31 Days of Advent Day 8: God's Great Promise - God's Great Sign

"When God passes over your house, God will see the blood and know that the lamb died instead of you." (JSB 88)

 Ornament:  

Doorpost

(or burning bush)

Scripture Readings: 

Exodus 12:1-51

John 1:29

1 Corinthians 5:6-8

Hebrews 9:22

Verse:

Hebrews 9:22b "Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins."

Christmas Song: A Communion Hymn for Christmas
Hymn: Nothing but the Blood
Story: Passover

• Big Picture Story Bible: God's People become great and God's Great Sign (103-129)
• The Jesus Storybook Bible: God to the Rescue (84-91)
• The Biggest Story: Chapter 4 (56-63)
• The Ology: God Keeps His Promise (74-77)
• The Gospel Story Bible: The Last Plague And the First Passover (62-63)

   Hundreds of years have passed since Joseph rescued his family and brought them to Egypt. God's people, the Israelites, were now slaves. And to make things worse, Pharaoh decided to start killing the baby boys. How terrible and miserable the people of God were! They were not where they belonged. They cried out to the Lord in their misery. "God save us! God don't you see?! We need a rescuer."

   As always, God remains true to His own character and promise. God provides for His people through Moses. Moses just "happens" to not be killed by the Egyptians because Pharaoh's daughter just "happens" to find him first. Moses just "happens" to be raised by his own mother and then just "happens" to grow up in the court of Pharaoh. God is truly the great promise keeper and provider for His people. God was grooming Moses to rescue Israel from the Egyptians, and this story becomes one of the most powerful pictures we are given of Jesus rescuing us out of our slavery to sin.

  Moses experienced a lot of things before God was ready for him to rescue the Israelites: he murdered an Egyptian (not so good), had to move to the wilderness, met God at a burning bush (WOW!), had a whole host of family issues to deal with, came back to Egypt, convinced God's people that they needed to listen to him, and delivered God's Word to Pharaoh....whew ... He must have been tired! That was a busy 40 years.

  Well, Pharaoh wasn't listening to God's Word. I'll pause while you recover from the shock. In fact, Pharaoh was pretending to be God. So God decided it was time to show Pharaoh that he was not God, or any god. God sent 9 signs to prove He had authority and power over Pharaoh. God, in His mercy, gave Pharaoh 9 opportunities to repent. But alas, Pharaoh was stubborn and proud and still refused to listen. So God told Moses the next part of His plan. It was sad and gory but necessary to show Pharaoh who was truly God. Even more than that, God was showing His people that He was Almighty God, Who provides for and rescues His people. The God who keeps His promises.

   This rescue came at a high price: bloodshed. Lots of bloodshed. God required a death from every household that night ... even the homes of the Israelites. Thankfully, instead of taking the lives of the firstborn sons, God provided a way for death to pass over the households of the Israelites. God told His people through Moses to sacrifice a lamb and spread the blood to cover the door posts. The blood of the lamb was God's greatest sign to His people. God provided for His people then through the death of many lambs. God provided for us with the death of one precious and spotless Lamb. We deserved to die, but God has passed over us because of the blood of the Lamb. As always, God is the Hero of this story. He delights in saving His people. This is is God's promise! Hallelujah!
   

Tidings and tidbits:

• Here's a link again to an advent blog I enjoy reading every day which includes arts, music, history, and western culture is found here. I highly recommend this if you enjoy learning about traditions and new ideas for your family.
• Many people choose to use the burning bush as today's ornament. We chose to draw a doorpost and paint it red so that my children could remember God's great sign. 
• Above is a picture of the plagues of Egypt on paper bags. I thought that was a unique way to teach children about them. Might be a fun activity to do with your children.
• Today, you will read just part of the story of God's Great Sign in the Big Picture Story Bible. The page numbers will tell you when to stop. 
• Have you signed up for Paul Tripp's Wednesday's Word? This is an excellent resource that comes once a week. It is always challenging, encouraging, and completely Word centered. One of my favorite things to read during the week!

Resource Corner

One of my favorite places to find resources is Matthias Media. This is a wonderful organization with resources for all ages and focuses on the church and growth and discipleship within the church. If you are unfamiliar with their website, check it out and look at some of what they have. Below are a few of my favorite resources for the young children. These would be great for Christmas and getting you started in the new year with some great little books. 

     This series is a great little set that takes your children through normal situations in life and speaks Theology into them. Our favorite is Grumpy Day.  This book speaks to dealing with disappointment when God's plans are different than our plans. It ends with a sweet prayer of humility and surrender. 

    Next is a series that I got for my 1 year old for his first birthday. His older siblings also enjoy these. They are colorful and teach wonderful, simple truths about our great God. My little guy loves these books and brings them to me to read multiple times a day. This would be great for your church nursery or as a gift to grandchildren. The series is called, Books for Little Ones.

   This Christmas, I am getting set 2 in the Books for Little Ones series. I am really excited about the titles of these, and I know that my one year old will love them. You can find this series here.