December 15, 2020
May the Lord make your love for one another and for all people grow and overflow, just as our love for you overflows. May he, as a result, make your hearts strong, blameless, and holy as you stand before God our Father when our Lord Jesus comes again with all his holy people.
I Thessalonians 3:12-13 (NLT)
Notes for adults and older children:
This passage reminds us of the need to be ready for Christ’s second Advent. Asking God to help us love others will result in actions that will make us more prepared for his return.
Notes for young children:
One of the reasons why we look forward to Jesus coming back to earth is that when that happens, Jesus will make us like himself, loving God and other people. Until then, it’s sometimes hard to be kind to other people, even people that we love, like our family. We don’t always do the right thing and be kind to others because we are not perfect and holy the way God is. But God is able to make us more and more kind and loving to others if we ask him to help us. God will also forgive us when we are not loving to others. The Bible tells us that when we do something wrong (called “sin”), if we admit that what we did was wrong and ask God to forgive us, he will forgive us. Then he will help us not do that sin again if we ask him to help us.
Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, you have loved us even when we did not love you or other people. Thank you for forgiving us when we confess our sin and ask you to forgive us. Please help us to believe how much you love us. Please change us to be more like you. Help us especially to love the people in our family by putting them first.
Advent activities:
For each family member: choose one person living in your house and find a way to “put them first” today. For example, let them choose the TV program, even if it is not your first choice. Or give them the biggest serving of dessert. Or do one of their chores for them. Or think of another way to help them.
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