Advent Family Worship- Day 2

Begin by singing “Come Thou Long-expected Jesus” or a favorite Christmas song

Read the story of Zechariah and the angel together (Luke 1:5-25).

[5] In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. [6] And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. [7] But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.

[8] Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, [9] according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. [10] And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. [11] And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. [12] And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. [13] But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. [14] And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, [15] for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. [16] And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, [17] and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

[18] And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” [19] And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. [20] And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” [21] And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. [22] And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute. [23] And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.

[24] After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, [25] “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”

(Luke 1:5-25 ESV)

Explain the details of the story – ex. Who is Zechariah? Who is Elizabeth? How is she related to Mary, the mother of Jesus? Who will Zechariah’s son be? (Note: pass out paper and crayons and let the kids draw a picture of the scene in Luke 1:5-25 while you ask the following questions.)

• Q. What was Zechariah’s response to the angel’s announcement (1:18)? Why did he respond this way? Why was he punished for responding this way?
• Q. What are you most afraid of? How might your fear keep you from being obedient to God?
• Q. What would have been the right way for Zechariah to respond? Why?

Explain the Advent wreath (If you have one). Our themes this year will be: FAITH (week 1); JOY (week 2); LOVE (week 3); HOPE (week 4).

Light the first Advent Candle and read the Advent Theme summary.

“The kingdom of heaven has come upon you,” Jesus says. It is here. It is available. You can taste and touch it. You can enter into it and experience its power. Heaven has come to earth in the Person of Jesus, and it continues to advance upon the earth up to today, overthrowing the forces of evil and making all things new.

This new reality of God’s kingdom come trains us to live our lives from the top-down, not the bottom-up. As the people of the Christmas story, we begin with God, because salvation always begins with God. The Advent theme today is faith. Faith is viewing your circumstances in light of what you know about God; not the other way around. The story of Zechariah illustrates this well. Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, responded to the angel’s announcement of the birth of his son, the forerunner to the long awaited Messiah, with unbelief. This earned him a rebuke and a nine-month sentence of silence. We face a similar temptation. Therefore, we light a candle to remind us that our response to all that God has done for us in Christ should be faith; not unbelief, cynicism, or joylessness. God’s kingdom come means that life’s possibilities are more profound than our disappointments about the past or our fear about the future. This is the message of Christmas: “The kingdom of heaven has come upon you!”

Have a discussion about faith and fear. Pray that God would give you greater faith this Christmas.

Finish by singing/listening to “Christ is Come” by Jeremy Camp