Parents: If you’ve chosen to use an Advent Wreath, light the two purple and the pink candles from last week and then light the last purple candle to begin.
“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.”
(John 14:27 NLT)
Sing: “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” [You can find words for this carol online and of course you can search YouTube for a music video.]
Read this devotion with your children:
What does peace mean to you? Share a time that you felt really peaceful. Was it a time when you were sitting in Mom or Dad’s arms? Or was it a time when one of your grandparents was reading you a book? Or maybe you had one of your pets sitting in your lap, or close by. How would you describe your feelings then?
Peace is something we all hope for, but it isn’t always present. I bet you can remember a time when you were upset about something or afraid of something, and you weren’t feeling peaceful at all. Isn’t it nice when you are feeling angry or upset to be able
to go to one of your parents for a hug? We can do that with the Lord, too. He has promised never to leave us, so He is right there to comfort us and give us peace when everything seems to be falling apart. You see, we can trust Him to be there.
The Bible tells us not to be worried about anything, sometimes that is very hard to do. But the Lord tells us to do even more, so we
don’t stay worried. He tells us to pray about everything that bothers us and to thank Him for all that He does in our lives. If we take time to do this, and even picture ourselves sitting in His lap, He has promised that he will give us an amazing sense of peace. A peace that even the world around us can’t understand; it is that good! (Philippians 4: 6-7) So we don’t need to be afraid, or worried, or angry ever again. This peace is a free gift from Jesus if we’ll take time to talk to Him, even if we can’t see Him. And the more we do this, at any time of the day or night, the more we’ll trust Him with everything that bothers us.
So, the next time you feel upset or worried, take time to talk to Jesus, thanking Him for being right there. He wants to help you through your hard times. He wants to give you a peace that you can rest in and can feel very taken care of. As a very loving boss of our lives, He is our protector and provider, so we don’t need to worry about anything. Trust in Him!
Activities
- Tell Mom and Dad about a time when you felt scared or worried. What can you do to not feel that way anymore? Talk about the kind of prayer you could pray during those times. With your parents’ help, write a prayer to Jesus (don’t forget to thank Him for His love) that you could use in the future when you are upset once more. [Note: Parents, if your child doesn’t write yet, have them tell you what they think they could say to Jesus, then you write it down for them. Use it in the future when needed.]
- Draw a picture of what brings you peace or color a “Peace” coloring page.
- Decorate or color the prayer you wrote in the first activity and then hang it on a wall in your room.
Close in prayer with thanksgiving and any thoughts you each want to communicate to Jesus. (Even ask each child to thank Jesus for at least one thing; it’s ok if that thing seem trivial to us.)