December 2, 2012 begins the season of Advent; this Sunday we light the “Hope” candle.
If you have not yet started Advent preparations, or simply wonder about the celebration of Advent, starting off with some of the earlier posts of past seasons may be the best way to begin your devotional time.
Ways To Observe Advent
The Jesse Tree
- A Jesse Tree -full page of resources.
The Jesse tree is one way many families celebrate Advent, with devotionals and symbolic hung on a small tree each day until Christmas.
Today, light the Candle of Hope. Read the devotional of “Firsts” describing what we do as a family during Advent.
In the coming weeks, The Advent Blog will be following a new theme, as in past years. Previous years have had themes such as the Jesse tree, Promises of God, and “Planted in the Heart“.
This year the theme will follow “Advent ABC”. Letters of the Alphabet, Symbols of Christmas, and Devotionals for each day leading to Christmas, the nativity of the Alpha and Omega here on the earth.
Scripture for today is Revelation 22:13
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
Jesus arrived in a point of time, and we celebrate that time at Christmas. We remember how humbly he came, how quietly and unobtrusively. We also begin to see the wisdom of God unfolding through events that had we understood more clearly, were fulfilling the prophecies recorded from earlier centuries, from foreshadowing within the Tabernacle and the events of Hebrew history.
But the ABC’s of the Alpha and Omega, those beginning and ending letters of the Greek alphabet, were jumbled together in the ways God was spelling out His plan of salvation.
Today His Word is clearly revealed for those who will desire to know its message. I hope as we meditate on the lessons of His alphabet we can find the message of Advent revealing the meaning of Christmas.
Activities
*Print and color the Alpha and Omega symbols; learn more about these letters of the Greek alphabet. Try the image from Ezartsncrafts
*Sing traditional songs of Advent, like “O Come,O Come Emmanuel”.
