Tuesday 15th December 2020

 LC- To understand the meaning of Advent.

Yesterday, we reminded ourselves of the Christmas story and thought about how we would prepare for a special visitor.

Have a look at the following images. What are they? What are they called?

 So, these are called 'Advent Calendars' and are used by many children to count down to Christmas. BUT what are Christians really counting down for?

 Watch the following small video. You may want to watch it twice - and the second time, really think about the message it is trying to put across.

If you are in school, share your thoughts.

For Christians, the period of Advent is preparation for Christmas. It isn't a time of celebration and it isn't about buying presents or putting up the tree. It's about preparation and being reflective.

In many churches, an advent wreath is used to count down the Sundays until Christmas.

Have a look at the picture of an advent wreath, then go through the Powerpoint to learn more about the meaning of Advent.

So I haven't told you what each of the candles represent. You are going to try to work it out yourselves. 

Each of the candles is represented by a verse from the Bible. 

I want you to read each verse and summarise each one with one word. Let's see if you can work out the theme.

 Stick the verses in your book. Obviously, if you are at home you can't do this.

Record your work like this:

  Verse 1 is about -----------

 I think the word could be ---------

Good luck. Who will be the nearest?

 Ok. Let's look at each verse and see who was nearest.

The first verse talks about  a time that,   'is coming when I will fulfil the promise'

 The word could be , 'promise' or awaiting' or 'patience.'

Have a look at the answers below. How near were you?

Christmas is an important time for Christians. It is the time when they remember God coming to earth in the form of a baby (this is known as the incarnation). In the Bible, Jesus is referred to as ‘Immanuel,’ which means ‘God with us.’ Christians do not believe that Christmas simply ‘began’ in Bethlehem 2020 years ago. They believe that ‘prophets’ taught about the birth of Jesus hundreds of years earlier. The Jewish people were waiting for a Messiah – a person sent by God to make wrong things right again. Many of the Jewish prophets and teachers had written and talked about where the Messiah would come from, what he would be like and the things he would do. Christians believe that Jesus was the Messiah spoken about all those years before he was even born.

 The first candle represents HOPE. The hope of the prophets that the prophesy would come true.

Who were these prophets?

 The third candle represents John the Baptist. Who was he?

I want you now to research who these people were. Write some information about each person you research. You may find that you have heard of some of them before!