UNEXPECTED CHRISTMAS DEVOTIONAL GUIDE
DEC 1 – DEC 25
Prepare your heart for Christmas through Unexpected Christmas, a 4-week Advent devotional that follows our sermon series leading up to December 25. Each week explores a surprising part of the Christmas story—an unexpected announcement, an unexpected character, and an unexpected setting, an unexpected invitation. Through Scripture, reflections, and practical application steps, you’ll discover how God still meets us in the ordinary, interrupts our plans with purpose, and works through everyday people to accomplish extraordinary things. This devotional is designed to help you slow down, make room for Jesus, and experience the hope of His coming in a deeper way this season.
HOW IT WORKS
Each short reading includes Scripture, reflection questions, and simple next steps to help you live out what you’re learning and a moment of worship.
To get each reading sent to your phone, text ADVENT to 45859.
WEEK 1: An Unexpected Announcement
DECEMBER 1 // Monday: Chosen by Grace
Scripture: Luke 1:26-33 "In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel went to her and said,...
DECEMBER 2 // Tuesday: Wrestling With Wonder
Scripture: Luke 1:34-38 "'How will this be,' Mary asked the angel, 'since I am a virgin?' The angel answered, 'The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even...
DECEMBER 3 // Wednesday: The Courage to Say Yes
Scripture: Luke 1:38-45 "'I am the Lord's servant,' Mary answered. 'May your word to me be fulfilled.' Then the angel left her. At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth....
DECEMBER 4 // Thursday: Nothing is Impossible
Scripture: Luke 1:36-37, 46-55 "Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.' And Mary said: 'My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit...
DECEMBER 5 // Friday: Unexpected Instruments
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 "Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise;...
WEEK 2: An Unexpected Character
DECEMBER 8 // Monday: The Character of a Just Man
Scripture: Matthew 1:18-25 "This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the...
DECEMBER 9 // Tuesday: When God Interrupts Our Plans
Scripture: Proverbs 3:5-12 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your...
DECEMBER 10 // Wednesday: Faith That Defies Logic
Scripture: Hebrews 11:1-8 "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of...
DECEMBER 11 // Thursday: The Courage of Quiet Obedience
Scripture: Proverbs 3:5-6; James 1:2-8 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many...
DECEMBER 12 // Friday: Embracing Your Role
Scripture: Matthew 1:20-23; Romans 12:1-8 "But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, 'Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She...
WEEK 3: An Unexpected Setting
DECEMBER 15 // Monday: The Prophecy Fulfilled
Scripture: Micah 5:2-5; Luke 2:1-7 "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times. Therefore Israel will be abandoned until...
DECEMBER 16 // Tuesday: Born in Humility
Scripture: Luke 2:1-7; Philippians 2:5-11 "In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to...
DECEMBER 17 // Wednesday: No Room at the Inn
Scripture: Luke 2:7; Revelation 3:14-22 "She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler...
DECEMBER 18 // Thursday: God in the Ordinary
Scripture: John 1:1-14 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of...
DECEMBER 19 // Friday: Accessible to All
Scripture: Isaiah 9:2-7; Matthew 11:28-30 "The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the...
WEEK 4: An Unexpected Invitation
DECEMBER 22 // Monday: God’s Heart for the Outcast
Scripture: Luke 2:8-14; 1 Corinthians 1:26-29 "And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the...
DECEMBER 23 // Tuesday: The Joy of Heaven
Scripture: Luke 2:10-14; Psalm 96:1-13 "But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to...
DECEMBER 24 // Wednesday: A Savior for the World
Scripture: Luke 2:10-11; Romans 5:6-11 "But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.' You see, at just the...
DECEMBER 25 // Thursday: An Unexpected King
Scripture: John 1:10-12 "He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the...
