All who are led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons and daughters. 15 You didn’t receive a spirit of slavery to lead you back again into fear, but you received a Spirit that shows you are adopted as his children. With this Spirit, we cry, “ Abba, Father. ” 16 The same Spirit agrees with our spirit, that we are God’s children. 17 But if we are children, we are also heirs. We are God’s heirs and fellow heirs with Christ, if we really suffer with him so that we can also be glorified with him.
Don’t forget to order your copies of Advent Calendar of Devotions for your congregation. Matching bulletins for the remaining weeks of Advent are found in the Related Product Section.
Did you know…
Christians use Advent wreaths as part of their spiritual preparation for Christmas. After all, Christ is “the Light that came into the world” to dispel the darkness of sin and to radiate the truth and love of God (cf. John 3:19-21).
The four candles represent the four weeks of Advent. The purple candles in particular symbolize the prayer, penance, and preparatory sacrifices and good works undertaken at this time. The progressive lighting of the candles symbolizes the expectation and hope surrounding our Lord’s first coming into the world and the anticipation of His second coming to judge the living and the dead.
The light again signifies Christ, the Light of the world. Some modern day adaptations include a white candle or Christ Candle placed in the middle of the wreath, which represents Christ and is lit on Christmas Eve.