Here's a 5-day Bible reading plan and devotional guide based on the themes from the sermon on Sunday, November 30, 2025:
5-Day Advent Devotional: God Still Speaks
Day 1: When God Thunders
Reading: Luke 2:8-14
Devotional: The shepherds experienced an undeniable moment when heaven broke through. God's announcement couldn't be missed—the sky split open with angelic hosts declaring good news. In your own life, can you recall moments when God's presence was unmistakable? Perhaps a miraculous provision, an answered prayer, or a divine intervention that left no room for doubt? These are your spiritual markers. Take time today to write down those moments when God thundered in your life. Let them fuel your faith during quieter seasons. Share one of these stories with someone who needs encouragement. Your testimony of God's faithfulness might be exactly what they need to hear today. God still moves powerfully in the 21st century.
Day 2: The Sound of Silence
Reading: 1 Kings 19:11-13
Devotional: Elijah expected God in the earthquake, wind, and fire, but God came in a whisper. Like Mary, who received her world-changing calling through a quiet conversation, and Joseph, who heard God through a dream, we often encounter God in stillness rather than spectacle. Our noise-saturated culture has forgotten how to be quiet. We check our phones 144 times daily, surrounded by constant stimulation. Yet God often speaks in the spaces between the noise. Before you reach for your phone tomorrow morning, pause. Acknowledge God's presence. Create intentional moments of silence throughout your day—before starting your car, during your lunch break, in the evening. Turn off background noise and simply listen. God doesn't need volume to prove His presence. His most profound communications come when our hearts are quiet enough to hear.
Day 3: The Gift of Waiting
Reading: 2 Peter 3:8-9
Devotional: We demand instant gratification—two-day shipping, streaming movies, immediate responses. When God doesn't work according to our timeline, we grow frustrated. But what looks like delay is often divine patience. God's slowness isn't denial; it's mercy at work. Consider how long God waited for you to turn to Him. How many invitations did you ignore? Think about the people you're praying for—your spouse, children, neighbors, coworkers. What if God's timing includes mercy for them and growth for you? Instead of viewing waiting as unwanted denial, see it as God's incredible patience. Your faithfulness in the waiting is part of how God works. Keep praying. Keep loving. Some may need years to come to Christ, but we're talking about eternity. God is never late; He's always right on time.
Day 4: God With Us
Reading: John 1:14; Matthew 1:23
Devotional: "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us"—literally, He pitched His tent with us. God could have chosen a palace, but He chose a manger. The Creator slept on straw, cried when hungry, and was born in obscurity. Christmas turns our status-obsessed world upside down. God isn't only available to the spiritually elite; He's Emmanuel—God WITH us. The manger is the great equalizer where rich and poor, educated and illiterate, religious and irreligious find welcome. Stop trying to clean up your life before inviting Jesus in. He's not afraid of your mess—He was born in a stable. He can handle your Monday morning, difficult relationships, and imperfect faith. Welcome Jesus into your everyday spaces: your kitchen, car, workspace. He doesn't need a fancy cathedral to meet with you. Pitch your tent in others' lives too, meeting them where they are, loving them in their messiness.
Day 5: Are You Listening?
Reading: Psalm 46:10; Luke 1:26-35
Devotional: Gabriel wanted the big show—sky-splitting, Twitter-trending moments. But Mary reminded him that the world was forever changed by something simpler: a baby in a manger. The most important event in human history happened quietly, almost in secret. This Advent season, God may speak spectacularly, but He also may speak in stillness, waiting, and ordinary moments overflowing with His presence. The question isn't "Is God still speaking?" but "Are you listening?" Are you so busy looking for the spectacular that you're missing the manger? So focused on thunder that you miss the whisper? So impatient for drama that you overlook Emmanuel dwelling with you? Whether God thunders or whispers, moves quickly or waits patiently, dwells in palace or manger, He remains God WITH us—in chaos and quiet, joy and loneliness, abundance and scarcity. That's the hope of the ages, the news that still changes hearts, lives, and destinies.
