The Blessing of the Christmas Tree

Holy God, we celebrate the birth of your Son

with great joy!
He rescued us from the darkness of sin by
making the tree of the cross the meaning of
our salvation.
May this splendor of this tree remind us of the
living-giving cross of Christ, that we may
always rejoice in the new life that shines in
our heart. We ask this though Christ our Lord.
Amen

The Blessing of the Advent Wreath

The use of the Advent

Wreath is a tradition practice which has found
the place in the Church as well as in the home.
The blessing of an Advent Wreath takes place
on the First Sunday of Advent or on the
evening before.
Lord our God, we praise you for your Son,
Jesus Christ; he is Emmanuel, the hope of the
peoples, he is the wisdom that teaches and
guides us, he is the Savior of every nation.

Lord God, let your blessing come upon us as

we light the candles of this wreath. May the
wreath and its light be a sign of Christs
promise to bring us salvation. May he come
quickly and not delay. We ask this through
Christ our Lord. Amen

The Annunciation

Lord Jesus Christ, Eternal Word,

You became incarnate as man in the womb of

the Blessed Virgin Mary.
You through whom the universe was created,
began your earthly course in the womb of a
humble and chaste Virgin.
At the annunciation of this miracle, Mary
responded in faith:
let it be done to me according to your word.
May we who are made new creatures by your
grace, respond with such faith when you call
us to your service. Amen

ADVENT..
Advent is a time during which we are invited
to prepare ourselves to welcome Christ into
our hearts and homes at Christmas. Welcome
to the first Sunday of Advent and hope that
your family is excited to begin this journey of
expectation, hope and joy.
The first Advent candle will be lit on the
wreath todaythe Prophecy Candle. This is
the candle that represents not only the Biblical
prophecies about Christs birth, but the very
feeling of anticipation that Gods people
experienced over hundreds of years as they
awaited His coming.

PROPHECY

means a foretelling,
prediction, a declaration of something that is
found in Scripture.
ADVENT is a time when we can, in our
way, join the generations of Gods children in
waiting for the Messiah.

BIBLE VERSES.
This week, we will be taking a look at some of
the wondrous prophecies about Christ, the
Messiah! Did you know that Jesus is
mentioned in every book of the Bible? Did you
know that Jesus birth in Bethlehem was
foretold in prophecy down to the exact day.
Psalm 62:5-6
Isaiah 40:31

ADVERBS are simply amazing words. They

show us HOW things happen. They lead us
WHERE we need to go. They tell us WHEN
to pay attention.
This season of Advent we will use adverbs to
learn HOW God planned to save all people.
Well learn WHERE to look for the promised
Savior. And well be ready WHEN he arrives
in our lives this season and forever.
ONCE
SADLY
PATIENTLY
UNEXPECTEDLY
QUIETLY
HAPPILY
TRULY

ONCE Genesis 2:8-9

to begin a story to help set the scene. Lets
use it to begin our Advent journey this year.
Once, God created the heavens and the earth.
God said, Let there be light, and at once it
happened. Once,

in a garden, God made man and God made a

women. God created them by hand and God
made them perfectly. Once Adam and Eve.
Once, Gods world was a perfect paradise. We
look forward this Advent to Gods promise of
paradise once again.
*Heavenly Father, I light one candle today and
thank you for your gifts of light and life.

SADLYGenesis 3:23-24
Adam and Eve had only one rule to follow in
the garden paradise, Do not eat the fruit of
the tree of knowledge.
Sadly, they disobeyed God. Their sadness, and
ours will be turned into great joy. We wait his
season for the joy to arrive.
*Dear Jesus, I am sorry for my sins. Come into
my life with your gifts of forgiveness and joy.

PATIENTLYIsaiah 7:14
The promised Savior was coming, but when
would he arrive? God spoke to the people
through the prophets. God told them just
what to expect. Each Advent we wait
patiently for the Savior, just as Gods people
did long ago. Look forward for the Bethlehem
baby, he is coming to rule the world.
*Dear God, help me to wait patiently for your
promises.
UNEXPECTLY Luke 1:5-17
Even though the people were told what to look
for, the news still came as a great surprise. An
elderly priest named Zechariah was the first to
hear it. And it was delivered quite
unexpectedly. An angel appeared to him
while he was praying in the temple. You and
your wife will have a son the angel told him.
He will prepare the way for Gods promised
Savior. He did not expect that news!
*God, I love to share your surprises with
everyone I meet. Keep surprising me every
day with your great love.

QUIETLY. Luke 1:18-20

Zechariah did not believe the angels news.
This is impossible, my wife and I are much
too old. He waited for Gods promise to come
true and he quietly waited.
*Take a minute during this bright and noisy
season to sit somewhere quietly and thank
God for keeping his promises. How will you
quietly pray today?
HAPPILY.Luke 1:57-58
Zechariah had imagined the smile on his wifes
face. He happily announced that his Sons
name would be John, just as the angel said
what happy news for us as well. Gods
promise really do come true. Our promised
Savior is truly on the way. Go, go, go and say,
Jesus came for you. Happily, happily,
happily promises come true.

TRULY.....Matthew 3:1-3
Your child will prepare people for the Savior,
the angel told Zechariah John went out into
the wilderness. Each day he told people that
the Lord was truly coming! Each day he
warned people to turn away from sin.
Dear Lord, I am truly thankful for all the
people in my life who have pointed the way to
me.

SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT

We are approaching the second week of

Advent. Lighting the second candle on the
Advent Wreath and moving onto the set of
adverbs to help us prepare for the coming of
Jesus.
HUMBLY. Luke 1:35, 38
Mary was surprised by the angels news. And
she even had some doubts just as Zechariah

did. How can this be? Mary asked the angel.

But when Mary heard all of Gods plan for her,
she quickly accepted her new role as the
mother of Gods Son. I am Gods servant, she
humbly told the angel, I will do just as God
asks.
Are you surprised to know that God has a role
for you, too? God is calling you right now, just
as he called Mary; God wants you to carry the
good news of Jesus every day. Will you humbly
answer Gods call as Mary did?
Dear God, I am happy to do what you ask.
Help me as I serve you today.

FAITHFULLY.Matthew 1:20-21
Joseph slept restlessly. He had made plans to
get married to Mary, but now he learned that
she was going to have a baby. What should he
do? God had good news for Joseph. In a
dream Joseph heard the Lord say, The baby
Mary is carrying is the Son of God. Name him

Jesus for he will save all people from their

sins.
When Joseph woke, he faithfully did jus as
God said. Faithfully Joseph welcomed Jesus
into his life. He protected him and gave him a
safe home. He brought him to the Lords house
to worship.
Dear God, thank you for Josephs faithful
example, because I want to welcome Jesus into
my life, too.
LOVINGLY.Matthew 1:24
Mary and Joseph got married! That is happy
news. When Jesus was born, he was a part of
a loving family.
God loved us so much that he wanted to be a
part of our lives. He sent his Son to be one of
us: to live like we live, to feel love the same
way that we do.
Jesus is our Emmanuel. That means God
With Us. How wonderful it is to know that
Jesus loves us. How great to know that God
still cares for us so lovingly.
How can you show your love for your family
today? Remember that the love you share is
great gift from our loving God.
Dear Emmanuel, I love you because you first
loved me.

SOON.Luke 2:1-7
It was not the time to be going on a long
journey. It was a terrible time have no hotel
reservations. Marys baby was on the way,
and it was going to happen soon!
But Joseph had no choice. He was ordered to
go to Bethlehem. And there he found that the
inns were fully booked. Joseph resourcefully
found a warm stable for his wife to lie down.
And in that place, God soon kept his promise.
Jesus arrived, the Son of God lay sleeping in a
manager bed.
This Advent we prepare our hearts, just as
they are, to welcome him again. Tidy up the
manager. Hes coming soon.
Dear Jesus, I am happy to welcome you into
my heart right this minute.
DUTITFULLY.Luke 2:8-10
On the hills around Bethlehem, sleepy sheep
herders dutifully watched over their flocks.
We do not know much about the lives of these
shepherds. But the Bible tells us they were
doing their jobs the night that Christ was born.

Another of Gods servants had a job to do that

night. An angel appeared to those shepherds
to deliver good tidings of great job. Would you
like a job like that? That duty isnt just for
angels, you know. Sharing Gods food tidings
is your duty, too!
Heavenly Father, put me to work spreading
your good news.
OBEDIENTLYPsalm 23
David was a shepherd boy. He, like Jesus

MY ADVENT
2012

Week Two