He Came as He Said He Would
Monday, November 29 | Video Introduction
Tuesday, November 30 | Personal or Family Devotional
Wednesday, December 1 | Advent Music
Thursday, December 2 | Special Activity
Friday, December 3 | Family Activity
Saturday, December 4 | Advent Candle Lighting
Sunday, December 5 | Sunday AM Service @ 10.00am
Monday, november 29 | VIDEO INTRODUCTION
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 30
PERSONAL or FAMILY DEVOTIONAL
By Pastor Adam Van Dop
When you imagine peace, what do you imagine? A canoe drifting on a calm lake? Your kids playing together quietly? A cup of coffee, a good book, and the fire on?
If you had the opportunity to experience any of those moments, you have just begun to experience the peace that Christ has come to offer. While these three scenarios are most certainly peaceful moments, they do not quite fully capture the kind of peace that Christ came to usher into His Kingdom on earth.
Isaiah told us that when Jesus would come, that He would be the,
“Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
Isaiah 9:6 | ESV
The fourth title “Prince of Peace” is not to say that Jesus will be the head-honcho-of-tranquility, but that He would be the reason why peace even exists in the first place. The word peace comes from the Hebrew word, Shalom. Which we may understand it to mean an absence of war, or a freedom from any kind of disturbance. Shalom, while it may imply those things, means so much more.
In Hebrew, the term shalom indicates a wholeness, a completeness. This sense is captured when Joseph was in Egypt, serving second command to Pharaoh. While still unrecognized, his brothers came to collect food.
“Then [Joseph] asked them about their well-being, and said, “Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?” And they answered, “Your servant our father is in good health; he is still alive.”
Genesis 43:27-28 | NKJV
In Hebrew, the word and phrases “well-being,” “well,” and “in good health” all are from the same Hebrew word, Shalom. Isaiah is telling us that Jesus would be the Prince of Shalom. The Prince of Well-Being. The Prince of Wholeness. Jesus would be the reason we feel any sense of completeness.
The world around us, however, has its way of being unsettled, it always has us desiring to fill our unwellness with matters of itself, all of which are fleeting. The wind on the lake will pick up. The kids will start fighting. Your coffee will spill and ruin your book. During these, and many other unsettling moments, Jesus says:
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives.”
John 14:27 | NIV
“… in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33 | ESV
In this Christmas season, may you experience a deeper sense of peace, more than just pretty decorations and calm nights by the fire. May you experience a peace that rests deep in your heart, mind, and soul, providing you the comfort that God, through His Son, and by His Holy Spirit, holds you firm in His loving embrace – right where you were designed to be. Here is where you experience wellness, completeness, Shalom.
WEdnesday, december 1 | ADVENT Music
By Jason McNabb
We all know the story. Mary, Joseph and the unborn Christ-Child were sent to stay in the stable, for there was no room at the Bethlehem inn. Take a moment here to consider the irony of this situation. The greatest King of all, would not be received at His arrival with pomp and ceremony, but instead He would be relegated to the stable. That night, Bethlehem was not prepared to receive Him.
This is the place from which this Christmas-ballad was born. In Psalm 24—sometimes referred to as an enthronement psalm—the psalmist cries out:
Lift up your heads, O gates!
And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of Glory may come in.
Psalm 24:7 | ESV
I have to admit that every time I read this psalm, I get a mental picture of fanfare and celebration as the long-absent King makes His highly anticipated return to His kingdom. It is a glorious picture of a grateful people being reunited with their gracious Lord.
To be sure, King Jesus’ coming is something to hope for, and to celebrate. But we must not forget that it also comes with a call. A call to make way for Him. A call to prepare ourselves. A call to fling open the heavy gates of our hearts, so that this King of Glory may come in and be received as King. As we look ahead in hope to Christ’s return, the season of Advent helps us to anticipate His coming and urges us to Prepare Him Room.
