12 Days of Christmas Family DevotionalSample

READ TOGETHER

The baby boy Jesus grew up, just like you! He listened to his mom and dad; he went to the temple and learned about God and the Scripture (like you do at church). He even learned to work with wood and build things like Joseph. He became a child, a teenager, and an adult. And as he grew up, God’s great rescue plan continued to unfold.

Jesus started teaching people about what God was like. He called people to come follow him and become his disciples. He traveled around to different towns nearby and helped people who were hurting, or sick, or sad. He performed many miracles, like calming a storm, bringing people back to life, and turning a few loaves of bread into enough food to feed thousands of people. He told stories called parables to help people know God. Most importantly, he lived a sinless life. He never, ever did anything that God didn’t like. He loved his Father more than anything, obeyed him always, and invited others around him to do the same. 

The religious leaders did not like Jesus because Jesus often spoke out against them. He did not like how hard they were making it for other people to know and follow God. They did not believe that he was the Son of God and thought he was just causing a lot of trouble. They cared more about their power and money and popularity than what God was doing in the world.

One day, these religious leaders decided to kill Jesus. The religious leaders mocked Jesus. They hurt him, yelled at him, and hung him on a wooden cross to die. Do you think God was surprised by that? No, God knew when He sent His Son to the manger in Bethlehem that it would end like this. He knew it had to so that Jesus could make a way for all of us to be a part of the rescue plan. And in that moment, that terrible moment when Jesus died on the cross, he did something amazing for each of us.

Jesus took all of our sins away! Remember how Adam and Eve ate from the tree in the Garden? Because of that, every single one of us has sin in our lives. We mess up and do things that keep us apart from God, and because God is so holy and so perfect, he can’t stand to be near sin. So Jesus, who lived a perfect, sinless life, took the sins of the world, our sins, upon himself, and paid the price for us when he died on the cross. But don’t worry . . . God’s rescue plan wasn’t over yet.

TALK TOGETHER

1. What are some of the miracles that you know about that Jesus did during His life?

2. Why did Jesus have to die on the cross for us?

PRAY TOGETHER

Father God, thank you for sending your Son Jesus to die on the cross for us. Jesus, thank you for paying for our sins, even though you lived a sinless life. Holy Spirit, work in our hearts and in our lives to help us become more like Jesus every day. We love you! In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.