Joining the Journey of Advent: 2024 Advent Devotional from Eastbrook Church

One of my uncles loves to research family history. He has traced our family line through many descendants and across generations back to homelands before they immigrated to the United States. We have learned some interesting facts along the way, such as that what we took as my grandmother’s first name was actually her middle name…and she had a different first name that no one knew about. We also made connections with family members we did not know we had. Sometimes you can learn a lot about yourself not only by understanding who you are but also by understanding who others are.

During Advent this year we are doing just that. We are getting a better sense of ourselves not by looking in the mirror but by looking at the One who has made us. Specifically, we want to see more clearly who Jesus is in light of the prophecies of Isaiah about the coming Messiah. Each week of this devotional and teaching series will explore themes about the identity of Christ our Messiah spoken of by Isaiah. And as we more fully understand Jesus our Messiah, in that light we will also more fully understand ourselves.

Advent comes from the Latin word adventus (“appearing”). It is a four-week preparatory season building toward celebration of Jesus’ nativity at Christmas. During Advent we look back with wonder at Jesus’ birth roughly 2,000 years ago, while also entering into the history of God’s chosen people, Israel, whose prophets anticipated Jesus’ birth in their messages. Simultaneously, we stand as the new chosen people, looking forward to Jesus’ appearing at the end of human history. Our Advent devotional this year connects with our preaching series from Isaiah entitled “Who Is He?: Titles of Jesus the Messiah from Isaiah.”

The devotional we begin this season is written by members of our own church community, reflecting on Scripture and life, as a way to guide us to encounter Jesus during this season. You can use this devotional individually, but we also hope it serves those in small groups, as well as groups of friends, family members, or housemates.

May God give us grace this Advent to more fully hear with fresh ears Isaiah’s words about Jesus our Messiah, and also to more truly “fix our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfector of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). 

Finally, you can also interact with the digital version of this devotional in a variety of ways: on the Eastbrook App, Instagram, daily emails, blog, or PDF. Find these options and links on our website at eastbrook.org/WhoIsHeDevo.