Christmas Devotion - Prince of Peace

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 
-- Isaiah 9:6

Everyone longs for peace. However, the Hebrew word for peace, Shalom, means much more than the absence of conflict or the end of fighting. Shalom conveys not only a sense of tranquility but also of wholeness and completion. To enjoy Shalom is to enjoy health, satisfaction, success, safety, well-being and prosperity.

Shortly after Jesus was born. we hear angels proclaiming: "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests" Luke 2:14

Paul assured us in Ephesians 2:14 that "He, Himself is our peace." He is the source of all peace because though we were separated from God due to our sins, Jesus reconciled us, making peace through His blood.  The cross was our punishment, the payback for our sins. But Christ, loving us and being unwilling to let us suffer a punishment we could not survive, transformed an instrument of torture into one of victory. Through it He both upheld God's justice and healed our relationship with a holy God.

No matter how broken our world is, it is still right to call God loving, still right to hail Jesus as the Prince of Peace. During His life on earth He calmed the storm, walked on the water, healed the sick, and brought the dead to life. These are signs that He intends to restore God's plan for creation, to bring it to completion by inaugurating and establishing the new creation. One day Jesus Christ will enable the lion and the lamb to lie down together, making the world what it should be. A place where there is no more death, no more decay,  no more illness or suffering or sorrow. A place where sin cannot be found and peace will reign from sea to sea.

Until then we must help those who suffer and console those who grieve. We must pray for peace and work for peace and refuse to accept a world that is less than it should be and less than it will be. And as we pray, let us remember that Jesus not only brings us peace, He is our peace.

Peace with God produces peace with others and peace within ourselves. "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace." John 20:26-27 and Isaiah 26:3 promises that God "will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in (God)." 

When you pray to Jesus, the Prince of Peace, you are praying to the One who is the source of all peace. To live in peace is to live in His presence.

Discussion: Discuss the name and its application to Christ. What does it mean to have peace in our lives? Does it mean "no war?" What is the work of the Prince of Peace? (Enables us to have Peace with God, Peace within ourselves, peace with others.) What does it mean to be a "peacemaker?"

Prayer:  Dear Lord Jesus, thank you so much for the peace you offer.  In You we can find tranquillity and understanding.  With You we can find reconciliation.  You are truly sovereign and worthy of worship.  Teach us to become peacemakers - loving justice, doing right, and leading others along the path of peace. Amen.

Songs: Angels We Have Heard on High, Breath of Heaven by Amy Grant

Ornaments: https://biblestoryprintables.com/themed-bible-printables/christmas-bible-printables/names-of-jesus-advent-ornaments/

Craft: What are some symbols of peace? Draw pictures of them

Service Project Idea: Challenge: Commit to sharing the gospel of peace with someone this week.

Christmas Devotion - Everlasting Father

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.  And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
-- Isaiah 9:6

From the time of creation until about 2,000 years ago, no one had ever seen God. This all changed that Christmas night when Jesus was born to this earth. John 1:18 tells us "No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is Himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made Him known."

God wanted the people He created to actually be able to see Him and know Him on this earth. What an amazing concept! He loves us so very much and He desires that we would love Him. He knew that it is easier to love someone that you have seen. When Jesus walked on this earth, He showed people what God is like; that He is our everlasting Father.

Why a Father? Caring, loving, protective, one who provides for and takes care of his family, giver of counsel and wisdom...these are all attributes of a good father. They are all attributes of our Heavenly Father. They are all attributes of Jesus. Jesus said: "I and the Father are one." John 10:30 and also that "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father." John 14:9 He modeled the attributes of a perfect Father while here on earth as He pointed the way to Heaven where one day, all those who believe in Him, will be able to spend eternity with their Everlasting Father.


For Discussion: The name and it's meaning. How it applies to Christ. What makes a good father? How is Jesus like this? you may also wish to discuss the importance of having a father-figure in a person’s life and whether or not another male figure can substitute for a biological father’s absence.

