1Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, And a branch from his roots will bear fruit. 2The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.…
A beautiful time of year is coming. A time to rejoice in the birth of our LORD and Savior Christ Jesus. He may not have been born on December 25th, but we have come to set aside this date to celebrate His coming in preparation of a New Year.
The beauty of the season can simply be found in my children's eyes. They see joy in the twinkling lights, the silent snow fall, carols echoing against our walls, the sweet smells of cookies baking, ornament making, festivities, and brightly wrapped gifts. But the joy doesn't start or end in all of that. Their joy starts in their souls where they have hidden the true message given in Isaiah.
Isaiah was a prophet speaking many wise words to those who would listen. He spoke of the root of Jesse that would penetrate our very beings. A gift embedded so deeply if we only open up our eyes to it we could see that no wrappings could hide the most wonderful gift ever to be given.
My children first recognize the reason to celebrate and this year we are going deeper into the true meaning of the celebration of light and life. We are creating a Jesse Tree in our home and through 25 days of celebrating God and His Son, we will come to the culmination of the season... Christmas! Happy Birthday, Jesus Christ!
Christmas.
Literal meaning of the word is Christ Mass. It was called such after the year 1150.
But the celebration started long before that. The celebration of life that is recognized through His birth started at the beginning: Genesis 1:1 Jesus was the Word of God through whom all things were created and that we should bring all honor and glory to Him. John 1:14 says, "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth."
The Jesse Tree goes through the major parts of history from Creation and takes us through The Gospel. We have verses to read each day that starts on December 1st learning Isaiah 11:1 and Jeremiah 23:5 that parallel with the New Testament books Matthew 1:1-6 and Romans 14:8-12. They all speak of the Root of Jesse and the genealogy of Jesus.
Along with lighting our Advent candles, we will pull out of our Advent calendar twenty-five ornaments that each depict parts of the Bible that point to the coming Savior. Each day one of our children will place an ornament on a special tree that will represent our history.
This is the second year that this decoration will adorn our home. The children are excited about celebrating the exciting time to learn about what our faith holds dear: life. They are already talking about who gets to hang the first ornament. It's only fitting to go from oldest to youngest and on Christmas Day to have their daddy hang the last ornament.
I want to make sure to tell people that it's okay to have a Christmas tree, to hang stockings, and to eat candy canes. I want to make sure to tell people that twinkling lights, brilliant wreaths, and yummy cookies are okay to have in your home. I want to make sure people listen to the praises of Christmas Carols and wear gaudy sweaters.
Why? Jesus laid in a humble manger made out of a tree and later died on one for all of us. To decorate a tree in your home full of lights shining brightly on a cold winter's night is bringing Glory to Him. For some it is all caught up in the commercialization, but for most, our hearts are still at the roots, Jesse's. His roots. They run deep. A tree is a tree is a tree.... but roots are where our beings begin. No need to fret if we hang some ornaments from the branches. We know that the ornaments aren't going with us, but His branches will forever hold us up.
Isaiah 7:14 The Sign of Immanuel
…Then he said, "Listen now, O house of David! Is it too slight a thing for you to try the patience of men, that you will try the patience of my God as well? "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.
Here is the break-down of the 2016 Advent Season and the order that the Jesse Tree will be put together:
November 27th, 2016: First Sunday of Advent (purple candle). The Prophecy Candle or Candle of Hope (Romans 15: 12-13)
December 4th, 2016: Second Sunday of Advent (purple candle). The Bethlehem Candle or the Candle of Preparation (Lake 3: 4-6)
December 11th, 2016: Third Sunday of Advent (rose or pink candle). The Shepherd Candle or Candle of Joy (Luke 2: 7-15)
December 18th, 2016: Fourth Sunday of Advent (purple candle). The Angel Candle or Candle of Love (John 3:16-17)
December 25th, 2016: Christmas Day (white candle). Christ Candle (John 3:1-8)
Jesse Tree:
December 1st: Jesse- Isaiah 11:1, Jeremiah 23:5/ Matthew 1:1-6, Romans 15:8-12
December 2nd: Creation- Genesis 1:1/ John 1:1-3
December 3rd: First Sin- Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-6/ Romans 5:12-21
December 4th: Noah- Genesis 9:8-13/ Hebrews 9:15
December 5th: Abraham- Genesis 12:1-2, 15:5-6/ Romans 4:18-25, Galatians 3:6-9
December 6th: Isaac- Genesis 22:1-14/ Hebrews 11:17-19, John 3:16
December 7th: Jacob- Genesis 28:12/ John 1:51
December 8th: Joseph- Genesis 45:5, 50:20/ Romans 8:28, Acts 3:13-15
December 9th: God's Name- Exodus 3:14/ John 8:58, Hebrews 13:8
December 10th: Passover- Exodus 12:17-27/ Matthew 26:26-28
December 11th: Bread from Heaven- Exodus 16:4, 16:14-15/ John 6:31-35, John 6:48-51
December 12th: The Ten Commandments- Exodus 20:1-17, Deuteronomy 6:1-5, Leviticus/ Mark 12:29-31, Romans 13:0
December 13th: Moses- Number 21:4-9/ John 3:14-15
December 14th: Rahab- Joshua 2:1-21, 6:22-25/ Matthew 1:5, Hebrews 11:31
December 15th: Gideon- Judges 6:11-16, 7:1-8, 7: 15-22/ John 1:46, 7:40-52
December 16th: Ruth- Ruth 4:13-17/ Matthew 1:1-5
December 17th: Samuel- 2 Samuel 7:16, Isaiah 9: 6-7, Ezekiel 37: 24-25/ Acts 13:20-23
December 18th: David- Isaiah 40:11, Samuel 16: 1 and 10-13/ John 10: 11-16, 1 Peter 2:25, Revelation 7:17
December 19th: Jonah- Jonah 1:1-17/ Matthew 12: 38-41
December 20th: Isaiah- Isaiah 6:1-10/ John 12:37- 41
December 21st: Mary- Isaiah 7:14/ Luke 1:26-38, 3: 23-34
December 22nd: Joseph- Jeremiah 33:15/ Matthew 1:1 and 16-25
December 23rd: Shepherds- Micah 5:2/ Luke 2:1-20, Matthew 2:1-6
December 24th: Jesus- Isaiah 7:14/ Matthew 1:21-23
December 25th: Wise Men- Psalm 72: 10-11, Isaiah 60:3/ Matthew 2:1-2 and 9-11
Here is a link to find the history of the Advent Wreath:
http://livinghopeomaha.com/special-services/holiday-worship-schedule-at-living-hope/the-meaning-of-the-advent-wreath/
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