Saint Nicholas + littleAdvent

A re-post from a couple of years ago (with updated picture and some more resources at the end): 

Today is the Feast of Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of LittleADVENT.  Today we celebrate this great man's life and legacy.  So to begin with, here is a brief history of St. Nicholas from the St. Nicholas Center:

The true story of Santa Claus begins with Nicholas, who was born during the third century in the village of Patara. At the time the area was Greek and is now on the southern coast of Turkey. His wealthy parents, who raised him to be a devout Christian, died in an epidemic while Nicholas was still young. Obeying Jesus' words to "sell what you own and give the money to the poor," Nicholas used his whole inheritance to assist the needy, the sick, and the suffering. He dedicated his life to serving God and was made Bishop of Myra while still a young man. Bishop Nicholas became known throughout the land for his generosity to the those in need, his love for children, and his concern for sailors and ships.
Under the Roman Emperor Diocletian, who ruthlessly persecuted Christians, Bishop Nicholas suffered for his faith, was exiled and imprisoned. The prisons were so full of bishops, priests, and deacons, there was no room for the real criminals—murderers, thieves and robbers. After his release, Nicholas attended the Council of Nicaea in AD 325. He died December 6, AD 343 in Myra and was buried in his cathedral church, where a unique relic, calledmanna, formed in his grave. This liquid substance, said to have healing powers, fostered the growth of devotion to Nicholas. The anniversary of his death became a day of celebration, St. Nicholas Day, December 6th (December 19 on the Julian Calendar).

http://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/who-is-st-nicholas/

For more information, visit our website at theadventatlanta.org or go to facebook.com/littleadvent.

You can also check out this free booklet on the life of St. Nicholas:

Saint Nicholas Booklet

Come thou long expected Jesus

It is the season of Advent and littleADVENT is anxiously looking forward to and preparing for Christmas!!! One of the ways we are preparing is by learning carols together. Deacon Stephen has been leading the kids each week in learning the song "Come thou long expected Jesus." If you would like your child to learn and sing with us, here is a recording of the song and the lyrics so that they can practice.

Here is a link to the mp3 that you can download from google drive. 

Come Thou long expected Jesus

Born to set Thy people free

From our fears and sins release us

Let us find our rest in Thee

Born Thy people to deliver

Born a child and yet a king

Born to reign in us forever

Now Thy gracious Kingdom bring

Come Lord Jesus

Set Your people free

Reign in our hearts

Now your Kingdom bring

Israel's strength and consolation

Hope of all the earth Thou art

Dear Desire of every nation

Joy of every longing heart

Jesse Tree

Today's lesson will be based on the history of the Jesse tree. A Jesse Tree is an advent project. Each day you color an ornament that represents a bit of the lineage of Christ. The tree begins with creation and stretches through the Old and New Testaments until we reach the wonderful story of the birth of Jesus. The tree gets its name from Jesse, the father of David. The first day’s scripture is Isaiah 11:1-2 - “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on
him - the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord.” This branch came in the form of a babe, and through the scriptures for each ornament, you can see God weaving the stories into place to ready the world for the
coming Messiah.

How does the Jesse Tree work?

The Jesse Tree project takes place December 1 through 25. It’s similar to an advent calendar, but it’s more about tracing the history of the coming of Jesus.  Each day read the scripture and color the corresponding ornament picture. The final day’s scripture tells of the journey to Bethlehem and the birth of Christ. You may want to begin your Christmas day by placing this final ornament on your Jesse Tree. 

Excerpt taken from and printables can be found: http://yourway.net/printables/jesse-tree-ornaments.pdf

Reflections can be found: http://www.eriercd.org/pdf/reflections.pdf

Ordinary Time, Proper 29, Year C

Scripture: Luke 23:33-43

Heavenly Father,  thank you for all you that teach us and all that you have given

us. Be with us today as we celebrate the love and grace you have given us. Amen.

Today's lesson is about the end of Jesus’ life, when he was talking with two criminals. Both of them knew that

they had done something wrong. One asked Jesus, “If you are the king, why don’t you save

yourself?” The other said, “Jesus, I know you are the king. Will you remember me when you go

into your kingdom?” Jesus told them that they were forgiven the things they had done wrong and

that they would come with him into paradise today.

These criminals were in a difficult place, being punished for their crimes. Christ was there with them and extended his grace in the midst of their most shameful moments. Are you being a critic like the first criminal? Or are you opening your heart to Christ in those moments like the second criminal? Christ is willing to meet us where we are. Are you willing to meet him?

Memory verse: “ And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” Luke 22:43

Activity:

Cut out cross

1. Fold the top corner down to the edge of the paper.

2. Fold the top right corner down.

3. Fold in half along a vertical line.

4. Fold in half vertically again.

5. Cut along the vertical line.

Heavenly Father, we thank you for all you have given to us, especially for the

stories that tell us more about you, for your servants from whom we learn, and especially for

your Son, Jesus. Thank you for your grace in our lives. Amen

Building a thriving Children's Ministry

Advent just had their birthday last month. Part of me feels like we have been doing this forever. Then the other part of me realizes that our church is still a baby. We are very new and we are still working out the kinks. I've had many passions and ideas for the children's ministry and I just thought I'd put "pen to paper" and share those ideas with you all. First off, I would like to share littleADVENT's values and philosophy: The Advent’s values remain present in the lessons and activities presented with the children each week: The Presence of God, Conversion of Life, and Bearing Witness to Christ. Our goal is to help the children participate in worship in a tangible way. Ultimately, I do not want to organize the children's ministry to serve itself. My hopes are for the ministry to be looked at in the scope of our parish, and ultimately the Church in the larger scope of things (global/across time). I feel it is very important for us not to overlook it and wait for our children's ministry to grow before we start organizing and serving it. We are a mission church, therefore the only way for it to work is for us to do it, to be there for the kids, and to be ready each week no matter the small number of children are. So because of this, we are working on a revival of sorts in our littleADVENT ministry. When the church takes care of the children, is ready and eager to serve them, then people who have children (parents) actually want to go to church and they feel supported. Living in community with one another in this way is a great action in being the hands and feet of Christ.


