Under Wraps Devotional: The Gift We Never Expected

by Jessica LaGrone, Rob Renfroe, Ed Robb

Under Wraps  is an all-church Advent experience that explores the character of God described in the Old Testament and then revealed through Jesus Christ. Through small group resources for all ages, teaching video, worship ideas and visuals, sermon lead-in videos, and preaching guides, all areas of church life weave together for an exciting, new Advent celebration. The adult study book is the centerpiece of the program, serving as the adult small group resource and the source of content for worship planners and leaders. Each week centers on a key word that describes a characteristic of God that is evidenced in the Old Testament and then seen more clearly through faithful, dangerous, expectant and jealous. Additional material on the theme of “Joy” is provided for an optional Christmas week focus.
 
This companion volume that functions beautifully on its own or as part of the church-wide experience offers four weeks of daily devotions on the character of God exampled in the Old Testament and then revealed through Jesus Christ. The reflections, ideal for use during Advent, include Scripture, reflections, personal stories and insights, daily challenges, and prayers.

98 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 2, 2014

About the author

After earning an undergraduate degree in Biology from Southwestern University and serving in Youth Ministry for two congregations, Jessica LaGrone earned a Masters of Divinity from Asbury Theological Seminary. She served as an Associate Pastor at First United Methodist Church in Pasadena beginning in 2002, overseeing the Missions and Evangelism ministries. She was ordained an elder in the United Methodist Church in 2005.

In January 2006, Jessica began her current appointment as Associate Pastor at The Woodlands UMC, a church with over 8,000 members. She describes it as more of a small town than a church, with lots of communities within the greater congregation and an amazing gathering of people with a great passion for growing in relationship with Jesus. Currently she servest as Pastor of Worship, a position that is best explained as Worship Architect, planning and developing four of the church’s seven weekly worship experiences and working with amazing contractors with talent in music, media and preaching.

Reviews

[Steve Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a thoughtful and challenging devotional for Advent. It departs from the more traditional themes we usually associate with Advent, but the spirit is still there. The weekly themes are: God is Expectant, God is Dangerous, God is Jealous, and God is Faithful. The devotional concludes with a reading for Christmas Day. It can be jarring to think of God as dangerous and jealous during the Advent season, but when you read the daily readings for those weeks, you can see how those themes fit. This devotional is meant to be a companion to the church wide worship event "Under Wraps: The Gift We Never Expected," but the devotional can stand alone. A flash drive is available for pastors and other church leaders who want to use this as their Advent theme.

[Connie Salzman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Under Wraps review

I felt the day to day devotions did not have much substance to them. Just not lot there., needed some action.