Advent Journeys Idea Document - KosherCopy



Advent Journeys Idea Document

Advent Journeys Idea Document is designed to help families celebrate Christmas complete with its message of faith. You will see in this document ideas to be used each day of Advent season with the intention of drawing the hearts of adults and children back to Jesus Christ who is the reason for this season.

Without apology it must be stated that the ideas in this document will take time to organize and to accomplish. Through early planning as described in this document, the time expended through the busy month of December will be 100% beneficial and of great quality to each family. It is through time spent together that families grow closer and Christmas memories endure through generations.

The giving of gifts is not negated or discouraged in this pamphlet. When gifts become the main feature of Christmas they can be a distraction. Ideas will be shared to bring the giving of gifts closer to the meaning of our Christmas story.

It is our desire to promote the best gift of Christmas is the giving of our time to God and to each other. Our presence together and God’s presence in our family is of much greater worth than any present under a tree.

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The ideas of this pamphlet or correlated to the book Advent Journeys by David & Sarah Simon. I do encourage you to use this pamphlet as a companion to the book.

The book is © David Simon,

Permission is granted to adapt and use this document.

Copyright, website and Advent Journeys book image must appear on all uses of this document or any portion used.

Table of Contents

What is Advent? 2

DEVELOP A SPIRITUAL THEME 3

Publish Your Plan 5

Counting the Days 5

ADVENT WEEK ONE

ZECHARIAH THE PRIEST 8

ADVENT WEEK TWO

JOSEPH AND MARY 11

ADVENT WEEK THREE

THE SHEPHERDS 13

ADVENT WEEK FOUR

THE MAGI 15

Advent

Advent is from the Greek meaning “Coming.” Advent is a season of waiting for a “Coming;” therefore it is a season of “expectation.” The ideas of this book are built on the theme of “expectation” or “waiting.”

The term waiting has a number of related meanings in the Bible:

to wait,

to hope,

to long for,

to look for,

to expect,

to watch,

to be silent,

to be patient,

to stand still,

to cease activity.

What is Advent?

To many Advent is an unknown. It is a word, but there is no tradition and no meaning other than knowing this word is attached to Christmas. To a person without advent, Christmas is simply a tradition and celebration without its best meaning.

To some Advent is business. There are gifts to purchase, events to attend, family to visit, children to please

To some Advent is the appearance of Christmas. Advent involves Candles, Poinsettias, Holly, Lights, Gifts, and a Nativity. It could be said that Advent is home décor, but it is more, for Christmas is one of the biggest and most enjoyed of all holidays. Advent without meaning is simply cosmetic.

To some Advent is tradition. This tradition involves worship services at church, advent candles, and advent readings. There is meaning in this Advent and an honoring of Jesus Christ who was born on Christmas Day.

To thousands Advent is a celebration of Christ. The season of Advent is the season of celebrating the birth of Christ. This advent can involve business, decorations, and tradition. But will always seek to honor Christ. During the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas thousands of Christians seek to worship Christ in their Christmas.

To some Christians, Advent is mystery. This is not to say that they do not know what is going on, but the Advent season is designed as a time of discovery, of walking through the story of how God sent His Son into the world to save us from our sins. Advent is a walking through of the story, anxiously awaiting the birth of the long awaited Christ.

Advent by definition means “a coming; approach; visitation.” The season of Advent is a time of getting ready. Although there are traditions we keep during the Advent season, we must seek to keep the days before Christmas fresh, full of Christ, full of meaning, alive. Advent is meant to be an Adventure.

We already build many ideas of waiting into our Christmas season. There is the idea of waiting for presents. We purchase them during the year, wrap them in December and place them beneath the tree with name tags on them. Everyone can hardly wait to see what is in their package—especially if it is a big one!

The period of waiting can be built into our schedules also. We are awaiting the Birthday of Christ. In everything we do we point to Christ and His coming on Christmas Day.

If we build fun and excitement into everything we do, the waiting will be as fun as the presents. In fact, in our family we discovered that the waiting is more fun. We purposely planned an activity every day to point to Christ. We shared what this activity would be at the breakfast table (or when our children woke up). We made this activity enjoyable and something to look forward to in expectation.