I also wanted to focus on prayer. We have been working on the practical aspects of establishing littleADVENT over the last couple of years, but I also wanted to ask for your participation in praying for this ministry. If you are a volunteer, I'd particularly like to ask you to prepare your heart in prayer before every service, and remember to pray with the children during each service. If you are not a volunteer, I'd like to ask you to remember these children in prayer. Please also remember the leaders in this ministry and the volunteers. There are many hearts in formation here, not just the children.


I have a lot of dreams for our parish and for our children's ministry. I feel that with the right support, we will be able to touch the lives of many people (some big, some small) through this ministry.

Here are some specific ways that you can help serve and participate in our littleADVENT ministry:

1. Sign up to volunteer in the classrooms at http://vols.pt/vJg5xe .

2. Pray for littleADVENT.

3. Tithe (the church offers great activities, crafts, and events for the kids when we can afford it).

4. Hold babies in church. Don't be scared. Offering to hold a baby in church can be a great distraction and a great support for a stressed out parent.

5. Offer to serve a family in church. Pick a family and offer to sit with them each week and help with the children. Many of the families in the church belong to those who are also serving during the service, leaving one of the parents alone with the kids. Having a second hand can be super helpful!

6. Follow Little Advent on facebook for news and updates!

Year C – Season after Pentecost, Proper 26

November 3, 2013

Year C – Season after Pentecost, Proper 26

Luke 19:1-10 Jesus and Zacchaeus

19 He entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully.7 And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” 8 And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

I'm sure we have all heard the story of Zaccheaus: the greedy tax collector hidden in a tree who gets called down by Jesus and learns the error of his ways. How often do you think of his story in terms of your own life? How many places has Jesus ventured to to seek you out? How far have you run from him? How many places have you tried to hide? This story reminds us that there are no places to hide. Jesus will go wherever is necessary to find us and save us from the error of our ways. Can we look to Zaccheaus to show us how to respond? When Jesus calls us, do we follow? Do we open our houses to him? Do we adjust our lives to show that He is the Lord of our lives?

Here is the lesson and story for those of you who would like to review it with your children this week:

 Jesus was coming to town. Everyone had heard that was coming. People were crowding to the street Jesus would take to get into town. A man named Zacchaeus also wanted to see who Jesus was. Zacchaeus was a very rich man who had gotten very rich by taking money from people. Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus, but Zacchaeus was not very tall, and he could not see anything because there were so many people. "Ah ha!" said Zacchaeus. "I will climb up in that tree and I will be able to see Jesus. I will be able to see Jesus, and he will not be able to see me." Jesus came walking along until he got to the tree. Jesus stopped. Jesus looked up in the tree. "Zacchaeus!" called Jesus. "Come on down out of that tree. I need to come to your house today." "Oh, Wow" said Zacchaeus. "Come to my house and I will be a good man now. I will give half of everything I have to poor people, and if I have cheated anyone, I will pay them back and give them even more." Zacchaeus now wanted to follow with Jesus.

Click here for some great worksheets for 2-4th grade. 

Thank you, Jesus, for being with us and for calling to us when we need you.

All Saints with littleADVENT

Welcome Saints! This Friday is All Saints Day. I wonder if any of you know what a saint is? Saints are people who the Church remembers because they were extraordinary, heroic servants of God and God's people. By remember them, their service becomes an example for us to follow. We take this time to remember these Christians, pray, and thank God for them.

Almighty God, by your Holy Spirit you have made us one withyour saints in heaven and on earth: Grant that in our earthlypilgrimage we may always be supported by this fellowship oflove and prayer, and know ourselves to be surrounded by theirwitness to your power and mercy. We ask this for the sake ofJesus Christ, in whom all our intercessions are acceptablethrough the Spirit, and who lives and reigns for ever and ever.Amen.

All children are welcome to come and join us at The Advent  this Friday at 7pm. All services are family friendly. If your family cannot make it for one reason or another, feel free to click here to print this book of activities that teaches about Saints of North America.

Here is a summary of the lesson the kids will receive that day. This is a great lesson to go over with your families this week:

"Jesus wanted to teach his disciples how to act and how to treat others, so he said to them, you are blessed if you have lost what you have, because God’s kingdom is there for you. You are blessed when you are hungry, because you are ready to feast with God. You are blessed when you cry and are sad because God is there to lift you up into joy. When someone is mean to you and you are not mean back, that means that you are closer to God’s love. But watch out for those who think they have everything and are satisfied and only play and not work too. Those who live this way will find themselves disappointed and not in God’s favor.

It’s not about clutching what you have, holding it tight in your hands. (show this with your hands, explaining how holding tight does not allow you to receive anything) It is about holding your hands, palms up, expecting good things. (open your hands to show the children how to receive good things.
The bottom line? Do to others what you would want them to do to you."

In closing, we pray:  Thank you God, for giving us the example of the saints. Help us to remember them so we can better know how to follow you. Amen.

Luke 6:20–26

The Beatitudes

20 And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said:

“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

21 “Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied.

“Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.

22 “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! 23 Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for jso their fathers did to the prophets.

Jesus Pronounces Woes

24 “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.

25 “Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry.

“Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.

26 “Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.

Lessons link