How often do you face your day with a sense of fear and dread? Holiday seasons like Thanksgiving and Christmas can easily lose their joy and delight when little things relentlessly nag at us and annoy us. Maybe the busy preparations of the season have you down, or perhaps you are reeling from a major life crisis or catastrophe.
Addressing this unsettling seasonal phenomenon will be Fear Not!, the 2015 Advent devotions written by Lutheran Hour Ministries' Theological Editor and Writer Rev. Wayne Palmer. These thought-provoking meditations will study the events of our Savior's birth as recorded in the first two chapters of the Gospel of Luke and remind us that God is the One fully in charge, reigning beyond our circumstances, granting us the daily grace to trust in Him, even when life clouds our vision.
Fear Not! is now live at www.adventdevotions.net. Here you can find the downloadable version, which includes a large-font text, bulletin inserts, bulletin shells, and PowerPoint slides. Audio availability begins November 29. Fear Not! will also be available as an e-mail subscription throughout the Advent season. A Spanish offering for Advent, En la tierra paz (Peace on Earth) by Rev. Dr. Sergio Schelske from Buenos Aires, Argentina, will be available soon.
LHM's Advent devotions make a great outreach tool. These messages can be forwarded as an e-mail to family members and friends who might not celebrate Christmas or believe in Christ as Savior. For men's or women's group meetings or for classrooms use, these devotions serve as an excellent way to begin a meeting or classroom period. The universality of the message—that faith looks to God and not to our earth-bound circumstances—works in any and every context.