Family Faith Seeds: Second Sunday of Advent Week of December 6th, 2020

I hope you find this to be a great faith activity for the whole family of all ages. This week’s theme, and the next few weeks themes during Advent will be based on the Lukan Advent stories.

Scripture

Luke 1: The Birth of Jesus Foretold

The Birth of Jesus Foretold

26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”[b] 29 But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 30 The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” 34 Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”[c] 35 The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born[d] will be holy; he will be called Son of God. 36 And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

Questions and Family Wonderings Based on Above Readings

• What do you think the angel Gabriel looks like?

• Have you ever seen an angel?

• I wonder what Mary thought as she was greeted by an angel.

• Do you think Mary wondered we she was chosen for this?  How would you feel if you                were chosen to do something really big and important?

Home Participation in the Manger/Creche Scene

Since we can’t all be in the sanctuary together each week to see the different creche figures up close, you are invited to have your own manger/creche with the figures at home.  Each week, we’ll ask I wonder questions, and place figures in the creche/manger.  You are invited to do this at home, too.

This Sunday, only the manger is in the creche.  We will be adding the animals and the shepherd and wonder, “I wonder what the animals dreamt about under the stars while they were at the stable?”

Home Participation in Lighting Advent Candles

First, if you don’t have an Advent wreath, that’s OK.  Just candles will do.  And, if you would like to make an Advent Wreath, here are the instructions to make the one we usually make during Advent Now.

You may wish to light these, with the ritual, every evening of Advent and let them stay lit a spell…

• You are invited to start by singing this song.  We’ll sing it in worship too.

• Next, the candle lighting liturgy.  The words are from I Will Light Candles this 
• Week 1, Nov. 29 and through the week: I will Light Candles this Christmas, “Candles of joy despite all the sadness, candles that will burn all year long.”   
• Adding on for Week 2, Dec. 6 and through the week: “Candles of hope where despair keeps watch,” ending with, “ candles that will burn all year long.”   
• Adding on for Week 3, Dec. 13 and through the week: “Candles of courage for fears ever present,” ending with, “ candles that will burn all year long.”     
• Adding on for Week 4, Dec. 20: “Candles of peace for tempest-tossed days,” ending with, “ candles that will burn all year long.”     
• Also adding on for Week 4, Dec. 21 and through the week: “Candles of grace to ease heavy burdens,” ending with, “ candles that will burn all year long.”   
• Also adding on for Week 4, Dec. 24: “Candles of love to inspire all my living,” ending with, “ candles that will burn all year long.”  
• And, end your candle lighting ritual with singing Holy Darkness again.

A Family Manger Creation Activity

You may already have a nativity scene that is set up for all to view at the beginning of Advent.  And that is wonderful!  Nativity sets are so beautiful and make a lovely addition to setting the holiday ambience in many homes.  You are invited to create a different nativity set, if you would like, to participate in the weekly Time with Children, that is accompanied by the I wonder question of the week.

This one is a printable nativity scene that you can put on your refrigerator.  The cool thing about this nativity scene is that you can color it yourself however you would like.  I plan on changing the words a bit that are inside the angel. You could even add your own pieces to it. You can have a place on the fridge for the characters to be until it is their turn to be part of the manger scene each week!  I plan on printing this one out and doing this at home.  If this one doesn’t suit you and your family, there are several others from this great website that you might like better.