The Tree of Christmas

And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: Isaiah 11:1

There is a little bug in many of the classrooms today. It’s called an EETCHY worm. It’s made of colored beads and it helps kids organize their thoughts to tell a story. I want to use an EETCHY worm today to help us tell about a Christmas tree.

• The first bead of the worm is green to remind us what group we are talking about.

Our group is Christmas Tree

• The second bead is blue to ask us what does it do. A Christmas Tree represents the various meanings associated with Christmas.
• The second bead is yellow with an eye on it. This asks us what does it look like.

A Christmas Tree looks like a tree covered with red, gold, blue and white balls, stars, angels, ribbons, and bells.

• The next bead is brown to ask what is it made of. A Christmas tree is made of wood.
• The next bead is pink to ask what are its parts. A Christmas tree has a trunk, branches, and evergreen needles.
• Then there is a white bead to ask where is it? A Christmas tree is placed inside or outside of a home where everyone can see its beauty.
• The last bead is orange and asks what else do you know. By now most of us have a pretty good picture of a Christmas tree in our minds and our answer to the question what else do you know may be, “That’s all.” Or that there are presents under the tree. But that’s not all!

Let’s go back and examine what we said about the tree. The blue said is represents the various meanings associated with Christmas. What meanings? In the yellow we answered red balls; red is the color of blood. Christ shed His blood on a cross made of wood. The tree is made of wood. We also said gold balls. The wisemen brought Jesus gold and frankincense and myrrh. Blue balls are the color of royalty. Jesus is King of Kings. White balls are the color of purity. Jesus was without sin. Wisemen followed a star. Angels announced His birth. Ribbons held the breastplate to ephod on the robe of the high priest. Bells were sown around the hem of his robe so all could here him as he preformed his priestly duties. Jesus is our High Priest.  The evergreen needles tell us that Jesus gives us eternal life. The trunk and the branches lead us back to our scripture: And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:

We display our Christmas trees where all can see their beauty. So should Jesus be displayed in our lives that all can see His beauty. We want to come to the tree and receive the gifts. May all the world come to Jesus this Christmas and receive His gift of salvation. May there be Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good will toward men.

What else? Won’t you tell us the what else that God is doing in your life?

Blessings

Hide and Seek in Plain View

But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart, and with all thy soul. Deuteronomy 4:29

Have you ever played hide and seek in the dark? It can be a lot of fun until you run over a birdbath or a lawn chair or whatever and go stumbling and tumbling into the hedges and ponds. We know we are looking for someone but we can’t see the obstacles in our path if we play in the dark.

We all live our lives in the dark spiritually until we understand what we are seeking after. We look for things to satisfy us. We look for people we think will satisfy us. We look for jobs that pay lots of money in hopes of finding the price that will satisfy. Hopefully, we realize that what we are looking for is actually God, who has been waiting for us all along.

Deuteronomy tells us that if we start right now and seek the Lord, we will find him. We must seek him with all our hearts and with all our souls. He is not hiding, but he is waiting in plain sight. We can’t let the things of this world or family or friends keep us from seeking God. We must put first things first. Matthew tells us to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added unto us. What things? All the things we put before God, the obstacles that keep us from finding the God our hearts desire. God wants to provide us with all the necessary things, but they should never be the object of our desires. God should and must come first.

Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near; Isaiah 55:6

What obstacles stand in your way? From this moment on, seek the Lord thy God. Won’t you let us know how you found Jesus?