As activity built on activity, Christ became the central focus of our Christmas season. The gifts, the distractions and everything else the world throws at us became secondary. The key was to build a structure where everything (including the distractions) fit—and pointed to Christ.

Through planning our season of waiting, our children had no doubt what this celebration was about. The traditions have now carried through their teen age years and into their twenty’s. We look forward to the time they will have children, and we will be able to celebrate these traditions with our grandchildren and beyond.

I lift up my eyes to you,

to you whose throne is in heaven.

As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master,

as the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress,

so our eyes look to the LORD our God,

till he shows us his mercy.

Have mercy on us, O LORD, have mercy on us,

for we have endured much contempt.

We have endured much ridicule from the proud,

much contempt from the arrogant. – Psalm 123:1-4

DEVELOP A SPIRITUAL THEME

The most important thing for Christian families to do at Christmas is to develop a Spiritual theme. A Spiritual theme does not occur without intentional input. Satan does not want our traditions to be filled with Christ. Without a Spiritual theme, our children will grow into adulthood with Christmas traditions centered around the world rather than around Christ.

Schools and classes fill our calendar with programs and recitals. The season lends itself to busyness. Shops and stores offer sales. There are community events. And there is more traffic in December, so it takes longer to get anywhere. But none of these things arranged haphazardly will provide a Spiritual theme our families so need!

The world offers many themes which compete for our attention. Gift ideas and commercialization are everywhere you look. Books contain great ideas for decorations and recipes. Special programs on television offer everything from A Christmas Story to the Grinch that Stole Christmas … But still none of these give the Spiritual Theme our families really need.

A Spiritual Theme must be intentionally planned to give our children the traditions that will point them towards Christ. All of the other activities that we must participate in—or that the world plans for us can be contained in our planned theme, so as not to distract from the ultimate objective—that Christ will become the foremost them of the Christmas Season.

So then, how do you plan a Christ Filled Advent?

DT 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

CREATING CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS

Once upon a time retail merchants waited until after Thanksgiving to display their Christmas wares. Nowadays the commercialization of Christmas begins so early that families can easily be lured by luxuries, frustrated over finances, and preoccupied with parties for weeks on end. As a result, meaningful family worship experiences take a back seat to secular emphases.

What can Christian families do to prevent themselves from being overwhelmed by material things and the hectic pace of the holiday season? How can families make their celebration of Christmas distinctively Christian?

First, at least one family member must have a desire to make Christmas a time of Family Worship. One family member with a conviction about how meaningful Christmas should be for Christians can guide the family in to worshipful celebration. Perhaps you and others in your family already have recognized the value of Christmas as a time of worship for the following reasons:

▪ Christmas celebrates the giving of the greatest gift ever given, God's only Son.

▪ Christmas marks the beginning of God's revelation of Himself in a form families can understand - a tiny baby - totally dependent on others to care for him.

▪ Christmas commemorates the establishment of a home and family for Jesus, our role model for personal relationships.

▪ Christmas reminds us of shepherds and sages who worshipped the Christ child sent to make God known to people of all classes and races.

When family members realize how meaningful Christmas should be, they are ready for the second step. They can sit down and say, "Let's make a list of things we want to do to celebrate Christmas. What activities and attitudes do we want to emphasize?"

▪ Think about what traditions you enjoyed as a child. You will want to share these with your family.

▪ Look at a community calendar and think about what things you want your family to do together.

▪ What tasks do you need to accomplish in December? Could these be done as a family? Can your children help you? Can these be related to the Christmas story to teach while doing?

▪ What obligations do you have elsewhere, which will make you unavailable to your family for a night? What can you plan for your family while you are away.

▪ What church, school, and community events should be on your calendar?

▪ What good ideas have you picked up from other calendars? (magazine, advent calendars, other people)

Third, take this list and individualize it for your family. Write down what activities you will do each day Place it on your December Calendar. Make a copy for your children on a paper chain. (see below) They can "count down the days" until Christmas - and know each day what special events are in store for them.

Plan a Spiritual Theme

The first step to planning out a Spiritual Theme is to pull out your calendar. It is best to begin with a blank calendar, so the distractions (many of them already on the calendar) will not get in the way. As we develop the calendar you will see how to fit in the essential programs and the desired distractions without crowding Christ out of the season.

