WHAT IS ADVENT?

The time has once again come to celebrate Advent, a season of joyful expectation. “Advent” comes from the Latin word meaning “coming” or “arrival.” During this time, we who follow Christ gather together to celebrate His humble birth, both as a church family and with our individual families. Jesus did not only come as a child; He is coming again as King, so we rejoice in looking back on God’s faithfulness throughout history while also waiting in eager anticipation for his promised return. May this Advent season be full of great hope and celebration for you and your family.

HOW TO PREPARE

Use this guide during your personal or family devotion three times each week between November 25th and December 24th. We also encourage you to join in the traditional practice of lighting a candle for each week of Advent.

HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE

Choose three times each week that you and/or your family can sit down together for 10-15 minutes to read, talk, pray, and sing. Each week contains three family devotionals that correspond with a particular week of Advent. The third devotion each week is coincides with the five candles often used during the traditional practice of an advent wreath. Traditionally, the candles are lit on Sundays, but you and your family may choose to use this guide without a wreath and candles, or to light them on a day other than Sunday. There is also a song each week from the MyHouse Worship series that goes along with the content for the week. Visit www.lifepointchurch.org/advent for additional information and resources.

The final devotion is designed to be completed on Christmas Eve, serving as a culmination of all the advent devotions. When the final candle is lit, this signifies that Christ the Lamb has come! Our reason for celebration is not in material possessions or even in each other, but in Christ Jesus who came to sacrifice himself in our place. May God richly bless your family during this season as you look to him.

Week 1 :: Hope :: November 25th - December 1st

Rescue is Coming

Get Started

Activity (Younger Kids)

Sing you or your youngest child’s favorite Christmas carol together.

Questions (Older Kids & Students)

Has there ever been a time in your life when you needed to be rescued? How did you feel? Where did you look for help? Describe how you felt after you were no longer in danger.

Parents: In the absence of a fitting example, here are 10 historical rescue stories.

Read: Genesis 3:15

Talk

From before the time that sin entered the world, God had a plan to rescue His children. It brings great hope to those who follow Christ to remember His promise to save.

Pray

Thank God that He has promised to rescue His children, and that He has not left us without Hope.

Sing

Sing together with one of the My House Worship Sessions Christmas songs or with our Advent playlist.

Expectation is Building

Get Started

Activity (Younger & Older Kids)

Plan a fun activity for your family after your devotion time. (Something such as going to get ice cream or watching a special show or movie and eating popcorn or a special treat that your youngest kids will love) Tell your kids the plan. After reading the verses in Isaiah 9, ask your kids: How are you feeling? Are you excited about what we’re going to do? Is it hard to pay attention? Then remind them that this is how God’s people felt as they waited for the arrival of Jesus.

Questions (Older Kids & Students)

When is the last time you were really excited about something that was going to happen in the future? What did you do to try to make time go by faster? Were you able to focus? Why is it so hard to wait when you are excited?

Read

Isaiah 9:6-7

Talk

God was reminding His children of this promise to send Jesus, who would be the Hope of all the world. Not only was Jesus promised to come, but He was promised to come as  Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. He was promised to come as God who could save God’s people from their sin.

Pray

Thank God for a sense of expectation around the Christmas season. Ask God to help that sense of expectation be for the celebration of Jesus more than anything else.

Sing

Sing together with one of the My House Worship Sessions Christmas songs or with our Advent playlist.

Hope

Get Started

Ask one member of your family to light the first candle of the advent wreath.

Read

Romans 15:12-13

Pray

Thank the God of hope that He did what He said He would do. God sent Jesus, through a specific family, in a specific way, at a specific time, so that hope may abound.

Sing

Sing together with one of the My House Worship Sessions Christmas songs or with our Advent playlist.

Week 2 :: Preparation :: December 2rd - December 8th

Faith in His Word

Get Started

Activity (Younger Kids)

Practice remembering a very easy Bible verse together with your kids. Shorten the verse for younger kids. And make fun motions to go with the words to help everyone remember. I.e. Luke 1:30. For younger kids you may only try to remember ‘Do not be afraid.’ Or, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.’

