Note from Barbara: My friend Dave Boehi wrote these Advent lessons to encourage us during Christmas. I love how he suggests using our new His Advent Names Adorenaments in each one.
And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. Luke 1:31-32
Have you been listening to Christmas songs?
As soon as the turkey and dressing is cleared from the plates, we crank up the Christmas music. Our kids always enjoyed the silly songs about Rudolph, Santa, and snowy sleigh rides. But every year as Christmas day approached, we moved from rockin’ around the Christmas tree to focus more on the old favorites about the birth of Christ.
It’s as if we all needed to be reminded of the real miracle of Christmas: God’s Son came to live on earth. We turned to classic hymns, declaring:
O holy night! The stars are brightly shining, it is the night of the dear Savior’s birth.
Hark! The herald angels sing, glory to the newborn king!
As we listened, someone inevitably asked, Why was it important for Christ to live on earth? Maybe you’re wondering too.
You’ll remember from Advent Week 1, one reason Christ came as an actual person was to communicate with us—to be the living Word of God. He experienced all the trials and joys and temptations that each of us experiences during our earthly lives. By examining His words and His life we can know the mind of God. We can know what God says is important, and how we should live.
J. Vernon McGee, once said, Christ came “So you can know God. The only way you will ever know Him, my friend, is to know this One. … He is the only One who can reveal God to us.”
Still, there’s another reason why Christ came to earth as God’s Son. Only by living as a man could He fulfill the final and ultimate purpose of God—to die as a sacrifice and offering for our sin. Philippians 2 continues, “And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
Our redemption and forgiveness of sin could only be accomplished by the shedding of Jesus’ blood on the cross. Thank God for sending His Son as a man to die in obedience to His perfect will. This is indeed the true reason why Jesus came that first Christmas so long ago.
For more application with your children:
Organize a birthday party for Jesus. As you eat cake and ice cream, talk about the blessings you’ve enjoyed during the year and about the gifts you have given to others. Then give each child a gift to unwrap. Each gift is the same—the figure of baby Jesus. Each child realizes that Jesus is the best present ever. Conclude by singing or listening to “Silent Night.”
I am having a Christmas Tea tomorrow for three ladies and myself and will be using the Advent Ornaments as Gifts to give to each lady. I will be keeping the John 3:16 one for myself as it is my life verse (I was born on March 16 a.k.a 3-16). I am going to share the devotional blog for week one and week two of advent and light candles for each week. I am hoping that each ornament will speak to each of us in a very personal and unique way. It is a small gathering but so was the gathering at the Bethlehem Stables and look what happened there!!! Thank You Lynne M. Roers
p.s. I will be reading a Christmas Poem I wrote just this week using the acronym C.H.R.I.S.T.M.A.S.
What a great idea to use our Advent names ornaments as gifts for your friends! Thanks for sharing and I hope lots of readers will be inspired by your creative idea and do the same!
Merry Christmas.
ps. let us know how it goes tomorrow.