Advent 2022 The Coming Storm
“Advent" by John-Morgan is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
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This will be the fifth year I've done this sort of Advent study. Advent is a period of us waiting in preparation for something. The first Advent was awaiting the birth of Jesus, though the world had no idea it was in a period of advent. That is not the case for us.
42 "Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.
43 "But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.
44 "For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.
Matthew 24:42–44 (NASB95)
We see now through a glass, darkly concerning His return. It could happen at any moment. It could happen before I can publish this. It could happen before you can read it. It could happen at any point from now on, including not in my lifetime or yours.
11When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.
12For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known.
1 Corinthians 13:11–12 (NASB95)
For the 2023 lessons, I have changed the formatting process. Before, I used to list the scripture reference only in line with the lesson. In an appendix at the end of the lesson, I listed all the verses in their entirety. That reads nicely, but in class, it caused a lot of confusion, page flipping, and loss of time.
Beginning with the Advent lesson, I list the entire passage in line with the lesson. This puts it exactly where it needs to be so that as we discuss the lesson points, the scripture that reinforces the point is right there in context with the lesson. This should reduce page flipping and speed up class.
Something else I intend to do in 2023 is to provide more content on both Substack and Patreon. I did some devotions and commentary in 2022, all based on scripture. These posts got good traffic but took a lot of time and effort to put together. I enjoy writing them but wasn't led to put many together. To that point, I put Patreon together because it is easier to post what I write in a PDF format you can download.
This leads me to the final point of this introduction. Patreon (HERE) and Substack (HERE) are subscription-based services for the most part. I fully intend to continue producing the Sunday school lessons for free. I'm called to do that and will continue. However, there needs to be a value-add for those who are kind and generous enough to subscribe. Some portion of this other writing will be in that vein: devotions, Hot Topics, scripture musings, and plain ole bloviations.
That's what I intend to do in 2023. I'll be writing the following list of material and posting it. I promise the 44 Sunday school lessons will be released free on all platforms. I will try to add a weekly devotion based on the previous lesson. I will also try to put out a weekly Hot Topic based on actual news and explain my opinion on that topic based on scripture. I make no declaration about simple scripture musings or bloviations (which you might be thankful about), but some of that will be out as well.
Topics and Categories for 2023
Sunday School Lessons-44 lessons broken out into four quarters of 11 lessons based on the 2022 Advent lessons. These will be released on the free side of any paywall and for all subscribers at any level.
Devotions-I will commit to releasing a devotion on Monday or Tuesday based on the lesson from Sunday. I have no decision yet as to which side of the paywall this will be on. Given how I write, it will likely be around 500 to 1000 words long with one to three scriptures. They will all expand on the Sunday school lesson and try to bring added depth to what we discuss in class on Sunday in church.
Scripture Musings-There are some ideas I have here, specifically reading books and other personal studies I'm doing when a passage strikes me as particularly impactful. Tracking this category will give you more insight into my personal walk with God than any other piece. This writing will not be on any schedule beyond what the Holy Spirit leads me to write. Likely, this will be behind the paywall, given the personal nature behind what it is.
Bloviations-This category only comes out when something moves me to action. Sometimes it will be on the free side and sometimes on the pay side. It depends on the topic and what I'm moved to say about it. Likely, you won't always agree with this stuff, but it will be engaging regardless. This type of writing also will have no set schedule or reside solidly on either side of the wall.
This is the next logical step to growing my writing. I have some secular, professional writing that is taking off. I hope I can grow my writing for God in a similar fashion. For those of you who choose to walk this path with me for a time, I welcome you. I adore seeing your reactions and interactions with what I've written. It fuels me and drives me more than you can know. I am deeply humbled and grateful for your trust and participation. May God bless you and your family in the coming year.
The Advent lesson PDF is on Patreon complete with this introduction. The individual lessons will be posted following this post one at a time. If you are in my Sunday school class at East Cobb United Methodist church, this is the material we will be covering beginning Sunday, November 27th, 2022.