article

      WHO’S In The NEWS?

      Aug 25, 2023

      Evangelist Greg Laurie has held what is being called a baptismal service of “biblical proportions” at one of the locations in California where the Jesus Revolution was filmed, in Newport Beach. Media reports reveal that Laurie’s organisation held a s

      2 min read

    • Article

      Max Lucado

      Jan 26, 2023

      Max Lucado
      2 min read

    • Article

      Tuesday, June 6

      Apr 15, 2023

      FOR AS LONG AS I can remember, I've heard people in my faith circles end their prayers with, “In Jesus's name, amen.” I've done the same thing, often with little thought about what that really means. Things changed when I was researching and writing

      1 min read

    • Article

      Let Us Pray To The God Of Small Things

      Jun 2, 2021

      ‘May we give glory to God by the lives that we lead.’ These are the words spoken by the priest at the end of our daily Mass. The day had barely begun. In general, was it going to give God glory? And, in particular, was my day going to do so? It was a

      2 min read

    • Article

      The Kingdom In The Marketplace

      Mar 16, 2020

      Today, there is little understanding of the message of the Kingdom in the marketplace, yet we are all called as ministers to grow His Kingdom (2 Cor 3:6). Many set worldly goals for the selfish advancement and selfish rewards, where work has just bec

      1 min read

    • Article

      Introduction

      Jan 16, 2021

      Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. HEBREWS 12:2 NIV I’VE ALWAYS THOUGHT of Lent as a new beginning—

      1 min read

    • Article

      Thursday, May 13

      Apr 15, 2021

      ONE MORNING MY DAUGHTER, HOLLY, helped my eight-year-old grandson straighten up his room. Later that day, she glanced in Roman’s room and found it a wreck. Several books had been pulled off the shelf; some were turned upside down to mark the spot whe

      1 min read

    • Article

      An Angel for Freddy Lee

      Oct 28, 2021

      An Angel for Freddy Lee
      3 min read

    • Article

      Wednesday, August 30

      Jun 16, 2023

      THE MINISTERS’ WIVES AT MY church get together once a quarter for an evening of fun, fellowship, and prayer. At our most recent gathering, our girls’ minister, Shelby, led us in a prayer exercise that was especially memorable. First, she told us to t

      1 min read

    • Article

      Women Of Grace

      Nov 18, 2019

      God has an abundant life, and a great future planned for you. His plan is to take care of you, not to abandon you. God says in Revelation 22:13, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” Nothing in your life s

      2 min read

    • Article

      Why, God, Why?

      Sep 7, 2021

      Why, God, Why?
      3 min read

    • Article

      Sunday, April 24

      Feb 16, 2022

      AT THE GROCERY STORE, I searched for a few healthy snack options. On a sale rack, I found crunchy peapod snacks. They sounded healthier than potato chips, with a similar crunch-salt value, so I grabbed them. After getting home I tasted them. Yuck. Wh

      1 min read

    • Article

      The Power Of A Praying Mother

      Apr 22, 2022

      Maud Coetzee, born Scoble, hails from Kimberley and is the youngest of 16 children. Her birth was a miracle as her mom conceived beyond child-bearing age. After Maud received Christ Jesus into her life as a teenager, she met the love of her life – th

      2 min read

    • Article

      A Note From The Editor

      Jun 16, 2022

      IN A LOT OF WAYS, the summer is a powerful reminder of the freedom and rest we can find in Jesus. Our children and grandchildren, who are on break from school, enliven our homes with laughter and joy. Packing for that long-awaited family vacation mak

      1 min read

    • Article

      Monday, July 10

      Jun 16, 2023

      Sometimes Jesus speaks through curious circumstances or people. I shouldn't be surprised. Throughout the Bible, animals or objects became instruments for communicating important truths. A talking donkey, for instance (Numbers 22:28). While watching a

      1 min read

    • Article

      Riding Bikes for Jesus

      Aug 24, 2015

      Riding Bikes for Jesus
      2 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Prepare the Way

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Prepare the Way - Pamela C. Hawkins

      PREPARE THE WAY: Cultivating a Heart for God in Advent

      Copyright © 2016 by Pamela C. Hawkins

      All rights reserved.

