What does it mean to recover the heart of Advent in a noisy and hurried world? In this episode of 'Deeper Experiences with God,' host Dave welcomes Pastor AJ Sherrill, lead pastor of St. Peter's Church in Charleston, South Carolina, and author of several books including 'Rediscovering Christmas.' Together they unpack the significance of Advent as a season of longing, waiting, and awakening to God’s presence. AJ reflects on the ways hurry, distraction, and digital overload blunt our spiritual sensitivity—and offers practical ways to slow down, pay attention, and receive Christ’s coming in fresh ways. Through the sharing of personal stories and insights, AJ invites listeners to make Advent less about consuming and self-importance, and more about cultivating desire for God in practical life ways.

Takeaways:

• Advent Reawakens Our Longing for God: AJ explains that Advent begins not with celebration but with longing—the honest acknowledgment that the world is not as it should be. We grow spiritually when we allow ourselves to feel this ache.
  • Action: This week, name one longing you often avoid and offer it honestly to God.
• Break Free from Over-Familiarity with Christmas: AJ warns that we often settle for a sentimental, surface-level version of Christmas. Over-familiarity lulls us into thinking we already know the story—when in reality, God may have something new to reveal. Resetting our expectations opens us to wonder again.
  • Action: Ask God and sit with the question: “What fresh insight or hidden gem might You want to show me in this story?”
• Begin Your Day by Centering on God: AJ describes how a simple morning rhythm—silence, Scripture, prayer, or stillness—sets the tone for the entire day. Starting with God recalibrates your inner world, helping you respond rather than react as the day unfolds
  • Action: Choose one morning practice this week that helps you begin from a place of groundedness in God. If this is challenging, bring that to God, and maybe another trusted friend, in prayer.
• Waiting Is a Gift, Not an Obstacle: AJ reminds us that waiting isn’t wasted time—in Scripture, it’s often the space where God forms us the most. Like the months of pregnancy for Mary and Zechariah, waiting cultivates hunger, hope, and readiness for what God is bringing to birth.
  • Action: Consider one area of life where you feel “in between,” and ask God how He might be forming you in the waiting
• Silence Helps the Soul Settle: AJ uses the image of a jar of water filled with shaken sediment: clarity comes only when the jar is still long enough for everything to settle. Silence works the same way in our spiritual lives. When we stop filling every gap with noise, God brings clarity, calm, and a renewed sense of His presence.
  • Action: Take a few minutes each day to sit in silence and let the “sediment” of your heart settle before God. If this is hard, ask yourself if there is any “self-importance” you can turn from?

Quote of the Show:

• “ There is something about cultivating a hunger, something about cultivating a thirst for that which we long for, rather than constantly allowing ourselves to be satiated with lesser loves.” - AJ Sherrill
• “The  kingdom is different than you think, but it's better than you know.” - AJ Sherrill 

Links:

• Website: https://www.ajsherrill.org/
• Bio: https://saintpeters.me/bioaj