Tag Archives: Advent

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First Week of Advent: Prophets

There are a few different ways of celebrating Advent, and with those come various themes, such as hope, peace, joy and love.  The theme I chose many years ago, when I started bringing Advent into our family celebrations is that of the various people who “saw” Jesus’ birth:

  • The prophets who “saw” and foretold Him hundreds of years before He came to earth.
  • The angels who had watched this amazing story unfold, and told Mary, Joseph, and the Shepherds about Him.
  • The shepherds who came to worship this God-baby who had been humbly born, Someone they could relate to.
  • The magi (wise men) who heard about Him through a star and sought Him out, traveling far with treasures to honor Him.

This week, the first week of Advent, we’re reading some of the prophecies about Jesus’ birth, along with the Scriptures that describe their fulfillment.

There are a couple of things I’d like to highlight about this week’s theme.  First of all, one of the reasons we read about the prophecies about Jesus is because they help to prove to us who Jesus was.  Without the help of the Holy Spirit, how could anyone have known these details about the Messiah ahead of time?  There are many more prophesies about Jesus, but these are the primary ones we think of at Christmas.  (My Passover Book, Next Year In New Jerusalem highlights many, many more of these prophecies — no promises, but hoping to have it back in print this spring for Passover).

Another reason we look at the prophecies about Jesus is because they remind us what we should be doing:  Telling people about Him!  In the US, we now live in what has been called “the post-Christian culture.”  In many ways, this is a tragedy, but in other ways, it can be good.  It’s very difficult to help people in a Christian culture understand that they can have a relationship with God or that they have a need for Jesus’ sacrifice.  Say what?!  Yes, you heard me right.  People who think they’re Christians because they’re American don’t understand their deep need; they don’t know what they’re missing because they think they’ve got it.  The contrast of God’s true love with our current culture is stark, making it easier to see that there is a need and that Jesus truly makes a difference in a person’s life.

Telling about Jesus doesn’t mean just … telling.  Anyone can talk about Jesus.  The strongest way to tell those who don’t know Jesus about Him is to let them see the evidence in you, your transformed life, the fruit of the Spirit.  There’s a famous quote about this that I love.  I’ve seen it attributed to various people.  “Always preach the Gospel … and if necessary, use words.”  The Apostle John said similarly, “Dear Children, let us not love with word or tongue, but with action and in truth.”  It’s all too easy to tell people about Jesus, to push Him on others, to make them feel condemned or inferior (which is not what He would want).  But to let Him shine through me, to humbly apologize when He isn’t reflected accurately in my life, to let Him express Himself to those around me through my hands and feet and mouth … can be a much clearer expression of the Gospel.

Am I saying not to ever use words to tell about Jesus?  Am I suggesting that the Gospel should never be taught or preached with words?  Absolutely not.  Scripture is full of exhortations to preach and teach, and most people can’t come to Christ without hearing the Gospel explained to them.  What I’m suggesting is that our actions need to precede and/or back up those words.  “A picture is worth a thousand words.”  YOU are a living photograph of what it means to have Christ in a person.

Let’s be aware all the time, but let’s be especially mindful this week of what our living photos portray.

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Advent is a four week daily focus that leads up to Christmas. It prepares our hearts to celebrate Jesus and to long for His presence. In this book, you’ll find instructions for celebrating Advent, as well as the Scripture readings for each day, carols to go with the theme for each week, skits to add to the fun and meaning, and other activities to help you experience Jesus in a very real way. Celebrating Advent is also a great way to establish family devotions.
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More Advent Traditions

Some Additional Advent Traditions

Beyond the general celebration of Advent, with the candles and reading of theme-related Scriptures each night, the rest of these suggestions are frills, but as far as I’m concerned, the more frills, the better, because frills equal tradition and opportunities to remind ourselves and our families of what God has done.

Here are some of the things our family and others add to our Advent celebrations.