Prayer:  This may be a perfect time to introduce or re-introduce memorization of the Lord’s Prayer, paying particular attention to the term “Our Father.”

Songs: Sweet Little Jesus Boy by Casting Crowns, O Come All Ye Faithful

Ornaments: https://biblestoryprintables.com/themed-bible-printables/christmas-bible-printables/names-of-jesus-advent-ornaments/

Craft: Make an evergreen wreath. The wreath is "eternal." It is circular having no beginning and no end. Evergreens symbolize eternal life. Hang a wreath in your home for Christmas

Service Project Idea:  A couple of things spring to mind here.  You could either focus on the actual fathers in your own family and create a special card or gift for them; or, you might have an older child research organizations such as “Big Brothers” that tries to meet the needs of children who do not have a father figure in their lives.  At that point you may also wish to discuss the importance of having a father-figure in a person’s life and whether or not another male figure can substitute for a biological father’s absence.

Christmas Devotion - Mighty God

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.  And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
-- Isaiah 9:6

Why is Jesus called our Mighty God? A brief look at His life helps us answer this. From the moment of His birth, He was attacked by Satan, our enemy. Herod tried to kill him as a baby. For 33 years He resisted all temptations to sin that we face.  Hebrews 4:15 says:  For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Satan tempted Him in the wilderness, the religious leaders constantly tried to trip Him up and even His own family and disciples doubted Him. Yet through all this Jesus remained sinless. That is a Mighty God!
An even greater test awaited Jesus on the cross when He actually became sin for us. He took all the guilt and punishment for every sin ever committed. He became sin. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21 God, the Father, turned His back on Jesus. He paid the price so we can be free from our sins and able to enter Heaven forever. That is a Mighty God!
Then, three days later, Jesus conquered death! He walked out of the tomb fully alive, fully healed, still fully God and fully man. That is a Mighty God!

For Discussion: The name and it's meaning(s).  You may also wish to point out that because of Jesus’s exceptional strength He is not overwhelmed by our problems, in fact He is always powerful enough to overcome them.

Prayer:  Thank you Jesus, Mighty God, for being so strong that no matter what my problems are, I can come to You and You are strong enough to conquer them.  Help me to remember to always lean on You for my support. In Your name I pray, Amen.

Carols: God is With Us by Casting Crowns, Hark the Herald Angels Sing

Ornaments: https://biblestoryprintables.com/themed-bible-printables/christmas-bible-printables/names-of-jesus-advent-ornaments/

Service Project Idea:  Check your community for charities that specialize in home repair or home building.  Become involved in this charity and use your strength to help “build” a better future for someone else.

Christmas Devotion - Wonderful Counselor

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.   And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  
-- Isaiah 9:6

A counselor is someone you go to when you have problems and need to talk about them, hopefully gaining a solution from the counselor. While there are many counselors in this world, none of them can give true wisdom and help all the time...except Jesus. The reason...He has the wisdom of God, our Creator.
Isaiah 11:2 says: And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
He is also the best counselor because unlike any other person in your life, including your Dad and Mom, Jesus knows you better than you know yourself. How certain you and I are that we know ourselves and what is going on with us. But how can we know ourselves better than the One who made us? How can we know ourselves better than the One who knows all things?
The Bible says in Psalm 139:1-4 “You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thoughts from afar. You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And are intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O LORD, You know it all.”
Because Jesus knows all things and knows us better than anyone else, He then has the real solutions for our problems and this makes Him a wonderful counselor. We can gain His counsel by reading the Bible and praying to Him every day.

For Discussion: What are the character qualities of a Counselor: (Close to us--accessible, confidential--we can take our intimate matters to him, compassionate, cognizant--of our needs, capable, communication--we communicate to Christ in prayer but how does He communicate with us?)

