Hope / Faith / Joy / Peace
Journey with us through Advent and anticipate, rather than dread, this busy season. Christmas comes each year with great hope and promise... But often, we are distracted and consumed by commitments, pressure and mixed emotions, and we barely experience the wonder of it as we rush through. It's in the slowing down, contemplation and reflection that we find our answer — it’s in the waiting season of Advent that we prepare our hearts with hope, faith, joy and peace for December 25 and the celebration of our newborn King.
Hardcopies of An Advent Journey will be available at Chestnut Ridge Church, beginning November 20. Additionally, you can follow along online with devotions posted daily, or by subscribing to our devotional email.
Hardcopies of An Advent Journey will be available at Chestnut Ridge Church, beginning November 20. Additionally, you can follow along online with devotions posted daily, or by subscribing to our devotional email.
Advent: Dec. 23 // A Place of Peace
December 23rd, 2022
Depending on your background and life experiences, what you think of when you read the word "church" can vary. You may be thinking of Chestnut Ridge Church, or a small family church you grew up in. It may be the place you go to in nature and take in all of God’s wonderful creation; that is where you feel closest to God so that is your “church.” I know there are some of you that are tracking with m...
Advent: Dec. 22 // God's Gift of Peace
December 22nd, 2022
Everyone longs for peace, but where does it come from? Where can we find it? Everything around us this time of year appears merry and bright, but if most people were honest, they'd likely say that this time of year brings more unrest than other times of the year. ...
Advent: Dec. 21 // Prince of Peace
December 21st, 2022
It’s hard to imagine a time when peace did not exist. But when we look back on that first Christmas, it was a time in history that was filled with despair. The peace that God created in the Garden of Eden had been broken.
But then, at long last, the Savior of the world arrived. The One who would change everything. The Prince of Peace....
Advent: Dec. 20 // When Peace Was Lost
December 20th, 2022
For me, peace is something that is hard to come by. I have twin 5-year-old boys and a 9-year-old daughter. One of the few times I get peace is that couple of hours between their bedtimes and mine. It’s very nice, but that peace ends the next morning when I hear them yelling from their bed, “Can we come in your room?”...
Advent: Dec. 19 // Something Better
December 19th, 2022
In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word for peace is shalom. The most basic meaning of shalom is complete or whole. Shalom refers to something that is complex, with lots of pieces, that is in a state of completeness. Peace refers to an absence of conflict and all things being as God created them to be. A great example of this is when God created the world. The Bible says in Genesis 1:1,"In the begin...