Preparing for Advent: A Meaningful Family Experience
Whether you put up your Christmas tree in October (I’m looking at you, Tims Tribe) or you hesitate to put up any festive decor at all, the Advent season comes upon us every year without fail. Engaging Advent in your home with your family can be one of the most meaningful times of your whole year! One tool that can help you make the most of your time is the Family Advent Devotional by Matt and Lauren Chandler, which we are recommending again this year.
Each section of the guide is dedicated to the theme of the week and includes a short video (accessible by a QR code), some family discussion questions, and a bible reading. There are also daily devotions included in the book if you would like to utilize those. We typically choose one or two and don’t necessarily do a daily devo but focus our planning and attention on a more lengthy, once-a-week family worship time.
If you are not familiar with Advent, it is the first season of the global church calendar. Advent consists of the four weeks leading up to Christmas Day. It is organized by four themes, which are hope, peace, love, and joy. Engaging these themes through family discipleship in your home each week will enrich your family’s worship experience on Sundays at Timber because our services will also follow these themes this year.
The word Advent means “coming or arrival.” During the season of Advent, we are invited to slow down and remember the story of God and His plan to redeem the world and His people through Jesus. We celebrate the first advent of Jesus and look forward with great hope when He comes again! This is what anchors our hope, peace, love, and joy not only in December but all year long.
In our home, we utilize the resource mentioned above during our weekly Advent dinners, which we have on Sunday nights. That is what works for us, but they can be planned any night of the week. Those special dinners are put on the calendar before any other Christmas activity, party, or movie night is planned. Practically speaking, these dinners are always yummy; everyone likes the menu and can get excited about it. For the Graham family, that means we alternate between Italian food and Mexican food because…. guacamole. We always include a special treat and hot cocoa for our devotional time after dinner. It’s a special night that we all look forward to throughout the week!
Our worship time includes piling on the couch near the Christmas tree and lighting the candles on our Advent wreath. We begin by watching the short video provided in the guide. We discuss the theme of the week and the discussion questions provided. We also sing a few Christmas hymns together, which is from a YouTube playlist that I made with videos that include the lyrics. Finally, my favorite part, we end our time with communion and sing the doxology.
I believe ending with communion is a great opportunity to disciple our kids on what communion means for the believer. When we celebrate communion, we are proclaiming that Christ has died, Christ is risen, and Christ will come again! It is good and right to remind ourselves and our children that we can have hope because Jesus has come in the flesh. He is our Emmanuel, and there will be a second Advent, a second coming when Jesus comes again to make all things new! This is the heart of the Advent season!
I would encourage you to plan now to engage the season of Advent as a family, using the Family Advent Guide as a starting point, and figure out what works best for your family. If you have had a hard year, if you are struggling to have hope or peace, if you feel love and joy keep alluding to you, I would encourage you to dive into the Advent season with fervor. Make it a priority to focus your heart on the one who makes hope, peace, love, and joy a reality because of His birth! The King is coming, friends. Let the celebration begin!
If you are not familiar with Advent, it is the first season of the global church calendar. Advent consists of the four weeks leading up to Christmas Day. It is organized by four themes, which are hope, peace, love, and joy. Engaging these themes through family discipleship in your home each week will enrich your family’s worship experience on Sundays at Timber because our services will also follow these themes this year.
The word Advent means “coming or arrival.” During the season of Advent, we are invited to slow down and remember the story of God and His plan to redeem the world and His people through Jesus. We celebrate the first advent of Jesus and look forward with great hope when He comes again! This is what anchors our hope, peace, love, and joy not only in December but all year long.
In our home, we utilize the resource mentioned above during our weekly Advent dinners, which we have on Sunday nights. That is what works for us, but they can be planned any night of the week. Those special dinners are put on the calendar before any other Christmas activity, party, or movie night is planned. Practically speaking, these dinners are always yummy; everyone likes the menu and can get excited about it. For the Graham family, that means we alternate between Italian food and Mexican food because…. guacamole. We always include a special treat and hot cocoa for our devotional time after dinner. It’s a special night that we all look forward to throughout the week!
Our worship time includes piling on the couch near the Christmas tree and lighting the candles on our Advent wreath. We begin by watching the short video provided in the guide. We discuss the theme of the week and the discussion questions provided. We also sing a few Christmas hymns together, which is from a YouTube playlist that I made with videos that include the lyrics. Finally, my favorite part, we end our time with communion and sing the doxology.
I believe ending with communion is a great opportunity to disciple our kids on what communion means for the believer. When we celebrate communion, we are proclaiming that Christ has died, Christ is risen, and Christ will come again! It is good and right to remind ourselves and our children that we can have hope because Jesus has come in the flesh. He is our Emmanuel, and there will be a second Advent, a second coming when Jesus comes again to make all things new! This is the heart of the Advent season!
I would encourage you to plan now to engage the season of Advent as a family, using the Family Advent Guide as a starting point, and figure out what works best for your family. If you have had a hard year, if you are struggling to have hope or peace, if you feel love and joy keep alluding to you, I would encourage you to dive into the Advent season with fervor. Make it a priority to focus your heart on the one who makes hope, peace, love, and joy a reality because of His birth! The King is coming, friends. Let the celebration begin!
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