With the busyness of the Christmas season, it’s easy to lose sight of why we celebrate in the first place. We forget that at the time of the first Christmas, God’s people were anticipating a Rescuer who would come and save the world. That’s what makes a countdown like an advent calendar so powerful. It allows us daily moments to stop and reflect on God, who loved us so much and sent Jesus to be our Savior. This December, we’re “decking the halls” and taking the whole the month to focus on nothing but Christmas by celebrating Jesus, God’s greatest gift! We can’t wait to shine a spotlight on crucial moments in the story of Jesus’ birth as we count down to Christmas. Because of Jesus, it’s possible for us to have a relationship with God that will last forever. As we take this month to count down to the fun of Christmas Day, let’s take time to remember the reason we celebrate in the first place: Jesus, the greatest gift the world has ever known.
Take a look below to see what we'll be sharing with our kids every week in December!
Here's a look into what our babies and toddlers will be hearing each week!
WEEK 1 Story Focus: God tells Mary she is going to have His Son Jesus. God has an important message for Mary so God sends an angel to tell Mary that she is going to have a baby. But not just any baby. This baby is God’s Son, and His name is Jesus! WEEK 2 Story Focus: Jesus is born. Mary and Joseph travel a LONG way to the town of Bethlehem, and Jesus is born in a stable where animals sleep. Jesus wasn’t born in a fancy place, but Jesus is special because Jesus is God’s Son. God loves us so much He gave us Jesus! WEEK 3 Story Focus: The shepherds run to Jesus. An angel tells shepherds in a field that God’s Son, Jesus, has been born and that they could find him in a manger. They run to find baby Jesus in the manger with Mary and Joseph. WEEK 4 Story Focus: Happy Birthday, Jesus! Christmas is when we celebrate Jesus’ birthday. As we celebrate the good news that God gave us Jesus, we will retell the Christmas Story again—from the angel and Mary all the way to the shepherds. Oh! And we’ll sing “Happy Birthday” to Jesus, of course! WEEK 5 Story Focus: The wise men go to see Jesus, God’ Son. The wise men don’t have a train to ride, but that doesn’t stop them from following a special star and traveling a long way so they can worship the new King. Once they find Him, the wise men lay their gifts before the very best gift—Jesus, God’s Son. God loves us so much He gave us Jesus!
Here's a look at what our preK through 5th graders will be learning every week.
WEEK 1 In our first week, we start in Micah 5:2, Isaiah 9:6-7, and Isaiah 7:14-15, where we discover how prophets predicted that God would send a Savior. No one could have expected that it would take hundreds of years before Mary, Joseph, or any of the shepherds or wise men came on the scene. The prophets wrote these promises to offer hope to God’s people as they faced exile. Even though it took time, God kept these promises, and because of that, we can still have hope today. Bottom Line: You can have hope because God is faithful. Much of what we celebrate at Christmas is an incredible reminder that God can be trusted no matter what. We can have hope because, when all seemed hopeless, God made promises to save the world and then followed through with Jesus. No matter what we face in life, we can have hope and trust that God is at work and can help us get through our circumstances.
WEEK 2 In week 2, we turn to Luke 1:26-56. The Messiah had been promised for generations, but no one would have guessed that God would use a young woman to bring that promise to fulfilment—including that young woman herself. Mary was awestruck when the angel came to announce that she was about to have a child who would be the Savior of the world. Mary found peace in trusting that through God, all things are possible. Bottom Line: You can have peace because God has a plan. When God sent Jesus, it was the answer to many, many years of a plan to rescue the world. The people must have wondered what God was doing or if God was still working. We can feel the same way about our own circumstances. Yet, time and again, we realize that we can trust God no matter what. We might not understand God’s plan, but we can have peace when we remember how God has been faithful throughout history.
WEEK 3 In week three, we head to the familiar Christmas passage in Luke 2:1-7. On the surface, it might have seemed like nothing was going right for Mary and Joseph: a census, no room for them to stay, not to mention giving birth in place where a whole lot of animals were sleeping. In spite of all that, Jesus was born! God’s rescue plan to save the world was in motion, and as we remember how Jesus was born, we can always find joy! Bottom Line: You can have joy because God sent Jesus. We all know that Christmas is about Jesus, but sometimes it’s just too easy to think Christmas is only about lights, decorations, and presents. Those things aren’t bad, but it’s important that we use those things to stay focused on the truth of what we celebrate at Christmas. God loved us enough to send Jesus to rescue us. Knowing that can help us find joy no matter what is happening around us this Christmas season.
WEEK 4 Christmas Eve Service, kids 4 and up are invited into the big auditiorium to celebrate the Birth of Jesus with their families! Our Nursery will be open for those kiddos 3 and under.
WEEK 5 We finish up our Christmas season celebration in Matthew 2:1-12. We see how the announcement of Jesus’ birth was far-reaching. Wise men from the east saw a star that set them on an adventure to find a promised king of Israel. We’re not sure how long it took, but when the wise men finally found Jesus, they worshipped Him! Bottom Line: Celebrate Jesus all year long. After the Christmas decorations come down, it can be easy for kids to assume that the spirit of Christmas gets packed away too. We want kids to realize that they don’t need a fancy holiday to celebrate Jesus. They can celebrate when they sing to Jesus, read the Bible, and show Jesus’ love to others.
