Fourth Sunday of Advent: Love

Fourth Sunday of Advent: Love

“So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in a manger.”
Luke 2:16

Call to Worship
Leader: Let’s get ready!
Children: Let’s get ready!
Leader: Let’s get ready for Baby Jesus!
Children: Let’s get ready for Baby Jesus!
Leader: Only one more week until his birthday!
Children: Only one more week until his birthday!
Leader: Let’s light the Advent wreath!
(There will be a wreath on the table for Advent.)

Joys and Concerns
Have the children share a few joys and concerns they have and follow with a prayer thanking God for our joys and asking God to be with us in our concerns. 

Sharing
Ask: Today is the Fourth Sunday in Advent. The word Advent means the arrival of something. Do you know who we are waiting for to arrive? (Jesus)Yes! Advent is the time we use to get ready for the birth of Jesus.

Listening
Today we are going to read the story about Jesus’ birth from the bible.
Luke 2:1-20 (The Message)

The Birth of Jesus

 ^1-5About that time Caesar Augustus ordered a census to be taken throughout the Empire. This was the first census when Quirinius was governor of Syria. Everyone had to travel to his own ancestral hometown to be accounted for. So Joseph went from the Galilean town of Nazareth up to Bethlehem in Judah, David's town, for the census. As a descendant of David, he had to go there. He went with Mary, his fiancée, who was pregnant.

 ^6-7While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. She gave birth to a son, her firstborn. She wrapped him in a blanket and laid him in a manger, because there was no room in the hostel.

An Event for Everyone

 ^8-12There were sheepherders camping in the neighborhood. They had set night watches over their sheep. Suddenly, God's angel stood among them and God's glory blazed around them. They were terrified. The angel said, "Don't be afraid. I'm here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: A Savior has just been born in David's town, a Savior who is Messiah and Master. This is what you're to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger."

 ^13-14At once the angel was joined by a huge angelic choir singing God's praises:

   Glory to God in the heavenly heights,
   Peace to all men and women on earth who please him.

 ^15-18As the angel choir withdrew into heaven, the sheepherders talked it over. "Let's get over to Bethlehem as fast as we can and see for ourselves what God has revealed to us." They left, running, and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. Seeing was believing. They told everyone they met what the angels had said about this child. All who heard the sheepherders were impressed.

 ^19-20Mary kept all these things to herself, holding them dear, deep within herself. The sheepherders returned and let loose, glorifying and praising God for everything they had heard and seen. It turned out exactly the way they'd been told!

Exploring
Color and cut out a nativity scene.
http://dailycoloringpages.com/images/nativity-diorama-christmas-coloring-pages-01.png
Benediction
Say: God of our world, thank you for Advent! Amen.

Advent: Week 3

Third Sunday of Advent: Joy

“So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in a manger.”
Luke 2:16

Call to Worship
Leader: Let’s get ready!
Children: Let’s get ready!
Leader: Let’s get ready for Baby Jesus!
Children: Let’s get ready for Baby Jesus!
Leader: Only two more weeks until his birthday!
Children: Only two more weeks until his birthday!
Leader: Let’s light the Advent wreath!
(There will be a wreath on the table for Advent.)

Joys and Concerns
Have the children share a few joys and concerns they have and follow with a prayer thanking God for our joys and asking God to be with us in our concerns. 

Sharing
Ask: Today is the Third Sunday in Advent. The word Advent means the arrival of something. Do you know who we are waiting for to arrive? (Jesus)Yes! Advent is the time we use to get ready for the birth of Jesus.

Listening
On Christmas morning, boys and girls around the world will wake up early and run excitedly downstairs to see what Santa Claus has left for them... Well, that's not exactly how it goes -- around the world children celebrate the Christmas holidays in many different ways.

In Germany, the 6th of December is a special day:

...There's a special tradition all over Germany on December 6th. [On] the evening of December 5th you put your cleaned (big) boots outside the house in front of the door (or inside). Some people also put a plate there or on the windowsill. The bread in the plate is for the white horse of Santa Claus ... In the morning you see that Santa Claus really was at your house and put nice things into the boots or plates, e.g., all kinds of nuts, oranges, apples, sweets, chocolate, small presents ... But if you [weren't] well behaved the whole year you only get a switch so that your parents can punish you, but they don't!
Kristine and Wiebke, Germany

And in Italy, January 6th is a day long-awaited by many children:

The 6th of January is the day on which the three Wise Men arrive at the Bethlehem cave in which kid Jesus is and give him gold, incense and myrrh and for this reason in Italy children receive presents traditionally brought by the "Befana," a good old witch who comes into their homes through the chimney. This is the last day to the Christmas holiday in Italy.
Elisbetta, Italy

In Sweden, December 13th is a special day that children look forward to all year long:

Saint Lucia [Day] is celebrated all over Sweden on December 13th. The custom with the girl dressed in white with candles on her head has a complicated background ... In our school we celebrate Saint Lucia Day outside very early in the morning while it's still dark. Our Saint Lucia is coming in a carriage pulled by a very small horse. She is followed by Santa Claus on a big horse and a lot of girls and boys in white gowns and a lot of candles. They all sing traditional Christmas songs and read poems. After the ceremony we all eat ginger cookies and bread with saffron. To celebrate is very important to Swedish people.