Prepare Him Room
Dave Fournier, Rebecca Elliott
Verse 1
O behold the mystery now unfolds; see the star shine on the virgin foretold
Angels sing and light up the sky, hope rings out in a newborn's cry
Swing wide you ancient gates for Christ is born today
Chorus
Prepare Him room; Prepare Him room; Let the King of Glory enter in
Verse 2
God with us the promise has come to be; This the one the prophets were longing to see
In the darkness a blazing light, to the hungry the words of life
His kingdom now is near for those with ears to hear
Verse 3
Oh our hearts as busy as Bethlehem; Hear Him knock don't say there's no room in the inn
Through the cradle, cross and grave, see the love of God displayed
Now He's risen and He reigns; praise the Name above all names
© 2014 Sovereign Grace Praise, Sovereign Grace Worship (Admin. by Integrity Music).
LISTEN TO AND WATCH THIS SONG HERE SPOTIFY PLAYLIST
THursday, DECEMBER 2
Special Activity
GIANT POSTER
For this activity, your entire family can gather around and colour together a GIANT,
2’ x 3’ Advent colouring poster.
Once you have finished your masterpiece, we encourage you to bring it back to church to put on display.
Remember to mark your name on the bottom corner.
Pick up your ADVENT ACTIVITY BOX at the church on Sunday morning, November 28,
The box which was made available via pre-registration in November.
friday, DECEMBER 3 | Family Activity
Christmas Cards
In your ADVENT ACTIVITY BOX that you picked up on Sunday Morning November 28,
you received enough supplies to make at least three homemade Christmas cards.
The box was made available via pre-registration in November.
To spread Christmas cheer, we encourage you to send one card,
(1) to a fellow church member/family,
(2) to one of our missionaries,
(3) to someone from your neighborhood.
Addresses & envelopes will all be provided.
_____
We invite you to also register for the Family Activity - CHRISTMAS LIGHT TOUR - happening next week Friday, December 10 at 6.00pm and 7.30pm. Click the button below to access the registration.
Saturday, December 4
Candle lighting
Adult/Parent: Set aside ten minutes tonight to talk about God’s mercy in sending a Savior. The only materials needed are five candles, matches, and a Bible.
LIGHTING OF THE ADVENT CANDLE
Have one member of the family light last week’s candle and a second candle.
SCRIPTURE READING
Have one person read the following passages out loud.
And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
~ Luke 2:3-7
And there, in the stable, amongst the chickens and the donkeys and the cows, in the quiet of the night, God gave the world his wonderful gift. The baby that would change the world was born. His baby Son.
~ The Jesus Storybook Bible
REFLECTION
Have an adult read the commentary below.
Do you remember the promise we talked about last week? God’s promise to send a Rescuer? His promise to send Jesus? Well, Jesus came, just like God said He would!
After thousands of years of waiting, on an ordinary night, Jesus came. God gave His people hints and clues about how Jesus would come. He told them that Jesus would come from Bethlehem, be a Ruler, and bring peace. Many expected a soldier; some expected a politician. No one expected a baby. But that’s how Jesus came.
Mary and Joseph lived in a town called Nazareth. One day, the king gave an order that everyone was to go back to their hometown to be counted for something called a census. Mary and Joseph traveled a long way to the town of Bethlehem, where Joseph’s family was from. When they got to Bethlehem, the town was full of other travellers, and there was nowhere for Mary and Joseph to stay. So they found a stable to sleep in. While they were there, the time came for Mary to have her baby, and Jesus, the Savior, was born.
Jesus, the King of heaven, left His perfect home to be born as a baby to a young man and woman. He became fragile and helpless. His room that night was a stable—dirty, smelly, and full of noisy animals. His bed was not kingly and luxurious; it was a feed box that animals ate out of. But everything that happened that night was exactly what God had planned and promised. Jesus came, just like God said He would. God saw that we needed to be rescued from sin. He cared about us in our need, and He acted. He sent Jesus.
The events of that night, in that stable in the little town of Bethlehem, would change the world forever.
CLOSING PRAYER:
Lord, thank you for sending Jesus to be born as a baby who would save us from our sins! AMEN!
OPTIONAL SINGING/LISTENING
As a family, sing or listen to “Away in a Manger.”
