Advent: Hope & the Prophets’ candle.
(noun) the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best; (verb) to trust, rely
Over time, God has spoken with and to mankind in many ways. In the Garden of Eden, He walked with Adam and Eve and spoke to them face-to-face (Genesis 2 and 3). When He sent Moses on the Exodus journey, God spoke to him through a burning bush (Exodus 3). The angel of the Lord communicated with many people, such as Hagar (Genesis 16) and Jacob (Genesis 31).
Perhaps the most famous way God has spoken with us is by His prophets. Prophets spoke on behalf of God, communicating the message God had given them. The Old Testament has 17 books written by prophets — but there were many more than that! Prophets had a variety of roles and their messages varied, depending on what the nation of Israel needed to hear from God. At times, they would discipline and call God’s people to turn from wicked ways. At times, they would encourage God’s people to continue in their good works.
God speaks to us because He wants to know us and have relationships with us. He loves us. And because God loves us, He allows us to have free will. God wants us to chose to love Him on our own, rather than being forced to — which wouldn’t be love at all. Part of having free will means we don’t always make the best choices, and then we have to deal with the consequences of our actions when we chose to not love and trust and follow God
But God’s love doesn’t stop there. He doesn’t give up on loving us, even when we choose not to love Him. Because He loves us, He also wants to provide a way for us to be saved from our sins. So, He gave us His Son, Jesus. But before He sent Jesus, He first gave Israel promises about Jesus. Because of these promises, Israel was able to hold onto hope for the future.
The first advent candle is called the Prophets’ Candle and to symbolize the foretold hope we have in Jesus.
Questions to discuss
- Think about free will. What do you think it means? What don’t you understand about it?
- Consider this past week. Have you done or said something that you don’t think God would like? How do you think God feels about this?
- In what ways have you used your free will this week that you think God would be pleased with?
- The name Immanuel means God is with us. How do you think the nation of Israel felt when God told them that Jesus would physically be present with them on the earth?
- How does it make you feel that God promised to be with us?
- In your own words, how would you describe hope?
Activities to do together
- Light the Prophets’ candle
- Read Isaiah 9:6–7 and 7:14
- Sing O Come, O come Emmanuel
- Read Matthew 1:18–25
- Print and color this advent illustration
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)
