There’s something about these weeks before Christmas that I just don’t like: it’s all the intense ads on TV with their bright colors and words of Christmas songs changed to fit what’s being advertised.
Though there weren’t TVs and malls in the time of Jesus, there was still lots of noise with people pushing others to buy what was on sale. John the Baptist, Jesus’ cousin, doesn’t jump into the middle of all this and start shouting, “The Messiah is coming! The Messiah is coming!” Instead, he goes to the desert where the river Jordan flows and cries out from there: “Prepare the way of the Lord.” There must have been something about his voice that caught the attention of others….like a mother tuned to the cry of her child lost at a mall; all the other noises fade away.
An idea: with TVs and lights off, light two candles—maybe those on an Advent Wreath. Be still, quiet, awake and alert. Listen to God’s gentle, loving voice inside you saying, “I love you!”
Examples of Bible Breaths Learn More…
Voice crying in the desert v. 3
Prepare the way of the Lord. v. 3
The One coming after me v. 7
Baptized with th’Holy Spirit v. 8
Check out Study Tools in BibleGateway.
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in Matthew Henry’s Commentary.‘s Commentary.
The Sunday Gospels follow the Revised Common Lectionary.
These Firestarters are for families with children. For the Firestarters in the original edition, I recommend the ebook. You will have the entire program of well over a thousand of these introductions with you on your phone or table! Check the menu options at the site for more information.
The Bible Through the Seasons 