Disarming Advent

Advent doesn’t begin with twinkle lights. It begins in the dark.

Advent doesn’t begin with twinkle lights. It begins in the dark.

At Walker Chapel this year, our sermon series Disarming Advent is spending time with the prophet Isaiah—letting him tell the truth before we rush to the good news. Isaiah doesn’t sugarcoat anything. He names the world as it really is: full of beauty, full of brokenness, and full of a God determined to redeem the whole mess.

From December 1 through December 26, you’ll walk through Isaiah’s sweeping vision of judgment and hope, exile and return, darkness and surprising light. Each day includes a Scripture reading, a devotional, and a prayer to ground your waiting in the grace of God.

It’s honest.
It’s hopeful.
And it will meet you right where you are.

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Here’s the introduction:

“In the church, this is the season of Advent. It’s superficially understood as a time to get ready for Christmas, but in truth it’s the season for contemplating the judgment of God. Advent is the season that, when properly understood, does not flinch from the darkness that stalks us all in this world. Advent begins in the dark and moves toward the light—but the season should not move too quickly or too glibly, lest we fail to acknowledge the depth of the darkness. As our Lord Jesus tells us, unless we see the light of God clearly, what we call light is actually darkness: ‘how great is that darkness!’ (Matt. 6:23). Advent bids us take a fearless inventory of the darkness: the darkness without and the darkness within.”
— Rev. Fleming Rutledge, Advent: The Once and Future Coming of Jesus Christ

“Our lives are eschatologically stretched between the sneak preview of the new world being born among us in the church, and the old world where the principalities and powers are reluctant to give way. In the meantime, which is the only time the church has ever known, we live as those who know something about the fate of the world that the world does not yet know. And that makes us different.”
— Rev. Will Willimon, Pastor: The Theology and Practice of Ordained Ministry

Advent is not a countdown to Christmas but a confrontation with reality. It begins in the dark, in the disorienting recognition that we need rescue. The prophet Isaiah walks with us there, naming the world’s ache and God’s answer. Each reading in this devotional traces that movement—from judgment toward joy, from ruin toward redemption, from exile toward Emmanuel.

These reflections are meant for daily use from December 1 through December 26. Some are brief meditations; others are fuller essays. Read them with Scripture open, a candle lit, and your heart ready for surprise. Advent will disarm you, if you let it and then you’ll be ready for the Child who comes to disarm the world.

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How to Get It

I’m making Disarming Advent: A Devotional Companion available in a few different ways so you can pick what works best for you:

📘 Print & Kindle versions are now available on Amazon.
Perfect if you want the book in your hands or on your reader.

📖 Free physical copies will be available at Walker Chapel.
If you’re part of our community, grab one on Sunday. It’s our gift to you.

💌 Paid Substack subscribers will receive each day’s devotion by email throughout Advent.
If you’d like to follow along digitally—or you simply want to support this work—please consider becoming a paid subscriber. Your support truly does make room for more writing, more resources, and more ministry than you realize.

Thank you for reading, sharing, and supporting.
May these pages help all of us watch for the light that’s already on its way.