There are usually four weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas. In our family we emphasize a portion of the Christmas story each week. Everything we do ties into this story. A beginning weekly emphases are as follows:

Week 1: The Coming of Christ as God’s Christmas Gift to us was planned a long time before it happened. Throughout the Old Testament we read prophecies of His coming. This week we will read and learn about Zechariah the priest.

Week 2: A celebration of the Birth of Christ. The Prophets foretold of his coming. Mary and Joseph travel to the Stable in Bethlehem where Christ was Born.

Week 3: A visit to the fields outside Bethlehem to visit the Shepherds and hear the Angels announce His birth. We must announce His birth also.

Week 4: We will follow the star with the Wise Men to give our gifts to Christ, and find the meaning of giving gifts.

The weekly emphasis can change or be added to as the children grow older. The thing I like about these four weeks is that they are not so abstract that our children cannot understand them. (One church developed the themes: Faith, Hope, Love, Peace … but without stories our children could not make a connection). The Bible tells us: “ Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” (Deut 6:7)

The object of this book is to help you develop a daily Bible reading and activity to help members of your family to focus on Christ.

Each week we take one night as a family night. It does not matter what night of the week this is (or if it is a different night each week). This night is protected so we can spend tune together as a family. I have included a short devotion along with family activities that can be done each night. These activities will help make the Christmas season special and will also help us worship Christ.

Preschool children remember the story of Christ through activities and repetition. You can never repeat the story too often. When we highlight Jesus above everything else - you will discover the true meaning of Christmas - and pass your faith on to your children.

Preschoolers like to get involved in their learning. Although they can learn through listening to stories and watching videos, it is far better to involve them in learning. Act out the stories, allow the children to dress up, design projects, let them make crafts, just get them involved.

Children like to be active also, but to the things you do with Preschoolers you can add outings and puzzle type games. Projects and activities can get more abstract with children. As our children got older, I put a puzzle related to the Christmas story in their lunch box every day.

If children grew up with Christmas devotions every day, as youth they will want to continue the traditions. Youth are able to read the devotions themselves, and will especially enjoy the games in their lunch boxes. Youth will also add to the celebration and begin creating some of their own traditions.

Write Down Your Plan

The Second step is to write your plan. Take a calendar. Write the theme of each week across the bottom line. This will help you keep a perspective as you continue to fill in the calendar. This will also help you see if some of your obligations fit the theme of the week.

Second, write down the obligations that must be done. This would include work related activities, school activities, recitals, and of course church services. The purpose of this activity is not to prevent the necessities. You will want to reduce the clutter.

Third, set a family night … one per week. This does not need to be the same day each week (i.e. not always a Monday), but it is important that one night be free as a family night in order to carry out the theme. It is also important to give your family TIME. Relationships are built with time.

Next, consider what days are busiest, and what days have gaps where you can accomplish planned theme activities (such as the hour between school and the recital—where you can decide where to eat dinner, or to drive through a neighborhood with lights). Fill in Christmas activities accordingly.

Finally, write down the appropriate Bible verse which will go with the day. In that way you can add spiritual meaning to the activities of the day. Some verses in the lists which follow should be consecutive so you can tell the story effectively.

Publish Your Plan

Now it is time to write your plan as a promise for your family. When our children were young, we made an Advent Chain which hung by the breakfast table. Each day we took off a new link that contained the plan for the day. As they grew we put the promise in their lunch box.

Once written, your plan is a promise for the whole family. Events will not clutter in where they do not belong. You will not get so busy that you skip days. Everyone will look forward to the activity for the day.

Counting the Days

Children love to count the days until Christmas, and they do so whether you tell them to or not. A fun way to do this is to use an Advent Calendar. These calendars are available in many stores. Children enjoy opening the little windows and seeing what is in them each day. A good Advent Calendar will have a picture relating to the Biblical Christmas story. Through your child’s excitement you can teach them the story of Jesus’ birth this year.

How Many Days?

