Holy Week: Four Services, One Story
March 22, 2024
In our efforts to partner with you in the discipleship of your children, adolescents, and teenagers, we’ve gathered some of our favorite Advent resources and ideas. In the list below, we hope you’ll find at least one helpful practice, song, book, or prayer that will support and encourage you this Christmas season.
First, some best practices for family devotional time:
- For young children in your home, keep it short and simple. Use simple visuals, music, and something hands-on when possible. Don't underestimate the spiritual sensitivity of young children, however. They are amazingly insightful!
- If you have older children, give them as much ownership as possible. Involve them in preparations and consult them when making decisions about the best time of day and format for family devotions. Ask them to read scripture passages to the family and to help explain spiritual concepts to little ones.
- Don't fall into the "all or nothing" trap. (No family is perfect!) If you miss a day, simply pick up where you left off. Make the time you do spend together meaningful and special.
Here are our favorite ideas and resources:
Family Activities/Devotionals
Decorational Devotional
As you decorate together, discuss why certain decorations are used at Christmas time and how they can remind us of God’s character.
Nativity Scriptures
Read one Bible verse each day while adding one piece of the nativity over the last two weeks of Advent.
Advent Coloring: Coloring is a great way to keep little hands busy and young minds engaged during family devotionals.
Click HERE for a printable advent wreath coloring page
Click HERE for a printable advent coloring booklet.
Advent Adventures: A great family project (by Cher Curtis)
Our beloved Cher Curtis (long-time Central member and former Director of Children’s Ministry) created this beautiful and engaging family activity many years ago, and it is still being used by many families. Use to provide visual and tactile learning activities for every day of December until Christmas or to create a permanent family Advent banner.
The Way to the Manger
This sweet book engages families with the biblical truth of Christmas through twenty-five Advent devotions that redirect children and families to their need for a Savior and the amazing gift of Jesus Christ.
Names of Jesus Ornament Book
This board book comes with twelve beautiful ornaments, each featuring a different name of Jesus. The book gives Advent devotions and scriptures for each ornament/name of Jesus. Families could work together to make a DIY version of this by choosing names of Jesus found in scripture, making a simple picture ornament, and discussing the meaning of each name together.
A Guide to Celebrating Advent with a Jesse Tree
This is a great activity for all ages, and it’s free! Jesse Tree is a way of preparing for Advent by journeying through the stories on Jesus’s family tree. As you decorate your tree, you’ll see how God prepared for Jesus to be born through many generations. We also like this Jesse Tree magnet set – also can be used as an Advent devotional, but not free.
Good News of Great Joy
Not free, but very inexpensive. This family devotion is suitable for ages 4-14 and can be used in a variety of ways. It contains Scripture, lesson, questions, a craft, a hymn to sing, and a memory verse.
Preparing the Way for Jesus
A simple (and FREE!), but well-crafted resource for counting down the days to Christmas as a gospel-centered family.
Advent Picture Books
The Crippled Lamb by Max Lucado
The Legend of the Candy Cane by Lori Walburg
The Jesus Storybook Bible, a Christmas Collection by Sally Lloyd Jones
Advent Storybook by Laura Ritchie
Music
Seeds of Christmas This musical video journey will take your family through the prophesies in Isaiah and Micah to the incredible accounts of Jesus's miraculous birth in Matthew and Luke.
He Has Come to Reign - by Sherdonna Denholm These 5 beautiful songs were meant to turn our minds and hearts to the wonder of Advent.
Home-made music by Team Cairns: Hopefully, these sweet music videos by the Cairns family will help you and your children feel a bit more connected to their church friends and music leader. Each of these songs/videos would make a great devotional for kids of all ages:
Mazzoni Music: What a blessing to have the great talent of our own Mazzoni family! Fill your home this Advent with Jennifer and Matt’s beautiful Christmas music called "Love's Pure Light” which expresses the message of Isaiah 9:2: The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone." Click HERE to access this album.
Other Great Resources
Advent Bingo Game - maybe send some cards to Grandma and Grandpa for playing over Zoom together?
Why Do We Call it Christmas? – (Video) Save this for a fun and meaningful family movie night. Buck Denver and all his friends go on an amazing journey into the world's most popular holiday.
The Greatest Gift (video devotionals) In these four short videos, draw deeper into Scripture and explore the magnificence of God's Word through the unfurling of the greatest love story ever told—God's ardent and relentless pursuit of us. Perfect for families with older kids.
Do you have other favorite Advent resources? Feel free to share them in the comments box!
May God bless you and your family!
In Christ,
The Family Ministry Team