Questions (Older Kids & Students)

Has anyone you know ever shared with you news that was hard to believe? Did you ask them questions to learn more or did you take them at their word?

Read

Luke 1:26-33, 38

Talk

What the angel said to Mary was difficult to believe and her first response was to be afraid. But after reassurance that the Lord intended this for good, Mary settled in her heart, agreed with God, and said, “Let it be to me according to your word.”

Pray

Thank God that His Word is true and can be trusted always, even when it promises things that seem impossible. Ask God to help you trust His Word. Begin praying for people and families you plan to invite to Christmas at LifePoint.

Sing

Sing together with one of the My House Worship Sessions Christmas songs or with our Advent playlist.

Fulfillment of His Prophecy

Get Started

Activity (Younger & Older Kids)

Play a game of...anything! Promise your kids that if they complete the game, they get a prize. Play the game quickly and keep your word and give them a prize. Keep in mind that the game should be something they can win or complete. A simple prize like a piece of candy or something they need that you’ve already purchased (like a tooth brush) will do.

Questions (Older Kids & Students)

Has anyone you know ever broken a promise that they made with you? What does it feel like to have that happen to you?

Read

Luke 2:1-7

Talk

In God’s higher and perfect ways, He had Joseph and Mary making their way to Bethlehem. Once there, Jesus was born, just as had been prophesied (or said would happen) in Micah 5:2. God was fulfilling His promises.

Pray

Thank God that He always keeps His word and fulfills His promises. Ask God to help you to believe everything He has said He will do.

Sing

Sing together with one of the My House Worship Sessions Christmas songs or with our Advent playlist.

Preparation

Get Started

Ask one member of your family to light the second candle of the advent wreath.

Read

Luke 3:4-6

Pray

Thank God for those He used to prepare the way for Jesus. Ask God to help you prepare room in your heart for Him to work this Advent season. Continue praying for people and families you plan to invite to Christmas at LifePoint.

Sing

Sing together with one of the My House Worship Sessions Christmas songs or with our Advent playlist.

Week 3 :: Joy :: December 9th - December 15th

Song for the Week -

Go into the World

Get Started

Activity (Younger Kids)

Play ‘Find the Jingle Bell.’ Choose a Christmas themed object and take turns hiding it in the room that you are gathering in. Then give your kids the chance to try to find it. Obviously, the younger the kids, the more reasonable the ‘hiding’ place.

Questions (Older Kids & Students)

What is your favorite thing to do? What would you do if someone came to you while you were doing your favorite thing and told you to stop what you are doing and go to a place you’ve never been to see someone you don’t even know? Would it be hard for you to drop everything? What if that message came from some stranger you’ve never seen?

Read

Luke 2:8-16

Talk

The shepherds were caught off guard as they watched their sheep in the dark of night and an angel appeared to them to share this good news. You can only imagine how surprised they were, yet immediately after hearing about the news of Christ’s birth and where they would find him, they left their most valuable possession and began the journey to the manger.

Pray

Thank God for showing us what it means to obey immediately. Ask God to help you go wherever He says to go, whenever He says to go there. Pray for people and families you plan to invite to Christmas at LifePoint.

Sing

Sing together with one of the My House Worship Sessions Christmas songs or with our Advent playlist.

Tell of the Good News

Get Started

Activity (Younger Kids)

Play a game of telephone. Whisper into the ear of the person on your right, so that only they can hear you. Say, “Jesus is good news.” Then have that person whisper to the next person, until everyone has heard the message. Then ask the last person to say it out loud. Feel free to come up with other funny things for your kids to say too, they’ll enjoy saying silly things to you or their siblings.

Questions (Older Kids & Students)

What is something that you have to do everyday? What is something that you want to be able to do everyday? Which one do you get more excited about? What are some reasons we don’t like to do things that other people ask us to do?

