Emily Hardie

Our Advent Series comes from a plan provided by Church of the Valley on The YouVersion Bible App. For more information, please visit: https://ccv.church.

Day Twenty-Four: Christmas Dinner

Feasts and meals are a common theme throughout the Bible. In the Old Testament, God designed annual festivals and feasts for His people to remember His faithfulness, and in the New Testament we see countless times where Jesus arranged or invited himself to meals. Sharing a meal with others brings people closer together. Maybe that’s why one of Jesus’ last acts before He died was breaking bread with those closest to Him. At our church, we take the opportunity each week to get closer to God by taking communion, which reminds us of Jesus’ death on the cross for our sins.

Read John 6:32-40.

³² Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven.³³ For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
³⁴ “Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.”
³⁵ Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. ³⁶ But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. ³⁷ All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. ³⁸ For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. ³⁹ And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. ⁴⁰ For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

When we sit at the table for Christmas dinner, it’s another opportunity to thank God for sending his Son, Jesus, knowing that through Him, we could have a right relationship with God.

Takeaway: How do you plan to put Jesus at the center of your Christmas day?

Our Advent Series comes from a plan provided by Church of the Valley on The YouVersion Bible App. For more information, please visit: https://ccv.church.

Day Twenty-Three: Opening Presents

Families celebrate many traditions during Christmastime; the lights, the tree, the ornaments, the candies, and treats. All of these are traditions that point us back to a common belief that Jesus is the reason for the season. In fact, opening gifts is a tradition that varies around the world. Do you open presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning? Do you put them under the tree or hide them in the branches? Are they wrapped or unwrapped? No matter what, the most important thing is that the gift is opened. Imagine spending your time, your money and thought into the perfect gift for someone and they refuse to open it. God gave the gift of His Son, Jesus, to you. There is nothing that would please God more this Christmas than if you would open the gift He has given you.

Read John 3:16.

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

The exciting thing about accepting God’s free gift of Jesus is you don’t have to wait until Christmas.

Takeaway: What does it mean to receive God’s gift of His Son, Jesus?

Our Advent Series comes from a plan provided by Church of the Valley on The YouVersion Bible App. For more information, please visit: https://ccv.church.

Day Twenty-Two: December 25th

Every year on December 25th Romans would celebrate Saturnalia: an entire week spent feasting and worshiping false gods. This occurred all the way up until A.D. 313 when the Roman emperor Constantine became a follower of Jesus Christ. As a believer, he knew that this was wrong, and he declared that December 25th be changed to the Feast of the Nativity. In the years that followed, the name, Feast of the Nativity would be changed to Christ-mass and eventually, Christmas. Jesus wasn’t likely born on December 25th, but celebrating his birth on this day reminds us that He has the power to bring our lives out of the darkness and into the light.

Read Romans 12:21.

²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Isn’t it interesting that a day centered around something so dark and evil was transformed into a day characterized by radiant light, self-less giving, and sacrificial love?

Read Romans 6:23.

²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Takeaway: How can you seek out Jesus today?

Takeaway: How can you plan to make Jesus the center of December 25th this year? 

Our Advent Series comes from a plan provided by Church of the Valley on The YouVersion Bible App. For more information, please visit: https://ccv.church.

Day Twenty-One: The Wise Men

The Wise Men, also called Magi, followed a bright star in the sky thousands of miles because they wanted to worship Jesus. It’s unclear exactly how many wise men there were, but many believe that there were three due to the fact that they delivered three gifts to Jesus. The three gifts given to Jesus were gold, frankincense, and myrrh. These kingly gifts symbolize who Jesus was and what He would accomplish. Gold was a gift for royalty, frankincense was a gift that represented holiness, and myrrh was a spice used for ancient burial. The wise men generously gave these gifts to acknowledge a future king. 

Read Matthew 2:2.

² …“Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

We can learn a lot from the wise men, we should be seeking out Jesus daily instead of waiting for Him to come to us. 

Read Matthew 7:7-8.

⁷ “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

Takeaway: How can you seek out Jesus today?