2013 Family Advent Devotionals

Option 1: Advent begins on Sunday, December 1st this year. Follow or download this link for daily devotionals to go along with lighting your family Advent wreath each night at dinner. There are verse(s) and discussion questions for each day.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/182146871/2013-Advent-Devotional

Option 2: Prepare for Christmas with Thriving Family's 2013 ADVENTures in Odyssey Activity Calendar. You will get an activity and simple faith tie for 25 days in December. The calendar is free. Simply provide your name and email address to access it. Continue to the registration page.

Option 3: Look under the "Advent" label to the right and choose one of our previous Advent Family devotionals to follow. Note that the dates will be different.

Option 4: If you prefer not to do an Advent wreath, consider reading through the book of Luke several times a week with your child(ren) from December to Easter Sunday. Last year we read through the book of  John with our daughter. Our intent was to have her hear the Gospel several nights a week during bedtime; leading up to Holy Week. The three of us curled up in her bed, read from her Bible and had a discussion over what we had read. Lauren has requested that we do it again this year, so I've made a Reading Guide for us to follow over the next four months. This can be done anytime of day, and adjust the dates to days that work best for your family.

Book of Luke Family Reading Guide

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
DEC.15) 1:1-25	16)	17) 1:26-38	18)	19) 1:39-56	20)	21)
22) 1:57-75	23)	24)	25) 2:1-21	26) 2:22-40	27)	28)
29) 2:41-52	30) 3:1-20	31) 3:21-37	JAN.1)	2) 4:1-13	3)	4)
5) 4:14-30	6) 4:31-37	7) 4:38-44	8)	9) 5:1-11	10)	11)
12) 5:12-26	13) 5:27-39	14) 6:1-11	15)	16) 6:12-26	17)	18)
19) 6:27-36	20) 6:37-42	21) 6:43-49	22)	23) 7:1-10	24)	25)
26) 7:11-17	27) 7:18-35	28) 7:36-50	29)	30) 8:1-15	31)	FEB. 1)
2) 8:16-25	3) 8:26-39	4) 8:40-56	5)	6) 9:1-9	7)	8)
9) 9:10-20	10) 9:21-36	11) 9:37-43	12)	13) 9:43-50	14)	15)
16) 9:51-62	17) 10:1-24	18) 10:25-42	19)	20) 11:1-13	21)	22)
23) 11:14-28	24) 11:29-36	25) 11:37-54	26)	27) 12:1-12	28)	MAR. 1)
2) 12:13-21	3) 12:22-34	4) 12:35-48	5)	6) 12:49-59	7)	8)
9) 13:1-21	10) 13:22-35	11) 14:1-14	12)	13) 14:15-24	14)	15)
16) 14:25-35	17) 15:1-10	18) 15:11-32	19)	20) 16:1-18	21)	22)
23) 16:19-31	24) 17:1-19	25) 17:20-37	26)	27) 18:1-17	28)	29)
30) 18:18-34	31) 18:35-19:10	APR.1) 19:11-27	2)	3) 19:28-44	4)	5)
6) 19:45-20:8	7) 20:9-26	8) 20:27-47	9)	10) 21	11)	12)
13) 22:1-38	14) 22:39-46	15) 22:47-53	16)	17) 22:59-65	18) 22:66-23:56	19)
20) 24

 Christmas Day

Easter Sunday

Whatever option(s) you choose, remember it's the intentionality that is important. Every time won't be a miraculous experience with our children. But our hope is that it will bear fruit if we are persistent and ask for His help and guidance. So let's continue living out our faith with our children by sharing His Word and talking about what it means in our lives.

Life Group Weekly Challenge

Life Group family and friends:
The video of the American soldier describing all of his clothes and gear was a great visual for us to study Exodus 28.  Just as Aaron was provided very specific clothes, material, and gear to wear as a high priest, we have specific tools to use.
Ephesians 6 gives us a list of armor that we need to use in our daily battles as the soldiers of God.  The American soldier would never consider going into battle without all of his gear, and we should not either. 
My challenge to you this week is to use the handout from LG as a discussion guide this week.  Pick at least one of the pieces of armor and answer the questions regarding the function it has for you.

Be Intentional.
Travis

Life Group Weekly Challenge

Life Group community:

The Tabernacle was the place where God’s presence was! And once a year, the High Priest went into the Tabernacle, into the Holy of Holies where God’s presence was, to offer a sacrifice that would cover the sins of God’s people.  The tabernacle was first erected in the wilderness exactly one year after the Passover when the Israelites were freed from their Egyptian slavery (circa 1450 B.C.). It was a mobile tent with portable furniture that the people traveled with and set up wherever they pitched camp. The tabernacle would be in the center of the camp, and the 12 tribes of Israel would set up their tents around it according to tribe.

