Love divine, all loves excelling,
written by Charles Wesley, video by Grace Community Church, Sun Valley, CA
joy of heaven, to earth come down;
fix in us thy humble dwelling;
all thy faithful mercies crown!
Jesus thou art all compassion,
pure, unbounded love thou art;
visit us with thy salvation;
enter every trembling heart.
Breathe, O breathe thy loving Spirit
Into ev’ry troubled breast;
Let us all in thee inherit,
Let us find thy promised rest;
Take away our love of sinning;
Alpha and Omega be;
End of faith as its beginning,
Set our hearts at liberty.
Come, Almighty to deliver;
Let us all thy grace receive;
Suddenly return, and never,
Never more thy temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessing,
Serve thee as thy host above,
Pray, and praise thee without ceasing,
Glory in thy perfect love.
Finish, then, thy new creation;
Pure and spotless let us be;
Let us see thy great salvation
Perfectly restored in thee;
Changed from glory into glory
Till in Heav’n we take our place,
Till we cast our crowns before thee,
Lost in wonder, love, and praise!
Maybe not as much by other people’s standards, but I spend a lot of time online. Mainly ministry. A little of keeping up with culture and the times. Over the past few weeks, there’s been a movement, a change. The mockers seem emboldened. Ridiculing Jesus as an “imaginary sky friend”, a myth, even attempts to recreate Jesus as a prophet of Islam or not a Jew by background. A lot of deception. A lot of confusion. A whole lot of mocking.
I cannot help but feel sad at how many people fail to see this truth: “This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. (1 John 4:9)
Principle: Thank God the manger didn’t stay empty but became the cradle for our Messiah, Jesus Christ!
Aim: Use this Christmas season to remind people that if the manger remained empty and Jesus is just a myth, we’re all losers under an unavoidable death sentence.
At Christmas, a prayer: Lord God, we praise You for the Love Divine, All Loves Excelling that You showered upon us in the birth of Jesus Christ! The world fails to understand the gravity of sin and the desperate place that we are in apart from this gift of God, Your Only Son. Father, inspire in us the desire to share the good news of great joy that the angels couldn’t keep from proclaiming to a world in need. May we have words of grace to cover the mocking so the world may only hear the good news that our Savior was born on Christmas Day! Amen.
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Acknowledging inquiries about an entire season’s devotionals for your study group’s planning purposes, Seminary Gal’s prior seasons’ Advent devotionals can be accessed via the search feature to the right and are as follows:
- “Visitation Principles” was the theme of last Advent’s devotional series. It delved into reasons Jesus came as outlined in the Book of Hebrews. They are archived beginning December 1, 2024.
- “From the Jews for the World” was an important devotional exploration of how Jesus’ Jewish heritage was necessary for the salvation of Gentiles, too. It is archived beginning December 3, 2023.
- “Awaken Remnant” was the devotional topic for 2022. It began November 27, 2022, and highlighted the remnant found throughout Scripture as evident in Jesus’ lineage.
- The multi-faceted Interlude between the promise of a Deliverer and the birth of our Messiah and King was the theme of 2021’s devotional series. It is archived beginning November 28, 2021.
- 2020’s Devotional Series Divine Intervention began on November 29, 2020 and explored God’s activity on behalf of a hurting world and nations in tumult– Intervention for you and for me when our status as sinners required nothing short of a miracle.
- God’s Christmas list explored what might be on God’s Christmas list, learning what He wants from us. It began December 1, 2019.
- Storyteller began December 2, 2018 and entered into the Christmas story through its telling.
- The 2017 series Still Christmas, began December 3, 2017 and was the Advent complement to the Lenten series, Be Still and Know that I AM God.
- The 2016 season devotionals were called “Timeless: The Message of Christmas for All Ages” and explored how the message of Christmas is timeless truth, for all ages of people, and for all ages at all times. Timeless hope, encouragement, grace, peace, and love as we looked into the Word, saw the face of our Lord Jesus, and experienced restoration in His presence. His goodness and His Gospel are truly Timeless. The 2016 devotionals began November 27, 2016.
- The 2015 season devotionals were titled Incarnation and involved digging deep–and yes, I mean deep– in this important mystery of Christian theology. They began November 29, 2015.
- Carol Me, Christmas! remains one of my most popular offerings and tells the Christmas story through our most beloved Christmas hymns and carols. You can access all of the numbered devotionals from 2014 via the archives. They began November 30, 2014.
- The 2013 series was Emmanuel: When LOVE Showed Up in Person and examined the Prologue to the Gospel of John. It began December 1, 2013.
- The 2012 series focused on Expecting the Unexpected…the unexpected, unlikely, and uniquely divine qualities of God’s perfect plan outlined in Luke’s account of the Christmas story. It began December 1, 2012.