WEEK 1 ADVENT FOR THE FAMILY WITH KINGS CROSS

by King's Cross Training November 27, 2022

ADVENT FOR THE FAMILY

Have you heard about Advent? Advent is that season in the Christian
calendar when, for the four weeks leading up to Christmas Day, we
remember that God’s story is a rescue story. Usually, children get given
Advent calendars and open one door a day leading up to Christmas. But
there is another tradition that you may want to institute as a family – the

Advent Wreath.
The Advent Wreath is a simple circle made of leaves and/or branches, and
5 candles. One of these candles, the candle in the centre, should be white
(representing Christ); the others can be any colour you like.
The idea of the wreath is to give your family a weekly place to gather and
contemplate the Christmas story afresh.

First Sunday in Advent: 27 November 2022
On the first Sunday in Advent, gather together as a family and allow one of
the children to light the first candle. This is the candle, and the week, of
hope and it’s the week in which we remember the voices of the prophets.
From Isaiah to John the Baptist, God raised up voices to announce that He
was never far away. Even in the darkest, most forsaken places, God is
there. And because of that, there is hope. We wait in the darkness with
expectant hearts. We may have every reason to despair, but God has
promised to do something about the suffering and injustice of Adam’s
world.

Explain: Explain what Advent is about and what the Advent wreath is there
for. Explain that the first week is the week of hope and that during this
week, we always remember that we have hope because God is a rescuing
God.

Tell: Tell the story of the Exodus and relate it to the coming, and the
second coming, of Jesus.
Exodus 2:23–25
The Israelites groaned under their slavery, and cried out. Out of the
slavery their cry for help rose up to God. God heard their groaning, and
God remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God
looked upon the Israelites, and God took notice of them.

Then YHWH said, ‘I have observed the misery of my people who are in
Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I
know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them from the
Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad
land.’

God sees. God hears. God knows their suffering. God is coming to rescue.
When the Exodus begins, the people are groaning. God is somewhere out
there. When the book of Exodus concludes, God has entered the
tabernacle to live right among his people.
Notice how the gospel of John begins in The Message:
The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighbourhood.
Yes God came in person, in the person of Jesus and that is what we
celebrate at Christmas. But God will come once again to put everything
right again, this time for good.