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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 Nineteen: Christmas Plays

In the 15th century, most people couldn’t read and often times church services were in a language they didn’t understand. To help them learn the story of Jesus at Christmas, plays were performed on large parade-like wagons. These wagons would move from street to street performing one scene of the play after another. These plays told of Jesus’ first day on earth as well as his final instructions: to go into all the world and teach people the Good News of Jesus to everyone, everywhere. 

Read Matthew 28:19-20.

¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Remember that no matter what you’re doing or who you’re visiting that we are like these plays. We are a moving stage that displays God’s life and love for everyone to see.

Read Mark 16:15.

¹⁵ He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.

Takeaway: Think about how our lives reveal Jesus to others everywhere we go.

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 Eighteen: Santa Claus

A long time ago in a small town there was a boy named Nicholas; he loved God and loved giving to others. He grew up in a wealthy family and even at a young age he loved giving to those in need. When Nicholas grew up he became a bishop in the church, and when he had received his inheritance from his family, he began giving away his wealth. The best-known tale of Nicholas involved three young sisters who couldn’t pay for their weddings. Nicholas wanted to help, so he climbed up onto the roof of their house and threw gold coins down the chimney. The coins landed in the girls’ stockings which were hanging over the fire to dry. Years later the good bishop was declared Saint Nicholas and today he is known as Santa Clause.

Read 2 Corinthians 9:7.

⁷ Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Nicholas’s heart for giving to others came from a genuine love for God

Read Matthew 25:35-40.

³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶ I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
⁴⁰ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

Takeaway: Think about some ways that Santa Claus reminds you of God. 

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 Seventeen: Giving Gifts

Do you ever get excited when you have a gift to give someone? We often become filled with joy and love and feel excitement for the person who is receiving the gift. The wise men felt this same way about the gifts they brought to Jesus after He was born. They traveled hundreds of miles because the greatest gift had been given and they wanted to respond with the same generosity. No wonder we love to be so generous around the holidays. Every time we give presents, baked treats, or cards we’re representing God’s love to the world.

Read James 2:17.

¹⁷ In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

You can show your generosity this Christmas, like the wise men did, by sharing Jesus with others.

Read Ephesians 2:8.

⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—

Takeaway: Think about the gifts that God gives you and how you can use those gifts to tell others about Him. 

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.