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    Sent Devotions for the Season: Delivering the Gift of Hope at Christmas
    Sent Devotions for the Season: Delivering the Gift of Hope at Christmas
    Sent Devotions for the Season: Delivering the Gift of Hope at Christmas
    Ebook106 pages1 hour

    Sent Devotions for the Season: Delivering the Gift of Hope at Christmas

    By Jorge Acevedo, Lanecia Rouse, Rachel Billups and

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    About this ebook

    As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them . . . —John 17:18

    God
    sent Christ at Christmas. In turn, Christ sends us into the world to be
    his hands and feet, head and heart. Dynamic pastor Jorge Acevedo leads
    us on a 5-week Advent journey to discover how, where, and why we are
    sent. Joining him on the journey are four young clergy including Jacob
    Armstrong, Rachel Billups, Justin LaRosa, and Lanecia Rouse, who
    challenge us through story, art, and Bible study.
    This devotional, offering four weeks of daily reflections, functions
    beautifully on its own or as part of the church-wide experience. The
    reflections are ideal for use during Advent and include Scripture, personal
    insights, daily challenges, and prayers.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAbingdon Press
    Release dateSep 15, 2015
    ISBN9781501801181
    Sent Devotions for the Season: Delivering the Gift of Hope at Christmas
    Author

    Jorge Acevedo

    Jorge Acevedo is the Lead Pastor at Grace Church, a multi-site United Methodist congregation in Southwest Florida. Jorge led a group of young clergy in the creation of the book and Bible study Sent: Delivering the Gift of Hope at Christmas and is author of Vital: Churches Changing Communities and the World. He is a contributor to Circuit Rider magazine, Good News magazine, and Our Faith Today.

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      Book preview

      Sent Devotions for the Season - Jorge Acevedo

      INTRODUCTION

      Advent is here. These weeks leading to Christmas are a season intended to help us prepare for Jesus’ birth. The word advent actually means arrival or coming. Yet Jesus’ birth is more than a one-time occurrence. How? Every Christmas has within it the possibility of Jesus being born again in our lives and in our world. Historically Jesus’ birth happened once, but spiritually his birth can happen anew for us today.

      Where does Christ need to be born in you today? One of my mentors, Bishop Dick Wills, used to say that if you can’t tell someone what God has done in your life during the last thirty days, you may not have a relationship with God. Dick was arguing for an up-to-date faith, a faith constantly being born and reborn in our lives. One of the best ways to cultivate that kind of up-to-date faith is through a regular devotional practice—a time when we meditate on God’s Word, reflect on what God is doing in the world and in our lives, and talk with God in prayer.

      This book is intended for that purpose—to guide us in a devotional practice during the season of Advent. I have invited four of my friends—Jacob, Lanecia, Justin, and Rachel—to join me in reflecting upon what it means for Jesus to be reborn in our lives. As we explore five themes related to the outcomes of Jesus being born again in our lives, we will prepare spiritually not only for celebrating Jesus’ birth, which took place two thousand years ago, but also for inviting his rebirth in our hearts and lives today. As you read, reflect, and pray, remember that just as God sent Jesus to the world so that he might change the world, so you and I are sent into the world to be Jesus’ hands and feet today, delivering God’s gift of hope to a world in need. It is our prayer that these devotions will help encourage and equip you for that mission.

      Jorge Acevedo

      WEEK ONE

      JESUS RECONCILES

      Jacob Armstrong

      1. Hold Out Hope

      In the days of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah. His wife was a descendant of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. Both of them were righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord. But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren, and they both were getting on in years. (Luke 1:5-7 NRSV)

      Zechariah and Elizabeth had done it the right way. They were both righteous before God and living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord (v. 6). That’s just another way of saying that they had done the right things in the right ways for a long time, and it didn’t pan out for them—at least not in the way or time they had hoped. Their obedience was not an exemption from heartache. Their righteous living was not a guarantee that every longing was met. They lived many long years with their longing for children unfulfilled. That’s hard—really, really hard.

      When we meet Zechariah and Elizabeth, they are old. We don’t see their conversations over the years about their inability to have children. We don’t see their tears. We don’t know who and what they blamed. We are told only that they are old, they have done the right things, and they have no children. No doubt they thought they had missed their chance on many things they had seen their friends and relatives enjoy.

      And yet they held out hope—hope in a God who was bigger than their circumstances; hope for a future that was more than they could see and experience. That in itself can be hard as well.

      So often things don’t go the way I want in the time that I want. Sometimes it’s everyday stuff like missing an evening with my family because I can’t get home from work. Other times it’s bigger than that, such as learning again that I have not measured up professionally or personally or continuing in cycles of anxiety that I can’t seem to break. It happens all the time—this life not going as ordered or desired.

      When I want to throw in the towel, I am reminded of people like Zechariah and Elizabeth who held out hope. They remind me that I’m not too old for something great to happen. For that matter, I’m not too young, either. Zechariah and Elizabeth don’t give us any reason to take our names off the list of those who can encounter and be used by God. They don’t give us permission to allow decade-long disappointments to become reasons to hide our heads in the sand. Because they

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