Advent At Home: Week 4—Love
Bible Verse
While Joseph was thinking about this, an angel from the Lord came to him in a dream. The angel said, “Joseph, the baby that Mary will have is from the Holy Spirit. Go ahead and marry her. Then after her baby is born, name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” (CEV) Matthew 1:20-21
The four weeks leading up to Christmas are a special time for God's people to join together in anticipation of Christ's birth. This time is called Advent.
For full instructions on the Advent candles, click here.
Light the fourth Advent candle: Love. This week, you would also light the candles from the previous weeks (Hope, Peace, and Joy).
Have someone say, “This is the fourth week of Advent. We light the candles of hope, peace, and joy from the weeks before. Today, we light the candle of love.” Have someone light the candles of hope, peace, joy, and lastly love.
Dig Deeper
Talk about the devotion Advent: A Time of Love. You might use the prayer at the end of the devotion together.
To learn more about what love means in the Bible, read John 3:16 and Luke 2:8-20.
Ask this question: “In what ways can we show God’s love to others?” Allow each family member to answer the question, and then have a conversation about what love means to them. After the sharing time, say, “Let’s find ways to show our love in Jesus to everyone we meet this week.”
Listen to (or even sing!) a family favorite Christmas carol about love like “Away in a Manger.” You can listen to an Advent playlist on Spotify We also love "Waiting Songs" by Rain for Roots.
We pray that this practice of participating in Advent gives your family a deep sense of anticipation for Christmas. May God bless you during this special season.
Want to do a deep dive? Check out Family Fire's article How to Love Well at Christmas
Editor's Note: The next devotion and parent blog will be sent out December 24 Christmas Eve. Thanks!
Ron VandenBurg
Senior Producer of Children’s Ministry at ReFrame Ministries
Ron VandenBurg joined the ReFrame Ministries team in 2014. He plans and develops projects specifically for the spiritual formation of children. Before coming to ReFrame, Ron taught middle-school for 27 years. Ron completed a M. Ed. degree in Teaching, Learning and Development at Brock University. Ron and Rachel have three fantastic adult children and one grandchild and reside in Ontario.