We buy our tree on Thanksgiving weekend, so that we’ll have it before the first Sunday of Advent.  When my children were little, we only put lights (and sometimes tinsel) on it at that point.  Each night when we did our Advent reading and lit our candles, we let the kids take an ornament and put it on the tree.  Whenever possible, I tried to have ornaments to fit the Scripture read that night (e.g., an apple or other fruit for the original sin, a lighthouse for “the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light,” a miniature nativity scene on Christmas Day, angels for each day of the second week, candy canes or lambs for Shepherds’ week, etc.)  This way, decorating the tree lasted all month — it’s something we looked forward to each evening — and the tree took on special meaning as it changed each night.

Some families invite single friends or couples without children to celebrate with them.  Children contribute greatly to the excitement and joy of Christmas.  We’re also more prone to slow down and think through our beliefs and the reality of God’s Gift when we are called on to give a simplified explanation to a child.

You might think of activities to do as a family, an individual, or to share with the church which accent your celebration of Advent and Christmas.  Making special ornaments for your tree (or your church tree) is one possibility.

Families with young children often enjoy role-playing some of the Scripture readings.  I’ve included in the book some original scripts that I wrote for Christmas and Advent programs at our church.  You can use these as skits or simply as reader’s theater.  We used them at church on various Sundays during Advent.  It’s pretty easy to see which skits go with each week.  Where there is more than one skit per week, we had one at the beginning of the service, one after the offering, etc.

We used to sleep under the Christmas tree — on the floor — on Christmas Eve to be like Mary and Joseph who didn’t have a comfortable bed.  This took on extra meaning for me the years I was pregnant.

Our family also likes to have our big celebration — opening gifts, the big Christmas dinner, and a birthday cake for Jesus — on Christmas Eve.  On Christmas, we used to invite others to join us for caroling in our community:  At convalescent homes, hospitals, for people we knew who were shut-in, and places where public servants (such as police officers, firemen, and bus drivers) were giving up their Christmas to serve the community.  This allowed us to focus on giving on Christmas Day.

Many people find that sharing the Lord’s Supper together becomes a natural, joyful part of their Advent celebration.  After all, we aren’t only commemorating Jesus’ birth; we find the most important focus in His death and resurrection … and we anticipate His second advent.

Other families extend their Christmas celebration ’til twelve days after Christmas.  Epiphany is January 6 (“the twelfth day of Christmas”), and in many traditions, gifts are held until this day to symbolize the gifts the magi brought to Jesus, or are spread out throughout the twelve days (as in the famous song).

Advent Opportunities

Advent should be a special time of giving to the needy among us.  While we need to always remember the poor, we should especially remember during Advent that

•Jesus was born in a stable, the stepson of a carpenter.
•Jesus wandered on this earth like a stranger among us.
•Jesus said that He didn’t have a place to lay His head.

In Celebrating Advent, you’ll find three very special opportunities to share God’s love through Jesus with those who are in need.  I’ve chosen these particular projects because they have the ability to capture your children’s imaginations.  You may have other favorites.  If so, write and tell me.  I may include them in future editions of the book.

To order Celebrating Advent, click on the link below.  (Please note that this is a special introductory price that will only be in effect until December 1st.)

May your celebration of Jesus guide your heart in longing for His presence in your life each and every day.

http://www.thebookpatch.com/BookStoreDetails.aspx?BookID=24391&ID=26ce21e7-f5d0-425c-8f24-470d7f7fed22

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Christmas: To Celebrate or Not to Celebrate?

I love Jewish tradition and holidays.  From Passover to Purim, each one memorializes God’s mercy and provision.  Many of our Christian holidays stem from that same desire to see God exalted and to pass on the tenets of the faith.

Unfortunately, many of our Christian holy days have slipped into commercialism and self-centeredness.  Others, because of questionable beginnings, sometimes in paganism, or a root in ritualism, have fallen into disrepute with those of us who hope to purge evil from our daily lives.  I’d like to suggest something which may seem almost as questionable to those who are zealous for purity, and which may seem fanatical to those who are “just enjoying the season:”  Don’t be afraid to celebrate, if your celebration glorifies the Lord!

