Jesse Tree: Mary - the face of trust

"But the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.'" Luke 1:30-33

"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.  Luke 1:38


Tuesday: Mary; Luke 1:26-38, 46-56; Symbol - White Lily

Mary...the mother of Jesus. Woman blessed above all other women to have been chosen to be the mother of God come to earth.

She was only 13 or 14, born to a family of humble means but a strong, devout faith in God. Promised to be married to a man who loved God. Living in a time when pregnancy outside of marriage carried the death sentence, to be carried out by those who knew her.

When the angel Gabriel comes to her to tell her the incredible news, she has some questions but she never doubts.  In the faith of this humble young girl, the Gift of God found the acceptance He had awaited from the beginning of time. She whom the Almighty made "full of grace" responds by offering her whole being: "I am the Lord's servant...May it be to me as you have said."

When she arrives at her cousin Elizabeth's home, because the Lord knew she would need the encouragement and belief of this Godly woman, Mary utters these words, known today, throughout the world, as the Magnificat. Reflect on these words of faith, trust and hope.


"My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for He has been mindful of the humble state of His servant. 


From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me- holy is His name.


His mercy extends to those who fear Him, from generation to generation.


He has performed mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.


He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.


He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.


He has helped His servant Israel, remembering to be merciful Abraham and His descendants forever, even as He said to our fathers."  Luke 1:46-55

Praise God for the humble willingness and trust of Mary. May we desire this same faith and trust in God, no matter what He asks us to do.


The Magnificat has been sung within the Church for thousands of years. It is believed to be one of the oldest hymns there is. There have been many renditions of this song. One I found especially beautiful and touching was the Magnificat sung by Richard Wu in an album dedicated to the people of North Korea. You can hear it at the Magnificat in song

The above commentary on Luke is part of a 4-week Advent Reflection for the Jesse Tree. The Jesse Tree is similar to an advent calendar. Every day you will read a Bible passage to your child(ren), discuss what it means to them in personal terms and color an ornament to hang on your Jesse Tree. A fuller description of this can be found at The Jesse Tree

When you are finished today, you might want to discuss 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. Today, over 2 billion people, 1/3 of the earth's population, have never heard the Gospel message. Please pray that hearts will be ready to hear the Good News about Jesus and to trust in His love for them. 

Two great websites to help you do this are:

Unreached of the Day

Operation World  go to Featured Nation and click on Country Profile

Some of the churches in Charleston that are using a Jesse Tree as part of their Advent celebration are: Charleston Sanctuary

Allison Creek Presbyterian Church

Good Shepherd Catholic Church

St Luke's Lutheran Church

Grace Episcopal Church

Jesse Tree - a heart prepared

The scallop shell represents baptism

"And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins," Luke 1:76-77


"the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 
As is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: 'A voice of one calling in the desert, Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. And all mankind will see God's salvation.' " Luke 3:2-6


"(All the people, even the tax collectors, when they heard Jesus' words, acknowledged that God's way was right, because they had been baptized by John. But the Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God's purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.)" Luke 7:29-30




Monday: John the Baptist; Luke 1:57-80, 3:1-20 7:18-35; Symbol - Scallop Shell

Preparing hearts -- that was the mission of John the Baptist. "John told the people to make a highway in the desert for their God. He told them to make the crooked ways straight and to make the rough places smooth.

John wasn't really talking about building a highway upon which Jesus could travel. He was really talking about the hearts of the people. He was calling people to prepare their hearts to receive Jesus so that he could walk among them and live with them." This excerpt was taken from the children's message Prepare the Way from Sermons4kids.

Those who had prepared their hearts, following John's preaching, were able and eager to believe that what Jesus said was good and right. They left John the Baptist to follow Jesus. John had prepared the way to Jesus. But those who scoffed at what John said, those whose hearts were too puffed up with pride and judgment of others, missed out on the Messiah. They were not prepared when He came and they did not believe His message.

In this time of holiday preparation, with only 5 days left until Christmas, are we preparing our hearts for Jesus? Is there room, amongst the presents and lights and parties, for Him to walk? Are we focused on Him as the celebrated guest at His birthday party or will we even notice that His place has been filled by things of the world...by the trappings of the holiday?

I encourage you, in these last few days before Christmas, to take time each day to prepare your heart to celebrate His birth and then, spend some time preparing your children's hearts.

May we greatly anticipate the celebration of His birth and prepare our hearts for His ultimate return!

The above commentary on Luke is part of a 4-week Advent Reflection for the Jesse Tree. The Jesse Tree is similar to an advent calendar. Every day you will read a Bible passage to your child(ren), discuss what it means to them in personal terms and color an ornament to hang on your Jesse Tree. A fuller description of this can be found at The Jesse Tree

When you are finished today, you might want to discuss 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. Today, over 2 billion people, 1/3 of the earth's population, have never heard the Gospel message. Like John the Baptist, missionaries prepare the hearts of the lost to hear the good news of Jesus. Please pray for missionaries and for the people who hear them. Please pray that hearts will be ready for Jesus to walk into them. 

Two great websites to help you do this are:

Unreached of the Day

Operation World  go to Featured Nation and click on Country Profile

Some of the churches in Charleston that are using a Jesse Tree as part of their Advent celebration are: Charleston Sanctuary

Allison Creek Presbyterian Church

Good Shepherd Catholic Church

St Luke's Lutheran Church

Grace Episcopal Church

Jesse Tree - hope fulfilled

But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John.


He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth. Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God.


