Advent Begins with the Jesse Tree

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

Today, December 1, marks 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 Sunday in Advent. 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

Below is today's Jesse Tree reading: 

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.

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!