To me, the idea that Christmas as we know it was rooted in a pagan holiday makes it even more appropriate for me as a believer:  God has a habit of turning the profane into the holy!  We were dead in our sins, but the Lord has made us His righteousness through Jesus (II Cor. 5.21).  Praise God!  But don’t use this as an excuse to participate once again in the profane.  Leave the selfishness and greed the world associates with Christmas behind.  Celebrate what memorializes Christ and use the time to pass God’s precepts on to your children.

I believe in taking every opportunity I can to teach my children (and remind myself) about the Lord’s love.  If I need to make up a tradition, so be it.  I’ve made up plenty.  But if I can use something which is already being celebrated, then so much the better:  The foundation is laid and the time is already set aside.  Children and adults are released from school and work.  Capture the time!  So what if Jesus probably wasn’t born in December?  My sister, whom we adopted at age 5 from Korea, had been arbitrarily assigned a birthday and age.  It hasn’t hindered us from celebrating:  We’re just as glad that she was born, whether it actually happened in May or in December.

The measuring stick I like to use when evaluating whether a tradition is worth holding onto, needs revamping, or needs to be thrown away completely, is very simple:  DOES IT GLORIFY GOD?  In many cases, this is something which can only be answered between you and God.  Gift-giving can be centered in greed or a desire to look good, or it can stem from a genuine desire to bless others.  Having a birthday party for Jesus can be a true reminder that God gave His only Son so that we can know Him, or it can simply be an attempt to whitewash a sepulcher and show off how “holy” we are.

My book, Celebrating Advent, soon to be re-released, is actually a combination of approaches:  Advent is an already existing time of year, with some traditions that I’ve kept, some I’ve altered, and some I’ve made up completely.  In it, I suggest some ideas which you may be able to use as you share Jesus with your family and friends this December.  Evaluate whether those that appeal to you would be genuinely used to glorify God in your family.

One final note:  If the Lord has convicted you not to celebrate Christmas, please don’t take this as an argument that you should abandon those convictions.  Paul makes it clear in Romans 14 and 15 that some people’s consciences won’t allow them to do things which are perfectly fine for others.  “Each man must be convinced in his own mind.”  (Romans 14.5)  Both those who are able and those cannot celebrate must be very careful not to judge those of opposite persuasion.  If you can’t celebrate, then praise God that your brother or sister in Christ has that freedom.  And if you are free to celebrate, praise God that your brother or sister is standing firm to their convictions.

How This Book Differs From The First Edition

I have been asked by a number of people to put this book back in print.  I also do it for personal reasons.  I gave a copy of this book to each of my children, back when they were growing up … when they were too young for me to imagine them having families of their own.  Well, life has gone beyond my imagination and those little children are now grown, with children of their own.  (I have 7 grandchildren so far!)  So they need several copies for their own families.  I’ve had similar requests from others who used this and other Tools For Godly Living books that were published in the 1990s.  I’ve kept this version basically the same, with very few changes, so that the two editions can be used together.

One thing that has happened in the intervening years, which I think will be helpful, is the development of youtube.  You may not be familiar with the carols I’ve included in the book.  You can find these songs on youtube and listen to them to learn them, or even play them while your family sings along as part of your advent celebration.  (Of course, you’re completely welcome to use other songs instead.)  I’ve created a playlist of the songs used in this book.  If you subscribe to my youtube channel, isaiah3020, you’ll find the playlist, Celebrating Advent.

The book, Celebrating Advent, was just released this morning!  You can order it at http://www.thebookpatch.com/BookStoreResults.aspx?search=celebrating%20advent&ddl=any  The introductory price is good until December 1, which is also when Advent starts this year.

Let’s glorify Him together.

Alyce-Kay Hanush
November 2013
Atwater, Minnesota  (and yep, there’s already snow on the ground!)