Dear Westminster Family,
Welcome to the season of Advent. Advent is a season to prepare our hearts for the celebration of our Lord’s birth at Christmas. This collection of devotionals is written by covenant partners of our church family as a beautiful gift to the Westminster family. It is an enriching daily habit to open our Bibles and read the passage for each day and then to read the devotion and prayer that accompany it. You can do this by yourself or with your household or small group.
This Advent our theme is “Rest for Your Soul.” We have chosen this in response to Jesus’ promise in Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” The words “weary” and “burdened” describe so many of us as we come to the end of 2025. We want to highlight what Jesus is offering anyone who comes to Him and encourage one another to find our true rest in Him. These devotions will focus on weekly themes of hope, peace, joy, and love as God’s gifts that provide rest for our souls in the midst of the chaotic and disorienting world in which we live.
Advent is a time of intentionally waiting for the Lord. We wait to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, and we wait for Him to come again. We know that this world is broken and dark, and we look forward with hope to the day when “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)
In her book Rhythms of Rest, Shelly Miller writes, “As we wait, God reveals his purpose in the preparations he is doing within us, and our hopeful outlook is the result.” As we wait for the Lord together, I encourage you to reflect on the purpose that God is revealing in you in this season. And I encourage you to pray that He would awaken His hope, peace, joy, and love in us individually and together. My prayer is that each of us might receive God’s rest for our souls.
In the Hope of Christ,
Owen