5-Day Advent Devotional: God Still Speaks
Day 1: When God Thunders
Reading: Luke 2:8-14
Devotional: The shepherds experienced an undeniable moment when heaven broke through. God's announcement couldn't be missed—the sky split open with angelic hosts declaring good news. In your own life, can you recall moments when God's presence was unmistakable? Perhaps a miraculous provision, an answered prayer, or a divine intervention that left no room for doubt? These are your spiritual markers. Take time today to write down those moments when God thundered in your life. Let them fuel your faith during quieter seasons. Share one of these stories with someone who needs encouragement. Your testimony of God's faithfulness might be exactly what they need to hear today. God still moves powerfully in the 21st century.
Day 2: The Sound of Silence
Reading: 1 Kings 19:11-13
Devotional: Elijah expected God in the earthquake, wind, and fire, but God came in a whisper. Like Mary, who received her world-changing calling through a quiet conversation, and Joseph, who heard God through a dream, we often encounter God in stillness rather than spectacle. Our noise-saturated culture has forgotten how to be quiet. We check our phones 144 times daily, surrounded by constant stimulation. Yet God often speaks in the spaces between the noise. Before you reach for your phone tomorrow morning, pause. Acknowledge God's presence. Create intentional moments of silence throughout your day—before starting your car, during your lunch break, in the evening. Turn off background noise and simply listen. God doesn't need volume to prove His presence. His most profound communications come when our hearts are quiet enough to hear.
Day 3: The Gift of Waiting
Reading: 2 Peter 3:8-9
Devotional: We demand instant gratification—two-day shipping, streaming movies, immediate responses. When God doesn't work according to our timeline, we grow frustrated. But what looks like delay is often divine patience. God's slowness isn't denial; it's mercy at work. Consider how long God waited for you to turn to Him. How many invitations did you ignore? Think about the people you're praying for—your spouse, children, neighbors, coworkers. What if God's timing includes mercy for them and growth for you? Instead of viewing waiting as unwanted denial, see it as God's incredible patience. Your faithfulness in the waiting is part of how God works. Keep praying. Keep loving. Some may need years to come to Christ, but we're talking about eternity. God is never late; He's always right on time.
Day 4: God With Us
Reading: John 1:14; Matthew 1:23
Devotional: "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us"—literally, He pitched His tent with us. God could have chosen a palace, but He chose a manger. The Creator slept on straw, cried when hungry, and was born in obscurity. Christmas turns our status-obsessed world upside down. God isn't only available to the spiritually elite; He's Emmanuel—God WITH us. The manger is the great equalizer where rich and poor, educated and illiterate, religious and irreligious find welcome. Stop trying to clean up your life before inviting Jesus in. He's not afraid of your mess—He was born in a stable. He can handle your Monday morning, difficult relationships, and imperfect faith. Welcome Jesus into your everyday spaces: your kitchen, car, workspace. He doesn't need a fancy cathedral to meet with you. Pitch your tent in others' lives too, meeting them where they are, loving them in their messiness.
Day 5: Are You Listening?
Reading: Psalm 46:10; Luke 1:26-35
Devotional: Gabriel wanted the big show—sky-splitting, Twitter-trending moments. But Mary reminded him that the world was forever changed by something simpler: a baby in a manger. The most important event in human history happened quietly, almost in secret. This Advent season, God may speak spectacularly, but He also may speak in stillness, waiting, and ordinary moments overflowing with His presence. The question isn't "Is God still speaking?" but "Are you listening?" Are you so busy looking for the spectacular that you're missing the manger? So focused on thunder that you miss the whisper? So impatient for drama that you overlook Emmanuel dwelling with you? Whether God thunders or whispers, moves quickly or waits patiently, dwells in palace or manger, He remains God WITH us—in chaos and quiet, joy and loneliness, abundance and scarcity. That's the hope of the ages, the news that still changes hearts, lives, and destinies.
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