Advent Devotional

Letter

Dear Hills Church Family,

Do you know why the four candles on our advent wreath are purple and pink?

Purple is the traditional church color of preparation. Advent is the season when we prepare our hearts, our homes, and our world for the coming of the Christ child. We break from the purple for one Sunday as a reminder that this preparation is hard, but not Lent-hard. It’s joyous – even merry!

This year, Hills Church would like to invite you to take part in the preparation and the merriment – and we’re hoping the whole family will take part. Each Monday you’ll receive by email a story meant to retell scripture in ways that might make sense to little ears and breathe new life into the words for big ones. And each story is accompanied by an activity for you to do with your family – whether over the dinner table or over FaceTime.

We encourage you to take this time to renew your family’s spiritual practice – to read together, play together, and pray together. Join us as we prepare for the lighting of that fifth candle, Immanuel: God with us.

Yours in prayer,The Clergy and Staff of Hills Church

Advent Week 1: Hope

Isaiah prophesies to Ahaz, from The Spark First Christmas.

Story: Isaiah Tells of Immanuel

My name is Isaiah. Do you know what I know about Jesus? I was a prophet – someone who speaks the truth about God – a long, long time before Jesus was born. I came to speak to the king of my country, Ahaz, who wasn’t being a good ruler. He wasn’t taking care of the poor and he wasn’t listening to God. But then the country got taken over, and he got really scared. I told him not to be afraid – we prophets and angels say that a lot – because God would send us a sign!

“Look,” I told Ahaz. “A baby is going to be born, and that little boy will be called Immanuel!” Immanuel means “God is with us!” What an amazing promise!

The name Immanuel says who God is. God came to life as a baby boy, born to a young mom with very few resources. That baby boy grew up and had friends and family and did lots of good things and lots of hard things. God cares so much about us – enough to want to live through all the difficult and scary and wonderful things we human beings go through. God is with us!

I also told Ahaz that the little boy would bring peace on earth by teaching us all how to love one another. I told him things would be so peaceful that big predators like lions and wolves would be friends with little animals like

sheep and baby goats. “I love all people,” God said, “and I want you to learn to love all people. Whether someone is rich or poor, I want you to love them. No matter where they come from, I want you to love them. No matter what they look like, I want you to love them.”

Ahaz wasn’t sure that could be true. Lions and lambs? That sounded pretty crazy. But God keeps promises, even to grumpy people like Ahaz. God gave us a reason to hope: a little boy named Immanuel. God is with us!

Matthew 1:21-23, Isaiah 7:14, 11:1-9, Spark Story Bible pages 168-175

Family Connection: 2 Truths and a Lie

Each person: think of (and write down, if you can) three statements about yourself. Two of the statements are true and one is false. After each person reads their statements, the family guesses which are true and which is false. Statements might include favorite foods, toys, or hobbies, or people you have met. Feel free to be creative and even ridiculous!

Talk about it:

How do we know the difference between the truth and a lie? How do we know God’s love for us is true?

Some people make poor choices in their lives that leave them ashamed. Some people believe harsh words spoken about them although there is no truth in those words. Some people just don’t know Jesus’ love and don’t feel loved by anyone. Ahaz made some poor choices, but God loved him fiercely. And the love we see in Jesus helps us to feel hope that we can show love and kindness, too.

Advent Week 2: Peace

Mosaic from the people of the Philippines, Church of the Annunciation, Nazareth.

Story: Mary and the Angel

My name is Mary. Will you hear what I heard? I still hear the sound of the voice of the angel as he spoke to me in a vision. The angel said, “Hello, lucky one! God is with you!” I wondered what that could mean! But the angel told me not to be afraid because God loves me. But then the angel told me I was going to have a baby, a baby who would become a king, like the best king we ever had, and he would be king forever!

“What?” I asked. “How can that happen? I’m too young to be a mom, and I don’t have anyone to help me raise a baby.” The angel said, “The Holy Spirit will help you be a mom. And so your special baby will be a Child of God. You’ll name him Jesus, which is an old, old name that means God Saves Us. And your cousin Elizabeth, who thought she was too old to be a mom, is going to be a mom now too, so your holy children can grow up together.”

So I said okay – I would take make this special baby and take care of him. And I went to see my cousin Elizabeth, and the angel was right – she was pregnant too! We were so excited to be together to do what God had asked, and to know God was with us, too. Our babies would bring us peace!

Luke 1:26-56, Spark Story Bible pages 196-206

Family Connection: Dreams

Ask each family member:

Do you like to dream when you sleep? Do you remember your dreams? How are your dreams different from real life?

Mary had a vision, a special kind of a dream. It was very real because God was asking something very important of her! Close your eyes as we read through the story again, and imagine Mary’s conversation with the angel.

Talk about it:

If Mary hadn’t agreed to God’s plan for her, things might be a lot different for us today. She wasn’t sure about the work the angel was asking her to do, but she believed that God cared for her and was excited to be a part of the plan.

