O Come, Thou Dayspring

Key Takeaways

• Jesus Christ is the darkness destroyer whose arrival pushes back the darkness in the world and in our hearts.

• We were designed to run on God's glory, but darkness happens when we aim our God-given hunger anywhere but him.

• We can't self-generate light by looking inward (spiritual but not religious) or working harder (religious but not spiritual).

• When Christ's light shines on us, our hearts thrill and open like flowers turning toward the sun.

• When Christ becomes our treasure, generosity stops feeling foolish and becomes the natural overflow of joy.

Study Questions

• Question 1

  In what ways do you find yourself trying to deal with darkness through either the 'spiritual but not religious' approach of looking inward or the 'religious but not spiritual' approach of moral performance?

• Question 2

  How does understanding that God's glory is what our hearts were designed to run on change the way you view your deepest desires and longings?

• Question 3

  John states that 'idolatry always leads to injustice.' Can you identify an example from your own life or society where worship of something other than God has led to harm or oppression?

• Question 4

  What does it mean practically for you to 'put yourself in direct sunlight' and bring your heart to Jesus rather than trying to generate your own light?

• Question 5

  The passage describes people joyfully giving away their most precious possessions because they found something more valuable. What would it look like for you to give freely from a place of treasure rather than obligation?

• Question 6

  Why do you think the dawn and the birth of Christ are described as surprises, and how does this challenge our tendency to try to control or manufacture spiritual experiences?

5-Day Devotional

DAY 1 DAY 2 DAY 3 DAY 4 DAY 5

Day 1 : The Darkness We Cannot Escape

READING :

Romans 1:18-25

DEVOTIONAL :

Before we can appreciate the dawn, we must acknowledge the darkness. Paul reminds us that humanity suppresses the truth about God, exchanging his glory for created things. This isn't just ancient history; it's our story. We all turn inward, taking our God-given hunger for glory and aiming it anywhere but him. The spiritual-but-not-religious search within and the religious performance treadmill both keep us in darkness. Today, resist the urge to pretend or perform your way out. Instead, simply acknowledge: "I cannot generate my own light." This honest confession is the first step toward dawn. The tulip buried in winter soil doesn't create spring; it waits for the sun to do what only the sun can do.

Day 2 : The Dawn That Destroys Darkness

READING :

Isaiah 60:1-3

DEVOTIONAL :

"Arise, shine, for your light has come!" This isn't a command to work harder; it's a declaration of reality. When God speaks light into existence, darkness has no choice but to flee. Notice Isaiah doesn't say, "Try to shine" or "Work on shining." God's word creates what it commands. The arrival of Christ is a cosmic daybreak, and his light moves at the speed of his word—instantaneous, irresistible, transforming. Today, stop trying to manufacture spiritual light through your efforts. Instead, position your heart where it can receive direct sunlight. Read Scripture. Sit in his presence. Let him speak. The dawn doesn't need your permission to break; it simply comes, and when it does, everything changes.

Day 3 : Hearts Unfolding Like Flowers

READING :

2 Corinthians 4:1-6

DEVOTIONAL :

Paul connects Genesis and Isaiah: the God who said "Let light shine out of darkness" now shines in our hearts through Christ. Consider the tulip—buried, dormant, unable to save itself. Then warmth comes, and the bulb breaks open, pushing upward, turning toward the sun. You cannot pry your own heart open any more than a tulip can force itself to bloom in winter. When Christ's light penetrates your darkness, your heart naturally unfolds, opening outward and upward. Today, if you feel spiritually closed or cold, don't manufacture warmth. Instead, bring your heart honestly to Jesus and keep it there. Read his words and remember his sacrifice, letting his glory melt the ice.

Day 4 : The Treasure That Reorders Everything

READING :

Matthew 13:44-46

DEVOTIONAL :

The camels and flocks streaming to God's altar in Isaiah 60 aren't paying taxes.They're bringing joyful offerings. Why? Because these people found treasure that made their previous treasures look like trinkets. Jesus told two parables about people who sold everything for one supreme treasure. This is the litmus test of true encounter with Christ: Has he become your pearl of great price? When the light opens your heart, it also opens your hands. Generosity becomes natural, not forced. Today, examine what you're clutching. Your time? Your money? Your comfort? Your reputation? Ask honestly: "Have I found something—someone—worth more than these?" When Christ becomes your treasure, giving isn't loss; it's the overflow of joy.

Day 5 : The Surprise of the Dayspring

READING :

Luke 1:67-79

DEVOTIONAL :

Zechariah prophesies that the dayspring from on high has visited us. Every dawn is a surprise: "The sun came up again? I can't believe it!" But the greatest surprise was that the light came as a baby. The incarnation is wrapped in shock: a virgin's womb, shepherds' fields, wise men's camels, and the stunning truth that this light wasn't just for Israel but for you. The deepest surprise? On the cross, Jesus entered the darkness your sin deserves so that in his resurrection, he could dawn in your heart. Today, let this truth ignite fresh wonder in your soul. You don't earn this light. That's what makes it grace. God beautifies his house with surprises like you.

This Week’s Liturgy

O Oriens
by Malcolm Guite

First light and then first lines along the east
To touch and brush a sheen of light on water
As though behind the sky itself they traced

The shift and shimmer of another river
Flowing unbidden from its hidden source;
The Day-Spring, the eternal Prima Vera.

Blake saw it too. Dante and Beatrice
Are bathing in it now, away upstream…
So every trace of light begins a grace

In me, a beckoning. The smallest gleam
Is somehow a beginning and a calling;
“Sleeper awake, the darkness was a dream

For you will see the Dayspring at your waking,
Beyond your long last line the dawn is breaking”.

Call to worship

Leader: For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder,

All: and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

Advent reading

And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Luke1:76-79

Confession of sin

Most Merciful God, thick darkness covers us. Our hearts do not thrill or exult at your coming, for we have sought lesser glories and turned from your light. Lord Jesus, true Dayspring, forgive us for closing our hearts to your joy. Holy Spirit, arise upon us; scatter our shadows, open us wide, and make us radiant, that our lives may beautify your beautiful house. Amen.

ASSURANCE OF PARDON

Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.

Micah 7:18-19

ICYMI: Preschool Choir

This Week’s Playlist

Looking Ahead

Join us next week as we continue our Advent sermon series with Isaiah 22:15-25.