Advent: The Coming of Jesus ChristSample

DEVOTIONAL

Each candle on your Advent wreath represents something very special. Each week leading up to Christmas, you will light one new candle. Then, you will burn the final (5th) candle on Christmas Eve. Last week, we lit "The Prophet's Candle, " symbolizing HOPE.

Tonight, we are lighting the second candle! Choose another purple candle on the wreath to light. Remember, the color purple represents the royalty of Christ. Our second candle is named ”The Bethlehem Candle". This candle symbolizes FAITH because of two significant people who had unbelievable courage throughout the life of Jesus. This week, we will spend much time celebrating Mary and Joseph. They sacrificed a lot for Jesus to be born. God knew what He was doing when he chose these two heroes to execute the Christmas story with Him.

ACTIVITY

Part 1: Light two purple candles, symbolizing HOPE and FAITH. Read today's Scripture. Reflect/talk about one area of your life where you would like to grow in HOPE and FAITH.

Spend 5 minutes in your prayer spots and thank Jesus for all He has done for us. Close with family prayer.

Part 2: Mary, Joseph, Angel!

Rules of the game: Set up a phone to record the fun! This is a play on rock, paper, scissors. This game requires at least two people. Pair up if there are more than three players.

Each player will call out, "Mary! Joseph! Angel!" and then spin around with a single pose representing Mary, Joseph, or the Angel:

• Mary pose - One hand on the hip, the other hand behind your head
• Joseph pose - Muscle man
• Angel pose - Both arms flapping

Mary wins Joseph, Joseph wins the Angel, and the Angel wins Mary.

If you have more than one pair of players, make the entire game a race! The losing player in each team is the donkey, and the other is Mary. Mary mounts the donkey, and the donkey races to Bethlehem before the other pair(s). The last pair loses. You decide what the losing players have to do.

If you have an odd number of players, create a tournament and decide how many games to play before selecting the winner and the prize!

Don’t forget to come back TOMORROW for Day 10 of Advent.