      No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without permission except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews. For information, write Upper Room Books, 1908 Grand Avenue, Nashville, TN 37212.

      Upper Room Books website: books.upperroom.org

      Upper Room®, Upper Room Books®, and design logos are trademarks owned by The Upper Room®, Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved.

      At the time of publication all website references in this book were valid. However, due to the fluid nature of the Internet some addresses may have changed or the content may not longer be relevant.

      Scripture quotations not otherwise identified are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible © 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

      Cover design: Bruce Gore, Gorestudio.Inc.

      Cover photo: Shutterstock

      Interior design: Perfect Type, Nashville, Tennessee

      LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

      Names: Hawkins, Pamela C., author.

      Title: Prepare the way : cultivating a heart for God in Advent / Pamela Hawkins.

      Description: Nashville : Upper Room Books, 2016.

      Identifiers: LCCN 2016005506| ISBN 9780835815697 (print) | ISBN 9780835815703 (mobi) | ISBN 9780835815710 (epub)

      Subjects: LCSH: Advent—Prayers and devotions.

      Classification: LCC BV40 .H385 2016 | DDC 242/.332--dc23

      LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016005506

      In memory of my beloved RAY

      and in deep respect and love

      for my sons ERICK and PHILIP

      who have all been

      tireless companions

      on my walk with God

      Contents

      Introduction

      How to Use This Book

      Week One—The Way of Peace

      Week Two—The Way of Justice

      Week Three—The Way of Fearlessness

      Week Four—The Way of Faithfulness

      Small-Group Study Leader’s Guide

      About the Author

      Introduction

      For much of my life, the shape and story of Christmas formed around readings from the four Gospels. And within the boundaries of the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ arrival into the world, I pinned my most vivid Christmas imagination against Luke’s Gospel. Like in a child’s kaleidoscope, each year the colorful fragments from other Gospel readings may have come into view momentarily, but my overall faith perspective of the significance of Jesus’ birth came into focus only at the reading of the second chapter of Luke.

      Like many others of my generation, the existence and meager celebration of Advent in my church ensured that I did not notice it until I was in my twenties. Readings from the Prophets were uncommon in my church upbringing, and although I now know that some of my favorite Christmas hymn lyrics have a prophetic grounding, I had no idea of this in my early years. In my home church, we seemed to leap in worship from Thanksgiving to Christmas Eve, bypassing the elegant and essential bridge of Advent built on God’s prophetic word. But since that time, I have discovered and grown close to the words of Isaiah and other prophets whom God called to speak truth and promise to God’s people, even when they blatantly and destructively lived outside of their covenant with God.

      So powerful in message and beauty, the words of God’s prophets shine through the darkness of the people of their times as well as through our contemporary darkness that descends when we, God’s people, continue to stray from covenantal faithfulness to God. To approach Christmas only by way of the Advent Gospel readings will leave us ill-equipped to live in the post-Christmas world that is not all stars and angels, but is, in fact, rife with both destruction and possibility. Humanity cannot take Advent and God’s coming among us to heart if we bypass the prophets. God’s people struggled mightily with faithfulness and faithlessness. Their struggle and lack of discernment often brought dire and desperate consequences. Yet through the cacophony of pleas, arrogance, and wars, God’s prophets spoke to the people of a redemptive future of joy, kindness, and peace—all made possible by God’s steadfast love born into the world. When we allow God’s prophets to speak a word to us, alongside those of the Gospel writers, we discover an even more stellar and glorious gift in the manger: Because of the darkness, the Light comes to us. Because of sin’s death-dealing ways, the life-giving ways of faith in Jesus the Christ can reassure us that all things are possible because God is with us.

      For me, Advent’s message

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1