Advent: The Coming of Jesus ChristSample

DEVOTIONAL

Each candle on your Advent wreath represents something very special. Each week leading up to Christmas, you will light one new candle. Then, you will burn the 5th and final candle on Christmas Eve.

Let’s start with candle number 1! Usually, you will have three purple, a pink colored candle, and a white candle on your Advent wreath. The color purple typically represents the royalty of Christ. Our first candle is one of the purple candles and is called “The Prophet’s Candle.” This candle symbolizes HOPE for everyone because of the coming Messiah. The prophet Micah and several others​ delivered the news of Jesus being born, dying on the Cross, and rising again. Micah even knew Jesus would be born in Bethlehem. Wow!

ACTIVITY

Part 1: Light a purple candle, then read the Scripture aloud. Reflect on the excitement of the coming of Jesus, and pray. Christ coming is better than Santa Claus coming to town! Santa "brings" jolly news, but the prophets brought the GOOD news of GREAT joy - the Messiah is coming!

Close your eyes and imagine what it was like to be one of the prophets in the Old Testament. Think about how excited you are for Christmas to come...the prophets were even more excited for Jesus to come!

Part 2: Hope Acrostic

Write HOPE down the left side of a piece of paper, a sticky note, in your journal, or somewhere you can look back on. Find words for each letter that encourage you, your coworkers, friends, or family to have hope in Jesus. The ideas could be examples of times that Jesus has shown us that we can trust Him. If you are comfortable, we'd love for you to share your acrostic with us on social media.