Advent is coming.
Advent is the season preceding Christmas, generally spent in preparation for the holiday festivities. Many congregations and families participate by lighting Advent candles and reading scriptures to ready their hearts for Christmas. Some place their candles within an Advent wreath.
Based on liturgical practices, these traditions are not works denoting holiness, but rather a form of communal preparation — believers coming together to remember.
The word “Advent” loosely means “coming” and is based on the expectant hope of what’s to come. We look forward to celebrating the birth of our Savior, but we also look forward to Christ’s next coming. This duality allows us to simultaneously acknowledge our history and our expectant hope. Rachel Held Evans described it as:
“Advent is a season of anticipation, of holy waiting. It is a waiting characterized not by idleness or even contented peace, but by prophetic yieldedness and active hope. Perhaps more than any other season in the Christian calendar, Advent acknowledges the already-and-not-yet nature of the Kingdom of God. In remembering the anticipation of Christ’s first coming, we acknowledge and nurture our anticipation of Christ’s second coming. Advent is a season for the prophets, for the dreamers, for the poets. A great light has shown, but there is still so much darkness to pierce, so much gloom to overcome.”
In 2018, I searched for a devotional to do throughout the Advent season with my stepchildren. As my husband splits timesharing with their mom, a daily devotional wouldn’t work. Most of what I found online was too expensive or too time-intensive or too free-range for what I had in mind.
Because of this, I wrote my own. While it’s been shared with select family and friends, I decided to make it publicly available through weekly posts this year. I wrote it with the intention of one exercise on Sundays to compliment what your congregation may be doing during the morning service, but you can spread it out through the week if you desired; there’s no right or wrong way to work through it, so do whatever is best for you and your family.
This series is not intended to be an all-inclusive Advent study, but a starting point for discussion. While the questions are intended for children, you may need to tailor them to your family to ensure they are appropriate for the current maturity level. I’ll publish each upcoming week’s study on Saturday, giving you time to prepare if you’d like to do it on Sunday.
How beautiful it is to teach your children about Christ in a way that specifically relates to them and their lives!
Advent begins four Sundays prior to Christmas. In 2020, that is November 29. It ends on Christmas Eve, for which there is a fifth reading, though not every tradition participates in the fifth reading and candle.
May God bless and keep you; may He shine His face upon you, and be gracious to you. May He look upon you and give you peace.
Peace and grace to you this Advent season.
Supplies
Candles with holders
I ordered these candles in 2019 and intend to get them again this year. There’s also a four-candle variation if you’d prefer to skip the Christ candle on Christmas Eve. My candlestick holders are random ones from Dollar Tree that I just liked in general, but Amazon has a variety.
Wreath
I purchased a variety of supplies from Dollar Tree to make my own. Amazon has Advent wreaths; they’re not my taste, but perhaps they’re yours. They also have several table wreath options.
Extra Resources & Information
26 Ideas for Advent
A variety of activities and meditations for both adults and children to work on throughout Advent.
Advent is for the ones who know longing
Focused on our longing for Christ’s coming, this essay explores “waiting for all things to be made right.”
A Prayer for the Broken-Hearted at Christmas
An essay geared towards those who find the Christmas holidays difficult for a variety of reasons. Give how the pandemic has impacted our society, I imagine there are many who are struggling through the holidays this year.
Christmastide: Prayers for Advent through Epiphany
I’ve had this prayer guide for a couple of years now, but am finally going through it. The structure is different than the devotionals I’m accustomed to, but I think the change of pace is a good one.
Make and Play Nativity
This fun-and-whimsical nativity set is great for preschool- and early elementary-aged children.
The Tradition of Advent
Briefly explains the history and traditions of Advent throughout the centuries, as well as describes the celebratory differences between denominations.
Waiting, Accepting, Journeying, Birthday
This is a four-week advent devotional that Sarah wrote for the 2019 Advent season, then edited and is publishing for 2020. I greatly appreciated it last year and would recommend it to others. Available as a digital download.
Series links
- Advent is coming
- Advent: Hope & the Prophets’ candle (November 29, 2020)
- Advent: Faith & the Bethlehem candle (December 6, 2020)
- Advent: Joy & the Shepherds’ candle (December 13, 2020)
- Advent: Peace & the Angels’ candle (December 20, 2020)
- Advent: Light & the Christ candle (December 24, 2020)
Appreciation
Special thanks to Rev. Louise Worsham, Jessica Eberhard, and Stephanie Wilson for their wisdom, insight, and feedback on this project.
