Harding Academy

Advent 2017 12 Day Jesse Tree

How to use this guide: It’s easy to get wrapped up in the busyness, the glitter, the gifts, and the schedules of the Christmas season. If we aren’t careful, December 26 hits and we realize that we missed it. Jesus comes, our Savior is born, and we are still digging our way out of wrapping paper and gingerbread men. The word advent means “arrival” and this season is all about anticipating the arrival of the Messiah. The anticipation of and longing for the birth of Christ can be traced back to the beginning… the very beginning. From the moment sin entered the world, God has been on a rescue mission to send his Son and restore that which was broken. This story, The Story, is a beautiful reminder of God’s amazingly extravagant love for us! If your family doesn’t already have an advent tradition, we hope this will be a helpful guide to use for the twelve days leading up to Christmas Day (December 14-25). Each day has a scripture focus, a quote to read together, and a prayer. Here are some ideas for how you can use this guide:

• Read the guide together each day. Take turns reading each part. • Make a “Jesse Tree.” You can think of a Jesse Tree as Jesus’ family tree. The name of this ancient tradition comes from Jesse, the

father of King David and ancestor of Jesus. A Jesse Tree is a Christmas tree that holds ornaments that represent Bible stories from The Story leading up to the birth of Christ.

o You could use a small Christmas tree or use some branches placed in a vase. o Print the first page of this document and cut out the twelve symbols. If you have any little artists in your family, you might

let them color the discs before punching a small hole and tying a string to create an ornament. • Make this a focused family time- no phones, no TV, no distractions!

If you would like any additional resources for this activity, we recommend these books which you will find quoted throughout the guide: The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones and Unwrapping the Greatest Gift by Ann Voskamp. Our prayer is that these twelve days will fill your homes with hope, joy, peace, and love. Merry Christmas to you all!

-Seth and Jenna King Harding Academy Campus Ministry

December 14- Day One: Creation A scripture: Genesis 1:1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. A thought: “God looked at everything he had made. ‘Perfect,’ he said. And it was. But all the stars and the mountains and oceans and galaxies and everything were nothing compared to how much God loved his children. He would move heaven and earth to be near them. Always. Whatever happened, whatever it cost him, he would always love them.” -The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones A prayer: Father, in the beginning was your love. You created not out of boredom, but out of your abundant love. Open our eyes to see your love on display in every moment of our lives. Amen

December 15- Day Two: The Fall A scripture: Genesis 3:6 When the woman saw that the tree looked like good eating and realized what she would get out of it—she’d know everything!—she took and ate the fruit and then gave some to her husband, and he ate. A thought: "At one wooden tree in the Garden of Eden, we fell for the lie that God didn’t love us, and we fell away from God, and got lost. And at one wooden cross near the Garden of Gethsemane, God found us and stretched out his arms and proved forever and always and no matter what that he loves us with an unconditional, unbeatable, unfailing, unwrappable love." -Unwrapping the Greatest Gift by Ann Voskamp A prayer: Father, desire is a gift from you, but Satan, as he often does, takes your gift and leads us away from your heart. We confess that there are many days that our hearts desire something other than you. We pray that you will redeem our desires and bring them nearer to you. Amen

December 16- Day Three: Abraham A scripture: Genesis 22:2 “Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.” A thought: “Many years later, another Son would climb another hill, carrying wood on his back. Like Isaac, he would trust his Father and do what his Father asked. He wouldn’t struggle or run away. Who was he? God’s Son, his only Son--the Son he loved. The Lamb of God.” -The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones A prayer: Father, we pray for the faith of Abraham and the obedience of Isaac. Teach us to lay down our lives for your purposes and your glory, just as Isaac did and just as Jesus has done for us. Amen

December 17- Day Four: Joseph A scripture: Genesis 45:3-4 Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still living?” But his brothers were not able to answer him, because they were terrified at his presence. Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt!” A thought: “One day, God would send another Prince, a young Prince whose heart would break. Like Joseph, he would leave his home and His Father. His brothers would hate him and want him dead. He would be sold for pieces of silver. He would be punished even though he had done nothing wrong. But God would use everything that happened to this young Prince--even the bad things--to do something good: to forgive the sins of the whole world.” -The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones A prayer: Father, cultivate in our hearts a spirit of forgiveness. Few of us have experienced a betrayal similar to Joseph. You grew within him a heart of forgiveness, and we pray that we can extend that same forgiveness to those who have hurt us. We pray that we can extend that same forgiveness to ourselves. Amen

December 18- Day Five: Moses A scripture: Exodus 1:22, 2:1-2 Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Every Hebrew boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live.” Now a man of the tribe of Levi married a Levite woman, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months. A thought: God sent baby Moses on a journey through Egypt, and this journey would save his life and give him a royal position that he did not earn. Many years later, another baby would journey through Egypt. This journey saved his life, but instead of receiving his own position of earthly royalty, his life would give us a royal position that we cannot earn. Two babies, saved in Egypt. Two babies who would one day save countless others. One God who has orchestrated all of this salvation. A prayer: Father, through Jesus’ journey, you have given us titles and positions that we have not earned. You call us royal. You call us sons and daughters. You call us loved. You call us your own. Father, we rejoice in that. Lead us to live from those titles. Amen

