Gain a better understanding of the church season that leads up to Christmas. Features: - Personal study opportunities for ongoing spiritual growth - Family discipleship activities Benefits: - Enrich yourself spiritually by immersing in the Advent season. - Grow in spiritual maturity with optional family discipleship activities. - Become more spiritually oriented through greater familiarity with Advent.

How to focus on Christ during Advent Most Christians agree that Christmas is all about Jesus, yet most of us spend little time preparing our hearts to celebrate Him. Why is this? Partly because we don’t know how. In Unwrapping the Names of Jesus, Asheritah Ciuciu leads readers through the four weeks of Advent (Hope, Preparation, Joy, and Love). Each week: Begins with an interactive family devotional that equips readers to celebrate Advent together Offers five daily reflections that focus on that week's name of Jesus Includes suggestions for fun-filled family activities or service projects This devotional can be used by readers in their own personal worship times or as a tool to engage in family worship during the busy holiday season. Either way, participants will gain a greater sense of awe and wonder at who Jesus is. By focusing on the person and character of Jesus throughout the Advent season, readers will prepare their hearts so that when they admire the live nativity, sit in the candlelight service, or wake up on Christian morning, they can join the faithful who sing from the bottom of their hearts, "O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord!"

In our consumer culture, it can be difficult to help our kids understand the true meaning of the Christmas season. In Celebrating Advent, author Ann Hibbard has created a way for parents to set aside a daily time during Advent to talk with their kids about the spiritual meaning the season holds. She shares practical steps that you can take to make Christmas a more meaningful, happy experience for your family. Inspiring and creative family devotions provide a moment of peace and reflection for each evening of Advent, while fun and inexpensive project ideas help parents focus their kids' attention on what really matters at Christmas: Christ.

In this 5-session Advent study, take a closer look at the Christmas story and the hope revealed in the lives of people in the Bible whose obedience and yeses to God's plans, even in difficult times, gave them great joy and led to God's glory in their lives and generations to come. As we explore the hope that Jesus brings, we'll learn to trust God's care for us as His beloved children in both times of abundance and times of lament. No matter what you're facing, at just the right time, in the fullness of time, God will act on your behalf too. In fact, He already has. In the advent season, we celebrate God's kindness to us, even as we wait on the future hope to come. Features: Personal study segments with homework to complete between 5 weeks of group sessions Leader helps to guide questions and discussions within small groups Beautiful, full-color interior to enhance the study experience Specific Advent activities for kids, students, and adults Benefits: Be encouraged to obey God despite difficult circumstances. Be reminded that God, in His sovereignty, works on behalf of His children at just the right time. Study the Christmas story and many of the individual stories of God's people in the Bible to capture the wonder of the holiday season. Consider how your testimony of faith may extend to generations in the future.

This year, don't let Christmas sneak up on you again. The wonder and awe of the Christmas season can easily get overshadowed by lights, tinsel, bows, and paper—not to mention last-minute trips to the mall and visits to the in-laws. In all the hustle and bustle, we often lose sight of what's most important. This book of daily readings for the month of December by best-selling author Paul David Tripp will help you slow down, prepare your heart, and focus on what matters most: adoring our Savior, Jesus.

Open a window each day of Advent onto the natural world.

For many families, the four weeks leading up to Christmas can be a time of great stress, unrealized dreams, a commercial blur, and a financial burden. Susan Hines-Brigger, the mother of four children, knows well that the days counting down to Christmas can easily become for parents and grandparents a nightmare of whiny behavior, crowded to-do lists, and a less-than-spiritual experience. That’s why this mother who has seen and heard it all in her own home during Advent created this resource with prayers and activities: She wants to put Christ back into the family holiday celebration and help families--even hers--become holier. Using A Catholic Family Advent on a daily basis will give Catholic families time together to pray, reflect on Scripture, and do a simple activity together. This daily source of inspiration can be used in the family setting as prayer before or after meals, as morning and evening prayer, or as family time in front of the Advent wreath or Christmas crèche.