Advent Week One - Hope

We Have Come to Worship Him

Advent 2025 Devotional by Rev. Lauren Green Yates

Austin Global Methodist Church

Advent Memory Verse- “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.” (Matthew 2:2 NLT)

Advent Week One- Hope

November 30- Luke 1:26-56

Advent has begun. This is the time of year when children see gifts under the tree but have to wait to open them. ‘Tis the season to decorate for the arrival of future guests. Grocery lists are made, parties are planned, and the countdown to Christmas begins. This is the time of waiting with great expectation and hope.

For thousands of years, the world was groaning with expectation and hope for the coming Messiah. Prophets foretold his arrival. The Temple was rededicated and worship was restored. In Israel, a young Virgin, too, was waiting for her Savior. She was in a season of Advent.

Everything changed one evening when an Angel appeared to her with the most awesome news: the Messiah was coming. The wait was over. Mary was chosen to be the vessel that allowed the Christ to be born.

After hearing this shocking news, obedient and hopeful Mary said, “I am the Lord’s servant. May your Word to me be fulfilled.” What Mary said in this moment was the greatest “Yes” in history. Her obedience allowed the Holy Spirit to begin his work within her. Hope sprung forth out of her womb as she worshipped the Lord.

This week of Advent, meditate on what you are expecting from the Lord this season. With that expectation, know that it may come from an act of your own hopeful obedience. May your answer be one of worship, like Mary’s song. May you say this Christmas and evermore, “I am the Lord’s servant.”

Daily Question: What am I expecting from Advent Lord this season? How will I worship God in the waiting?

Prayer: Lord, help me to be hopeful and obedient like Mary. As I wait with expectation this season, may my answer be, “I am the Lord’s servant.” Teach me this Advent to worship you as I wait with expectation. In Jesus’ name I hope, Amen.

December 1- Isaiah 2:1-5

Long ago, a prophet named Isaiah saw how beautiful the future would be, despite his current surroundings. Isaiah had a very unpopular job: share the Word of the Lord even when it seemed crazy, hurt people’s feelings, and called out sin. In Isaiah 2, he shares some good news. He can see a future filled with hope. God’s Temple will be established for all nations. People will want to know the Lord, walk in his ways, and live in his grace and truth. People will turn their weapons into farming tools. He implores to the people of Israel, “Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord.” He can see a future of pure worship.

Throughout Scripture, hope and obedience seem to go hand in hand again. Mary obediently says yes to the Good News. Isaiah encourages God’s people to walk in the Light as he looks to peaceful future of worship. Isaiah’s prophecy calls out to us today. The world is not yet as it should be. Therefore, we must learn to walk in the light and worship him in the meantime.

This week of Advent, meditate on what it means to walk in the light as you hope for a better future. Right now, things may seem dark and hopeless. Turn off the news and open up the Word. Allow yourself to imagine what Isaiah saw: true worship and peace on earth.

Daily Question: Am I walking in the light today as I pray for a better future?

Prayer: Dear Lord, teach me to walk in your light as I pray for a better future. The world I see around me does not yet match the future you have in store. Help me to be like Isaiah and trust that one day you will bring true worship and peace to this earth. Help me put my hope in you as I wait with expectation. In Jesus’ name I hope, Amen.

December 2- Psalm 122

“I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the House of the Lord.’” I cannot begin to imagine how beautiful the Tabernacle must have been with its veils, altars, and golden utensils, the smell of frankincense floating in the air, and knowing that the Presence of the Lord was just inside the Holy of Holies.

But the Tabernacle was just a temporary place of worship. David could see a vision of a more permanent Temple even before it was built by his son Solomon. He looked towards it, and we look back on it. He also looked forward to the coming of the Messiah and we remember his coming as we celebrate Christmas.

David prepared for the future Temple with great hope in his heart. He wrote several Psalms of worship expecting that one day he would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. David, too, lived in a season of Advent: waiting for the Temple, waiting for the Messiah, waiting for peace for his land. Like David, we are in a season of Advent: waiting for Christmas day, waiting for the Lord to return, waiting for him to make all things new.

In this Advent season, mediate on what it means to wait for the Lord. Do you have everything you want right now? Surely not. Can there still be joy in the waiting? Absolutely! Afterall, that is what Advent is all about.

Daily Question: Am I waiting on the Lord with hope in my heart?

Prayer: Dear Lord, in this Advent season, I am waiting on you. Help me to be like David and look forward to your coming. In the meantime, when it is time to go to the House of the Lord, may I be glad. Fill my heart with hope as I wait with expectation. Help me to worship in the waiting. In Jesus’ name I hope, Amen.

December 3- Romans 13:11-14

Were you one of those kids who stayed up late on Christmas Eve waiting for Santa? Maybe you were the last to go to sleep and the first to wake up because you were anxiously expecting that St. Nick had come to bring you everything on your wish list. Fast forward about thirty years. You might have been the parent begging your kids to go to sleep and groaning when they woke up at the crack of dawn to usher Christmas in. My, how things can change with the passing of time. We went from excited children waiting for Christmas day to sleepy parents upset with the early wake up call.

Paul is writing to Roman Christians who seem to have lost their childlike faith and excitement. In this passage, he tells them to wake up! The night is nearly over, and the day is drawing near. He charges the reader to put off the darkness and put on the light of Christ, allowing no place for fleshly sins.

