The Jesse Tree - what is it? (Day 1&2)

Olive tree in Israel

"A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. 

The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him-- the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord--

and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. 

He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; 

but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. 

He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.

Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.

Isaiah 11:1-5

November 27th marked the first Sunday in Advent...a time when we prepare our hearts and minds for the upcoming celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Many families may read a weekly devotion and sing Christmas carols. Some may use an advent wreath or an advent calendar to anticipate Christmas. The Jesse Tree is another way to help your family think about and focus on the birth of Christ.

The Jesse Tree comes from Isaiah 11:1: "A shoot will spring forth from the stump of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots." It is a way to tell the story of God in the Old Testament, and to connect the Advent Season with the faithfulness of God across 4,000 years of history. The Branch is a Biblical sign of newness out of discouragement, which became a way to talk about the expected Messiah: "The days are coming," declares the Lord, "when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land." Jeremiah 23:5 

A Jesse Tree does not require much work or time. You can use a real tree, a tree drawn on a piece of poster board, a tree you make yourself with craft supplies or it can be a banner. Each day you will read to your child(ren) a Scripture passage and talk about its meaning in relation to the coming of Christ and God's promises. Then your child(ren) will color an ornament to hang on the tree. The ornaments can be found at the below websites or you can have your children draw a picture of their own.

I plan to have a Jesse Tree devotion with my children beginning today, the first day of December. I plan to blog about each day's Jesse Tree message so if you like, you can return to this blog each day to find out the Scripture reading, some thoughts on its meaning and the symbol.

Here are some websites where you can find more information and black-n-white drawings of the daily symbols:

The Jesse Tree: Celebration of Advent

Jesse Tree ornaments

The Jesse Tree

If you begin the Jesse Tree today, December 1, you will want to talk to your children about the following two messages in order to catch up. 

Sunday: The Jesse Tree 

Bible reading: Isaiah 11:1-10 and 1 Samuel 16:1-13 

Symbol: a tree  (go to Jesse Tree ornaments)

Jesse was the father of David, beginning a line of descendants that will lead to Jesus, the Messiah. The tree represents Jesus...the branch springing from the root of Jesse. You can introduce the Jesse Tree to your children at this time, telling them its meaning and purpose.

Monday: Creation

Bible reading: all of Genesis 1 or just Genesis 1:24-28

Symbol: land God created (go to Jesse Tree ornaments)

God created a world of peace and harmony...a beautiful world with no sin. He created man in His image, making us different from the animals. We can have relationships, we have intellect, we have creativity, we were given stewardship of the earth...a good time to talk to your children about what makes us unique and what it means to be created in the image of God. You might also point out that we are not animals, as some would like to say. You might have them compare the differences between us and animals. 

You can follow the Jesse Tree lesson with a Christmas carol or two. 

When you are finished each day, you might want to talk about how Christmas is about giving much more than getting. One way that your family can give is through their daily prayers. This might be a good time to pray for a specific country or for a group of people who do not know about Jesus. Two great websites to help you do this are:

Unreached of the Day

Operation World  go to Featured Nation and click on Country Profile

May this Christmas season be a time when each of us draw nearer to Christ and help our children do the same. God bless you!

I Against My Brother

I just watched a really good video on what it is like to be a Christian in Somalia. You can watch it below

 The website  I Against My Brother also has a 4-page Bible study for use after watching the film. This would be great for Sunday School, small groups and even homeschooling. The below news report is by CBN:


Muslims turning to Christ in Somalia is the subject of the new short film "I Against My Brother."

At only 15 minutes long, producers hope the film will become an evangelism tool -- something that Somalis could even watch on a cell phone.

"I Against My Brother" dramatizes the true story of a Somali woman who came to believe in Christ.

For her the cost was extremely high. In Somalia, she says, being a Muslim is seen as a part of being Somali.

"Somali people are very close. We share everything," the woman said in the film. "In our house there was only one room and there were seven of us."

In a surprise move to the city, the Somali woman encounters a Christian family. They show her God's love as they befriend her.

She then started reading the Bible in secret.

"I thought, 'Even if this (the Bible) is true, there's no way I can accept it. I'm a Somali. There's no other world I can go live in. If I accept this I will be killed,'" the woman recalled.

Eventually, the woman converted. The movie shows the real dangers she faced after coming to Christ.

The filmmaker told CBN News those dangers make it tough for Somali Christians to worship. They've even had to remain anonymous for this story due to security concerns.

"Somali Christians are very underground. They don't know each other. As far as I know there's no church of Somali believers pastored by a Somali pastor," one of the filmmakers said.

The filmmakers hope the Western church will watch the movie and pray for Somalis.

"The Somali people make international news almost every week for stuff that's really terrible," the other producer added.

"There's piracy, there's terrorism, there's the war in Somalia, there's the refugee camps," he continued. "And we want the church as they read these headlines to have a different response than the world has."

The filmmakers also hope that small groups will take advantage of online bible study materials -- and commit to praying weekly for the persecuted church in Somalia.

The Last-Day Church

This devotion by Pastor Wilkerson was so good, I just wanted to share it! It really gets me excited about what God is going to do in this world. May we be a part of it as we trust in the power of the Holy Spirit and live in obedience and anticipation of Jesus' return!

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2011

THE LAST-DAY CHURCH

by David Wilkerson

[May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011]

I believe God’s vision for His last-day church is based on His revealed Word—because the Bible clearly outlines what the church of Jesus Christ will be like just prior to His coming.