Prayer:  Dear Lord, thank you so much for all of the good advice and wise counsel that you have in the Bible.  Help me to remember to read my Bible daily so that I can learn all that you want me to learn and avoid being foolish. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Songs: Angels from the Realms of Glory and Still Her Little Child by Ray Boltz

Ornaments: https://biblestoryprintables.com/themed-bible-printables/christmas-bible-printables/names-of-jesus-advent-ornaments/

Craft:  You and your child may wish to begin a book of good advice.  Pay particular attention to short verses from such books of the Bible such as Proverbs and the letters of Paul.  Your child may wish to illustrate the book or you may wish to use those particular verses as handwriting exercises.

Service Project Idea:  Older children may wish to volunteer their time at a shelter or counseling center.  Younger children might make arrangements to deliver a donation to a shelter or counseling center.

Christmas Devotion - Alpha and Omega

"Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End." 
-- Revelation 22:13

As the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, the Alpha and Omega represent the One in whom creation began and by whom it will one day end. Its usage as an early Christian symbol is based upon Revelation 1:8: "’I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending’, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty".

In the last book of the Bible, Jesus reveals Himself as "the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End." Present at the world's beginning, Jesus will also be present at its end, when He and His work are finally and fully revealed. When you pray to Christ as the Alpha and the Omega, you are praying to the One who is, who was, and who is to come. He is our all-sufficient Lord, who will not fail to complete the good work He has begun in us.

If Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end of the world's painful but hopeful story, it is vital that we not only listen but that we respond, letting Christ weave our own small stories into the greatest story ever told. This week, spend some time thinking about the story of your life thus far. Take everything you remember, both the good and the bad, and give it to Jesus. Tell Him you want to surrender your life in an even deeper way so that He alone will be the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end of the story of your life.

For Discussion: Can you imagine a human being claiming to be the A to Z? Why or why not? How do you think this title relates to Christ as God? Try to relate this title to Jesus' role in both creation and in world history. What do you think it means? What would it mean to say that Jesus is first and last in your own life?

Prayer:  Lord Jesus, You are the Alpha and Omega, Beginning and End, First and Last. You are the source of all life and the fulfillment of all desire. You made the world from nothing and then remade it through your love. Thank you for being the beginning and the ending and all things in between.  Thank you for always being there.  Help me to remember that I am never alone because you are with me always.  In Your name I pray, Amen.

Carols: Joy to the World and A Strange Way to Save the World 

Ornaments: https://biblestoryprintables.com/themed-bible-printables/christmas-bible-printables/names-of-jesus-advent-ornaments/

Craft: Decorate your home with a Christmas banner showing the Greek symbols Alpha and Omega. Use about a yard of felt for the background. Make a casing and insert a dowel pole or stick to hang it from. Use other colors of felt to cut out your decorations and glue them to the background.

Service Project Idea:  Make a “thinking of you” card.  Decorate the front of it with a “chi ro” symbol.  On the inside of the card, send a note to someone who is house bound or in the hospital letting them know that you are thinking of them and also explain about the meaning of the “chi ro” symbol.

Christmas Devotion - The Word

The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. 
-- John 1:14

He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.
-- Revelation 19:13

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
-- John 1:1

Though God has always revealed Himself in some way, the incarnation (when Jesus came down as a baby) is the clearest, most compelling revelation of who God is - of His holiness, love and power. Because Jesus is one with the Father, He is uniquely able to communicate God's heart and mind. As Logos, or "the Word," everything about Jesus - His teaching, miracles, suffering, death, and resurrection - speaks to us of God. Our destiny depends on how well we listen. Will we believe, or will we turn a deaf ear to the message of God's love? When you pray to Jesus as the Word, you are praying to the One whose voice calls us from death to life and from darkness to light.

Words can be beautiful but they can also cause great hurt. However, God's Word is always good and is "living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12). God's Word has the power not just to communicate His purpose but to accomplish whatever it intends. It never returns to Him empty.

When God speaks, things happen. "And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light. And God said, 'Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.' And it was so. God said, 'Let the land produce vegetation.' And it was so." The world was created by God speaking it into existence. Jesus, the Word of God, the second person of the Trinity, was thus present at the world's beginning.

