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 Sixteen: Wrapping Presents

Gift giving is as old as Christmas itself, but people didn’t always wrap a gift before they gave it to someone. In the late 1800s, almost all gifts were handmade. Once people started purchasing factory-made trinkets and toys they wanted to make these gifts feel as though there was more effort put into them. So the gift-giver began wrapping these presents in brown paper and decorating them. As you wrap gifts this Christmas, remember that the very first Christmas gift was wrapped in swaddling clothes.

Read Luke 2:7.

⁷ and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

This was God Himself wrapped in the form of a baby, who came so that He could wrap all of us in His love.

Takeaway: Take a drive around your neighborhood and look for a house that has a Nativity scene. Think about what it means that the gift of Jesus came wrapped as a baby.

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 Fifteen: The Christmas Box

Bows – they are everywhere at Christmastime! We wrap bows around our Christmas gifts, we decorate our homes and Christmas trees, and you might even see a bow tied to the front of a car! Bows are often a finishing touch placed on the center of a gift, making whatever they’re on look beautiful and complete. Jesus has this same effect on our lives, He is the finishing touch. When placed in the center of everything we do, He unites us with one another and empowers us to share His love.

Read Ephesians 4:3.

³ Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

When we make Jesus the center of our lives, He promises us His peace and wants us to share it with the world. 

Read Proverbs 3:5-6.

⁵ Trust in the Lord with all your heart
    and lean not on your own understanding;
⁶ in all your ways submit to him,
    and he will make your paths straight.

Takeaway: How can you share Jesus with your friends and family when you give them a gift?

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 Fourteen: Christmas Caroling

Did you know that the word “carol” means to dance or a song of praise and joy? Francis of Assisi (uh-see-zee) introduced carols into formal worship during a midnight church service in Italy. He encouraged the town to “tell of your Christmas joy with song.” “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing”, “O Come, All Ye Faithful”, “Joy to the World”, and “Silent Night” are Christmas carols that help prepare our hearts for the coming of Jesus.

Read Exodus 15:2.

² “The Lord is my strength and my defense;
    he has become my salvation.
He is my God, and I will praise him,
    my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

As you sing carols this Christmas, think about the words you are singing and the joy that they bring. 

Read Psalm 28:7.

⁷ The Lord is my strength and my shield;
    my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.
My heart leaps for joy,
    and with my song I praise him.

Read Luke 2:13-14.

¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

Takeaway: What is your favorite Christmas carol and why?

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 Thirteen: Christmas Baking

Christmas and baking definitely go hand in hand. No one can resist the smell of a pie in the oven. As a way of preparing for Christmas, people used to fast on Christmas Eve. So, when Christmas morning arrived, they were very hungry. A typical breakfast used to be porridge. However, over time things like dried fruit or honey were added. Then, flour and eggs were added and it became more like a sweet loaf of bread, or a fruitcake. 

Read Ephesians 5:2.

² and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem which literally means, “house of bread”, and He would later be referred to as the Bread of Life. Like bread, Jesus nourishes our heart with hope, forgiveness, and love.

Read John 6:35.

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.

Takeaway: Think about what your favorite holiday treat is; why do you think we bake more around Christmastime?