Advent – Week 2 | Family Activity

PP_Alleluia IIThe Promise Perfectly Kept: The Birth of Jesus

Set aside 10 minutes one night this week to talk about God’s promise to send a Savior. The only materials needed are five candles, matches and a Bible.

Lighting of the Advent Candle

Have one member of the family light last week’s candle and a second candle.

Scripture Reading

Have one person read the following passages out loud:

And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. LUKE 2:3-7

And there, in the stable, amongst the chickens and the donkeys and the cows, in the quiet of the night, God gave the world his wonderful gift. The baby that would change the world was born. His baby son.
-JESUS STORYBOOK BIBLE

Reflection

Have an adult read the commentary below.

Do you remember the promise we talked about last week? God’s promise to send a Rescuer? His promise to send Jesus? Well, He kept His promise! Jesus came, just like God said He would.

After thousands of years of waiting, on an ordinary night, Jesus came. God gave His people hints and clues about how Jesus would come. He told them that Jesus would come from Bethlehem, be a Ruler and bring peace. Many expected a soldier; some expected a politician. No one expected a baby. But that’s how Jesus came.

Mary and Joseph lived in a town called Nazareth. One day, the king gave an order that everyone was
to go back to their hometown to be counted for something called a census. Mary and Joseph traveled
a long way to the town of Bethlehem, where Joseph’s family was from. When they got to Bethlehem, the town was full of other travelers, and there was nowhere for Mary and Joseph to stay. So they found a stable to sleep in. While they were there, the time came for Mary to have her baby, and Jesus, the Savior, was born.

Jesus, the King of heaven, left His perfect home to be born a baby to a young man and woman. He became fragile and helpless. His room that night was a stable—dirty, smelly and full of noisy animals. His bed was not kingly and luxurious; it was a feed box that animals ate out of. Mary had to wipe old, rotten food out of the manger and cover it with poky straw before she laid her tiny baby in it.

But everything that happened that night was exactly what God had planned and promised. Jesus came, just like God said He would. God had kept His promise! Jesus had come to save sinners!

The events of that night, in that stable in the little town of Bethlehem, would change the world forever.

Prayer

Have one family member say a prayer to thank God for sending Jesus to be born as a baby who would save us from our sins.

Song

As a family, sing or listen to Away in a Manger.

Away in a manger, no crib for a bed
The little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head. The stars in the sky looked down where he lay, The little Lord Jesus, asleep on the hay.

Family Activity

This week, keep the promise you made to your family during last week’s family Advent time. Talk about how you fulfilled the hints and clues you gave them. Discuss the experience of waiting: What was it like to wonder when and how the promise would be kept? What was it like to finally experience what you had been waiting and hoping for? Remember together God’s faithfulness in keeping His promise to send a Savior. It happened just as He said it would.

Content provided from the The Village Church – Advent Guide