ADVENT

The Holiday season has come quickly upon us.  If you’re like most families it seems like you just sent your kids back to school or Summer Vacation just ended.  Yet here we are days away from Thanksgiving and weeks away from Christmas.  In a culture that puts the focus of these two holidays on Turkeys and Presents respectively, parents and grand-parents have a great opportunity to lead their families towards remembering what this season is all about.  In my mind, you can easily sum up the entire meaning of this season in one word, JESUS.  One way you can, in a very fun and practical way, teach your kids to put their focus on the real meaning of the season is celebrating Advent.  Bellow you’ll find a VERY brief summery of the meaning of the Advent candles which you are welcome to use as ad model to walk through with your family.  Be blessed with your family this special and JESUS FOCUSED time of the year.

The tradition of Advent was intended to prepare our hearts, beginning 4 weeks prior to Christmas, for the celebration of Christ’s birth.  Place an evergreen wreath on a table with 4 candles protruding from it.  In the center of the wreath place a larger, white candle, which represents Jesus, the Light of the world.  Each of the four outer candles has a special significance that is outlined below.  Light one of the four outer candles each of the 4 Sundays leading to Christmas.  On Christmas Eve you light the center and final candle.

The four outer candles represent Hope/Prophecy, Peace, Joy and love. The first candle is traditionally the candle of Prophecy, and it draws our attention to the anticipation or the hope of the coming of a Messiah (Romans 15:12-13).

The second candle represents Peace, and the Messiah, Jesus Christ, was foretold as the coming Prince of Peace (Micah 5:2, 4-5).

The third candle of Advent is the Candle of Joy. It reminds us of the joy that Mary felt when the angel Gabriel told her that a special child would be born to her – a child who would save and deliver His people (Luke 2:10-14).

The fourth candle of Advent is the Candle of Love. The light of this candle is meant to remind us of the love that God has for each one of us (Isaiah 63:8b-9).

We then come to the final candle, or the center candle, which is called the Christ candle. The Christ candle will be lit during our Christmas Eve service. The central location of the Christ Candle reminds us that the incarnation is the heart of the season, giving light to the world. The light reminds us that Jesus comes into the darkness of our lives to bring newness, life, and hope. Most significantly, the lighting of the Christ candle reminds us that Jesus has indeed come and is amongst us (Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:21-23).