Advent: The Coming of Jesus ChristSample

DEVOTIONAL

We often think about how cool it would be to see an angel. And it definitely would be cool! But it would also be pretty terrifying. Imagine being lowly, ordinary shepherds. They're just going to work like any other night when suddenly, JOY shines all around them in the form of angels.

Scripture says they were scared because they had never seen God's glory like this before. God's glory is SO BIG and SO WONDERFUL that when we see it on earth, it blows our minds. But God chose these ordinary guys to be a part of an extraordinary story, just like He does with us!

Shepherds usually carry hooked staffs. They are shaped a lot like a candy cane. The purpose of a shepherd's staff is to be able to grab hold and direct sheep if necessary. Did you know that candy canes have a special meaning? While their shape represents the Great Shepherd (Jesus), the color of candy canes is special, too!

The red stripes represent Jesus' blood shed for us on the Cross, while the white stripes represent our clean hearts because of His sacrifice. So now, when you see a candy cane, you can think about more than just peppermint!

ACTIVITY

Game time! Grab some candy canes; we're going to play Candy Cane Relay!

Rules of the game: Map out an obstacle course around the house. Each player must go from the starting place, around the obstacle course, and back to the starting position.

Form 2 groups with an equal amount of players. Have them line up and give one candy cane per player.

The players will have to bite onto the bottom end of the candy cane. The first player on each team will hook another candy cane onto the candy cane in their mouth.

They will then carefully walk or strut through the obstacle course and back to the starting line, where they will carefully transfer the candy cane to the next player on their team. The candy cane shouldn’t fall while walking the obstacle course, and the candy canes should be transferred via the candy cane hooks only and without the help of the player’s hands. If the candy cane falls, the player must start from the beginning.

The first team with all players through the obstacle course wins!