The church in America is far from what God envisioned it to be. For the most part, entire denominations today operate without the Holy Spirit. They are devoid of the presence of Jesus and bankrupt of all spiritual gifts. They practice a form of religion without any power, conviction or saving message. They are cozy with the world and are more political than spiritual. They appease sin, wink at divorce and ridicule the supernatural, while tossing aside all teaching about heaven, hell, repentance and judgment.

The New Testament church made devils tremble! It drove legions of demons into the abyss, prayed prison doors open, made rulers cringe in fear. Those early believers had such faith and power that cripples rose up leaping and beggars became evangelists. They believed in the supernatural and they opened blind eyes, unstopped deaf ears and healed all manner of diseases. They even raised the dead!

I am not saying God’s last-day church will be a repeat or copy of the first-century church. No—I am saying it will be even greater than that! It will be mightier, stronger, with an ever greater revelation of Jesus. It will have greater unction from the Spirit than ever—greater even than at Pentecost! God always saves His best wine for last!

The prophet Daniel confirms this. He said that certain prophetic truths were locked up, only to be revealed in the last days: “For the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. . . . And none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand” (Daniel 12:9-10).

Today the Holy Spirit is revealing these things to spiritual, discerning saints! “It is written: ‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things that God has prepared for those who love Him.’ But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God” (1 Corinthians 2:9-10).

The Lord is preparing a powerful yet humble army of shepherds after His own heart and also a remnant congregation of hungry sheep who have turned away from the deadness and sin of the modern church. The scene is being set for that church which will be hot, not lukewarm—and it will rock the very foundations of hell. No power on earth will be able to ignore or despise it!

International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church

International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church 13 November 2011

Today, Christian believers all over the world will be setting aside time to intercede on behalf of our Brothers and Sisters who are facing persecution for their faith.   The goal of this global concert of prayer is to increase awareness of the opposition and violence Christians are enduring worldwide, stand in the gap for these courageous men and women, and call the Church to action on their behalf.   "We believe prayer changes things," the sponsors of this event say.  "Exactly what happens is a mystery of faith.  God invites us to present to Him our requests and to pray without ceasing.  The most we can do is the least we can do - pray. " For more information on this important call to prayer, go to www.persecutedchurch.org.

PRAY FOR: those Christians who are being discriminated against, verbally and physically abused, detained, arrested, tortured, and even killed because they choose to serve the Lord Jesus Christ.  (The Bible, I Peter 4:13,14) these Brothers and Sisters to remain strong in the faith, boldly sharing the Gospel.  Pray for the Lord to use them as light and salt to oppressive authorities, guards, and fellow prisoners.  (The Bible, Matthew 5:13,14) families who have lost loved ones and seen family members attacked, imprisoned and murdered.  Ask the Lord to comfort and strengthen them, and help them remain faithful to Him.  (The Bible, II Corinthians 1:3,4) Christian Believers who are alone - in prisons, in secret jails, and in dungeon-like situations.  Pray for the Lord to draw near to them and make His presence known.  (The Bible, Hebrews 10:22) leaders and governments in nations of the 10/40 Window where this mistreatment takes place.  Pray for the Lord to soften and change their hearts - transforming them from "Sauls" to "Pauls."  (The Bible, Colossians 1:13) the Kingdom of God to come in great power and glory to every dark corner, bringing an end to the violence and hatred Christians are enduring.  (The Bible, I Corinthians 4:20)

Not another wasted dollar this Christmas

One month before Christmas - 
"Honey, what do you want for Christmas?"
"What do the kids want for Christmas?"
"What do you think we should get our parents, sisters, brothers, nieces and nephews for Christmas?"
I DON'T KNOW (they already have everything)...
-- Last year, in America, pre-Christmas sales were $584.3 billion  2010 Holiday Shopping Statistics

Mid-morning Christmas day - 
"Look at that mess of wrapping paper and bows...I think I'm going to need three garbage bags to pack it up and throw it all away."
"Mommy, my toy just broke...can you fix it?"
Call from grandparents - "So what did you get for Christmas?" "Oh, a bunch of toys and some candy. Thanks for the presents."

Two weeks after Christmas - 
"I'm bored Mom." "Why don't you go play with some of your new Christmas toys?" "I already have...I'm tired of them."
"I sure am glad Christmas comes only once a year...I'm still trying to recover from the rush of the season."
"Wow, honey, we need to spend less on Christmas next year...we really ran up the credit card!"
-- According to the American Consumer Credit Council, the average American spends $935 on Christmas each year and carries an average credit card debt of $8,562 American Consumer Credit Council

Does this scenario sound anything like your house at Christmas time? Is this the tradition we want to pass down to our children, year after year...memories of gifts, gifts and more gifts at Christmas so that Christmas seems like just one more birthday?

It is a birthday after all...the birthday of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But do our gift giving traditions convey this truth? Will our children grow up thinking about Christmas as a time of giving gifts to Jesus or giving gifts to ourselves?

But how do we give gifts to Jesus? "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'  Matthew 25:40

We can give gifts to Jesus by helping others at Christmas, by giving gifts to the "least of these."  While more than 580 billion was spent on Christmas last year in America, over half the world has yet to hear Christ's name.

Please take a minute to watch this 2 minute video to learn about a different type of gift giving this year...one that can make a difference in eternity.

Forgotten Christmas