Introduction to the Advent Devotional Guide
Greetings from the Belmont School of Theology and Christian Ministry and welcome to the latest installment of our Advent Devotional Guide.
Like many of you, we find ourselves limping into this Advent season, weighed down with heavy hearts, longing for healing and hope.
Our little community has tasted God’s lovingkindness; we believe in God’s care for creation; we know God is faithful.
But there is so much to lament, so much we do not understand, so much that tempts us into cynicism and despair. Left to ourselves, no one could sustain the hope and courage necessary to continue seeking God and following Jesus. But no one believes alone. Humanity’s highest perfection is to need God, and we rely on one another for faith and wisdom we do not possess.
We offer these devotionals in that spirit — not as pronouncements, but as suggestions for contemplation, invitations to conversation. None of us claims to have ready-made answers to your deepest questions. We don’t pretend to be spiritual experts. As Christian people, we’ve caught a glimpse of God’s infinite love in Jesus Christ, and now we long to see in that light, to move within the movements of God’s grace.
So as we wait on the Lord together this Advent season, we pray these brief reflections would shake a little dust off ordinary perception, offer a few fresh angles of vision on familiar passages of Scripture, and encourage you as you seek to live in sync with the one who is making all things new.
Adam Neder
Professor of Theology
Associate Dean, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences
