ADVENT - WEEK 3

We are excited to start this Advent journey with you and your family! 

**For families or the young at heart, there will be a list of Advent activities to do at the bottom of this page!
Family Advent Activities
Christmas Playlist on YouTube
Mighty God
When we think of God, Mighty is definitely a way we describe His miraculous works.  Parting the red sea, stopping the sun in the sky for Joshua, destroying Sodom and Gomorrah, and His resurrection from the dead all SCREAM mighty! So, why did God choose to come as something as helpless and defenseless as a baby? The Creator carried inside of one of His creations. Only a Mighty God is powerful enough to start a kingdom as a baby, not as a warrior. Only a Mighty God would choose to be born in a barn and not in a palace. Only a Mighty God would choose to sacrifice Himself for our sins. He came to save the world and did it in the most unexpected form – a baby.  Today, reflect on God’s might but also on His plan.  Meditate on how amazing He is to use unlikely things and people to bring about His MIGHTY works.
 

Song for today: Mighty to Save/From the Inside Out
Mighty to Save
Messiah
The word “Messiah” holds thousands of years of history, hope, and prophecy that ultimately culminated in Jesus Christ. It comes from the Hebrew word mashiach, meaning “anointed one” or “chosen one.” The people of Israel spent hundreds of years waiting for, longing for, and looking for THE MESSIAH who would come to save them. It’s estimated that Jesus fulfilled as many as 300 prophecies. We don’t have time or space to go into all of them, but a few include that of the Suffering Servant (Isaiah 53), the one from Bethlehem (Micah 2:2), the virgin birth (Isaiah 7:14), entering Jerusalem riding on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9), and being pierced in the hands and feet (Psalm 22:16). From Genesis 3:15, we see that God has had a plan to rescue us from the beginning. Through all of history, in His love, He has been orchestrating our salvation through Jesus, the Messiah!


Song for today: Messiah by Francesca Battistelli
Messiah
High Priest
Do you ever feel like you are misunderstood or alone in what you are going through?  I know I do.  When you feel this way, one of the best things is to find someone with similar experiences, someone who has walked through the hard situations or feelings you are navigating and has come out the other side.  It is such a blessing to talk to someone who gets what you’re going through and can understand your feelings, thoughts and fears.  The amazing thing is we have all of that in Jesus.  Our scripture for today says we have a High Priest who understands our weakness!  Jesus came to this earth so that He could walk in our shoes and understand how hard life in this broken world can be.  Are you needing to talk to someone who gets your hurt and heartache?  You have an empathetic Savior waiting to listen and He has the power to help you through it!


Song for today: It Feels Like Joy by Micah Tyler
It Feels Like Joy
I AM
Jesus says, “Very truly I tell you, before Abraham was born, I Am.” Now to understand the gravity of this moment you have to understand that every Jewish man, woman and child in that room knew exactly what Jesus was saying in that moment. They grew up on these stories. They knew the Torah frontwards and backwards. And Jesus is referencing a huge moment in the story of their ancestors. Their minds would have immediately gone to Exodus 3 when God calls Moses to confront Pharaoh and lead his people out of bondage to Egypt. Amongst Moses’ many concerns in that moment was this:
“Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
In John 8, Jesus was saying, “I am the Lord. I am Yahweh with skin on. I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I am.”
Now when Jesus makes this claim, there's really only two possible responses: reject him or worship him. Today, you must choose. Make sure you spend time today praising Him for all He is!
Mary Did You Know
Mediator
Are you ever at a loss for the right words?  I have no shortage of words in general but RIGHT words…
ALL. THE. TIME.  I wish sometimes I had someone who could intervene and take what I want to say and make it kind and wise and make it so that the people in my life understand. I’d love to have someone that when I get myself into trouble could step in and make everything ok!  Sadly, on this earth, we don’t have that.  However, in the heavenly realms, we do!  We have someone who intercedes for us with the Father and made intercession for our transgressions.  What a beautiful gift to have Jesus mediating for us.  Today, if you don’t know what to pray, ask Jesus to help make your requests and needs known.  Then rely on Him to take care of you.  
Hark the Herald Angels Sing
Savior
There are times in our lives when we feel as though we are drowning. Maybe it’s financial stress or drowning in grief, or maybe its depression or anxiety that makes you feel as though you’re going under. No matter what the cause, we need help. You and I have a Savior that is not only loving and compassionate, but He is also able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.  We have a Savior that can command the wind and the waves and they obey Him. He is the One who overcame death and sin. He is the One that performs miracles still today.  He is the One who fully knows you and fully loves you.  Let Him help.  Ask Him today to come into whatever situation you are facing and to help you through it.  Ask Him to change your heart, change your home, change your habits so that He is glorified and you can be at peace.


Song for today: Shepherd's Song by Phil Wickham
Shepherd's Song
Wonderful
When we hear the word wonderful, we may think of something that is “good”.  The real meaning of the word WONDERFUL is so much more than that. Wonderful is used for something or someone to be so amazing that you are filled with awe and wonder.  I believe that Isaiah, when he said “…His name shall be WONDERFUL”, meant that when Jesus came everyone who met Him would be left in awe at how amazing He is! That is exactly what happened throughout the Gospels! The prophecy was fulfilled! How long has it been since you looked at Jesus in scripture and were in awe?  Have you had a time where Jesus came into your life and changed everything and you couldn’t help but sit in wonder at how awesome He is?  Reflect on those times.  Take time today to be amazed at your WONDERFUL Savior.  Thank Him for all that He has done.




Song for today: Wonderful by Cain
Wonderful

Family Advent Activities for Week 3 (JOY):

Songs to listen to for our JOY Week: Unto Us by Matthew West, Joy to the World by Chris Tomlin, Mary Did You Know by Pentatonix, It Feels Like Joy by Micah Tyler
Activities for our week of JOY: (Choose as many or as few as you’d like):

•Light a candle, read your scriptures and color the candle on your Advent craft for joy.

•Write a list of people or things that bring you joy! Listen to some joyful Christmas music and have a joyful dance party (see above)!

•Make cookies together as a family.  Take some to your teachers or neighbors to bring joy to their day.  Write on a paper or on the container – JOY.  If they ask, explain that it stands for Jesus first, others second and yourself last.

•Drive around with your family and look for Christmas lights. Talk about how those lights bring you joy.  Discuss how we can be lights in our world to bring joy to others.

•With your family look up how to say J-O-Y and Jesus in sign language.  Teach a friend how to sign them.  Tell them that when Jesus came as a baby, He brought joy to the world because He would save everyone from sin!

•Cane your neighbors.  Leave candy canes and a note (see enclosed). Bring some joy to them!

•Create Homemade Shrinky Dinks!! Use small plastic cups and sharpies. See video
Using QR code: