Psalm 62:5 "For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from him."
Activity: tie a white ribbon to the tree and think about how the Advent season of hope, preparing, and waiting is meaningful in your life.
Prayer: My hope is in you, my Savior and my God. Please take all that I am, all that I have, and all that I can do, and use it for your glory, so that the light of Christ, the light of the world, will shine in my heart, and through my life. Amen.
John 14:27 "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid."
Activity: hang a cardstock dove on the tree as a symbol of your willingness to be a peace-loving member of the church and society as a whole.
Prayer: God of peace, you who made peace between us and yourself through the gift of your Son, you who bless the peacemakers, may the fruit of your Holy Spirit work peace in my heart and in my life, so that, through my actions, through my words, through my treatment of others, Christ would be known in this world. In the name of the one who made peace between us and you, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Psalm 65:8 "Those who live at earth’s farthest bounds are awed by your signs; you make the gateways of the morning and the evening shout for joy."
Activity: select a glow-stick necklace to wear and crack it to make it glow.
Prayer: God of all goodness, may all the world know that the joy that you give is not a momentary feeling of happiness. May you work the fruit of joy in my heart, so that my neighbor would know the reality of new life in Jesus Christ. Amen.
1 John 3:1 "See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God, and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him."
activity: light a votive light (battery operated) and placed it on the heart. as the heart is filled with everyone’s candles of love it shows that we are all a part of God’s love.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we can only love you because you have first loved us. Thank you for your costly love shown in the gift of your Son. Thank you for your effective love made real in our hearts by the work of your Holy Spirit. Help us to love and serve one another as your Son has taught us. Amen.
Luke 2:10-12 "Do not be afraid, for see, I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah,l the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger."
Prayer: Thank you, loving and gracious God, for sending your Son to us, to be born of a woman, born as a baby, to be worshiped and adored, to teach us your ways, to give us the hope of eternal life, to make peace possible with you and with one another, to instill joy in our hearts, that we may honor and glorify you. Amen.
