I was hoping to post this on Sunday, but I came down with a very nice 24 hr flu and was laid up until today. I'm back to my usual scrumming, classes, Chinese characters, philosophy (I'm in the middle of my first paper in Chinese!!!), and just being.
Advent is here! i.e. - advent is advent! since advent means arrival. If you're not familiar with the Advent Season it is a very old Church tradition that anticipates the celebration of the birth of Jesus.
[Yeah, yeah; I know there are a few scrooges and Grinches who want to ruin the holiday by saying it was originally a pagan holiday to celebrate the birth of Saturn, etc. But those kill-Joys are forgetting the beauty of the cross-cultural process of Christian history, and how holidays once used to worship demons and other created things can be turned to the worship of God. You would be hard-pressed to find a person worshiping Saturn today. But many worship Christ, and it has become tradition to celebrate His birth on December 25.]
In the last few weeks I have been working on an Advent calendar that my family (right now just Emily and I) will be using in the coming years to celebrate Emmanuel. For the next couple of years it will probably be a work in progress, adding discussion questions for kids and adults, and a list of songs to sing or play that fit with the themes.
Some Advent calendars have elements for every day, some only for the four Sundays preceding Christmas day (usually used in church services because they usually meet weekly). Each week has a theme (and they vary from tradition to tradition): Week 1: Prophecy/Expectation/Hope; Week 2: Announcements; Week 3: Joy/Fulfillment; Week 4: Proclamation/Invitation. This year is particularly special because Christmas is on Saturday, meaning this year we have the longest possible Advent calendar, and more time to CELEBRATE! For the first three weeks, every Wednesday, you'll also notice that there is an 'inner theme', of Jesus' Three Offices - Prophet, Priest, and King. On years when we have fewer days to celebrate those days can be dropped without losing as much of the basic story and significant points.
Obviously some of the readings might be a little long for smaller kids, but there's no law keeping you from making this work for your family.
Here's the first week's readings, and I'll follow these up each Sunday with the next weeks. Sorry it's already Wednesday. That means you'll have some catching up to do. Curse the Curse, and my flu! Praise Jesus for coming to heal all things!
PROPHECY – EXPECTATION – HOPE
Sunday, Nov. 28, 2010 – The predicament and a veiled solution, the Seed to come
Genesis 3:8-19
Genesis 15:1-6
Genesis 22:1-14
Monday, Nov. 29, 2010 – Brokenness and Healing
Isaiah 52:13-53:12
Jeremiah 33:6-9
Daniel 9:24
Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2010 – The Shoot from the Stump of Jesse, the Branch
1 Samuel 16:1, 11-13
Isaiah 11:1-11
Jeremiah 23:5-6
Jeremiah 33:14-16
Zechariah 3:8-10
Zechariah 6:12-13
Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2010 – He will be a Prophet
Deuteronomy 18:15-19
Hebrews 3:1-6
Thursday, Dec. 2, 2010 – A Great Light
Isaiah 9:1-7
Isaiah 42:6-8
Isaiah 60:1-3, 19-22
Friday, Dec. 3, 2010 – Our Hope of Salvation, a Rock for All People
Psalm 62:5-6
Isaiah 12
Isaiah 26:1-4
Saturday, Dec. 4, 2010 – The Shepherd and His Sheep
Ezekiel 34:11-24
John 10:1-18
Psalm 95:6-7
Isaiah 40:10-11
Jeremiah 23:1-4
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