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.