The Advent Wreath: five lessons including prayer, the lighting of the candle, scripture, an advent hymn, and closing prayer. To make this easier for children to understand, the Biblical text is from the International Children’s Bible. Feel free to adapt each Sunday’s observance. Several members of the family can read passages. You may use the entire thing, or abbreviate as needed. For the hymns, use the footnote source and the music will play so your singing can be accompanied. Or, merely recite the words. Be flexible.
Four Sundays plus Christmas Eve or Christmas Day are included.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
THE JESSE TREE
The Jesse Tree uses stories from the Old Testament to reveal God’s faithfulness and His promise to send the Son of God, Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World, whose birth we celebrate on December 25th. This is designed to be a scriptural reminder that Christ is coming to the world, and will again come at the end of the age.
Children can make the ornaments from any available materials, and hang each one on the branch or the tree, however your family chooses to visualize it. Accompanying scriptures are included, as well as a theme and a prayer.
Again, feel free to make this a tradition of your own. Patterns are included for each one, but certainly you can be creative and sew them, or color them on paper, or cut them out of more permanent materials such as balsa wood. This is a daily countdown. Twenty-nine ornaments are included. The patterns are copyrighted, and the author has received permission and paid the fees for their use. Please obtain permission if you choose to publish them.
–=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
CHRISMON ORNAMENTS
These are ornaments showing the life of Christ, His designated names, and His character as the Son of God. They are traditionally made of white and gold materials. They are hung on a separate tree, one each day of Advent, or the entire tree can be decorated at once, and the scriptures read each day as reminders of Christ’s sacrifice for us in coming to earth from royalty in heaven, to live with us and teach us about His Father, God, and His relationship with us.
I have received permission to share these ornaments and their descriptions from Bob Mallette at christiansym.com and the whychristmas.com site. If you Google™ Chrismons, you can obtain a plethora of information about these ornaments.
These are specifically designed to help us understand and experience Advent as a lead up to Christmas, the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus, His Birth. Artwork and designs, Scripture, carols, and devotions on these topics:
Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas, indeed
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
THE ADVENT WREATH
The colors of Advent are not red and green! Rather, since even before the medieval period, purple is used because of its connection to royalty and as a sign of penitence. Purple dye has always been difficult to find, therefore expensive. It is used during this period of the church calendar year in churches using liturgical colors. The love candle, the third week of this celebration, is typically rose or pink.
Obviously, there is leeway here. Fireproof artificial evergreens with four in-place candleholders, four red candles and a center white pillar candle. are fine. Use tall tapers, since the early candles are relighted each week, and will significantly diminish in size as the weeks pass.
Yours at home could be a pinecone wreath, or one made of fresh greens which are replaced several times to assure safety.
Some families use a candelabra with room for five candles, with the Christ candle on the top of the diagonal. In other words, the colors or styles of the wreath are not as important as the meaning your family establishes as a tradition.
The candles represent, hope, faith, love, and peace, plus the Christ candle.
The first week, one candle is lit while the scripture is read, the devotional is shared, and a hymn is sung or played. The second and subsequent weeks, the first candle is lit again, and then the next one until the week before Christmas, all four candles are lit. The Christ candle is lit on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.
Note: There are often several available Scripture texts to use. Or, you may choose to use only parts of a longer passage. Perhaps a different family member could read one, or you might choose among the passages the ones you’d like to use on a given day. The verses are from the International Children’s Bible. You may use a different translation from your family’s Bible if you wish.
Week 1
Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father. We thank You for sending Jesus to be our Savior. We know Your prophets told us He was coming, and indeed You sent Jesus to us at just the right time and just the right place in Bethlehem. Help us to remember the real meaning of Christmas, that Jesus is the most precious Gift You could have given to us. In His Precious Name. Amen
THE HOPE CANDLE.
This is what God said about Jesus in the Old Testament prophecy. He would come to us as a servant, to save us from our sins and help us to know God perfectly. Without Jesus, we would be without hope, for all of eternity. Even the humble birth in Bethlehem was part of the prophecy, as was His suffering and dying for our sins. He is the Light of the World, and God’s perfect Gift.
ISAIAH 53[1]
Who would have believed what we heard?
Who saw the Lord’s power in this?
He grew up like a small plant before the Lord.
He was like a root growing in a dry land.
He had no special beauty or form to make us notice him.
There was nothing in his appearance
to make us desire him.
He was hated and rejected by people.
He had much pain and suffering.
People would not even look at him.
He was hated, and we didn’t even notice him.
But he took our suffering on him
and felt our pain for us.
We saw his suffering.
We thought God was punishing him.
But he was wounded for the wrong things we did.
He was crushed for the evil things we did.
The punishment, which made us well, was given to him.
And we are healed because of his wounds.
We all have wandered away like sheep.
Each of us has gone his own way.
But the Lord has put on him the punishment
for all the evil we have done.
He was beaten down and punished.
But he didn’t say a word.
He was like a lamb being led to be killed.
He was quiet, as a sheep is quiet while its wool is being cut.
He never opened his mouth.
Men took him away roughly and unfairly.
He died without children to continue his family.
He was put to death.
He was punished for the sins of my people.
[1] Isaiah 53. The International Children’s Bible.
He was buried with wicked men.
He died with the rich.
He had done nothing wrong.
He had never lied.
But it was the Lord who decided
to crush him and make him suffer.
So the Lord made his life a penalty offering.
But he will see his descendants and live a long life.
He will complete the things the Lord wants him to do.
He will suffer many things in his soul.
But then he will see life and be satisfied.
My good servant will make many people right with God.
He carried away their sins.
For this reason, I will make him
a great man among people.
He will share in all things with those who are strong.
He willingly gave his life.
He was treated like a criminal.
But he carried away the sins of many people.
And he asked forgiveness for those who sinned.
ADVENT HYMN
O Come, O Come Emmanuel [1]
“Oh, come, oh, come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!
Oh, come, our Wisdom from on high,
Who ordered all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
and teach us in her ways to go.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!
Oh, come, oh, come, our Lord of might,
Who to your tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient times gave holy law,
In cloud and majesty and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!
About the Author
