Wineskins Advent Reflections: Week 2
by Greg Taylor
Advent is a time to prepare ourselves for the celebration of Christ coming into the world. Advent means arrival. So each of the four Sundays leading up to Christmas are marked by storytelling about Christ’s coming and self-examination and hearing from voices who announced his coming.
Read and Meditate
Isaiah 11:1-10; Romans 15:4-13; Matthew 3:1-12
Make room in your heart for the Lord
Start by giving away an extra coat to the person in need
Clean out your closet one garment at a time
And make room in your heart one attachment at a time
Clinging idols that crowd Christ, one by one
Then open your social calendar
write appointments for times with your Father in prayer
Make room in your heart
Then open your wallet and shelve your credit cards
make room for the poor
Make room in your heart for the Lord
Sing
Play your favorite songs about Jesus and Christmas. Each person in your group or family could decide a song to play. Have one of the children burn a CD with all the songs off of iTunes or just play CDs . . . or old records, if you have a record player!
Pray
Dear Father, we’re wandering in your world. We often come fully in a circle and recognize the path we’ve been so many times. Teach us to learn from this journey to love you more as you have loved us. Holy God, help us make room in our hearts for Jesus, Emmanuel, God-with-us.
From our readers
Opportunity of Advent
I just wanted to thank Wineskins for this great opportunity. I look at all the great opportunities I have missed being legalistic about Christmas. What other time of the year are people more open to hear the story about Christ? People are also longing for fellowship and relationships this time of the year too! I want to be like our Lord who used every opportunity to tell/show others about his Father, even a wedding feast!
Again, thanks!
Jeannine Tyree
Favorite Christmas Stories
One of my favorite Christmas children's books is One Wintry Night by Ruth Graham Bell. It's a bit long, but the first year when my kids were younger we read it a chapter a night. It begins the Christmas story in the beginning (Genesis) and does one of the most wonderful jobs of putting the advent into the big picture context. Plus the illustrations are glorious!
My kids laugh at me because I always cry at the end, like clockwork. But it's a great book. Also love The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey.
The other thing I've done that I learned from a friend is to visit different churches on Christmas eve with my children (now older teens). Our church is small and doesn't do anything organized on Christmas eve, so it's been a wonderful opportunity to participate in Christmas traditions with other Christians in our city.
Blessings,
Rendi Hahn
Abilene, Texas
Read and Meditate
Isaiah 11:1-10; Romans 15:4-13; Matthew 3:1-12
Make room in your heart for the Lord
Start by giving away an extra coat to the person in need
Clean out your closet one garment at a time
And make room in your heart one attachment at a time
Clinging idols that crowd Christ, one by one
Then open your social calendar
write appointments for times with your Father in prayer
Make room in your heart
Then open your wallet and shelve your credit cards
make room for the poor
Make room in your heart for the Lord
Sing
Play your favorite songs about Jesus and Christmas. Each person in your group or family could decide a song to play. Have one of the children burn a CD with all the songs off of iTunes or just play CDs . . . or old records, if you have a record player!
Pray
Dear Father, we’re wandering in your world. We often come fully in a circle and recognize the path we’ve been so many times. Teach us to learn from this journey to love you more as you have loved us. Holy God, help us make room in our hearts for Jesus, Emmanuel, God-with-us.
From our readers
Opportunity of Advent
I just wanted to thank Wineskins for this great opportunity. I look at all the great opportunities I have missed being legalistic about Christmas. What other time of the year are people more open to hear the story about Christ? People are also longing for fellowship and relationships this time of the year too! I want to be like our Lord who used every opportunity to tell/show others about his Father, even a wedding feast!
Again, thanks!
Jeannine Tyree
Favorite Christmas Stories
One of my favorite Christmas children's books is One Wintry Night by Ruth Graham Bell. It's a bit long, but the first year when my kids were younger we read it a chapter a night. It begins the Christmas story in the beginning (Genesis) and does one of the most wonderful jobs of putting the advent into the big picture context. Plus the illustrations are glorious!
My kids laugh at me because I always cry at the end, like clockwork. But it's a great book. Also love The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey.
The other thing I've done that I learned from a friend is to visit different churches on Christmas eve with my children (now older teens). Our church is small and doesn't do anything organized on Christmas eve, so it's been a wonderful opportunity to participate in Christmas traditions with other Christians in our city.
Blessings,
Rendi Hahn
Abilene, Texas
Labels: Advent, Celebration, Christmas, Isaiah, Joy, Nancy Twigg, One Wintry Night, Simplicity, The Christmas Miracle
posted at 12/05/2007 09:20:00 AM
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