Remember how I mentioned I have trouble with consistency? Well, I do. Life slows me down sometimes. Hence, the lateness of this blog. I would love to say it won’t happen again. But it will, probably sooner rather than later.
Advent Week One: Hope
Officially, Advent starts on December 2nd this year. So we’ll be trying to light our candle and discuss biblical hope sometime that following week. For the wreath, discussion and the project happened simultaneously. Peck focuses better when his hands are busy. However this week, I want Peck to feel the discomfort of waiting, so I will proceed exactly as laid out here in the blog.
Activity:
- Set a timer for five minutes.
- Have child or children sit and do nothing until the timer goes off. If your child is at all like Peck, this process will become torturous after about fifteen seconds.
- Reset the timer.
- Have child/children build with Legos, draw, or mold with Play-Doh until the timer goes off.
- Allow them to continue to play while discussing this week’s Advent theme.
Discussion:
You: The prophets of the Old Testament foretold Jesus birth long before He was born. Have older children turn to the table of contents of a Bible and read out some Old Testament prophet names or read the names to younger children. Isaiah delivered many prophecies about Jesus. How long do you think it was between Isaiah’s prophecies and Jesus’ birth?
Kiddos: Answers will vary.
You: 700 years. That was a long time to wait for Jesus. Do think some people might have stopped believing He would ever come?
Kiddos: Answers will vary.
You: Malachi was the last Old Testament prophet. How long do you think it was between his words and Jesus’ birth?
Kiddos: Answers will vary.
You: 400 years. That’s not as long as 700 years, but it’s still a very long time to wait. Do you think some people might have stopped believing Jesus would ever come?
Kiddos: Answers will vary.
You: “Hope” is when you are waiting for a certain event to happen. Many people had hope that Jesus would come even though they never saw Him in their lifetime. In Luke 2, the Bible tells the stories of Simeon and Anna. They were both very old at Jesus’ birth; Anna was 84. How old are your grandparents?
Kiddos: If they don’t know, tell them. Peck’s grandpas are 83, so this script is based on that age. Adjust accordingly.
You: Anna was one year older than your grandpas. That’s someone who lived a long time. Both she and Simeon hoped their whole lives for Jesus to be born, and, at the very end, they saw Him when Mary and Joseph brought Him to the temple. Waiting is hard though. How did it feel to sit and do nothing for five minutes?
Kiddos: Answers will vary.
You: Did five minutes feel as long when you were playing? Times passes much faster when you have something to do. What did Simeon and Anna do while they were waiting for the Christ?
Kiddos: Answers will vary.
You: Where were they?
Kiddos: The temple.
You: That’s right they were at the temple, which means they were going to church. What do we do at church?
Kiddos: Answers will vary.
You: We serve God at church. We learn about God at church. We worship at church. Have a student read Luke 2:37. Anna served and prayed. We’re waiting four weeks to celebrate Christmas, which might feel like forever, but Jesus is already born. So what are we as Christians waiting for now?
Kiddos: Answers will vary.
You: We wait now for the time we will see Him again. It’s probable we will wait our whole lives like Simeon and Anna. But should we stop hoping we will see Jesus?
Kiddos: No!
You: So what should we do to make the waiting easier?
Kiddos: Answers will vary.
You: That’s right. We should seek God and get to know Him better through prayer, study, worship, and service.
Light one of the purple candles.
You: This candle represents our hope that through Jesus we will have eternal life and live with Him in heaven. It also represents our hope that He will come again.
Scripture:
“But now we have confidence in a better hope, through which we draw near to God.” Hebrews 7:19b
“So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world.” 1 Peter 1:13
Prayer:
Thank you Lord for Jesus. Please draw us nearer to you as we wait to see you again. Amen
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