RESOURCES
Thursday, 12/04/2025
Opening Prayer
There is none like you, O Lord, nor are there any works like yours. All the nations you have made shall come and bow down before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name. For you are great and do wondrous things, you alone are God. Amen. (Psalm 86:8-10)
Prayer of Confession
Almighty God, you see beneath the surface of our appearance or status. You judge our hearts and motives. Forgive us for thinking we can fool you with superficial cover. May your Spirit open our eyes to see our hope in Jesus, that we may truly believe and respond in worship.
Scripture Reading
15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” 19 Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. 21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. 22 And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said,
“This at last is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called Woman,
because she was taken out of Man.”
24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
Confession of Faith and Response (optional)
Q. How did Christ, being the Son of God, become man?
A. Christ, the Son of God, became man, by taking to himself a true body, and a reasonable soul, being conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, in the womb of the Virgin Mary, and born of her, yet without sin.
- Westminster Shorter Catechism, Q. 22
Closing Prayer
Stir up your power, O Lord, because we are sorely hindered by our sins, let your bountiful grace and mercy quickly help and deliver us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen.
Advent 2025 - waiting faithfully
Through this Advent series we will consider waiting in the midst of unknowns. It often feels hardest to wait when it’s unclear just how much time will pass. “How Long O LORD?” is the famous question from Habakkuk who cries out to God in the midst of his wait for the LORD to make good on His promises. And through the prophet we learn to wait on the LORD. As we work through the short book of Scripture we will look at four aspects of waiting: prayer, faith, integrity, and worship.
The story of Scripture makes clear that while there is darkness in the world that God’s light will not only break through but overcome. This was the hope of people waiting for the first Advent (from the word adventus—which means arrival) when the Son of God took on humanity to deliver God’s people. This first arrival of the incarnate Son of God—Jesus of Nazareth—brought with him the beginning of a new Kingdom. Through the history of the church this first arrival has been celebrated on Christmas Day. But we know that this is not the end of the story.
Scripture calls us to prepare for Jesus’s return through repentance and faith. We are to turn away from the false hopes and desires that twist our hearts and destroy our relationships. Instead, we are to turn toward Jesus, who frees us so that we may serve one another in grace and truth. Just as John the Baptist was born to prepare the way for Jesus’ first coming, so we are given to each other in the community of Mosaic Silver Spring to encourage each other and challenge the world around us to prepare for his coming again—the second advent of Jesus.
How to Use This Guide
This guide may be used by individuals, families, or small groups. The intent is to provide you with a means to think, pray, and prepare for the celebration of Christmas.
We are inundated with things to think about the holidays. But as people of God, we make time to listen to the words of promise, hope, and redemption through His Word to us. Here’s how this Advent Guide may help:
Pray
There are opening and closing prayers. Think about what you’re reading and the themes each week and feel free to integrate that into your own prayers as you go. Invite children, as they participate, to pray in their own words.
Read and Reflect
Use the passages to get a sense of the whole story of Scripture. Read aloud and discuss if doing it in a group or family. If not, meditate on the passages. Each week the staff will provide a reflection sheet with summaries of each passage to aid your reflection.
Confess—both sin and faith
In this Advent guide we build in confessions of sin so that you may reflect on your own struggle to live in obedience to God as well as confessions of faith that are shared by the visible church across time and culture.
Wreath and Candles
If you would like, purchase five candles and light them during the season of Advent as you do the readings and prayers. This will not make your time more acceptable to God, but can help mark the development each week with visible progression to Christmas Day. If using candles, during the first week light 1. During the second week, light 2. And repeat this pattern. Light the 5th candle on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.