But Jesus changed the tabernacle.  The sacrifice of God the Son has made all believers the tabernacle, or dwelling place of God through the Holy Spirit. 

My challenge to you this week is to read over the detailed description of the making and use of the tabernacle in Exodus chapters 25, 26, 36, 38, 39, and 40.  Think about the materials used, the design of God, the value of the tabernacle, how people were told to treat it, the obedience required, etc.

Then compare that to how you see yourself as the tabernacle of God.  How are you treating your body?  How do you get your value?  How is your obedience?

Be intentional this week.

Travis

Thanksgiving Family Devotional

Follow the link below as a resource for Thanksgiving family devotionals from "Having a Thankful Heart." It is broken up into four weeks, with an additional devotion for Thanksgiving Day. I know our schedules are busy. I chose this resource because it's structured to where you should be able to chose one night a week to do a devotion and be intentional with your family.
http://www.titusinstituteonline.com/Having_a_thankful_heart_web.pdf
Week ONE- God Provides Food
Week TWO - God Provides Family
Week THREE - God Provides Friends
Week FOUR - God Provides Eternal Life
Thanksgiving Day Worship
Each week has scripture, discussion, prayer, song(s), and an activity. Choose what works best for your family. Do it all in one night, spread it out through the week, and/or skip over parts that don't fit your family dynamic. If this devotion doesn't work for your family, look over our previous Thanksgiving Family Devotionals and see if you like one of them better. The goal is to spend time as a family focusing on God's provision and giving thanks.

 

Just giving you a heads up that Advent begins on Sunday, December 1st. If you haven't participated in the Advent devotionals in the past, I encourage you to get an Advent wreath and candles so your family can participate this holiday season. You can find our previous Advent devotionals under the "Advent" label in the sidebar to the right. This year I'm going to try and combine this with reading the book of Luke from December through April. We'll see if I can get it to work.

<>< Crystal





 

Weekly Challenge: 10 Commandments

During our discussion about the 10 commandments, I found it interesting that we so naturally started trying to define what certain commandments really meant.  What is the Sabbath?  What does it mean to honor it?  What constitutes work? That's exactly what the Pharisees did, but they ended up taking it to an extreme and turning God's laws into frivolous non-Spirit-led living.  Nevertheless, we all agreed that the commandments and Christ's law of love are vitally important in our relationship with God and others.

The Challenge:
Spend time reflecting on the 10 Commandments as well as what Christ referred to as the 2 greatest commandments.  Ask the Holy Spirit to guide your heart and ask Him to reveal what areas of your life need to change in order to obey God more fully.

In Him,
Aaron

Weekly Challenge: Wisdom from Jethro

After "Coach" Aaron finished berating the class members last night we entered in to some great discussion on Exodus 18:1-27.  We discovered several valuable leadership characteristics in both Jethro and Moses.  We discussed the necessity for leaders to delegate responsibilities rather than attempting to do it all themselves.  Jesus Himself has delegated authority to His disciples and that delegation continues today; God the Father has delegated work to His children and that delegation also continues today.  We also talked about how being in tune with these things requires prayer and obedience.


The Challenge:
During your quiet times this week, prayerfully ask yourself the following questions:
1) Are there areas in my life where I am trying to do it all?  Do I need to delegate responsibilities?  Do I simply need to ask for help?
2) What responsibilities have been delegated to me?  Am I giving them the effort they deserve?
3) Am I using my spiritual gifts and unique abilities to build up the Body of Christ in the most efficient way?
4) What is my next step in each of the areas above?

In Him,
Aaron

Weekly Challenge

So we often think that the OT is well old, not relevant, outdated and just so before Christ.  I know a little sarcasm there but, in reality that is a lie.  What we learned and discussed from Exodus this past Saturday was what "True Worship" is and how easily distracted we are when we can be while trying to praise our Father.  We have Godly things (to-do lists, jobs, kids, etc.) that we somehow figure out how to make them barriers that keep us from participating in that true worship.  The people of Israel broke out into song as a nation praising our Father because of what he saved them from.  It was spontaneous, it was intimate, it was magnificent, jubilant and unified.  It didn't have anything to do with what they had done but, because God removed their barriers to allow them to see how wonderful He is.  What an awesome example of how our God is faithful and how much He loves us!!

My challenge to you as this week winds down is to take some time to acknowledge our Heavenly Father with some "True Worship".  Clear your mind, your calendar, time slot, whatever it takes and worship Him for what He has done for you.  Ask him to remove the barriers so you can give yourself completely over to him to worship.  Thanks to all of you for allowing me to lead the discussion.  

 

William Schale