Advent Reflection Guide – Week 1
In an age of instant gratification, fast food, and one-day shipping, observing Advent is a counter-cultural activity because at the core of Advent is waiting. Yes, we wait in anticipation for Christmas, but Advent is much more than a calendar countdown: it is an opportunity to pause amidst our waiting. As Christians, we are not to be consumed by the commercialization of Christmas; instead, we are to be focused on the Messiah who is the fulfilment of our deepest longings. Through the lens of the Promises of the Messiah – his past coming in the flesh, his present coming in the Spirit, and his future coming in glory – we seek to wait faithfully while seeking Him urgently.
During the Sundays of Advent, we will be exploring passages in Isaiah that present some powerful images of what the promises of the coming of Jesus looks like. They remind us of the desperate need of the Messiah by the people of Israel. They will also give us glimpses to how the promises of the Messiah spark our imagination for God’s restoration and provide a lens to identify how God’s kingdom is breaking into our own lives today. Lastly, they will stir our hearts to long more deeply for Christ’s second coming – for the day of completion of everything he began during his time on earth.
How to Use This Guide
Throughout the week, please use these guided reflections to prepare yourself in the waiting. Each reflection includes a related Scripture passage, a brief connection to Advent, and prompts that invite you to prayerfully respond. Take your time: read and re-read the passage slowly. Return to the same guided reflection two days in a row if needed. Try to let these reflections lead you to moments of waiting in silence. When you become distracted or anxious to move on to the next item on your to-do list, graciously direct yourself back to waiting in God’s presence.
WEEK 1: The Mountain of the Lord
Guided Reflection #1:
This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:
In the last days
the mountain of the LORD’s temple will be established
as the highest of the mountains;
it will be exalted above the hills,
and all nations will stream to it.
Many peoples will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
to the temple of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
so that we may walk in his paths.”
The law will go out from Zion,
the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.He will judge between the nations
and will settle disputes for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war anymore.Come, descendants of Jacob,
let us walk in the light of the LORD.Isaiah 2:1-5 (NIV)
During the time of the prophet Isaiah, the people of God were not only surrounded by darkness but filled with darkness. Victims of oppression in exile and cluttered with false worship, they were desperate for the promises of the Messiah – desperate for light. In this passage, Isaiah gives a glimmer of hope – a sign of the hope that is to accompany the coming of the Messiah – a picture of a mountain that provides peace not only to God’s people but to all the nations.
- Prayerfully reflect on the characteristics of the mountain of the LORD that are most appealing to you. What longings of ancient Israel do those characteristics satisfy? What longings of today do those characteristics satisfy?
- The passage ends with an invitation to walk in the light of the LORD. Prayerfully reflect on how God might be inviting you to walk in the light of the LORD today. Spend 2-3 minutes in silence prayerfully imagining your day lived in obedience and marked by God’s presence.
Guided Reflection #2:
I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.The LORD watches over you—
the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
The LORD will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;the LORD will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.Psalm 121 (NIV)
Even with the mountain of the LORD from Isaiah 2 in our mind’s eye, this psalm reminds us that our help and our hope does not reside in a destination but in a person. Psalm 121 invites us to lift our gaze not merely to the mountain, but to the LORD who watches over us and keeps us from falling. In this Advent season, we lift our eyes to the coming Messiah – the fulfillment of God’s promises – who enters our world to be our ever-present help and to lead us into the peace and light of his kingdom.
- Prayerfully reflect on your limits. Where do you have need where our LORD has help to offer? Where are you weary where our LORD has strength? Where do you have fear where our LORD has protection?
- Spend 2-3 minutes in silence, lifting up your mind’s eye to the person of Jesus. Give him your limits and receive his presence in return.
Guided Reflection #3:
And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.
Romans 13:11-14 (NIV)
With Isaiah’s vision of God’s radiant mountain in mind, Paul’s words in Romans 13 awaken us to the nearness of the true light that is already breaking into the world. Just as Isaiah 2:5 invites us to walk in the light of the LORD, the promise of the Messiah calls us to cast off the works of darkness and to live as those who belong to the day, clothed in Christ himself. In this Advent season, we prepare our hearts for the coming of Jesus – the light of the world – who fulfills God’s promise to guide us into peace and newness of life.
- Prayerfully reflect on where God is inviting you to awaken – to step out of shadows and live more fully in the light of Christ.
- Spend 2–3 minutes in stillness, picturing yourself clothed in the light of Jesus. What new way of living (big or small) might this light be calling you into today?
Guided Reflection #4:
“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Matthew 5:14-16 (NIV)
In Isaiah’s vision, the nations stream to the mountain of the LORD to walk in his light – a light that brings peace and reveals the way of God. In Matthew 5, Jesus declares that those who follow him share in that same light – a city on a hill. In this Advent season, we remember that the promised Messiah not only brings light into the darkness but kindles it within us, that the hope and peace of his kingdom might shine through our lives.
- Prayerfully reflect on how God is inviting you to participate in his kingdom as a visible sign of his light – a “city on a hill” – so that your life points others toward the promises of the Messiah.
- Spend 2–3 minutes in silence, prayerfully imagining yourself radiating Christ’s light in the rhythms of your daily life. Where might his presence shine through you quietly yet powerfully, drawing others toward hope and peace?