How do we know what God is asking us to do?

Advent Week 3: Joy

Adoration of the Magi. Painting by He Qi.

Story: Caspar and the Star

My name is Caspar.* I wish you could see all that I saw. I saw a star. I had studied the night sky all my life. The planets and stars fascinated me. I appreciated all their beauty and bigness. This star, however, was unlike any other. My friends and I understood it to be a sign of the important birth we had been expecting – the true king! What joy we had!

We went to Jerusalem, the capital, because we figured that’s where the baby king would be. But he wasn’t! He was in a little country town, Bethlehem. We brought him gifts, the best things we could think of. Gold would help Mary and Joseph care for their baby. Frankincense is used in

worship. And myrrh is a special perfume used to care for the dead, a sign that our love, and Jesus’ love for us, would outlast life. It may not sound like it, but it was a joyous gift.

We’re not sure where the star came from. Some people have said it was Jupiter, known as king of the planets. Others say it was Jupiter and Saturn coming together in the Fish constellation, an early sign for Christians. Still others say it was just a passing meteor. We didn’t have the tools to know the science back then, but I still think that star was special: the shining glory of God. Throughout the old writings, God’s guidance and presence were described as radiant light. And next week, you’ll hear about some shepherds who learned about Jesus from angels who shone with light. I know for sure that my face lit up when I met Jesus, the baby king who showed us God’s love. What a joy!

Matthew 2:1-12, Spark Story Bible pages 218-223

*The Magi in the Bible aren’t numbered, named, or even gendered. They’re just called magi, a Greek word which means magicians, astrologers, or priests of ancient wisdom. Caspar is a traditional name for one of the magi from Africa, dating back to the 6th century.

Family Connection: Make a Star

There are lots of ways to make a star. Practice drawing stars without ever lifting your pen from the paper. Make star shaped cookies to give to neighbors as a sign of God’s love. Use pipe cleaners to make stars to hang from the Christmas tree.

Talk about it:

When Jesus was born, why did a star shine overhead? Do people still look for Jesus? How do we know when we see Jesus?

We are like stars, too. Science tells us that we are made out of the same atoms that used to be inside bright stars. And Jesus said, “You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14). God is always with us and in us. When we show kindness and love to others, we allow that light to shine out of us a little bit brighter. You are lit with Godlight – you are a star!

Advent Week 4: Love

Painting from the Jesus Mafa project, Cameroon.

Story: Shepherds and the Heavenly Host

My name is Nicky.* Will you do what I did when I heard about Jesus’ birth? My family and I are shepherds. One evening we were out in the fields where we take care of the sheep and other animals when an angel arrived! The angel was shining so brightly, and we were scared out of our minds. The angel told us not to be afraid, saying “I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people! In the city nearby, a baby has been born. He’s the chosen one! You’ll find him dressed, you know, like a baby, but sleeping in a cow’s manger.”

We were so confused – what a strange announcement! So the angel turned up the sound and the lights. Suddenly there was a whole army of angels, a choir of angels singing “God is wonderful! Peace and love to all people on earth!”

That really got us moving. We talked it over and agreed to go to Bethlehem to see this special baby. We found Mary and Joseph watching over a baby in

a manger, just like the angel said. We couldn’t just keep this to ourselves – we went and told everyone we knew. A special baby was born, a sign of God’s love to everyone!

I don’t know why that angel chose us to tell. You’d think you’d want to tell people with power and influence, not a family of shepherds. But I’ve heard it said that God is like a shepherd, taking care of people when they’re afraid. And that baby boy will grow up to be a shepherd too, looking after every person in his care, no matter what. What wondrous love!

Luke 2:8-20, Psalm 23, John 10:11, Luke 15:1-7, Spark Story Bible pages 212-217

*Like the magi, the shepherds in the nativity story aren’t named, numbered, or gendered. Both women and men herded sheep in ancient times. A thirteenth-century story called The Book of the Bee gives the shepherds the names Asher, Zebulun, Justus, Joseph, Barshabba, Jose, and lastly, Nicodemus, or in today’s parlance, Nicky.

Family Connection: Move It

Arrange your seats in a circle so that everyone can see each other. Have one person start by listing an attribute, like “Everyone who has shoelaces on their shoes, move it!” or “Everyone whose favorite color is blue, move it!” If your family is small, everyone who shares that attribute can stand or raise a hand, and you switch off naming attributes. If your family is large, you can do this musical chairs style, where everyone has to scramble for a seat, and whoever is left standing names the next attribute. Play for a few minutes until everyone has had a chance to name a couple of attributes and get their blood flowing.

Talk about it:

What made the shepherds get up and move from where they were? What did the shepherds do when they saw Jesus? Why? What should

we do now that we know the story? What attributes did the shepherds have that made Jesus a savior born

to them? What does it mean for us that Jesus is born to everyone?