Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you, He is the Messiah, the Lord. -Luke 2:11
As we celebrate Advent, we are reminded that we have a Savior who was willing to enter into our world and who came to our rescue as the long awaited Messiah. We want to live in light of His first coming and wait in hopeful expectation that He is coming again.
Each Sunday we’ll focus on the lectionary passage for that week and look at what it reveals about the Messiah:
- Righteous Savior (Jeremiah 33:14-16)
- Purifier/Refiner (Malachi 3:1-4)
- Mighty Warrior (Zephaniah 3:14-20)
- Shepherd/Peace (Micah 5:2-5)
As we focus on who Jesus is as our Messiah we’ll be sending out and posting something each week to help us engage in these ways:
- MONDAYS: Revelation– how is Jesus being revealed as the Messiah?
- WEDNESDAYS: Reverence– take time to worship Him for who He is.
- FRIDAYS: Response – how do we live in response?
WEEK TWO: PURIFIER/REFINER
MONDAY: REVELATION- how is Jesus being revealed as the Purifier/Refiner?
- Read:
- Malachi 3:1-5
- Romans 8:28-30
- 1 Peter 1:3-9
- Reflect:
- How have you experienced Jesus as the Refiner in your life?
- What have these experiences taught you about God’s character?
- In your life, what has been the end result of refinement from Jesus?
- Pray:
- Talk to Jesus about the role refinement has played in your life. If you’re unsure of what Jesus was doing in refining periods in your life, ask him to show you what he has been developing in your life through refinement. Remember, the heart of the Refiner is not to harm, but to purify and transform you into his own image. Allow your prayers to be honest, your heart to be still, and your ears ready to listen.
WEDNESDAY: REVERENCE- take time to worship Him for who He is as the Refiner.
- Take time to worship Jesus as the one who purifies and refines
- Use the playlist HERE if it is helpful
FRIDAY: Response – how do we live in response to Jesus as our Purifier/Refiner?
- Read: John 15:1-17
- Reflect: Consider Jesus’ invitation: Remain in me. What does it look like for you to remain in Christ today?
- Pray:
- The invitation of Jesus is to walk in step with him, learning his speed and way of living connected to the Father. Confession and repentance are gifts for us to practice often as we seek to follow Jesus. An honest and humble heart is required, but our gain is knowing all of our confessed sins are washed away.
- Take time to ask Jesus if there’s any area in your life that you are not in alignment with him. Listen. Wait. See if there’s any area that Jesus is inviting you to come back into alignment with him. Confess any area that is out of alignment with him and rest in the reality that your sins have been forgiven.