And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous-to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." Luke 1:13-17

Sunday: Gabriel; Luke 1:5-25; symbol - angel

400 years of silence...that is the length of time between the last words of Malachi and the words of the angel Gabriel to Zechariah. 400 years without any revelation from God. Had discouragement set in? Had hope grown cold? How long, oh Lord, before you come to us as our Messiah, as our rescuer, as our redeemer? The Jewish people still longed for a Messiah but many had lost hope and no longer really looked for Him.

Is this why Zechariah did not believe the angel Gabriel when he was told? Had he lost hope and was just going through the motions? Or, had the bitterness and sadness from years of hoping and praying for a child, with no answer, left him unwilling to believe that now, in his old age, God would finally grant him a son?

His unbelief is reminiscent of Sarah when she was told that she would become pregnant in her old age and have a son. Yet God's answer is the same: "Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son."  Genesis 18:14

400 years of silence...yet, what were the last words of Malachi before this blanket of silence fell upon Israel? "See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes.
He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse." Malachi 4:5-6

And now what were the exact words of the angel Gabriel concerning this miracle baby? And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous-to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. 
Luke 1:15-17

The time of waiting was finally over! The stage was being set for the arrival of the King of Kings! And His arrival would be heralded by His cousin...a miracle baby...a baby who would be filled with the Holy Spirit and would be reminiscent of the great prophet Elijah.

400 years of waiting...actually, for us, it is over 1,900 years of waiting...waiting for His return, waiting for the completion of all that Jesus has promised us. "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful." Hebrews 10:23

May we wait with hope, pray with hope, long for Jesus with hope. "For in just a very little while, "He who is coming will come and will not delay." Hebrews 10:37

The above commentary on Luke is part of a 4-week Advent Reflection for the Jesse Tree. The Jesse Tree is similar to an advent calendar. Every day you will read a Bible passage to your child(ren), discuss what it means to them in personal terms and color an ornament to hang on your Jesse Tree. A fuller description of this can be found at The Jesse Tree

When you are finished today, you might want to discuss 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. Today, over 2 billion people, 1/3 of the earth's population, have never heard the Gospel message. They cower in fear at the power of Satan and have no idea that the King of Kings longs to hold out His nail-scarred hands to them, welcoming them into His Kingdom. We need to pray that they will hear about Jesus and follow Him.  

Two great websites to help you do this are:

Unreached of the Day

Operation World  go to Featured Nation and click on Country Profile

Some of the churches in Charleston that are using a Jesse Tree as part of their Advent celebration are: Charleston Sanctuary

Allison Creek Presbyterian Church

Good Shepherd Catholic Church

St Luke's Lutheran Church

Grace Episcopal Church

Jesse Tree - Jesus, our intercessor

Then she instructed him to say to Mordecai, "All the king's officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned the king has but one law: that he be put to death. 
The only exception to this is for the king to extend the gold scepter to him and spare his life. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the king."
When Esther's words were reported to Mordecai, he sent back this answer: 
"Do not think that because you are in the king's house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. 
And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?"
Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: "Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish." 
So Mordecai went away and carried out all of Esther's instructions.  Esther 4:10-17

Saturday: Esther; Esther 4:10-17; symbol - golden scepter

Esther, beautiful Jewish queen of King Xerxes...a man who had the ultimate power of life or death over everyone. Mordecai, uncle to Esther, devout Jew who will not back down to anyone. Haman, descendent of Agag and sworn enemy of the Jews.

Haman goes before King Xerxes and accuses the Jews: "There is a certain people dispersed and scattered among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom whose customs are different from those of all other people and who do not obey the king's laws; it is not in the king's best interest to tolerate them. If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued to destroy them," Esther 3:8-9 King Xerxes agrees to this mass slaughter which, unknowingly, will include his own wife Queen Esther.

Mordecai finds out and begs Queen Esther to go before the king and ask for mercy and a stop to the killing. The fate of the entire Jewish population in this kingdom rests on Esther.

There is an accuser today as well...but he doesn't just accuse the Jewish people like Haman did...he accuses the entire human race. His name is Satan and he wants nothing better than to destroy all the human beings who are so precious and dear to the Lord God.

But in the fullness of time, our King of Kings comes to Bethlehem and makes the whole universe his court. He hears the words of the accuser yet, but unlike King Xerxes, our King does not agree with the accuser. For the accuser's words hold no power anymore. They were broken at Calvary. They were silenced by the absolute sacrifice of the King Himself. "Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: 'Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.'"  Revelation 12:10

So, we do not have to cower on our knees before the King of Kings, wondering if He will reach out His golden scepter of mercy and spare our lives. Instead, we can "approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Hebrews 4:16
For it is not a golden scepter that is held out to us in the throne room of the universe, but the hands of Jesus Christ which took the iron nails to save us.

The above commentary on Esther is part of a 4-week Advent Reflection for the Jesse Tree. The Jesse Tree is similar to an advent calendar. Every day you will read a Bible passage to your child(ren), discuss what it means to them in personal terms and color an ornament to hang on your Jesse Tree. A fuller description of this can be found at The Jesse Tree

When you are finished today, you might want to discuss 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. Today, over 2 billion people, 1/3 of the earth's population, have never heard the Gospel message. They cower in fear at the power of Satan and have no idea that the King of Kings longs to hold out His nail-scarred hands to them, welcoming them into His Kingdom. We need to pray that they will hear about Jesus and follow Him.  

Two great websites to help you do this are:

Unreached of the Day

Operation World  go to Featured Nation and click on Country Profile

Some of the churches in Charleston that are using a Jesse Tree as part of their Advent celebration are: Charleston Sanctuary

Allison Creek Presbyterian Church

Good Shepherd Catholic Church

St Luke's Lutheran Church

Grace Episcopal Church