Photo of Baby Jesus Statue by Jeffery C. Cann
It's Advent, everybody! Do you know what that means? We are getting ready for something. What are we getting ready for? Christmas!
What do you think of when you are getting ready for Christmas? (Let some of the children reply with different ideas.) Do you think about buying presents? What about visiting Santa, or putting up the tree? Well those things are a lot of fun, and I hope you get to do them, but I want to talk about the big, important thing we are getting ready for.
We are getting ready for Jesus. Christmas is when we celebrate His birthday. It's also when we stop to think about why God sent Jesus to Earth. He wanted to teach us about God, and about Heaven, and He wanted to help us prepare our hearts and minds for Heaven when it comes.
What kind of things do you think we need to do in order to get ready for Jesus? (Let some of the children give answers.) Here are a couple of ways that people at St. Martin-in-the-Fields are preparing their hearts and minds for Jesus.
It's fun to give presents to our parents and siblings at Christmas, but God wants us to remember poor people, too. There are a couple of ways we can do that through our church right now.
Angel Tree: What is this thing in my hand? It's an angel! I took it from the Angel Tree, and it's a special message from a child who needs to get presents at Christmas. When I took this Angel from the tree, I agreed to get the present. Here is what I am getting this child.
(Reads the card.)
If you want to help out somebody like you, ask your mom or dad to take an angel from the tree and make somebody's Christmas special.
Gloves for 4Saints Food Pantry - Sometimes kids like you need warm gloves to keep their hands warm. I am going to be giving this set of gloves to the 4Saints Food Pantry. I bet they will like it because it's Baby Yoda.
Boy Scout Food Drive - Next Sunday, you can help us get ready for Jesus by giving canned food to our Boy Scout troupe. They will deliver the food to the 4Saints Food Pantry. We all have plenty to eat all the time. It's important to remember people who sometimes go to bed hungry.
Using Advent Candles
Do you know what this is? It's an Advent Wreath. It has four candles for the four Sundays in Advent. Each of the candles means something different.
Hope - Jesus gives us Hope that we will spend eternity with God.
Faith - We have Faith that Jesus is the Son of God and He is coming to show us how to become closer to God.
Joy - We discover that loving God makes us happy. The best way to show that joy is to love other people.
Peace - The Angel's candle tells us that Jesus brings Peace on Earth, goodwill to men.
Let's all bow our heads and make a prayer for Hope this first Sunday in Advent.
Dear God,
Thank you for bringing Jesus into the world so that we can be closer to you. Let us remember that Jesus gives us Hope that we will be with you forever.
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