Enjoy the ADVENTure!
This is the first week of advent, the beginning of the Christmas season. Many families use advent calendars or wreath to help count down the days to Christmas and to keep Christ in Christmas.
For the advent wreath, the circle of evergreens represents the eternal love of God (like a circle with no beginning or ending). Four candles evenly spaced around the wreath represent the four weeks. One candle is lit the first Sunday of advent and that candle is lit each day. The next Sunday two candles are lit. The glow of the candlelight continues until all four are lit starting on the last Sunday before Christmas.
The first Sunday is the Hope or Prophet candle. The prophets proclainmed the news of the coming of the Messiah and gave details from God about the promised Savior. This gave the people great hope. Celebrate the coming of Jesus with a song, such as O Come, O Come Immanuel. Read some prophecies and find their fulfillment, like Isaiah 9:2 and Luke 2:11 or Micah 5:2 and Luke 2:4,5,7.
The second candleis the Bethlehem candle or the candle of love. Bethlehem means House of Bread and Jesus is called the Bread of life. Sing,O Little Town of Bethlehemand read about the place of Christ’s birth. Mary and Joseph could not find a room to stay in the town. Talk about making room for Jesus in your heart and time for him every day. Talk about God’s love and read John 3:16 as a reminder that God loved us so much that he sent Jesus to save us.
The Third candleis the Shepherd Candle or the candle of Joy. Christmas is much closer now and there’s more light wit three candles lit, including the pink one. Sing, Joy to the World. Talk about ways to share joy, such as sending Christmas cards or passing out candy canes. Jesus is the Good Shepherd and cares for us. Decorate the candle with a candy cane. Read Psalm 23 and chat about what Jesus does for us.
The fourth candleis the Angel Candle or candle of peace. Add an angel to the candle. The week lasts from one to seven days, until Christmas Day. Read about the angel that spoke to Mary (Luke 1:26-33) and the angels that filled the sky on the first Christmas (Luke 2:8-14). Be secret angels by doing good deeds. Sing, Hark the Herald Angels Sing.
Blessings,
Karen Whiting