“Our Scavenger Hunt to Advent!” (God card #6 – Christmas)

Our kids love scavenger hunts! So, we tend to move in the direction of things they enjoy when we want to teach or affirm something. As we continued the focus on God card #6 – I believe God is Christmas, we decided to paint the picture of where we have come from and what place in history does the Christmas story rest through the fun of a scavenger hunt!

We gave each one of them a slip of paper with some things written on them that they had to find and bring back to the kitchen table. And it was from these things that we painted the picture!

Maya: picture of clouds, wrapping paper roll, mirror
Ada: people, baby Jesus, cross
Carson: sword, dragon, people, rock

It was a great sound as they began running through the house to locate all of their items. They came back to the table with all of their stuff, and we began reading and storytelling using their objects. Though a simplistic version of the story, it was a step in their understanding.

First, Ron read a passage from Revelation 12 talking about the war that raged at Jesus’ birth between God and Satan and a few pages from John Eldredge’s book Waking the Dead, the section “We are at War” in the chapter “Arm Yourselves.” He writes: “The birth of Christ was an act of war, an invasion.” In these verses from Revelation, Satan is referenced as a dragon and his intent “to make war against the rest of her offspring.” So, we put Maya’s picture of clouds from her science book at the top of the table with the dragon near by and simply explained: “There is a spiritual battle going on in the heavenlies. This truth is revealed in God’s word. And God wins!

But, there is still an enemy in the land we call home, Earth. And as God populated the Earth with man and woman, so he gave a choice to all of us, good vs. evil, with the hope that we would choose his life and his love (Deuteronomy 30:19-20). So, the sword and the Lego people that Carson brought to the table represented the fight on Earth between Satan and the people God created. And so, God created the law and gave it to the people through Moses, and we used the mirror to symbolize the law, because this written record of rules and regulations offered a reflection of the ways we should behave as followers of God. If we so desire to choose God, walk this way! But the law did not work, and people turned away from God’s best.

So, God sent the prophets!” We put the wrapping paper roll up to our mouths and began saying: “repent, repent. The way of the Lord is right and good. Choose life! Seek God!” But the prophets didn’t turn the people back to God either.

So, God sent Jesus! On our kitchen table, there is a line down the middle. So, we put the baby Jesus from the manger scene that Ada brought right on that middle line. We talked about Jesus being the beginning of the New Testament and the new covenant and everything else before that being part of the Old Testament and the law. It was a great time discussing the differences between the two and power of Jesus coming to our world to make a new and everlasting way to God. Satan would be defeated once and for all (Hebrews 7:22-28, Hebrews 10 and 1 Peter 3:18). Ada had brought in some people too – a collection of her favorite Barbies. So, we put these people on the table after the baby Jesus to symbolize those of the new covenant and our opportunity to believe in this baby born on Christmas as our savior from our sins!

We laid down the cross next and the rock and talked about his death and resurrection from the cross – the power of this act and its redemptive gift on our behalf. From the very beginning, there has been a fight for control, and there has also been a fight for our hearts. God sent the law; he sent the prophets and then he sent Jesus to win us back once and for all to himself, the place we began and the place we should always be. He is our refuge and our victor! We walk in the victory of what has been done for us on the cross. This is the power of the Christmas story – his intervention into our day to day to bring us home into his arms of love! From the heavens to the Earth, the Israelites to the prophets, the manger to the cross, this is the story.

Read these verses but take a breath after each phrase. Soak up the truth of that phrase; give it time to penetrate your heart once again.

“For so loved . . . that he gave his one and only Son . . . that whoever believes in him . . . shall not perish but have eternal . . . LIFE!” John 3:16

“The thief comes to kill and steal and destroy . . . but I have come . . . that you may have LIFE . . . and have it to the full!” John 10:10

After talking and reading, we just prayed as we all sat around the story on our kitchen table. It put the glorious Christmas story into the whole picture and how it fits from the very beginning. To celebrate Advent in light of Revelation and the Old Testament is powerful! And to listen to our beautiful children talk to Father about the whole story through the pictures of Lego people, the wrapping paper roll, baby Jesus from the manger scene and Barbies was pretty cool!

We believe God is Christmas – he is a generous giver of great Gifts! And this is his greatest gift – the Story!