Advent is a season of preparation, a time of prayerful anticipation. The very atmosphere of Advent stirs our hearts, as we make ready to celebrate the birth of Christ. Please utilize this resource to help your family make Jesus the focal point of Christmas. In keeping with our children’s ministry philosophy (that parents are the primary teachers of their children and that the family and the home is the most important context for learning), we offer this Advent Devotional Guide 2012 as one of many tools for you to heed the instructions of Deuteronomy 6.
This year we are also utilizing the Advent Conspiracy program to help us align our hearts with Christ’s. The four aspects of Advent Conspiracy are:
- To Worship Fully, by
- Spending Less, so that we can
- Give More, thereby
- Loving All.
Each aspect will be highlighted during the four weeks leading up to Christmas. We are encouraging families to intentionally spend less on the commercial aspects of Christmas and use that money instead to reach other people around the world with the love of Christ by investing in livestock for impoverished villages.
Set aside a little time each night to fill in the next blank in the Advent Alphabet located at the end of this booklet.
On each of the four Sundays during Advent and Christmas Eve, you will light the corresponding candles on the Advent wreath and read the devotion as a family. The devotions correspond with the four aspects of the Advent Conspiracy and the lesson from the 9:00am Sunday School curriculum. (Don’t forget, we have chosen a Sunday School curriculum that teaches the same Bible story to every student in your home, K-12, so that you can extend the lesson into the home. Just check your bulletin or the church website to find out which Bible story was covered during the 9:00am Sunday School.)
So, prayerfully consider how you will lead your family spiritually this Christmas season. Take advantage of the opportunities we have provided for you to be the pastor of your home. Then, gather the family around God’s Word as you celebrate and serve the newborn King.
May the Lord richly bless your family in the coming year.
Pastor Brent
Christmas 2012