This thematic Bible study is designed to be used by individuals and small groups during the Advent 2014 season. The book, written by Stan Purdum, is based on the particular pathways to Jesus during Advent. In addition to the main content, each chapter offers questions for reflection and discussion, a brief prayer, and a focus for the week. The focus emerges from the chapter content and encourages the readers to engage in spiritual practice or do something specific that will help them grow in faith. On the whole, this thematic seasonal Bible study series is designed for transformation and for applying the study of the Bible to everyday, practical life experience. It is intended to nurture and encourage faith development and spiritual growth. Stan Purdum served as a full-time parish minister in Ohio for a number of years and retired recently after serving part-time as a pastor. He also works as a freelance writer and editor. He holds an education degree from Youngstown State University, a master of divinity from Methodist Theological School in Ohio, and a doctorate in ministry from Drew University. Long an avid bicycle tourist, Stan has ridden several long-distance bike trips, including a cross-nation ride recounted in his book Roll Around Heaven All Day and a trek that covered the entire length of US Route 62 (from Niagara Falls, New York, to El Paso, Texas), the subject of his book Playing in Traffic. Stan is also the author of New Mercies I See, which is a collection of stories about God's grace, and He Walked in Galilee, a study book on the ministry of Jesus. He writes regularly for Adult B Travel the Highways of Advent An Advent Study for Adults By Stan Purdum Abingdon Press Copyright © 2014 Abingdon Press All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-4267-8597-9 Contents Introduction, First Week of Advent The Straightened and Leveled Highway, Second Week of Advent The Highway of Reversal, Third Week of Advent The Highway In Between, Fourth Week of Advent The Highway of Enthusiasm, Christmas The Highway of Merriment, CHAPTER 1 The Straightened and Leveled Highway Scripture: Isaiah 40:1-11; Luke 3:1-14 US Route 62 starts in Niagara Falls, New York, and ends in El Paso, Texas. In between, it passes through ten states and runs variously on rural roads, city thoroughfares, small-town streets, two-lane blacktops, four-lane expressways, and occasionally, even on interstate Super-Slabs. Because of its angled course across the country, in some places, Route 62 is designated as an east-west road and other places as a north-south road. Yet there's one constant, one factor that makes it a highway: Along its entire 2,248 miles, it's always marked as US 62. That means, even without a map, you should be able to follow it from Niagara Falls to El Paso simply by paying attention to the signage. The US Numbered Highway System has been in effect since 1926. It's a great convenience for travelers, especially when we're passing through places we've never been before, though we likely take the system for granted today. You may not know, however, that since 1955, AASHTO (American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials), the body responsible for designating federal routes, has considered the system essentially complete. In other words, they're neither looking for new routes to number nor pushing for new roads to be built. In fact, several routes have been decommissioned (most notably, US 66, which has been largely replaced by a series of interstate highways). What's more, the remaining numbered routes are often being straightened—so much, in fact, that across the system, several hundred miles have been removed from those highways without changing the end points. I mentioned that US 62 is 2,248 miles long, but when it was first made a numbered highway, it ran for 2,289 miles. It still starts and ends in the same places, however. US 52 was originally 2,123 miles; it's now 2,072, but it still stretches from Charleston, South Carolina, to Portal, North Dakota. As this highway straightening has taken place, the ride on these routes has gotten a lot smoother as well. A few years ago, I pedaled my bicycle the full length of US 62, and I saw some of this leveling taking place. Here's how I described it in a book I wrote about the journey: A few miles northwest of Harrison, [Arkansas], ... I found the road under construction, being widened from two lanes to four. The old road, still in place, sustained the current traffic and apparently was to be retained as the westbound lanes. The new road would become the eastbound lanes, with a grassy strip between old and new. Clearly, the new portion was being built to newer standards than the original road, and I soon came to a spot where the difference was obvious. From the bottom of a hill, I could see the old road climbing its way upward in irregular fashion, humping over the contours of the land. The new lanes, however, climbed steadily because t