Advent, kids and salvation

I love Christmas. I know it can be a time of extra stress for many, but I can’t help but love a holiday where, at the core of it, we’re celebrating God’s overflowing generosity in sending his only Son to save the world with our own overflowing generosity—of food, presents and general fun. I always look forward to the phase of the calendar when red and green decorations start appearing. It’s wonderful to have such a visual reminder everywhere we look of the coming of Christ, our Saviour.

I also love the role that Christmas plays in our church calendar. Christmas comes right after the season known as Advent. Though we may now associate Advent with cardboard countdown calendars full of chocolate, Advent is the name for the four weeks before Christmas when  Christians have traditionally anticipated the arrival (‘advent’) of Jesus. This period of waiting helps us to understand how the Israelites in the Old Testament felt, waiting for the promised Messiah to come, and it reminds us that we are also waiting—for Jesus to come again. Various churches celebrate Advent by doing things like lighting candles, reading relevant passages from the Bible to prepare our hearts, and focusing their services  on the themes of hope, peace, love and joy.

As we prepare ourselves and our kids for Christmas it’s great to remember what we are celebrating: that Jesus came to save us and he will come again. But Christmas and Advent also remind us how important kids are to God’s salvation plan and to his church family.

We are used to the image of baby Jesus in the manger. How upside down and radical this is: the Saviour of the world, born as a child—helpless, vulnerable and needy. God chose to make his Son fully human; Jesus became one of us so that he could redeem us (Hebrews 2:14–18). Jesus understands what it is like to be a child and has lived all our fears and sorrows. He walked in our shoes, yet never sinned.

Jesus’ completely human, yet fully divine nature was clear right from the start: wise men came to worship him and recognise his divinity, wrapped up in the parcel of a fragile young child.

Just as Jesus didn’t have to wait until he ‘grew up’ to be the Son of God, our kids don’t need to wait to be a part of God’s family, or to be involved with celebrating what God has done. Christmas is a great time to be a kid, and it’s a great time to involve kids in all aspect of church and faith.

For adults, Christmas can also feel a bit overwhelming. Particularly for parents trying to make the season magical for their kids and balance the needs of work, extended family and church events, it can be a hectic, distracting time of year where the ‘reason for the season’ gets lost in the chaos. We want to involve our kids in Christmas traditions that point to Jesus, but it just feels like one more thing on the to do list.

The good news is that it doesn’t have to be elaborate or complicated. We’ve put together three simple things that you can do to add to the Christmas joy without adding to the stress. Choose what works for your family.

Sunday focus words

In the church Advent calendar, each Sunday is focused on one theme of Christmas: hope, peace, love and joy. As a family, take a moment each Sunday to talk about that week’s word, where we find it in the Bible and what it means. The Bible Project also has super helpful videos on each word you may want to use.

For one step further, write the outline of the week’s word in bubble letters on a piece of paper for your kids to decorate, and then pin it up somewhere so you can be reminded all week of that theme.

Advent calendar

There are many Advent calendars out there, from chocolate to cosmetic to devotional to reflective. But finding one that works for your busy family and keeps your kids’ attention can be hard. That’s why Growing Faith has developed a great new Advent resource, available to purchase as a digital download. It’s called An Arrival to Celebrate: Fun Advent devotions for busy families unwrapping God’s big Bible plan. Each day has a short summary of a theological truth and a Bible reading, followed by a discussion question, a space for a drawing and an optional follow up activity.

This gives a rhythm for daily conversations about what we are looking forward to at Christmas, and what we are looking forward to when Jesus returns. The resource makes it so easy accessible and fun!

Of course, other Advent traditions can be combined with a devotional—personally I love our wooden Advent calendar with a star that rolls towards Christmas each day. Whatever you choose to do, keep it simple and focused!

Link preparing food with preparing for Jesus’ return

As Christmas approaches, in kitchens everywhere there are special treats and snacks tucked away for the special day. This is another tangible way to help kids understand the concept of waiting for Jesus’ return. Just as we prepare food—shop and prep and cook—while we wait for the big day, waiting for Jesus does not mean we do nothing. Rather, we prepare for his coming by becoming more like him and sharing his good news so that others can anticipate his arrival with us. Explicitly drawing this connection for kids, as they tag along on shopping trips or ask about snacks, is a great approach to what can otherwise feel like a frustrating part of the Christmas lead up.

Advent and Christmas are both wonderful reminders of how Jesus came to make us a part of his family and a part of the story of what he is doing in the world. Advent shows us why Christmas is needed, as it recalls Israel’s long wait for their Messiah. And Christmas shows how kids are an important part of that story. As Christmas brings busyness, Advent can help us and our kids to slow down and prepare our hearts for Jesus’ coming.

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Rebecca Sharley is a trained primary school teacher with experience in kids’ and youth ministry. She runs training workshops in kids’ ministry and writes a newsletter called ‘Searching For Grace’  on Substack. She is the author of God’s Family Now: A New Look at Kids’ Ministry.

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