Read

Romans 10:13-17

Talk

Paul reminds readers of the expectation that God has for his people to telling the world about the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ, who came to earth as a baby, lived a perfect life, died to take the punishment that we deserve, and rose again to prove that He is truly God. Who will you tell this good news of great joy to this Advent Season?

Pray

Thank God for sending Jesus to save and giving us the chance to be a part of His mission in the world. Ask God to give you boldness to tell the world of the good news of Jesus Christ. Pray for people and families you plan to invite to Christmas at LifePoint.

Sing

Sing together with one of the My House Worship Sessions Christmas songs or with our Advent playlist.

Joy

Get Started

Ask one member of your family to light the third candle of the advent wreath.

Read

Luke 1:46-49

Pray

Thank God that he has given us hope in Jesus, a reason to sing and celebrate. Ask God to help you always be hopeful, even when life is difficult or God wants you to do something difficult. Pray for people and families you plan to invite to Christmas at LifePoint.

Sing

Sing together with one of the My House Worship Sessions Christmas songs or with our Advent playlist.

Week 4 :: Love :: December 16th - December 22nd

Song for the Week -

Promise Keeper

Get Started

Activity (Younger Kids)

Christmas Pictures. Grab some fun Christmas ornaments and decorations and take some funny family Christmas pictures with your kids. Post them online if you’d like with #ChristmasAtLifePoint @lifept

Questions (Older Kids & Students)

What is a promise? Why are promises so important to keep? Who are you willing to make promises to? What are some reasons you are willing to make promises to them?

Read

2 Peter 3:8-10

Talk

The Lord always keeps His promises. Not once has God failed to do what He says He will do. Though at times we find ourselves wishing that He would do something different, or wanting Him to fulfill His promise sooner, He will always come through. Just as He promised to send a Savior and did, everything else He promises will happen, therefore we can trust Him.

Pray

Thank God that He has never broken a promise and never will. Ask God to remind us that this is true, even when we want something different that what He wants or want something sooner than He does it.

Sing

Sing together with one of the My House Worship Sessions Christmas songs or with our Advent playlist.

Peace Maker

Get Started

Activity (Younger Kids)

Get two towels and a chair. Lay out the two towels on the floor end to end and put the chair at the far end. Have the kids line up at the end opposite the chair. Tell them to go sit on the chair (one at a time) without stepping off the towels. Then line them back up and separate the towels (so far they can’t jump across), and ask them to do the same thing. They won’t be able to. Explain, after reading Ephesians 2:11-22, that God made a way to get us to God, by sending Jesus to die in our place. Carry them across the gap to the chair to demonstrate that it is only Jesus that gets us to God.

Questions (Older Kids & Students)

What is something that you and a friend or a sibling argue about? How do you feel about that person when you are in an argument with them? How do you feel when that argument has been resolved/fixed? What are some reasons we feel upset, angry, mad when there is a divide between us and another person?

Read

Ephesians 2:11-22

Talk

Because of sin, there is a divide between man and God. But God, in His grace, sent Jesus in order to fulfill the law and bring peace with God to His children. This peace with God that Jesus brings leads to peace among His people. As you consider peace this Advent season, be reminded of the Prince of Peace, Jesus.

Pray

Thank God for bring peace with Him through Jesus. Ask God to help you demonstrate that peace in your relationships with others.

Sing

Sing together with one of the My House Worship Sessions Christmas songs or with our Advent playlist.

Love

Get Started

Ask one member of your family to light the fourth candle of the advent wreath.

Read

John 1:1-18

Pray

Thank God that, in love, He sent Jesus to live among and die for us. Ask God to help you celebrate His love shown in Jesus this Advent season.

Sing

Sing together with one of the My House Worship Sessions Christmas songs or with our Advent playlist.

Christmas Eve :: Christ :: December 24th

Song for the Day -

Christ

Get Started

Ask one member of your family to light the fifth and final candle of the advent wreath.

Read

John 1:29

Pray

Thank God that He sent Jesus as a baby to live perfectly and die in our place. Ask God to help you to celebrate Christ together this Christmas.

Sing

Sing along together with the song, ?? by clicking here.