December has finally arrived. Much of the world is looking past this month, looking forward to 2021 to wash away the pain and difficulty of this year.
And yet as Christians, we know that December does not signal the end of something, but rather the beginning. It is in the midst of a deep darkness that light came into this world — through the birth of a little baby boy in Bethlehem.
So here at the SOLA Network, we hope that we can encourage you to linger through the month of December. Let us not look past this Christmas season that will be so strange and different than any we have had before. Instead, would we celebrate this holy day with reverence and awe to find hope and peace.
To help with this endeavor, we have compiled here a list of online Advent resources to share. Also, check back throughout the month as our SOLA Council shares about how Christ was still present in 2020.
Daily Devotionals
Good News of Great Joy by John Piper
A devotional series by John Piper that follows a traditional format of reading Christmas-related passages and a reflection. You can download a PDF version for free, and there is a podcast version as well. The devotion starts December 1.
Description: Good News of Great Joy: Daily Readings for Advent contains 25 short devotional readings beginning December 1 and going through Christmas Day. This book of Advent meditations aims to put Jesus at the center of your holiday season. These readings are excerpted from the works John Piper and correspond to the readings in our daily devotional Solid Joys (available for iOS and Android).
The Dawning of Indestructible Joy by John Piper
This is another devotional series by John Piper but for those who might want something a little different. In this reading, Piper focuses on understanding the fullness of Christ, meaning rather than focus on one specific passage, he asks questions and packages ideas for us to ponder and reflect during Advent.
Description: These 25 brief devotional readings from John Piper begin on December 1 and carry us to Christmas Day. Our hope is that God would use these meditations to deepen and sweeten your adoration of Jesus and help you keep him at the center of your Christmas season.
Download a free PDF version here. You can also purchase a physical copy.
The Advent Project from Biola University
If you want a more comprehensive Advent experience, check out The Advent Project from Biola University. It includes, videos, music, poetry, and other creative expressions of Advent to explore and share. Click here to visit their website.
For Families
Jesus Storybook Bible Advent
The author of The Jesus Storybook Bible put together this advent resources for families.
Description: Zonderkidz and author Sally Lloyd-Jones are making this Advent toolkit and printables available to you for FREE through FaithGateway! Each day for 24 days you can make an ornament that corresponds with one of the stories in the Bible, then read the companion story in The Jesus Storybook Bible. It’s super easy and fun for the entire family!
Click here for the Advent guide website.
We Wonder Podcast
If you prefer an audio devotional for your family, check out the We Wonder podcast.
Description: We’ve been hard at work creating episodes that will help us practice remembrance and longing every day throughout the Advent season. This year, we will pray together some old and very beautiful prayers, called the ‘O Antiphons.’ Each of these prayers calls out to Jesus by one of his special names, and begs him, “O Come!” Each day, we will hear passages of Scripture that help us wonder about who this God is, who has promised to be with us, and we will daily ask God to come and be with us again.
Music
The Gospel Coalition’s 2020 Advent Playlist
Brett McCracken, a SOLA Editorial Board member, put together a 2020 Advent Playlist for The Gospel Coalition.
Description: In Advent we celebrate these contrasting comings, and their attendant ranges of emotions. Mystery and awe. Hope and fear. Jubilation and lament. Serene joy and angry justice. It’s all there, and it’s welcome, in Advent. It’s complicated, paradoxical, and sometimes messy. Perhaps that’s why the arts—and particularly music—are so central to our experience of this season. Whether a hushed acoustic dirge or Handel’s cacophonous “Hallelujah!” chorus, the expressive dynamics of songs and carols can capture well the complexity of Advent.
To that end, I assembled a new playlist of 100+ songs to help you worship God in this Advent season. You can find the playlist on Spotify and Apple Music. May it bless you and your loved ones during this and future Advent seasons.