Advent: Waiting
Hi Werb’s Kids and Werb’s Parents!
We’re officially in December! I hope you’re beginning to get excited about Christmas even if it will be a little different this year.
Today we’re talking about Advent and waiting! I wonder if you have an advent calendar of some sort to help you count down the days to the 25th December?
Well this morning we met 2 people who waited their whole lives for the first Christmas to happen! I hope you were able to join us this morning but if not the full service is now on YouTube if you want to catch up.
HERE is the link for the STWDerby YouTube channel where we upload all our videos if you ever miss any weeks you can always watch again here!
I really hope to see you soon so stay safe and stay connected!
Amy x
WAIT!!!!!
Today we’re looking back to the very first Christmas.
We’re in the season of Advent. And you probably at home have some form of Advent Calendar which helps you countdown to Christmas!
But do you know what ADVENT means?
It originally means coming because we are waiting for the coming of Jesus!
It’s a time when we wait and get excited for what Christmas really means.
But did you know that there were some people who had waited for years and years and YEARS for the arrival of Jesus. In the old testament there were prophecies that spoke about Jesus and how he would be the saviour of the world and help us get back into a relationship with God again. Many of God’s people were so excited for this and many waited their whole lives to hopefully meet Jesus.
2 people who are mentioned in the bible who waited like this for Jesus were called Anna and Simeon
I wonder what the longest is you’ve ever had to patiently wait for something?
Anna and Simeon waited their whole lives to meet Jesus. Anna was 84 years old!
Can you imagine having to wait 84 years for something?!
After waiting for so long they were super excited to finally meet Jesus so much so they praised God and worshipped him.
We were reminded this morning to not forget to say thank you to God for Jesus this Christmas.
BECAUSE…
Without Jesus we aren’t able to be in relationship with God.
Without Jesus are sins and the bad stuff we do isn’t forgiven.
Without Jesus there is no Christmas. And Jesus is the best thing about Christmas.
Here is the prayer Amy shared this morning which you can try to remember and use on Christmas day to help you refocus and remember that Christmas is about Jesus first and to thank God for what he’s done for us!
“Dear Father God.
Thank you for Christmas! Thank you for presents and family and food.
Thank you especially for sending your son Jesus. Thank you that he is the Saviour, the light of the world. AMEN!”
GO DEEPER
Waiting can be hard. But waiting helps us to prepare and get ready for what is to come.
We find it hard to wait sometimes don’t we? Check out this video below where some friends find it hard to wait!
Do you think it would be a good idea to do all the activities associated with Advent in one day? How easy do you find it to wait for Christmas?
What is the most amazing special thing that you’ve ever had to wait for?
Was the waiting hard?
Amy just got a new puppy and she found it a little hard to wait for her to arrive but in a way the waiting made the day she met her puppy extra special!
We know that many people were waiting for Jesus to arrive for a long time. Not just days and months but years and centuries (that’s over a 100years).
Jesus was a special baby. He was God's son sent to earth to show how much God loved us. He did this by teaching us about God and allowing himself to be punished and he died for all the wrong things that we have done (we remember this at Easter).
Jesus was very special and, because people had been waiting for his arrival for such a long time that made his birth at Christmas SUPER special. When we have to wait for Christmas to arrive during Advent it gives us a chance to remember exactly how special Jesus is! And gives us a chance to get ready and prepare ourselves for his coming.
Often waiting helps us build up our excitement for something. When we wait for something it makes that something extra special and Jesus' birth was worth waiting for!
CRAFT TIME!
Some things to do during the talk:
There’s still a chance to invite others to Family Carols: Invitation to Christmas Services
Draw Anna and Simeon meeting Jesus
Draw or make with play dough your favourite part of Advent or Christmas. Is it the tree or singing Christmas songs or the gifts?
Get creative!
Make an advent wreath!
HERE are some great instructions to help you make a cool advent wreath using empty loo rolls and and a paper plate! Get creative and make it your own by adding your own decorations too.Make your own nativity!
Using playdough make the Christmas scene with Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus. Once you’ve got all the characters why not act out the story and see how much of it you can remember. If you get stuck HERE is a helpful video of the story.
WORSHIP
Anna and Simeon were full of joy and praise when they met Jesus. So the song I’ve chosen today is a Christmas Carol you might know called Joy To The World.
Here are the lyrics so you can sing along. Take a look and at these words and have another think about why you think Jesus is described as Joy to the whole world.
Are there any words that are confusing or any sentences or phrases that stand out to you? Talk together about the words and what you like most about the song.
“Joy to the world the Lord is come
Let earth receive her King
Let every heart prepare Him room
And Heaven and nature sing
And Heaven and nature sing
And Heaven and Heaven and nature sing
We will sing sing sing
Joy to the world
We will sing sing sing
Joy to the world the Saviour reigns
Let men their songs employ
While fields and floods rocks hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy
Repeat the sounding joy
Repeat repeat the sounding joy
We will sing sing sing
Joy to the world
We will sing sing sing”
“He rules the world with truth and grace
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness
And wonders of His love
And wonders of His love
And wonders of His love
And wonders wonders of His love
(We will sing sing sing)
We’re singing we’re singing
Joy to the world
We will sing sing sing
Joyful joyful we adore Thee
God of glory Lord of love
Oh Lord of love
Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee
Opening to the sun above”
Edited and adapted by Amy Farrar from several sources including energize.com