But the perfect world that God created was soon corrupted through sin. Jesus came to earth to recreate the world, restoring it to God's original purpose. Miracles happened when He spoke. Storms ceased, the lame walked, people were delivered from demons, and the dead were raised. These were signs that a world deformed by sin was being reshaped by God's all-powerful Word.

Jesus is still speaking, still reshaping the world, one person as a time. As His followers, we need to study and pray over His words. We need to listen carefully and expectantly for His voice. Opening ourselves to God's Word by reading the Bible daily, is a way of investing ourselves in the conversation God wants to have with us. It is a way of clearing the channel for communication, of giving Him room to speak while we listen. And as you read the Bible, pray. Ask Jesus, the Word made flesh, to communicate His heart and mind to you. He is eager to speak. May we be eager to listen.

Discuss: Read John 1:1-14 How does it summarize much of what you've learned about Jesus? John says that though "the world was made though Him, the world did not recognize Him" (John 1:10). Do you think this is still true today? Why or why not?

Prayer:  Jesus, You are the One and Only Word made flesh, speaking Your love and Your light into the world's thick darkness. Reshape my life through Your message of mercy. Give me ears to hear and a heart to do Your will. Make me eager and able to proclaim Your Word in season and out, confident in Your life-giving power and in Your enduring love. In Your name I pray, Amen.

Songs: Born That We May Have Life by Chris Tomlin, What Child is This

Ornaments: https://biblestoryprintables.com/themed-bible-printables/christmas-bible-printables/names-of-jesus-advent-ornaments/

Craft:  Make a scroll using a long piece of paper and sticks, cardboard tubes, etc. to roll the paper on.  On the paper itself write John 1:1

Service Project Idea:  Get involved with a group who distribute Bibles to those that cannot afford their own.  Alternately, assist a missionary in getting the Word out to people around the world.

Squanto - A Special Instrument of God

As we celebrate Thanksgiving day I'd like to share the true story of Squanto...the Native American who helped the Pilgrims survive that first year. 

Historical accounts of Squanto's life vary, but historians believe that around 1608, more than a decade before the Pilgrims arrived, a group of English traders sailed to what is today Plymouth, Massachusetts. When the trusting Wampanoag Indians came out to trade, the traders took them prisoner, transported them to Spain, and sold them into slavery. It was an unimaginable horror.

But God had an amazing plan for one of the captured Indians, a boy named Squanto.

Squanto was bought by a well-meaning Spanish monk, who treated him well and taught him the Christian faith. Squanto eventually made his way to England and worked in the stables of a man named John Slaney. Slaney sympathized with Squanto's desire to return home, and he promised to put the Indian on the first vessel bound for America.

It wasn't until 1619, ten years after Squanto was first kidnapped, that a ship was found. Finally, after a decade of exile and heartbreak, Squanto was on his way home.

But when he arrived in Massachusetts, more heartbreak awaited him. An epidemic had wiped out Squanto's entire village.

We can only imagine what must have gone through Squanto's mind. Why had God allowed him to return home, against all odds, only to find his loved ones dead?

A year later, the answer came. A shipload of English families arrived and settled on the very land once occupied by Squanto's people. Squanto went to meet them, greeting the startled Pilgrims in English.

According to the diary of Pilgrim Governor William Bradford, Squanto "became a special instrument sent of God for [our] good . . . He showed [us] how to plant [our] corn, where to take fish and to procure other commodities . . . and was also [our] pilot to bring [us] to unknown places for [our] profit, and never left [us] till he died."

When Squanto lay dying of fever, Bradford wrote that their Indian friend "desir[ed] the Governor to pray for him, that he might go to the Englishmen's God in heaven." Squanto bequeathed his possessions to the Pilgrims "as remembrances of his love."

Who but God could so miraculously convert a lonely Indian and then use him to save a struggling band of Englishmen? It is reminiscent of the biblical story of Joseph, who was also sold into slavery, and whom God likewise used as a special instrument for good.