Advent Devotion: December 12

Luke 1:67-69
In ancient times, people used horns to communicate and generals would use horns to signal their armies how to maneuver.  The horn of salvation in this verse refers to when a group would be under attack and the army would arrive and blow the horn to signal to the people that they would be saved.

Before Jesus was born there had been 400 years of silence where the nation of Israel had not heard from God at all. Jesus’ birth was a horn of salvation from God.  He was saying, “I have not abandoned you or forgot about you.  I am sending my son who will save you and the entire world.”

A lot of times we often go through periods in our life where we feel far away from God.  But God will always reach out to us and bring us back to himself.  Just like he sent the Israelites, Jesus as a horn of salvation.

Activity: Make your own horns at home.  By using the following website for ideas.
http://alittlepinchofperfect.com/easy-kid-craft-paper-party-horns/

Advent Devotion: December 11. Zechariah's Song of Mercy

Luke 1:67-79

Have you ever played the quiet game?  If you have, you know it is a favorite game of teachers and parents around the world.  The goal of the game is to be the quietest person.  The last person to not make any noise wins the game.  I remember playing the quiet game when I was younger and when I finally was out, I would talk for the next 5 minutes straight because I had to make up for all the time I was being quiet. 

I’m sure many of you have experienced a similar situation whether it was the quiet game or you were in an area where you had to be quiet we usually have a lot to say after we have been silent for a while.  And this is the situation that Zechariah had been in when we read this prophecy.

Zechariah had been told by an angel that he and his wife Elizabeth would have a son, while he was in the temple.  But Zechariah doubted the angel and because of that, God silenced his mouth and he was unable to speak from that time until 8 days after his son John the Baptist was born.  But then God finally, allowed him to speak and the Bible says that Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and he praised God because of John’s birth and he also prophesied about what his son, John the Baptist, would do.  The prophecy itself was a song of hope for Israel and the world.

At Christmas time I think we all tend to get our hopes up.  As kids we hope that we will receive that one toy or gadget that we really want.  As adults we hope that it is a time of joy and peace for  our family and the prospect of a new year brings hope for changes and new opportunities in our lives.  Those hopes are an important part of our life as we look forward to new things and exciting adventures but let’s remember that those hopes aren’t are true hope.  Our true hope is found in Jesus and his sacrifice for us so that we can have eternal salvation.  And at Christmas time we place our hope in the Baby Jesus who came to be our savior. 

Activity: Light the third candle of Advent the candle of Love. 

Advent Devotion: December 10

Luke 1:54-55
Every Christmas season, we look forward to and love because of our past experiences.  We each have favorite traditions we celebrate each year at Christmas time.  For some of us it might be, decorating the Christmas Tree or making cookies, for others it might be listening to Christmas music or driving around to see Christmas lights.  But these Christmas traditions and our past experiences of Christmas are a big part of why we look forward to the Christmas season.

Much like that, these last two verses describe how God has been faithful to helping and protecting Israel in the past.  And because God has been faithful in the past Mary knows that God will be faithful to her now.  And just like we know God has been faithful to us in the past, we can trust in him to be faithful to us in our lives each and every day, to be with us and watch over us and love us.

Activity: Each person should talk about a time when God took care of them in the past.

Advent Devotion: December 9

Luke 1:53

In the Christmas Carol Ebenezer Scrooge, is a mean and selfish banker who hates Christmas.  He doesn’t want to give any money away and doesn’t even want to give his employee the day off for Christmas.  But on Christmas Eve he is visited by three ghosts who help him learn a lesson that he needs to be kind to people and be generous with the money he has.  It’s a great story about giving.  The way Scrooge is described at the beginning of the story is the way I imagine the rich people are who are mentioned in this verse.

The rich are selfish and greedy people who don’t believe they need God because they have money.  Those who do need God and who ask for help from him are the hungry, and “God fills the hungry with good things.”  God doesn’t want us to be like the greedy scrooge from the beginning of the story, instead he wants us to be the scrooge who has learned to be generous and to not rely on his money but rather on God.

Activity: Read a children’s version of the Christmas Carol and talk about what Ebezer Scroogle learned

Make some Christmas cookies and give some, to someone you know who might be feeling down.

Advent Devotion: December 8

Luke 1:51-52
One of the common Christmas decorations for people across the country is a nativity set.  And these sets may look very different but they always feature the same things, a stable, a manger, some animals, Mary and Joseph, and baby Jesus.  The fact that the savior of the world, God himself was born in stable where animals live in a trough that animals usually eat out of, is amazing!  You might think that Jesus would be born in a palace, but instead he is born in a place not even fit for people.

The way Jesus is born, says a lot about how God views people.  These verses talk about how God lifts up the humble and the people who don’t have very much.  So don’t look down on people who don’t have as much as you do, God loves them and he wants to raise them up.  That’s why we often donate our toys and clothes to charities around Christmas, because God wants us to help out those who are less fortunate than us.  And we are reminded of that when we read about Jesus’ birth.

Advent Devotion: December 7

Luke 1:49-50

Activity: Listen to the Christmas Carol O Holy Night

Many Christmas Carols say that the night of Jesus’ birth was a holy night, but what does that even mean?  The definition is to be dedicated or consecrated to God.  So when we say that the night Jesus was born was holy we are saying that it was dedicated or consecrated to God.  And it was a holy night because Jesus is God so Jesus is holy. 

Often times when we talk about God we talk about how holy he is.  When we say that what we are saying is that God is set apart, there is no one like him and we could never be like him.  He created everything and because of that deserves special kind of respect and praise.  So next time you hear the word holy remember we are really praising God and saying there is no one like him. 

Advent Devotion: December 6

Luke 1:48

I remember when I was 11 years old, I was playing 6th grade basketball there was 3 seconds left in the game and it was tied.  I got fouled and was going to shoot free throws if I made one, we would win the game.  I made one out of two which was pretty big for me at 11 years old!  I remember being swarmed by my teammates and after the game we all went to Dairy Queen to celebrate, I remember I felt so proud which was appropriate, there’s nothing wrong with being proud of the things we accomplish.  But when we experience those moments we need to remember that God is the one who has put us in the position to exceed and remember that God calls us to be humble.

And that’s what Mary does in this verse, she remembers who she is and she praises God for blessing her.  Just like Mary when we accomplish good things in our lives we should praise God because he is the one who has given us the ability to accomplish those things.

Activity: Everyone list one thing that they are most proud of, then answer the question, how did God help you accomplish that thing?