How often have you heard the question, “How many days until Christmas?” Here’s an idea that can help you answer this all important question to your child. Make a chain out of strips of paper (there is a red sheet and a green sheet of paper at the end of this pamphlet to do this with). On these strips of paper write the days of the month (November 26 – December 25). On the inside write ideas of what you want to do with your child every day. Then link the papers in order. Every morning at Breakfast, your child can remove one of the links. Inside you will read them a special activity for this special season. Then, have your child count the remaining links. This will tell them how many days until Christmas.

The Advent Wreath

Many families and churches use an advent wreath to count the weeks until Christmas. Traditionally there are four Sundays during the season of Advent. As a part of worship possibly developed by St. Gelasius I (d.496), prayers and readings developed.

In Germany families took an evergreen branch (symbolizing life), wrapped it into a circle (symbolizing eternity—there is no beginning or end of a circle), and place in this circle a candle for each week (the candle’s light symbolic of 1 John 1:5, “God is light.” A new candle is lit each week, resulting in an increasing quantity of light which culminates on the day of Christ’s birth.

Candles are traditionally purple (although other colors are fine), which represent the Royalty of Christ. A pink candle is traditionally used on the third week symbolizing we are half way through the advent season.

The final candle of Advent is in the middle of the wreath, the Christ Candle, which is lit on Christmas day. The candle is white, symbolizing the purity of Christ.

What’s In Your Community

Over Christmas there are lots of activities in most communities. One of the fun things to do at Christmas is to participate in Community Activities. Many of the Activities will tell the Christmas Story in one way or another.

Where do you find these activities?

Look in your local Newspaper for event listings.

Look at a website that lists community events—such as Chamber of Commerce or the Town website.

Look at the tourist agency of your state government. Sometimes at welcome centers they will have books listing community events.

Check websites of local attractions. Look at historical sites. Most of these will have a Christmas event.

Look at churches and their websites. Look for Live Nativities or other church events. These will certainly be places to enhance the Christmas celebration.

Check local schools and colleges for concerts and plays.

Once you find the activities plan them in your calendar. The entire family will enjoy getting out and seeing things in the community.

It’s A Little Odd

At least that’s what my wife said to me when I first proposed this idea … and she continued to think so for a year or two, then the concept stuck.

We took the theme of Advent (with our preschoolers) with its assigned weeks, and revamped our tree decorating schedule into our plan. Most families decorate the whole house, including the tree at the beginning of the Christmas season. We changed the schedule to look like this:

Week 1: We put up the tree. We did not do anything else. It was nice just to see the tree in the room because it was different. We decorated the rest of the house as normal. This gave extra time to look through decorations and remember where they came from.

Week 2: A celebration of the Birth of Christ. This week we added nativity sets to the tree, and a tree topper. Joseph and Mary passed many trees on the way from Nazareth to Bethlehem. They were not all decorated. We talked about this trip during the week, even ate a picnic lunch under the tree. The Nativity sets helped us focus on what the season meant.

Week 3: A visit to the fields outside Bethlehem to visit the Shepherds and hear the Angels announce His birth. During this week we added lights to the tree. Some pre-lit trees only require one to plug them in. If you have a real tree, or an older model tree, stringing lights is a huge task. My children once old enough helped put on lights. On our family night we plugged in the tree. The lights made us think of the sight of the angels in the fields. Some years we also strung popcorn on the tree.

Week 4: We will follow the star with the Wise Men to give our gifts to Christ. The idea is that the Magi were wealthy. They could afford many things. We hung decorations on the tree, and could talk about the decorations. We also put tinsel on the tree remembering the silver and gold of the wise men.

This is not the ordinary way of decorating a tree, but it does carry the theme through. When our children were young—in the early years, we left off week 1 of this schedule (which was too abstract for preschoolers), and added at the end a week of ministry. (this meant that we put decorations on the three the third week of advent instead of the fourth). During that week we baked and took cookies to neighbors and the elderly. We looked for projects in the community which would carry out the theme of giving to others.

Games for Fun

Now it is time to put your plan together. Pulling out your calendar and putting all the dates in can be like going through a maze. You must decide what is important and what is clutter. If you need a break, try to work your way through this maze. Begin with your calendar, and finish at Christmas.

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A Chart for Planning

Just for fun I have included this chart for planning your advent as you work toward, and then past the Thanksgiving Day Bowl games. This will show some of the ways I have used to plan our Advent Calendar.

