As the Darkness Clears Away

This little book is meant to be used as a daily devotional guide throughout the Christmas season. It is broken into five sections of five devotions. Each section focuses on one passage of Scripture that is considered verse-by-verse. The book is designed for use as a personal or family devotion tool. Each individual study has some questions to help apply the passage and each section has a text to commit to memory. As a bonus, there are several original Christmas poems in this work from my dear friend, Dr. Tom Nettles that I am sure will be an encouragement to you.

As the Darkness Clears Away is a lyric from the old hymn Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence. It is my hope that this guide will be a helpful reminder this Christmas season that Jesus, the Light of the World and Giver of Life, came and defeated death and darkness. It is through the life, death, and resurrection of our incarnate God that we can sing “That the pow’rs of hell may vanish, as the darkness clears away.”

152 pages.

Contents

Introduction:

Section 1: Isaiah 9:1–7

1. God Will Rescue His Suffering People — Isaiah 9:1–5
2. Post Tenebras Lux — Isaiah 9:2
3. The Birth That Changed the World — Isaiah 9:6
4. Upon His Shoulder — Isaiah 9:6b–7a
5. The Zeal of the Lord — Isaiah 9:7b

Section 2: Isaiah 40:1–5

6. The Comfort of Christmas, Part 1 — Isaiah 40: 1–2
7. The Comfort of Christmas, Part 2 — Isaiah 40: 1–2
8. “Let every heart prepare Him room” — Isaiah 40:3
9. He Will Prepare the Way — Isaiah 40:4
10. The Glory of God in the Birth of His Son — Isaiah 40:5

Section 3: John 1:1–14

11. Jesus is the Word — John 1:1
12. The Word is God — John 1:1–4
13. The Word Became Flesh — John 1:14
14. Light and Life at Christmas — John 1:4
15. A Light in the Darkness — John 1:5

Section 4: Luke 2:22–35

16. Hope and Peace in Christ — Luke 2:25–32
17. The Significance of Christmas — Luke 2:29–35
18. A Divider of People, Part 1 — Luke 2:34–35
19. A Divider of People, Part 2 — Luke 2:34–35
20. A Divider of People, Part 3 — Luke 2:34–35

Section 5: Matthew 1:18-2:18

21. Born of a Virgin — Matthew 1:23
22. Born for an Eternal Purpose — Matthew 1:21
23. An Apathetic Response — Matthew 2:3–6
24. Gifts for a King — Matthew 2:10–12
25. Hope from the Ashes — Matthew 2:12–18

Conclusion: Fear Not — Luke 2:8-11