December 21, 2020
The Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The Virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’). Isaiah 7:14 (NLT)
Notes for adults and older children:
Incarnation! God comes to earth in a human body so that he can be “God with us.” The Lord Jesus shows us what the Father is like and teaches us how to love God and live with each other. We get used to talking about incarnation, but the concept probably never entirely sinks in to our minds in its fullness. How can we understand what it means to have Christ living within us? Little by little the truth reaches us: not only did the Christ-God walk on our planet, but he entered into the thoughts and emotions and lives of his followers, and still does today when we open our hearts to him.
Notes for young children:
Long before Jesus was born God told his people that one day a woman would have a baby and name him Immanuel, which means “God is with us.” When God gave his people this promise, they were having a lot of trouble from their enemies. The promise helped them to feel better because, even though they were having a bad time, they knew God cared for them enough to send this baby to show that God was with them. God’s promise came true when Jesus was born. The Bible tells us that Jesus was the “Immanuel” who was promised a long time ago. Since Jesus was God, when Jesus was born, God was here on earth with us in Jesus.
Prayer:
Father, thank you letting us know that Jesus was God with us. Thank you that he told us what you are like and that you love us. Thank you for being with us even though we cannot see you. Help us to believe what you have told us in the Bible about your love and forgiveness through Jesus Christ.
Advent activities:
1. For adults and older children:
Aim to remind yourself at least 10 times in the next day that God is with you. Leave reminders (post-it notes, reminders on your phone, etc.) to help you remember. At the end of the day tell someone what difference this action made in your day.
2. For younger children:
Jesus had many names that were used to describe him, like Immanuel. Sometimes we give nicknames to our friends that describe them. What names would you give to your family members to describe something about them? For example, you could call Dad “Superman” because he does amazing things. Little sister could be “Happy” because she laughs so much.
Church Health Ministries 