What are some of the Christmas traditions your family have?

Exploring
A long Christmas tradition is the tradition to send Christmas cards. Today we are going to make a card for someone special!

http://www.daniellesplace.com/Images3/christmascard2003pat.gif
Benediction
Say: God of our world, thank you for Advent! Amen.

Second Sunday of Advent

Second Sunday of Advent: Faith

“So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in a manger.”
Luke 2:16

Call to Worship
Leader: Let’s get ready!
Children: Let’s get ready!
Leader: Let’s get ready for Baby Jesus!
Children: Let’s get ready for Baby Jesus!
Leader: Only three more weeks until his birthday!
Children: Only three more weeks until his birthday!
Leader: Let’s light the Advent wreath!
(There will be a wreath on the table for Advent.)

Joys and Concerns
Have the children share a few joys and concerns they have and follow with a prayer thanking God for our joys and asking God to be with us in our concerns.

Sharing
Ask: Today is the Second Sunday in Advent. The word Advent means the arrival of something. Do you know who we are waiting for to arrive? (Jesus)Yes! Advent is the time we use to get ready for the birth of Jesus.

Listening
Today is the day we celebrate Saint Nicholas. Does anyone know who St. Nick is?

The origin of Santa Claus begins in the 4th century with Saint Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, an area in present day Turkey. By all accounts St. Nicholas was a generous man, particularly devoted to children. After his death around 340 A.D. he was buried in Myra, but in 1087 Italian sailors purportedly stole his remains and removed them to Bari, Italy, greatly increasing St. Nicholas' popularity throughout Europe.

His kindness and reputation for generosity gave rise to claims he that he could perform miracles and devotion to him increased. St. Nicholas became the patron saint of Russia, where he was known by his red cape, flowing white beard, and bishop's miter.

In Greece, he is the patron saint of sailors, in France he was the patron of lawyers, and in Belgium the patron of children and travelers. Thousands of churches across Europe were dedicated to him and sometime around the 12th century an official church holiday was created in his honor. The Feast of St. Nicholas was celebrated December 6 and the day was marked by gift-giving and charity.

Exploring
Like Saint Nicholas, we are going to draw a picture about what presents we would like to give. If you could give any gift to the people of the world, what would that gift be? Draw a picture of your gift and write a sentence to explain what your gift is and why you chose it.
Benediction
Say: God of our world, thank you for Advent! Amen.
More Exploring

http://www.stnicholascenter.org/stnic/assets/stnic_children_coloring.pdf

http://www.stnicholascenter.org/stnic/assets/puzzle-3.pdf

http://www.stnicholascenter.org/stnic/assets/puzzle-1.pdf

First Sunday of Advent

First Sunday of Advent: Hope

“So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in a manger.”
Luke 2:16

Call to Worship
Leader: Let’s get ready!
Children: Let’s get ready!
Leader: Let’s get ready for Baby Jesus!
Children: Let’s get ready for Baby Jesus!
Leader: Only four more weeks until his birthday!
Children: Only four more weeks until his birthday!
Leader: Let’s light the Advent wreath!
(There will be a wreath on the table for Advent.)

Joys and Concerns
Have the children share a few joys and concerns they have and follow with a prayer thanking God for our joys and asking God to be with us in our concerns. 

Sharing
Ask: Today is the first Sunday in Advent. The word Advent means the arrival of something. Do you know who we are waiting for to arrive? (Jesus)Yes! Advent is the time we use to get ready for the birth of Jesus.

Listening
What are some of the things you do at home to get ready for Christmas? (Decorate cookies, decorate a Christmas tree, etc.) If you look around the room and the church you will see that we already have something different for the season. Can you tell me what you see that is new for today? (An advent wreath) What colors are the candles? (3 purple, 1 pink, and 1 white.) The purple candles tell us that a King will be born on Christmas. Who is that King? (Jesus) The pink candle reminds us that Jesus is a person just like the rest of us. The white candle symbolizes the purity of Christ. Today we lit the first purple candle. This is the candle of hope. It is called the candle of hope because of our hope in the coming of Jesus. God sent us Jesus to teach us about God and the way we should treat each other.

Exploring
Make an Advent wreath for the Advent season!
http://www.dltk-holidays.com/t.asp?b=m&t=http://www.dltk-holidays.com/xmas/images/bpaperadvent1.gif
http://www.dltk-holidays.com/t.asp?b=m&t=http://www.dltk-holidays.com/xmas/images/bpaperadvent2.gif

Benediction
Say: God of our world, thank you for Advent! Amen.

St. Nicholas Day Celebration

December 6th is Saint Nicholas Day! I am so excited to be celebrating this Saint's day! Saint Nicholas was a Bishop of Myra and is known for secret gift giving. He would put coins in shoes that were left out for him and is the model for our Santa Claus. He did many things for children and lived a very selfless life. We will be celebrating his decision to live a life like Jesus exampled by taking a decorated Christmas tree to a nursing home near our church. We will be practicing our selfless giving and the joy that comes with doing good for others. I think this is a great way to celebrate the Advent season and to teach our children to grow up and be loving people.