Merry Christmas to all our Families:
“A Christmas Advent Calendar “
Way back when our girls were small I created a special Advent Calendar
in which we could daily open up a little surprise door or object so it would reveal
a chapter for the day as we worked our way to Christmas morning.
Our family would like to share that with you this year
as we work our way through December.
We hope you enjoy the story as our family wishes you,
“our NASCAR Family”
And you, “our YWAM Family”
a Merry Christmas!” …Bob
And, if you are just visiting our website…,
We wish you a Merry Christmas too!
I hope you enjoy our family Advent Calendar:
Dec. 1: Malachi 3:1 “The Prophecy of a Messenger to come 1st”
“I will send My messenger, who will prepare the way before Me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to His temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the LORD Almighty.
Dec. 2: Luke 1:5-17 “The Angel appears to Zacharias”
In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.
Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.
Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
Dec. 3: Luke 1:24-25 “Elizabeth conceives”
After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. “The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.”
Dec. 4: Luke 1:26-38 “The Angel Gabriel appears to Mary”
In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; His kingdom will never end.”
“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.”
“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
Dec. 5: Psalms 2:7 “Begotten of God”
I will proclaim the LORD’s decree: He said to me, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father.
Dec. 6: Luke 1:39-45 “Mary goes to cousin Elizabeth”
At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”
Dec. 7: Luke 1:46-56 “Mary’s Song”
And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for He has been mindful of the humble state of His servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me— Holy is His name. His mercy extends to those who fear Him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he promised our ancestors.” Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.
Dec. 8: Isaiah 7:14 “Prophecy: To be born of a virgin”
Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel.
Dec. 9: Matthew 1:18-19 “Mary is found with child”
This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
Dec. 10: Matthew 1:20-25 “An Angel appears to Joseph”
But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
Dec. 11: Micah 5:2 “Prophecy: He shall come from Bethlehem”
“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for Me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”
Dec. 12: Luke 2:1-5 ”Joseph and Mary go to Bethlehem”
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register.
So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of King David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.
Dec. 13: Isaiah 9:6 “Prophecy fulfilled: – A child is born”
For to us a child is born, to us a Son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Dec. 14: Luke 2:6-7 “Jesus is born”
While they were in Bethlehem, the time came for the baby to be born, and Mary gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped Him in cloths and placed Him in a manger, because there were no rooms available.
Dec. 15: Luke 2:8-14 “Angels appear to Shepherds”
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests.”
Dec. 16: Luke 2:15-16 “The Shepherds come to Bethlehem”
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” So they hurried off and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.
Dec. 17: Numbers 24:17 “Prophecy: A star in Israel”
I look into the future, and I see the nation of Israel.
A King, like a bright star, will arise in that nation.
Like a comet He will come from Israel.
He will strike the leaders of Moab and beat down all the people of Seth who are proud and violent.
Dec. 18: Matthew 2: 1-2 “Wise men come to Jerusalem”
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi (wise men) from the east arrived in Jerusalem, asking, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”
Dec. 19: Matthew 2:3-8 “The Wise Men visit Herod”
When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
“‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’
Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
Dec. 20 Matthew 2:9-11 “The wise Men worship Him”
After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the
child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Dec. 21 Luke 2:21 “His name is called Jesus as instructed”
On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, He was named Jesus, the name the angel had given Him before He was conceived in Mary’s womb.
Dec. 22: Luke 2:25-30 “Simeon sees Jesus”
Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took Him in his arms and praised God, saying: “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now allow Your servant to depart this world in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation.
Dec. 23: Luke 2:52 “Jesus grew in Wisdom”
And Jesus grew in wisdom and physical stature, and in favor with God and man.
Dec. 24: 1st Timothy 3:16 “God in the flesh”
And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness:
God was manifested in the flesh,
Justified in the Spirit,
Seen by angels,
Preached among the Gentiles,
Believed on in the world,
Received up in glory.
Dec. 25: The result still today: “Wise men still seek Him today”