Greetings Saints and Friends,
​“Good morning, class!” “Good morning, Mrs. Gladys!” “Today, as you can see, Pastor Harold is with us to talk about the Advent Season.” “Good morning, Pastor Harold!” “Good morning, boys and girls.” “Class, Pastor Harold told me that he has a special assignment he would like a couple volunteers to perform at our Advent services this month. Pastor Harold, would you tell our class what this important role in the Advent services will be?” “Certainly, Mrs. Gladys. Boys and girls, as many of you know, the Advent Season is a time when we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus. But the Advent Season is much more than just the birth of Christ. The Advent Season is a reminder of all the promises that God has kept through Jesus when He came the first time. Advent also reveals to us what we can now have because of Jesus. In these next few Sunday services, we are going to use the Advent wreath to help us celebrate some of the many splendid reasons for the season. Part of the Advent wreath are colored candles that represent gifts that come from Christ. Each Sunday, we would like someone to light one of the candles that represents a particular gift.” “Oh, Pastor Harold! I can do that! My father said next year he will allow me to light fireworks!” “I’m sure that will be exciting for the both of you, Billy. But what I am going to ask of you, class, is that those of you who will light the candles bring me a verse from the Bible about the gift we are celebrating that week.” “Pastor Harold, what are the gifts that Jesus brings to us?” “That is a very good question, Sally. Jesus has brought many gifts, especially to those who know Him as Savior. Since there is not enough time in the whole Advent Season to celebrate every gift He has brought, we will highlight four of them: Hope, Peace, Love, and Joy.” “Pastor Harold, why are we using a whole wreath if we are only lighting the candles?” “Actually, Andy, each part of the wreath has symbolic meaning to it. We will be celebrating these, too.” “Pastor Harold, since you have the wreath with you today, can you tell us what the different parts of the wreath remind us of?” “Yes, Mrs. Gladys. Thank you for asking. As you can see, class, the wreath is in a circular shape. Like a big ‘O’.
It has no beginning, nor does it have an ending. It reminds us that Jesus is eternal. He had no beginning, nor will He ever cease to be. John 1:1
The next observation is that the wreath is made of evergreens, which speaks of the life that Jesus offers. Jesus’ kind of life is everlasting.” John 3:16 “Pastor Harold, what do the pine cones tell us?” “That was the next thing I was going to mention, Stevie. The pine cones are very unique in God’s creation. When God created everything, He designed that the seed of life would come from the man. But we find in nature that there are actually male and female pine cones. And it is the seed of the female pine cone that brings life. Which reminds us of what God said to Satan in the Garden of Eden after Adam and Eve sinned: ‘I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed. He shall bruise your head. And you shall bruise His heel.’ Genesis 3:15 Many Bible scholars believe this is the first mention of the Gospel in the Bible.” “Pastor Harold, do you mean that the woman’s Seed would be Jesus?” “Yes, Janie. That Jesus’ birth would be like no other person’s.” “Pastor Harold, I know where it says that in the Bible. I am supposed to say that verse in the Christmas play.” “What is it, Michael?” “Isaiah 7:14, ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel’ – ‘which is translated, ‘God with us.’” Matthew 1:23 “Very good. What is the last item on the wreath we have not mentioned?” “The red berries!” “That’s right. The Gospel is, that Jesus died for our sins and rose again. And whoever trusts in Him, shall be saved. That is, their sins are forgiven, their home is in heaven, and the promises that God has made to every believer are now true for them. The red berries remind us that when Jesus died He shed His blood to pay for our sins. 1 Peter 1:19 Which leads us to the first candle. The first candle is blue, which reminds us of the sure promises and the confident ‘hope’ that we have in Christ. One of you will read the verse you select, then light the blue candle of hope. Then I will let everyone know, if anyone would like to ask Jesus to be their Savior, tell Him, ‘Thank You, Jesus, for paying for my sins when You died and rose again. Help me to grow in You every day, Amen.’