Resources for Advent

Today, Sunday, is the First Sunday of Advent. It is the beginning of the liturgical year and the beginning of the season of preparing for Christmas, the celebration of the Incarnation. It is and always has been my favorite time of year, originally, when I was a small child, because of the fun and presents, and still now that I have the (if I may be so bold) intellectual and spiritual maturity to appreciate the significance of the season to redemptive history. But enough about me, and more about Jesus!

I would like to highlight two devotional resources for this Advent season.

The first is a new devotional by Ray Pritchard (my former senior pastor), Why He Came. You can get the ebook for FREE on Amazon today through Thursday (after that it will cost $2.99). Ray's seasonal devotionals (he usually writes one for both Advent and Lent each year) are always good; I highly recommend you download a copy for yourself!

The second is the fourth edition of my Musical Advent Calendar. I started this in 2011, my first year out of college, and have been blessed with positive responses from family, friends, and colleagues over the years. A bit about it for those of you unfamiliar: 

Each day from December 1 through December 25, I will have a different Advent- or Christmas-themed song featured here on my blog. The twenty-five selections are a mix of songs from across the centuries and styles, and are performed by an equally wide variety of artists. Each day’s post will be live at 5 AM Central Time. You may visit the blog each day or, to have the posts delivered directly to your email, please subscribe to my blog if you have not already (see the "Follow by Email" feature directly below my picture in the right-hand column). Please feel free to share my calendar with the people you know!

And those are just two of what I am sure are many, many other resources that focus on Christ, the Word become Flesh, in the context of this Advent season. Are there any others you would recommend? Please share in the comments below.