Hi all! Welcome to the official launch of this year’s advent calendar. (Each day will be a small devotion to share with your kids that includes a Bible story, a part of Jesus’ birth story, an attribute of God, and a craft.)

This month we will be studying about Jesus and His family. We will learn about some of the people that came before Jesus, but also, did you know that WE are part of Jesus’ family too?! The Bible says that if we love God and obey Him, then we are God’s children! (2 Corinthians 6:18) God is our Father!

And that makes Jesus our brother! Jesus said anyone who loves God and obeys Him is Jesus’ brother! (Matthew 12:48-50).

So sometimes when people talk about families, they say families are like a tree. The parents are the roots and then they have kids (like branches) and then those people have kids (more branches) and then THEY have kids (even more branches!) (Isaiah 11 talks about Jesus’ family and how He would be part of a family tree).

So this month, while we talk about God and baby Jesus and His family, we will make ornaments for a family Christmas tree.

Part of Jesus’ story: Jesus had an earthly family…parents and grandparents before Him

Attribute of God: God is Jesus’ Father and ours too if we love and obey Him

Craft: Today, I took 4 pieces of regular construction paper and drew 3 lines on each. Then the kids cut on the lines (to make strips of paper). We taped the strips together and assembled them to make a tree.

(If you don’t want to make whole tree to hang on your wall, you can just use your family’s regular Christmas tree as an example and put your ornament each day on that.)

Then we made the stump from brown construction paper and taped that on also.

Thanks for joining us today. Love to you all!

2018 update: This year because our kids are bigger we added Isaiah 11 to the trunk of the tree.