This year we are offering several options for to enrich your faith each day of this this Advent Season.

Singing our Advent Joy (Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary) (LINK)
This daily devotional book is compiled from the faculty and students at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Each reflection draws from an Advent or Christmas hymn. Some of these will be very familiar to most of you. No doubt some will not be familiar, and you are encouraged to search YouTube or your favorite streaming music provider for recordings. But whether you know the hymn or not, you will find the reflections to be meaningful and deep. These devotionals are available online at: Advent Devotional - Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary (austinseminary.edu) and there will be print versions available in the Narthex and FLC Lobby. If you visit the website, you will also find an introductory video by Eric Wall, assistant professor of sacred music and dean of the chapel at Austin Seminary (who some of you may know from conferences at Montreat) as well as a link to download the full devotion book yourself. (If you read it online, you can switch the reader into full screen mode to make it easier.)

Discerning God’s kairos in the Midst of our Daily chronos (Presbyterian Outlook)
This year’s devotional readings from the Presbyterian Outlook center around two Greek words for time: kairos (sometimes referred to as God’s time – something qualitative, permanent, and meaningful with a definite, though perhaps unknown, trajectory) and chronos (the tick of the clock, the tyranny of the immediate, day-to-day time). In a year where our experience of time and our ways of marking time have been radically altered, these daily Bible readings, reflections, and prayers invite us to recognize God’s kairos time within and working through our challenging chronos time. The first week of devotionals is attached to this email, and expect future emails with the readings for future weeks of Advent. Hard copies are also available in the Narthex and FLC Lobby.

Let Us Light Candles: Matthew 25 and the Work of Advent (Presbyterians Today) (LINK)
These daily devotional readings center around Matthew 25, Howard Thurmond’s poem “I Will Light Candles This Christmas,” and the images of light and darkness in the Bible. Each day includes one or more Bible readings, a reflection, a prayer, and something you can do to go deeper that day, together with music and images. The devotionals are available online at pcusa.org/2020advent or you can download a version formatted for printing.

Following the Star (d365.org) (LINK)
This year-round daily devotional includes meditative music, scripture, and reflection. d365 is produced by Passport, Inc., a national ecumenical student ministry organization, and is sponsored by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, the Office of Christian Formation of the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the Youth Ministries Office of The Episcopal Church. For more information about d365 and the movement of each daily devotional visit d365.org/about_d365/.

Devotional Books from the FPC Library
The Library Committee of our church has pulled together a number of excellent printed devotional books from well-known authors and sources. Check them out right from the cart in the Narthex or FLC Lobby!

Daily Advent Photo Challenge
Watch the church social media for a daily word throughout Advent and share a picture in response to that word!

Reverse Advent Calendar
Instead of taking something out of a box each day of Advent, we invite you to put something in a box each day. See the December newsletter for a list of food items to collect to be donated to TOTAL Ministries. A banner and printed lists are also available in the Narthex and FLC Lobby.