Family Rsourcs What happns at church should nvr stay at church! Whn w look at how faith formation happns in th livs of our childrn and adults, what happns at hom and with familis is th most important indicator of th liflong faith growth of our kids. Ths rsourcs ar an opportunity to nsur that th sason of Advnt is not just an at-church xprinc. Anticipation during this sason is alrady vidnt in th Christmas vnts around your communitis and with childrn looking toward prsnts and othr clbrations! Us this rsourc to nsur that th coming of Christ is cntral to th sason. This rsourc will b dramatically nhancd if you also includ th daily dvotionals with discussion qustions that will b dlivrd dirctly to your inbox by signing up at. Hav a blssd Advnt! 2017 Family Rsourcs Writtn by Rv. Moniqu McBrid
2017 ADVENT Family Dvotional Guid Th transition from th pinks, purpls, and waiting of Advnt to th rds, grns, and clbration of Christmas can b a tricky on. This Advnt display will hlp your family obsrv th spcial sason of Advnt as you gradually mov into th wondr of th Christmas story. Crat this simpl Advnt Nativity display and follow th dvotions and suggstd activitis with your family.
Prsntd nt nativity: how to build your adv for your child to writ odn blocks big nough wo 9 k ma or r th 1. Ga. a pictur on ach sid a word and/or draw it th s and/or picturs. Wr rd wo s th h wit ck 2. Labl ach blo r on th th Nativity charact d an sid on on nt Sunday of Adv othr. HOPE: Star LOVE: Mary & Josph PEACE: Shp CHRISTMAS: Jsus JOY: Shphrd EPIPHANY: Wis Mn th dat. labl th blocks with 3. Find a small spot to Flip thm nt words facing out. v Ad th h wit s ck 4. St up your blo sason. ach spcial day of th ovr as you clbrat PLES: M A X E E M O S E Hr AR
advnt is a tim OF hop * pac * joy * Lov Wk On: (dc 3 Dc 9) hop Waiting is hard. Waiting for Christmas to com can b vn hardr. But, waiting is xactly what this first wk of Advnt is all about. Th good nws is, Advnt givs us somthing to do whil w wait. On this first wk of Advnt, w hop this Christmas (th clbration of Jsus birth) will b bttr than vr. No, w r not just HOPING for mor toys. Advnt Hop is bttr than that! Th hop of Advnt is a blif that God is doing somthing grat in our futur. What do you hop for? What do think God hops for? Gt out a Bibl and rad from Isaiah 9:2. During Advnt, w focus on th light Jsus brings. What ar sourcs of light around us at Christmas? Find a tim this wk to go on a hunt for light. Light from Christmas trs, stars in th night sky, Christmas lights, lights from smiling ys, and happy momnts... Go on a bik rid and s how many homs in your nighborhood hav Christmas lights up alrady. Choos a spcial spot for your nativity. Turn your HOP to star and say a prayr togthr. Wk two: (Dc 10 dc 16 ) pac Th scond wk of Advnt is th wk of PEACE. Pac at this tim of yar can b hard to find. Th good nws is, Advnt Pac is not th kind of pac that rquirs quit and stillnss. Advnt Pac happns vn on our busist days. This pac rminds us that no mattr what happns, Jsus is with us. W ar not alon. Jsus is our shphrd and w ar His shp. Gt out a Bibl and rad Psalm 32. This famous psalm rminds us that Jsus will guid our way. What brings you pac at Christmas tim? A spcial movi? A favorit mal? A yummy dssrt? Tak tim to do somthing that brings you pac this wk. Turn your SHEEP to pac and say a prayr togthr.
