87: The Power of Longing (Advent Episode with Brian Delamont)

Continuing in our Advent series, Brian Delamont returns to the podcast to explore how our longings shape the way we live. Don’t miss how our families coordinate gift-giving, a number of Christmas carol quotes, and Brian’s monthly reflection question!

• Draw Names App
• “What you hope for shapes what you live for.” - The Bible Project
• “Anticipation ignites a thrill in the present caused by nothing more than a possibility in the future.” - Erwin McManus
• 1 Corinthians 16:22
• “[The Gospel] is about the power that Jesus gives us to live our hope right now and to long for what He will do in the future.”
• 1 Corinthians 15:58
• “The object of our desires is usually closely related to a change in our lifeworld. Either we desire something to be added or something to be taken away.” - Geoff Beech
• “The long-expected Jesus is the answer to [our] longings. In anticipation of Jesus’ rule in all our hearts alone and by Jesus’ all-sufficient merit, we are raised to God’s glorious throne.”
• “Discipleship, we might say, is a way to curate your heart, to be attentive to and intentional about what you love.” - James K. A. Smith
• “What I want actually tells me an awful lot about who I am and who I am becoming.”
• “We’re expecting whatever it is we’re hoping for or longing for [...] to satisfy us, to fulfill our cravings, and to meet our needs. And anything less than God will leave us disappointed.”
• “[Jesus] is against our longing for the wrong things in the wrong place in the wrong way. We can have a wealth of things, yet have poverty towards God. It’s because our longing, our hope, our desire is misdirected.”
• Luke 12:30-34
• “What do I treasure? What am I prepared to do so that I long for the best of all possible treasure?”
• “Much of what we hope for will remain out of our grasp until Jesus comes and makes all things new. This is the hope, the good news of the Gospel.”
• 2 Corinthians 5:1-2
• “We long to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling. In this Advent season, we long and we groan. We hope for the future, and we stand firm in the present.”

Advent Reflection: What are you longing for today, and how is that longing shaping you?

What’s changing our lives:

• Keane: Sickness in the family
• Heather: Coffee beans from Papua New Guinea
• Brian: Watching his son experience joy after a difficult season

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