Faith grows in struggle. Just as muscles grow when we struggle with weights, faith grows when we test it against the struggles of life. The season of Advent consists of the four weeks before Christmas, with each of four Sundays representing hope, love, joy, and peace. But more than a holiday season, Advent is a time of preparation and hope. We hope in a deeper connection with God. God uses our faith to bring us to that deeper connection, to the hope of a more abundant life.
Our faith and hope are strengthened by the life stories of those who are sharing our walk. When we hold hands with other people who are walking their own faith journey, we are encouraged and inspired to go further and deeper within our own journeys.
The devotionals presented on this page are designed to be a tool to help you “hold hands” and to grow your faith during this Advent season. The booklet is an “annual tradition”… but Advent doesn’t have to be limited to the passing of dates on a Calendar. Use these devotional articles to grow closer to God one day at a time.
Daily Devotions for Advent 2024
The devotional is presented in PDF format. Instead of presenting the entire booklet in one file (and forcing you to scroll through the whole thing to find the current date’s article), the booklet is broken up into separate week-by-week files.
To read the article for any given date, scroll down to the week you want and click on the button. All of the files begin with Sunday and run through Saturday of the indicated week. This year, Christmas falls on a Wednesday (during Week 4). Instead of a shortened “Week 4”, the “Week 4” file includes additional devotionals to cover the week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve (Tuesday).
First Week in Advent
(Sunday December 1 through Saturday December 7)
Week 1
Second Week in Advent
(Sunday December 8 through Saturday December 14)
Week 2
Third Week in Advent
(Sunday December 15 through Saturday December 21)
Week 3
Fourth Week in Advent ( and beyond- continues thru New Years Eve)
(Sunday December 22 through Monday December 31)
Week 4The Four Sundays in Advent
During this season, the four Sundays leading into Christmas Day are marked by candles on our Advent Wreath. On each Sunday, an additional candle is lit before our worship service to remind us of Christ’s presence among us. On Christmas Eve, the Center candle
(called the Christ candle) is lit. This celebrates the arrival of the long awaited Messiah.
Each Sunday also has a theme. As we wait for the Messiah, we also look forward to the gifts He gives (and is, indeed, giving now). These “Fruits of the Spirit” in Advent are marked by Hope, Peace, Joy and Love.
First Sunday in Advent – Hope
See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. ~ Isaiah 60:2-3
Lord God, we thank you for your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, who is the Light of the World. We who have sat in darkness have seen a great light, the light of Jesus Christ, our salvation and our hope. We give you thanks and praise in Jesus’ name, because He lives and reigns with you in your glory and in the unity of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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Second Sunday in Advent – Peace
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this. ~ Isaiah 9:6-7
Lord God, we thank you for your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, who is the Prince of Peace. We who live in discord and strife have found peace in the promise of eternal life through Jesus Christ. We give you thanks and praise in Jesus’ name, because He lives and reigns with you in your glory and in the unity of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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Third Sunday in Advent – Joy
And those the Lord has rescued will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away. ~ Isaiah 35:10
Lord God, we thank you for your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, who brings us great joy. We who have walked in the shadow of the valley of death have found life in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We give you thanks and praise in Jesus’ name, because He lives and reigns with you in your glory and in the unity of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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Second Sunday in Advent – Love
And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ~ Mark 1:4
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ~ John 14:6
Lord God, we thank you for your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, who is the Way. We, who like sheep, have gone astray and have found the way to you through Jesus Christ, who loves us with an unconditional love. We give you thanks and praise in Jesus’ name, because He lives and reigns with you in your glory and in the unity of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
About the Devotional Booklet…
Christians from across the country joined together to produce this Daily Devotional. The booklets were published in hardcopy form and distributed within the participating churches. But if you can’t get to a participating church to pick up a copy, the electronic copies of the devotions are presented here. Use the devotionals “on the go” and share them with others who don’t have access to the printed booklets. Click one of the social media “share” buttons at the bottom of this post and share the link with your “friends” or “followers.”
For more on this Devotional Booklet ministry, open the following drop down boxes…
Printed Copies and Participating Churches
Printed copies of the booklet are available on our Welcome Desk (in the Narthex).
Copies have also been distributed to many of the participating churches. If you want a printed copy of the booklet, check with your church. If they don’t have them, contact EditorCuddy@mac.com
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Members of the following churches wrote articles for this year’s Devotional: Click on the links to visit their websites
- Asbury Methodist Church, Middle Township, NJ
- Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Delmar, NY
- Clayton Baptist Church, Clayton, NJ
- Clonmell United Methodist Church, Gibbstown, NJ
- Evangelical United Methodist Church, Clarksboro, NJ
- Fairton Christian Center, Fairton, NJ
- First United Methodist Church, Glassboro, NJ
- Geneva Methodist Church, Geneva, FL
- North Raleigh United Methodist Church, North Raleigh, NC
- Pitman Church of the Nazarene, Pitman, NJ
- Pitman Manor (United Methodist Communities at Pitman), Pitman, NJ
- Pitman UMC (You’re already here!)
- Repaupo United Methodist Church, Repaupo, NJ
- Richwood United Methodist Church, Richwood, NJ
- Shehawken United Methodist Church, Starrucca, PA
- St. Matthew’s Baptist Church, Williamstown, NJ
- St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, Bridgeport, NJ
- St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, Paulsboro, NJ
- Trinity United Methodist Church, Mullica Hill, NJ
- Wesley Church of Elkton, Elkton, MD
- Woodland Baptist Church, Wake Forest, NC
- Zion United Methodist Church, Clarksboro, NJ
What's Next?
From the Editors…
We didn’t put out a call for devotions this year as we always have before. Submissions for this booklet began arriving unsolicited in August, and they continued until we had enough for the whole month of December by October 18. Some came from our regular writers, and some from new people and different places. Other than a few word-of-mouth reminders to a handful of long-time writers, what poured in this year was solely guided by God in the hearts and minds of the writers.
The outreach of these booklets is due to you, our readers, who share them with your friends. It is a good way to spread the good news.
We are so blessed by the variety and abundance of stories and messages that make up this year’s Daily Devotions for Advent, and we hope that you will be also! And don’t despair if you didn’t get yours in for this booklet — Lent is coming, and we will be looking for submissions for the Lenten devotional booklet starting early in the new year. We are also in the planning stages for another full year devotional book — More Words for Life — to be published in a few years. We welcome your submissions to be considered for that book. Just send them anytime during the year to any of the editors.
You can still purchase one of the yearlong books. We have distributed 800 of these books this year, along with more than 50 in large print. For more information, email WordsForLife365@gmail.com.
Thank you for being part of this devotional ministry.
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For other daily devotionals , visit our Devotionals Page: Daily Devotionals
