As soon as the calendar hits November 1, Christmas explodes all over the place. You know exactly what I am talking about: the house gets decorated, Christmas parties, gifts to buy, places to go, traditions to check off the list, cookie making, and nights of driving the kids around in their pajamas to see the lights. There seems to be no pause button from the colors of fall to red, green, and Christmas decor at every turn. We have gotten used to this explosion of “holiday spirit” but the truth is these loud commercial versions of the season only create a sense of panic and anxiety as we approach Christmas Day. We immediately feel pressure that we are running out of time to get all the gifts and make all the memories. As Christians, we have a huge reason to celebrate, and it doesn’t have to be met with red glitter and stress. Christmas celebrates the coming of Christ, the greatest gift of all time. We are going to spend the next few weeks looking at new and different ways we can slow down and enjoy the coming of Christ, as a baby in a manger, and in the joy of knowing that He is coming for us again. Deep Breath. Let’s go on this journey together. For practical purposes, here is the calendar that you can follow with your family as you celebrate Advent together. If this is a new practice for you, do not allow this to be something that adds stress to your days/evenings. Rather, allow it to create that pause that is missing from your day where you recognize the beauty of Christmas and you slow down to take in the wonder of God’s amazing plan. This is such a gift. Advent begins on Sunday, December 1, 2024 and ends on Tuesday, December 24, 2024.
Four Sundays before Christmas:
12/1/24: Hope/Promise
12/8/24: Preparation/Peace
12/15/24: Joy
12/22/24: Love/Adoration
HOPE
Advent marks the start of a season of preparation that looks forward to the birth of Jesus and the second coming of Christ. The word advent literally means “coming” or “arrival.” The first Sunday of Advent ushers in hope and a promise. I will never forget being a child and knowing that Christmas was coming soon. We would make our lists and get so excited about the promise of that day. We were excited because there was a hope that we would receive some of those things on our lists. The hope was also there as we selected gifts for others, knowing they would love what we picked out for our loved ones. I also experienced a different type of hope as a woman who was pregnant with a precious life . . . I was looking forward to their arrival or coming into our lives. Looking forward to the coming of Christ at Christmas time brings another level of hope for us. This world can be gloomy and sometimes we do not feel a whole lot of hope for our future or the future of our kids and grandkids. I am so thankful for the Hope of Jesus and that we get to share that hope even when we do not always see hope or feel hope. Jesus came as a baby and fulfilled countless prophecies to show us his majesty. He continues to bring us hope in our everyday worlds, and we can share that with our kids when they are facing disappointments in this world and can’t see the hope of Jesus for themselves. Here are a couple of scriptures you can read as a family and talk about together. Following the scripture will be a couple of questions to get them thinking deeper about HOPE and the promise of Jesus coming again. If this leads you to other scriptures that you want to look up together, by all means DO THAT! This is just a guide to get you thinking.
I Thessalonians 4:13-18
“Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so, we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore, encourage one another with these words.”
2 Corinthians 4:18
“So, we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
**Take a few minutes and read the story of how Jesus came to bring hope in Matthew chapter one and then answer questions as a family. Allow this to start conversations in your home and don’t feel pressure for this to be a start and end type of conversation. Allow them to think about it and come back and ask them a few days later.
Matthew 1:18-25
“This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph, her husband, was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
“But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,[c] because he will save his people from their sins.’ All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ (which means “God with us”). When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.”
Questions to ask your kids and discuss together:
1. What is hope?
2. What are some things that you hope for?
3. What are some ways our family can give hope to others?
4. What is so hopeful about Jesus coming into the world?
PEACE
I pray that you have experienced the HOPE of Jesus this past week. Amidst all the craziness of your schedules, as you have taken some time as a family and reflected on the hope that comes from trusting in God and His word, I believe that this hope can rise in you, too! Maybe you have shifted your mind from seeing the things around you as being hopeless to a mindset of knowing that with God all things are possible, and He has reframed your world and outlook on life with hope.
Let’s move to week two of this Advent journey. Peace. What a loaded word. Just mentioning this word brings anxiety to our minds. We immediately think of all the ways that we do not have peace in certain situations. Maybe it makes you think of wars that are going on in our world or people that you know have signed up their whole lives to fight for peace for our country. Whatever comes to your mind when you hear this word, we are going to spend a couple of minutes intentionally shifting our thoughts to the peace that is offered because Jesus came and the peace we can have in our hearts that He is coming again. Peace is a central theme in the Advent of Jesus, but it is the focus on week 2 of Advent. One of the prophecies about Jesus calls him, “The Prince of Peace.”
Isaiah 9:6-7
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end.
“He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty
will accomplish this.
“When the angels appeared to the shepherds, they ended their message by saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.’”
Luke 2:14
“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
When Simeon saw baby Jesus in the temple, he thanked God that he could now die in peace for he had seen the Messiah.
Luke 2:29-33
“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace.For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.”The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him.
Questions to ask your kids and discuss together:
1. What is peace?
2. Why is it so hard to “keep the peace?”
3. How does knowing that Jesus came to bring peace between us and God make you feel?
4. What are some ways that we can be peacemakers?
Written by: Taran Nelson. Taran is the Executive Director of Fathom Family Foundation and serves in ministry with her husband, Kyle, and their three children in Jacksonville, FL.
