Some of the ACR team share their favourite resources that have helped keep their eyes on Jesus in the busy Christmas season…
Steve Tong
The Names of Jesus Advent Calendar is a wonderful resource that puts Christ back in the centre of Christmas! Each card gives a different biblical title for Jesus. Our kids enjoy hanging one up each day, and even though they haven’t always understood all these names initially, they’ve grown in familiarity with them over the years. This has meant they’ve then been able to make connections across the pages of Scripture in our regular family devotions. Plus, the names celebrated in this calendar have helped them to make sense of some of the words used in the old Christmas carols. Since it’s on display in our house, guests can’t miss it—at the very least, the physicality of this calendar also acts as an evangelistic tool, reminding people of the reason for the season. It also works well alongside the commercial, chocolatey calendars!
Meagan Bartlett
Colin Buchanan’s ‘On that very first Christmas’ has been a great song to introduce at our church’s playgroup. We have many families come along who are not from church and so, in the hustle and bustle that the Christmas season can bring, it’s an easy and fun way to share that we believe Christmas is about Jesus.
Bronwyn Windsor
My recommendation is actually for both Christmas and Easter—because my friend Alison has created a children’s Advent calendar as well as a Countdown to Easter calendar. This is a simple resource that had its beginnings as a thought while sitting in my backyard on a visit to Sydney while Alison was on sabbatical from the UK. Having worked for many years in student ministry and as a women’s and children’s minister in a church, and now working in a primary school, Alison knows how to communicate to all age groups! There are questions suitable for younger and older children, so it is ideal for use in a family, school, church or Sunday School setting.
Lionel Windsor
I love Ben Pakula’s song, ‘The Saviour of the World’, from his album Masterplan. This Christmas song is memorable, theologically rich and musically powerful. Brilliant for kids who are growing out of childhood and beginning to appreciate music with a more energetic feel (also brilliant for adults). The musical style is a mixture of the more standard ‘Christmasy’ feel and Ben’s strong prog-rock inspired heavy guitar-and-drum based rhythm. Plus, it ends with a shredding guitar solo!
Joc Loane
Our family loves the Jesse Tree. This was a resource we first came across in the book Disciplines of a Godly Family by Kent and Barbara Hughes. It’s an Advent reading plan that gives a brief overview of biblical theology culminating in the birth of Jesus as the ultimate fulfilment of the “shoot that will come up from the stump of Jesse” (Isa 11:1). It has a Bible passage to read together each day and a corresponding ornament to make and hang on your tree (we actually use a bare branch in a vase). By Christmas Day you have a beautiful, visual representation of the way God has fulfilled his promises in Christ.
Kirsten McKinlay
I love using an Advent devotional and I’ve read several great ones over the years, but one of my favourite’s to date has been Christopher Ash’s Repeat the Sounding Joy, which goes through Luke 1–2 at a beautifully slow pace, taking just a couple of verses for each day of Advent. Ash drew my attention to many astounding details I’d never noticed. Every day’s reading gave me something profound to mull over in an otherwise distracting season.