December 19- Day Six: Passover

A scripture: Exodus 3:7,10 The Lord said [to Moses], “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” A thought: “God’s people would always remember this great rescue and call it “Passover.” But an even Greater Rescue was coming. Many years later, God was going to do it again. He was going to come down once more to rescue his people. But this time God was going to set them free forever and ever.” -The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones A prayer: Father, it’s an upside-down idea to follow a lamb to freedom, but we want the boldness to follow the lamb wherever he leads us. Deliver us from evil. Lead us to freedom. Amen

December 20- Day Seven: The Law A scripture: Deuteronomy 30:16 For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess. A thought: “God gives His people this gift--these two pieces of stone with this forever-love that He wrote with His very own finger into the hardest stone. But God knew we wouldn’t obey His love commandments. He knew we would want other gifts more than God. He knew we wouldn’t want to keep close to Him more than anything else. So God gave the love commandments to us--and He gave us Jesus. And Jesus obeys and keeps all the love commandments for us.” -Unwrapping the Greatest Gift by Ann Voskamp A prayer: Father, when you deliver the Israelites from Egypt, you give them the Law. You don’t give it as a burden; you give it to show them how to live in a freedom that they haven’t experienced in 400 years. Give us eyes to see your laws as freedom. Show us laws that free us from the captivity of the society and culture around us. Show us freedom from our own Egypts so that we can live in your Promised Land. Amen

December 21- Day Eight: King David A scripture: 1 Samuel 16:1 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.” A thought: “Long after David, there was another King born in Bethlehem. He didn’t look like a King on the outside either--He just looked like a little baby. But on the inside? Underneath the wrapping? He was the greatest gift of all.” -Unwrapping the Greatest Gift by Ann Voskamp A prayer: Father, you work through the unexpected. All throughout your story, you’ve chosen people that no one else would choose. You chose Moses, a murderer who didn’t speak well. You chose David, the youngest in his family and a lowly shepherd. You chose Mary, a young, teenage girl, and it’s through Mary that Jesus enters the world, not as an emperor or a king, but as a baby. Open our eyes to see you in the unexpected. Amen

December 22- Day Nine: Prophets A scripture: Isaiah 11:1-3a A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him-- the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD-- and he will delight in the fear of the LORD. A thought: “Poor Isaiah. He read God’s letter over and over to God’s people, but no one listened to him- at all. Ever. They didn’t want to hear God’s promise. They didn’t believe it. Did it sound maybe too good to be true? A story that ends happily ever after? Well, it does sound like a fairy tale, doesn’t it? And, as anyone will quickly tell you, fairy tales aren’t true. Or are they?” -The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones A prayer: Father, in the face of adversity, your prophets have stood firm throughout history. Even in seasons when they felt that their work didn’t matter, they persevered. Give us a spirit of perseverance. Teach us and show us how to be prophetic voices in a world filled with brokenness. Give us courage to speak truth. Amen

December 23- Day Ten: Exile and Return

A scripture: Ezra 5:12 But because our fathers had provoked the God of heaven to wrath, He gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this temple and deported the people to Babylon. A thought: “It had taken centuries for God’s people to be ready, but now the time had almost come for the best part of God’s Plan. God himself was going to come. Not to punish his people--but to rescue them. God was getting ready to wipe away every tear from every eye. And the true party was about to begin…” -The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones A prayer: Father, the story of exile is one of the low points in the story of your people; it’s not a fun story to talk about. But it’s in that season, when they feel completely abandoned, that the story makes a major turn. We pray that the same will be true in our stories. We want to see you at work, even in moments when it feels like we’re far from you. Give us eyes that see and hearts that anticipate. Amen

December 24- Day Eleven: Mary A scripture: Luke 1:30-31 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will call him Jesus.” A thought: “Mary didn’t understand how all of this was going to happen. But she said yes to God anyway. It’s the strangest most wonderful thing: when you say yes to God, He gives you the best gifts. Sometimes the gift isn’t what you asked for. Sometimes it isn’t what you expected. But it’s always the best gift--the gift you really need the most.” -Unwrapping the Greatest Gift by Ann Voskamp A prayer: Father, sometimes the most daring, most dangerous thing we can say to you is “yes.” But on the other side of that “yes” are gifts that we never imagined. We pray for the faith of Mary. We pray for the faith to say yes to you, even when you ask more than we believe we can give. We celebrate your faithfulness to our yeses. Amen A song: Mary’s Lullaby by Jillian Edwards https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzgV4v2WMCo

December 25- Day Twelve: The Birth

A scripture: Luke 2:10-12 But the angel said to [the shepherds], “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” A thought: “Everyone heard the good news of the Savior from ordinary shepherds. And now we are like the shepherds. We have run to see Him, and we have come close to Him. We get the gift of telling the world about the wonders of this unstoppable, unfailing, unbelievable love too. Now the wonders of His love never end--now Christmas never ends. The wondrous, miraculous love of Jesus is the gift we keep giving and unwrapping forever and ever and ever!” -Unwrapping the Greatest Gift by Ann Voskamp A prayer: Father, you are near. It was true 2,000 years ago, and it’s true now. You are a God of love who draws near to our brokenness. There is no greater story, no greater truth than this. We praise you for your nearness and for your love. Amen