Wk thr: (Dcmbr 17 Dcmbr 23) joy Th third wk of Advnt is th wk of Joy. With Christmas only a wk away, w ar all fling xcitd. But, Joy is a lot mor than happinss about what will b undr th Christmas tr. Th happinss w gt from toys and stuff w buy in th stor dosn't usually last vry long. Joy is a fling of dp down happinss vn whn w r sad or mad. This kind of joy happns whn w rmmbr th lov Jsus has for us. Rad about th mssag of joy th angls brought th shphrds in Luk 2:8-15. Somtims w fl joy whn w bring happinss to othrs. Think of somthing you can do to bring joy to othrs this wk. Bak somon Christmas cookis. Rcord yourslf singing Christmas carols and snd a vido to frinds and family. Mak a nw frind. Turn your joy to Shphrd and say a prayr togthr. Wk four: (Dcmbr 24) lov Th fourth Sunday of Advnt is th Sunday of lov. Whil w usually hav a wk to clbrat Advnt, this yar w only gt on day! On this day, w rmmbr God s lov for us. Th story of Christmas is th story of God s lov for all popl throughout tim. God s lov is th strongst kind of lov thr is. God s lov lovs us know mattr what. God s lov wants th bst for us. God s lov is a daily choic to lov othrs vn whn it mans putting ourslvs last or whn w don t fl lik it. What can you do to shar this kind of lov today? How can you lov God and lov othrs ach and vry day? Writ or draw a pictur of a way you can do this and tuck it insid your Christmas tr. Rad about th story of God s lov in Matthw 1:18-25. In this story, Josph puts his lov for God and for Mary first abov all things. Turn your lov to mary & josph and say a prayr togthr.
christmas (Dcmbr 25) jsus MERRY CHRISTMAS! On Dcmbr 25th, w clbrat th birthday of Jsus. On this spcial day, w rmmbr th birth of Jsus long ago in a lowly mangr or animal food tray. So, th qustion is, what you ar doing on Christmas day to truly clbrat this day? How do you think Jsus would want us to rmmbr His birthday? Who would Jsus want us to clbrat with? Christmas day can b busy and hctic and filld with th busynss of family, prsnts, and traditions. But, find som tim today to do somthing spcific to clbrat this spcial birthday. Bak and at birthday cak for dssrt. Invit somon who would othrwis b alon on Christmas to clbrat with you. Think of a way to bring haling or lov to othrs as Jsus always did. If you don t do anything ls, b sur to rad th story of th birth of Jsus today. Rad about th birth of jsus in Luk 2:15-20. Turn your christmas to jsus and say a prayr togthr. Wait...what about th wis mn & camls?? Advnt is th first of a thr part sason calld, Th Sason of th Nativity. First w clbrat th four Sundays of Advnt and rad Bibl storis about prparing our harts and minds for Jsus. Nxt, of cours, is Christmas. I m sur you alrady know Christmas is Dcmbr 25th. But, did you know Dcmbr 25th is only th first of twlv days of Christmas? On ths days w clbrat th birth of Jsus. Aftr ths twlv days w clbrat th third and oldst part of th nativity holiday. This sason is calld EPIPHANY. During EPIPHANY w focus on th story of th wis mn and th thr gifts thy brought to Jsus. Rad about thir found in Matthw 2:1-12. What gifts would you bring Jsus this yar? What do you think Jsus rally wants for His birthday? Instad of putting vrything away so quickly this yar, kp out your nativity a littl longr. Turn your EPIPHANY to wis mn and camls on EPIPHANY and say a prayr togthr.
What is Advnt? How dos it hlp us clbrat Christmas? Advnt is th bginning of th Christian yar and th sason lading up to Christmas. During ths four wks bfor Christmas day, w prpar our harts and minds for th clbration of Jsus birth. Th word Advnt mans coming. During Advnt, w look back to rmmbr th way Jsus cam as a baby long ago and look forward to Jsus scond coming whn pac and haling will com to th world. Th clbration of Advnt is a way for us to calm our harts and minds at a tim whn th world tlls us to do mor, b mor, and spnd mor. Advnt is just th opposit. It is a tim to hlp us slow down and clbrat th hop, pac, joy, and lov of a lif of faith. Whn w tak tim to clbrat ths things, our harts ar rady to truly apprciat and njoy th wondrful story of Jsus birth at Christmas and continu on in th day to day journy of disciplship. W hop ADVENTur to Christmas is a blssing to you and to your family this Advnt sason. Pastor Moniqu McBrid Pastor of Schools & Familis Christ Church Unitd Mthodist Fort Laudrdal, FL mmcbrid@christchurch.org