Like many of you, my family spent some of our Thanksgiving weekend “decking the halls” for Christmas. Trent helped me tackle the outside lights, and for once I managed to get them all up without seriously damaging something! Mary and Trent worked on the inside of our house, and now most of our rooms are filled with red and green decorations.
What is interesting about that (at least to me) is that while red and green are the “traditional” colors of Christmas, they aren’t the primary colors of Advent. The main color of Advent is actually purple! In most Advent wreaths (but not all!) at least three of the candles are purple. There are a couple of reasons for this. The first is that purple is traditionally the color of royalty, and so we should use it to celebrate and help remind us that Jesus is the King of Kings.
The second reason is that purple is also the color of repentance. We don’t often think of the Christmas season as a time of repentance, but this is actually a great opportunity to talk to our kids about their need for a Savior and their need to turn away from their sin.
An interesting fact about the advent wreath is that there are several different interpretations of what the candles of the advent wreath represent. While most of them begin with the Candle of Hope, they differ slightly for the remaining weeks of advent. For example, at Andrews Bridge the candles stand for peace, joy and love. In other church traditions the candles stand for Bethlehem, the angels and the Shepherds.
In one older tradition the second candle of the advent wreath is sometimes called the Candle of the Way. We all live in the darkness of sin, but Jesus is the light that can show us the Way out of that darkness and into peace with God. In this tradition the advent candles are often lit in a darkened room so that the visual experience of the candle “lighting the way” is quite memorable. Of course, in John 14:6 Jesus refers to Himself as the “Way, Truth, and the Light.”
I would also encourage you to share your own salvation story with your kids, grandkids, nieces and nephews this Advent season, especially if you’ve never done that before. It is critical for the next generation to know how we came to trust in Jesus. Even if your story doesn’t involve a miraculous rescue from despair, it is still meaningful and meant to be shared.
Better still, have your kids ask their grandparents (or Aunts and Uncles) how they came to know Christ! We all want our children to accept Jesus, and those family stories are one way that we can help them on their journey to salvation. The more they hear about how God has redeemed the people they love the most, the more real their faith will be to them.
So take one night this month, sit down with some Christmas cookies and hot chocolate, and share with your kids. It will be the best gift you can give them this Christmas!
Here’s what’s happening:
- A whole lot is happening this Sunday. We will be calling for a vote of affirmation for Bruce Fite to serve as elder for the 2024-2026 term. The vote will be held immediately following the worship service.
- Both youth groups meet at the worship service this week as well.
- The annual Christmas Caroling will be next Friday 12/15. We are meeting at the Kreider home at 6:15 pm.
- The children of the Bridge will be performing a short Christmas pageant during the morning service on 12/24.
- Christmas Eve Candlelight service is set for 7 pm.
- We will not be having Sunday School on 12/24 or 12/31 to give our teachers a holiday break.
- Don’t forget our Advent giving project to support Solanco Neighborhood Ministries SWEEP program. We are collecting the following this Sunday and next Sunday:
Chicken Noodle Soup Tomato Soup Pudding Cups
Applesauce Cups Fruit Cups Juice Boxes
Chef Boyardee Micro Meals Pasta Sides (Mac & Cheese) Ramen Noodles
Cup of Noodles Oatmeal Individual Packs Pop Tarts
Granola Bars Fruit Snacks
Peanut Butter Cracker Individual Packs
- 1/7/24 is Vision Sunday. During the morning worship service I will be sharing a message about where I believe that God is leading us over the next number of years. Please plan to attend!
This Sunday we continue our look at Old Testament prophecies regarding the birth of the Messiah. After God’s prophecy in Genesis 3 we know that the Messiah will be born of a woman. The picture of who the Messiah will be is still pretty fuzzy, but we’ll be looking at several more prophecies that progressively give us a clearer and clearer picture of why Jesus, and only Jesus, fits the description of the Messiah!