Advent 2020 Bringingbringing Christchrist Toto Thethe Centercenter Ofof Allall Ourour Christmaschristmas Celebrations.Celebrations
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Devotional Advent 2020 BringingBringing ChristChrist toto thethe centercenter ofof allall ourour ChristmasChristmas celebrations.celebrations. Table of Contents 4 The Christmas Tree 8 The Christmas Gift 14 The Christmas Santa 20 The Christmas Elf 24 12 Days of Christmas The Christmas Tree Pastor Kip Tyler - 4 - O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree The HowChristmas lovely are thy branches Tree O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree How lovely are thy branches Your boughs so green in summertime Stay bravely green in wintertime O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree How lovely are thy branches What is Christmas without a Christmas tree? What does that song have to do with the birth of Christ? Why trees in our living rooms? Why? Why? Why? The origin of the Christmas tree is complicated and probably dates to influences from cultures around the world where a green branch was a sign of life, fruitfulness, and even eternal life. Thus, the song lifts up the fact the evergreen tree defies what other trees do, where they “die” in the winter, and it stays green all the time. It is not unusual in Christianity to take prior traditions or secular objects and use them to point to the redemptive act of Jesus Christ. Jesus did this himself when he used the Passover meal which talked about the act of saving people from slavery in Egypt. He reinterpreted the bread and wine to point to God’s saving action on the cross. From the innocent death of Jesus people are saved from the slavery to sin. So, as Christians how can we use the Christmas tree to point the next generation to the reality of Christmas? - 5 - The reality is, of course, found in the Son of God being born with one mission and that mission is to redeem the entire world. Here are some ideas: • You could talk about the “evergreen” nature of the tree and lead into a conversation about eternal life and what it means. John 3:16 would be a great verse to use to talk about it. • You could talk about trees in the life of Jesus. A great resource to do this is The Tale of Three Trees. It is a timeless folktale printed in book form by numerous publishers and several postings on YouTube have readings of the story. It will generate discussion I am sure. • The decorations you choose could help tell the story of Jesus. Take a walk around the tree and point out the ornaments and how they depict certain elements of the story. An angel or star on top the tree could stimulate the retelling of the birth. A stable or animals could be used. Shepherds and wise men decorations could be hung. If your children have heard the story, have them retell it by using the ornaments. Repetition creates deeper memory. It could be fun hearing their retelling! • One of the powerful ornaments we use is a spike with a red ribbon which we hang deep in our tree. The description of the hanging of the nail is as follows: “This is the Christmas nail. It is to be hung on a sturdy branch, a branch near the trunk, a branch that will hold such a spike without being noticed by well-wishers dropping by to admire ones tinseled tree. The nail is known only to the home that hangs it. Understood only - 6 - by the heart that knows its significance. It is hung with a thought: The Christmas tree but foreshadows the Christ tree which only He could decorate for us, ornamented with nails as this.” • Sing Christmas carols around the tree. This can reinforce the Christmas message, create memories as a family and tie the image of the tree with the truth of Christmas. Some of my favorites to use are “Oh Little Town of Bethlehem,” “The First Noel” and “Away in a Manger.” NOTES: ________________________________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ ________________________________________ - 7 - The Christmas Gift Pastor Kip Tyler - 8 - We three kings of orient are TheBearing Christmas gifts we traverse afar Gift Field and fountain Moor and mountain Following yonder star [Chorus] O star of wonder, star of night Star with royal beauty bright Westward leading, still proceeding Guide us to thy perfect light Born a King on Bethlehem's plain Gold I bring to crown Him again King forever, ceasing never Over us all to reign Frankincense to offer have I Incense owns a Deity nigh Prayer and praising, all men raising Worship Him, God most high [Chorus] Myrrh is mine Its bitter perfume breathes A life of gathering gloom Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying Sealed in the stone-cold tomb [Chorus] - 9 - Glorious now behold Him arise King and God and Sacrifice! Al-le-lu-ia, al-le-lu-ia Heaven to earth replies [Chorus] --- --- --- --- Gift giving has been a part of Christmas since its beginning (as the carol and Scripture points out). Matthew 2:10-12 “When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.” The gifts of course were given to the Christ child rather than being shared with each other. Those gifts are significant as we will see later. But Christmas is really about a significant Gift God gave the world in His Son Jesus, our Lord and Savior! His coming fulfilled centuries of Old Testament prophecies. Gift giving is in the DNA of Christmas! But sometimes our gift giving can turn into self- centeredness or guilty obligation. Neither of these really reflect the Spirit of Christmas. So how might we put Christ back into the gift giving? - 10 - Here are some ideas: • Talk about the original three gifts of the magi: gold, frankincense and myrrh. The gold pointing to the Kingship of Christ. The frankincense which was used in the temple in worship proclaims Christ’s divinity. The myrrh, used to anoint dead bodies, reminds us of why He came, to die and save us from our sins by taking our sins to the cross as His own. If you really want to drive home the point, you could order a kit with gold (probably fake gold), frankincense and myrrh and use them as an object lesson. • You could discuss the gift God gave us through His Son and the gracious sacrifice He made. This could lead into discussions in how we might share that same grace and mercy to others through acts of service, prayer or witness to our neighbors. This could be as simple a start as sharing some Christmas cookies with your neighbor. • When presents are being shared during the gift opening you can teach the art of giving thanks to the one giving the gift and to God. You can discuss how we didn’t deserve any of these gifts and how they were shared in love. This could lead into a discussion about the graciousness of God, how all we have is a gift from God. • As you share your list with others, perhaps one or more of your gift requests might be something you feel led to support, like a ministry or mission, rather than a gift for you. As you receive that gift notification you could share with the family why that ministry or mission is so important to you. You could talk about how Christ might be able to use this gift through that effort and the impact it could make. - 11 - • Watch a Christmas movie and discuss it afterward about the giving or lack of giving depicted in the movie. You might want to preview it ahead of time if it is one unfamiliar to you, just in case it might not be appropriate for your family setting. There are plenty to choose from! • Try to personalize your Christmas cards. I know you might find that overwhelming. Then maybe personalize a few to those you sense an opening to share the Gospel message with. - 12 - NOTES: ________________________________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________ _______________________________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ - 13 - The Christmas Santa Chris Andersen - 14 - The SantaChristmas Claus is Coming To TownSanta You better watch out You better not cry You better not pout I’m telling you why Santa Claus is coming to town He’s making a list, He’s checking it twice, He’s gonna find out who’s naughty or nice Santa Claus is coming to town He sees you when you’re sleeping And he knows when you’re awake He knows if you’ve been bad or good So be good for goodness sake You better watch out! You better not cry You better not pout, I’m telling you why ‘Cause Santa Claus is coming to town He sees you when you’re sleeping And he knows when you’re awake He knows if you’ve been bad or good So be good for goodness sake - 15 - I remember as a little kid my mom would always let me know that if I messed up or misbehaved, Santa was going to know. This typically started right after Halloween and would last all the way up through Christmas Eve. On top of that, the local news station on Christmas Eve would have Santa on during the weather segment and would encourage us to go to bed, stay in bed, and sleep tight because Santa was in Omaha.