Are you ready to celebrate Christmas? Use this Advent guide to celebrate the meaning of Christmas with your family. Think About It: Have you ever waited for something to happen? What did you wait for? How did you feel while you were waiting? What did you do while you… Read More

Mark is the shortest of the four Gospels, but it has important insights on the Advent season. Read more here. Advent: Week 1 Wait Expectantly for the Lord Think About It: Have you ever waited for something to happen? What did you wait for? How did you feel while… Read More

Use these activities to help your whole family celebrate the Christmas season. A Dramatic Reading of the Christmas Story Gather with members of your household and read together the story of Jesus’ birth as recorded in Luke’s Gospel (2:1-20).  Consider reading the text dramatically:  assign one person to… Read More

During Advent we eagerly await Jesus’s birth and second coming. For four weeks many churches’ Scripture readings are focused on prophecies, visions of the end times, and Bible passages that point to the Messiah’s arrival and return. The Messiah will save and redeem Israel—and us—from political oppression and spiritual darkness. Read More

Read this poem in a quiet devotional time or out loud with your family. As you read the poem reflect on the joy that Jesus brought to the world. Bethlehem was a well-known city where King David had been born a thousand years before the birth of Jesus.  During… Read More

Use this tool each Sunday in the Advent season to reflect on the Christmas story presented in the Gospel of Matthew. Advent: Week 1 Wait Expectantly for the Lord Think About It: Have you ever waited for something to happen? What did you wait for? How did you feel… Read More

What is Advent? What role does it play in the life of the church? Read more to find out. Happy New Year! The beginning of a new year? Yes! The first Sunday in Advent is New Year’s Day in the church year. A new year – a “clean slate”… Read More

Each year, churches light candles in a wreath to celebrate the Advent season. Find out how this practice started and why it continues today. The tradition of the Advent Wreath and lighting Advent candles dates back to pre-Christian times in northern Europe. During the darkest days of winter,… Read More

Use these fun activities to celebrate the Advent season with your family or Sunday School class. Advent “Chain of Stars” (By participating in this activity throughout the four weeks in Advent, you will have a chain of 28 stars that can be used as a Christmas garland.) Supplies needed:… Read More

Luke was a careful historian, and his report of the Christmas story is no exception. Use these readings from Luke to reflect on the Advent season. Advent: Week 1 Wait Expectantly for the Lord Think About It: Have you ever waited for something to happen? What did… Read More