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Advent Devotions

As our children grew up, we did devotions in different ways (according to age). When our children were young we took a link off an advent chain which told us what scripture to read, and what activities would be done during the day. We read the scripture from a Preschool Bible at the breakfast table and prayed.

As the children grew older, we gave them more responsibility in the celebration of Advent. We placed in their lunch box a daily devotion which looked like the one below. You will notice on this devotion: Date, Things to do; Scripture, Interesting facts, and a game. The game was a very important part, and helped motivate them to want to do the devotion each day. We would talk about the devotion when they came home, and read the scripture again.

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Consistency and finding something your children will enjoy are very important to your children keeping the tradition once they grow up.

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ADVENT – WEEK ONE

ZECHARIAH THE PRIEST

Christmas did not just happen. The coming of Christ was planned—before the creation of the world. The plan is given in the Old Testament so we would know the One who was to come. Through this week we will look at the Prophecies of the coming Christ. We will discover God’s plan. We will look at the symbols of His coming. We will talk about anticipation of His arrival.

The Bible is given because God desires a relationship with man. God, before the creation of the world knew that man would sin. Sin means missing the mark. We could not measure up to God’s standard … So God sent Jesus into the world to become our sin offering so we could be acceptable to God.

Our story this week is about Zechariah, husband of Elizabeth and father of John the Baptist. The angel Gabriel meets Zechariah at the altar of incense to inform him of his son’s birth. In the narrative and through the ministry of John the Baptist we hear the prophecies of Jesus’ coming.

God knew that we would need a Savior. God mapped out His plan in the Old Testament. As a week in our celebration we will look at what God did for us when He sent His Son to be born in Bethlehem.

In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. - Hebrews 1:1-3

Celebrating Christ’s Coming

Each week plan a Family Night. Eat supper together, and then have a time of worship. You can plan some activities afterwards.

During this week’s devotions and worship service we will hear the words of the prophets foretelling the coming of Christ. Jesus’ birth was not an accident ~ His coming has been God’s plan since the fall of mankind. You will read about Zachariah, Elizabeth, Mary and the angel Gabriel.

Worshipping as a Family

Preparation: Gather the ingredients to bake bread. Have the children help mix these together. As the bread bakes, explain to your children that good things take time.

Find and have ready pictures from previous Christmas celebrations. Be prepared to share memories and stories.

If you are going to have a tree, shop for the tree, or bring it down from the attic. Have lights and decorations ready also.

Family Worship: Sing some favorite Christmas Songs together. Talk about what you hope Christmas will be like this year. In a sense, this is a “prophecy.” If you have not told your children about the “Advent Chain” do so now.

Put up the Christmas Tree and decorate it. Talk about past Christmases. Share the meaning of special ornaments as they are put on the tree. Talk especially about the nativity sets and what Jesus means to you.

Read a Bible passage – Luke 1:1-4.

1 Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, 2 just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. 3 Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.

Explain that the things we will read about and learn this Christmas Season are true. They were planned by God before they happened to meet our needs.

Read the story of Zechariah the priest. This story is found in Luke 1:5-25 and Luke 1:57-79.

The reading of the story should be from the Bible for children third grade and higher. The story may be told from a favorite children’s Bible for younger children. Through the week the story can be reinforced through reading from various Bibles, story books, and through showing videos or listening to audio books.

After telling the story you can ask questions like: What did you learn? What was your favorite part of this story? Or Why do you think it is important to share this part of the Christmas story.

The story can also be acted out. The first week of Advent Journeys by David & Sarah Simon contains additional ideas if you wish to act out the story. Acting out the story is always more interesting if you use props.

Celebrate: Put up the tree and then eat the bread that has been baked. As you enjoy the bread look at Christmas pictures from the past and share stories and memories.

Family Activities

FIRST WEEK - ANNOUNCING CHRIST’S COMING

PLAN DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES EACH DAY

• As a family talk about your favorite Christmas. Talk about the things you would like to do this Christmas.

• Look at pictures of Past Christmases, what were your favorite activities?

• Make a Giving List. Jesus came to give the gift of Salvation. What can you give to others? Make a list, and write down gifts you will give to others throughout the season. Calendar how you will do this.