This Advent season, remember what once excited you about Christ. Remember when you first believed you couldn’t wait to tell others or go to the House of the Lord to worship. It was almost like Christmas had come. It was birthed inside your heart, and it was a time of great expectation.

Now wake up! This Christmas and this coming year, may your heart once again be awakened to the hope that Christ brought us at Christmas. Remember what it feels like to be filled with hope again. Instead of running downstairs to tear open the presents, allow yourself to be present and worship like you did when you first believed.

Daily Question: Does Christ and Christmas still excite me?

Prayer: Dear Lord, awaken my soul. Help me to see this Christmas as the dawning of a new day. Help me throw off any darkness and clothe myself with the Light of Christ. Help me to worship you as I did when I first believed. Excite me once again. In Jesus’ name I hope, Amen.

December 4- Matthew 24:36-46

As a police officer, I responded to many burglaries. It usually happened when people were on vacation. The savvy criminals would pay attention to the rhythms of the neighborhood and would notice when someone’s car was gone, when lights came on an automatic timer, or if the dog wasn’t in the backyard.

Most criminals did not enter violently into the house through a locked door but through a point of weakness, usually a window left unlatched and unnoticed by the homeowners. I can still see the curtains blowing in the breeze after responding to a home emptied of its valuables. The homeowners simply were not expecting to be robbed, and they didn’t even think of checking all the latches of their windows in preparation.

What does that have to do with the hope of Christmas? It demonstrates the importance of preparation. Jesus arrived precisely at the right time because countless people had prepared the way for him to come: prophets, priests, kings, even his parents. What are we doing to prepare spiritually for Christmas? What are we doing to prepare for Jesus’ return?

On this day of Advent, take inventory of your heart. Is it ready for Christmas? Is it ready for the Lord’s second coming? If not, what can you do to prepare yourself for his return? When he returns, may he find us faithful.

Daily Question: Am I ready for Christmas? Am I ready for Jesus’ return?

Prayer: Lord, Prepare my heart for Christmas. Teach me something new this season. Prepare my heart for your return. Find me awake and ready. Find me faithful. Find me worshipping you. In Jesus’ name I hope, Amen.

December 5: Isaiah 9: 2-7

This is perhaps one of the clearest Messianic prophecies of Scripture. It is a description of who the Messiah would be. This was written in a time when Israel did not know what kind of king they would have next. Would he be exceedingly evil? Would he bring much needed reform? This prophecy was shared with a people who were hoping for the ultimate King to come.

What would this Anointed King be like? First, he would have to be born. He would be a Son destined to rule and reign. He would be called many names: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. He would not just be a man. He would be the Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. His Kingdom would be everlasting and would usher in true peace. He would inherit David’s throne and God’s zeal would make it come to pass. What a prophecy! That’s what the people of Israel were hoping for.

You have likely heard this passage of Scripture every year at Christmas time. Read it again. Let its words sink in and give you hope. Imagine that you have suffered with one bad leader after another. Your faith in God is fading as you look around at your country. This is not how it is supposed to be. But then you hear this beautiful promise of the Christ to come. You put your trust in God again. You don’t know when, but the King is coming.

When Christ was born, this prophecy began to be fulfilled. The Son of God came. He represented the Father as the Son. He promised that the Counselor would come. Christ died, was buried, and rose again. He ascended and sent the Holy Spirit. But the fullness of the prophecy has yet to be fulfilled.

This Christmastide, allow yourself to join the millions of others hoping for the complete fulfillment of this prophecy to come. One day when Jesus returns, the government of the world will be upon his shoulders. He will reign from the Throne of David. His Kingdom will have no end. Allow yourself to see yourself amongst the throng of the faithful, worshipping at his feet as he takes his place as the One True King. Let this passage fill your heart with hope for the future.

Daily Question: Am I actively waiting for this prophecy to be completely fulfilled?

Prayer: Dear Lord, I receive the Good News that Christ has died, Christ has risen, and Christ will come again. Fill my heart with hope as I wait for your return, O King. In Jesus’ name I hope, Amen.

December 6: Isaiah 42:1-4

Die Hard is a Christmas movie. Isaiah is a Christmas book. I said what I said. If you don’t believe me, I encourage you to watch Die Hard this Christmas (find the PG version) and read the book of Isaiah this Advent season. Report back to me.

All kidding aside, Isaiah is full of so much Messianic prophecy that it might as well be the prelude to all the Christmas passages in the New Testament. If you were familiar with the prophecies of Isaiah, when Jesus arrived, you would see him for who he was and believe like the prophets Anna and Simeon did.

Isaiah describes the coming Anointed One as full of the Holy Spirit, justice, meekness, and the hope of nations. Who else fits this description but Jesus? The Spirit of the Lord was upon him. He was a man of justice. On the cross he didn’t cry out or fight back. And no other Jewish Rabbi did for gentiles what Jesus did for us. Because of him, the entire world has a Savior.

This Advent, pause to thank God for the magnitude of this inclusive grace. Before, only Jewish people were considered God’s people. But because Jesus came, all people can call upon the name of the Lord to be saved. Those of us who were far off have been brought near to God because of Jesus. He truly is the hope of nations.

Daily Question: Am I thankful that Jesus came not just for one people but for all people?

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you for including me in your salvation. Thank you for fulfilling the prophecies of Scripture. Help me to live in a spirit of gratitude for your salvation. In Jesus’ name I hope, Amen.