• With your children plan the Christmas Card address list and send Christmas Cards. God placed Zachariah and Mary on His address list and sent Gabriel to share a special message. Our Christmas Cards announce the Birth of Christ.

• Act out the Christmas story with family members as the characters. Otherwise, use unbreakable figures of Mary Joseph, and Jesus act out the Christmas story with your child. Have Mary and Joseph look for a place to stay, talk to the Inn Keeper, and find the stable. Celebrate the birth of Baby Jesus.

• Put out Nativity Scenes to Celebrate Christ's Birthday.

• Play Christmas Carols (on CD, or a musical instrument)

• Build a block stable. Use plastic animals to fill the stable. Talk about how Mary and Joseph could not find room at the Inn and stayed in the stable. In your own words tell the Christmas Story.

• Build a Christmas card house for a stable, or an entire town of Bethlehem. Tell the story as you build with the cards.

• Have your child draw or color Christmas Cards. Christmas Cards tell about Jesus, just as the Prophecies told about the coming of Christ. We send Christmas Cards which let people know we are believers.

• As a family, tell the Christmas story as you decorate. In our home we put up the tree and told how Mary and Joseph traveled to Bethlehem. They must have stopped for rest under trees. A week later we put lights on the tree and told how Angels appeared to Shepherds at night. The lights remind us of the stars. The third week we decorated the tree. We told how the Wise Men brought gifts to Jesus.

• Plan a Scavenger Hunt with your child. Plant clues around the house, each clue leading to another clue, until the item they are seeking is found. Prophecies are like this. They pointed to the Coming Christ.

• Make a mini-Christmas tree out of a pine cone (the bigger the better), a small container, grass seed, soil and water. Remove the stem of the pine cone. Soak in water a few minutes. Place in the container with half inch of water. Sprinkle first soil, then seed, evenly on the pinecone. Put in a sunny spot, and keep water in the container. Grass seed will grow in 2 weeks. Keep trimmed with a pair of scissors.

• A great way to emphasize the Biblical Christmas Story is to decorate your tree solely with reminders of Christ's Nativity. Ornaments for the tree might be:

A host of tiny Angels announcing the Birth of the Savior.

Shepherds and Wise Men borrowed from a crèche or else hand made.

Wooly lambs to symbolize the stable - or miniature animals of all types.

Baubles to represent the gifts of the Wise Men. A gold mesh bag of gold coins, tiny chests to remind us of frankincense, or flasks to represent myrrh.

Tiny mangers scattered about the tree.

Garlands of gold and silver stars - with the LARGE Bethlehem star on top.

• Make a wreath to hang on each door of the house. There are two suggestions: 1) cut out a circle on construction paper. Paste pictures of Jesus’ family and your family on the wreath. Place a bow on the top. 2) Have your child trace their hands many, many times. Cut these out and glue in a circle forming a wreath.

Symbols of Christmas

There are many symbols that can add meaning to your Christmas celebration. Symbols are like pictures, they have a meaning which must be caught. Young children are not yet ready to understand symbols. However, by forth grade many children can understand the meaning of symbols and begin to enjoy them.

I - The Greek Letter “Iota” which is first letter of Jesus

Χ - The Greek Letter “Chi” which is the first letter for Christ.

Ρ - The Greek Letter “Rho” which is the first letter for King.

A - “Alpha” the first letter of the Greek Alphabet

Ω - “Omega” the last letter of the Greek Alphabet

ϒ - An “Orb”, or the symbol of earth

ς - A Cross, a symbol of Christ’s sacrifice

Ω - The Celtic Cross

Ξ - The Jerusalem Cross

Ψ- The Star of David - Symbolizing Jesus’ royal descent

∂ - A Star—symbolizing the star of Bethelehem

↓ - Bethlehem Star (see the Moravian Symbols)

Ρ - Sun—Jesus is the Light of the World

Τ - Snow—For Isaiah 1:18

? - Dove—Jesus is our peace

⌠ - Shepherd Staff—Jesus is the Good Shepherd

- Crown of Thorns—As Jesus wore on the Cross

- Crown—For Jesus is our King

θ - Jesus is the Cornerstone

≥ - Eye of God, God can see even into the depths of the human heart.

{ - Rose

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