Readings and Celebration

Hanukkah should not be dull. Each evening should be anti-cipated as a time of celebration, history, feasting and games! Which of those words do not belong together? Oh yeah, history. There are serious moments in the evening as we think about the threat to liberties that Hanukkah commemorates. Because our God is bigger than the conspiracies, even history resolves itself in a way that gives basis for celebration. Each day there can be singing, reading from Scripture, and application of the different parts of the history of this feast to Jesus.

Hanukkah starts on Chislev 25 and goes for eight days. We recommend starting on December 25, having the readings about the birth of Christ, and then moving forward to January 1, when a new year, and God’s eternal kingdom are celebrated. However, we have sometimes had to have Hanukkah be the eight days leading up to December 25, or even to scatter the celebration over two weeks because of busyness. Remember that this is not a mandated holiday, but an optional and very educational thanksgiving season. So there is no need to get stressed over fitting everything in. Feel free to substitute your own readings.

General Instructions

Instructions on Lighting the Candles

The Menorah

Buy or make your own Hanukkah Menorah (also called a Hanukkiah). It can be in any shape that you desire, but should always have nine branches. Some people wonder why Jews do not use the same seven-branched candlestick that was in the temple. The reason is twofold: 1) This celebration is in the homes and is symbolic. 2) Each candle represents one of the eight days of Hanukkah that were always associated with temple dedication (for example, see 2 Chron. 29:17).

Since there are eight days of lights on the “festival of lights,” Jews reserved one branch for each day of this festival. Though we have always had one Menorah and let our children take turns lighting it, some Jewish households like to have each child light their own Menorah.

The Shamash

The center candle is only used for lighting the others, and is therefore called the Shamash (or servant candle). We light a new candle each day, and have the child who is lighting it recite what each candle represents.

How to light the candles

Lighting candles on the first night

On the first night, place one candle in the Menorah’s far right (as you face the Menorah). Also place the Shamash in the middle candle holder. One member (often a child) can light the Shamash candle and hold it while the father says the blessings (see next section). After the blessing, the child will use the Shamash to light the single candle that has been placed in the right-hand branch. He will then set the Shamash back in its place. Candles are lit when everyone is present, usually shortly after nightfall, though it can be any time during the evening.

Lighting the candles on the Second through Eighth Nights

The second night, place two candles in the Menorah’s far right (as you face the Menorah). Place the Shamash (helper) candle in the middle. Say the two blessings (see next section), then a member of the family will light the ca ndles using the Shamash candle. Note: it is traditional to put the candles into place from right to left, but to start lighting the candles from the left to right. So on night eight, the candles would be put into place from right to left, but the first candle that would be lit by the Shamash would be the left-most candle. As a member of the family lights each candle, he/she names that candle (see the specific day for the name of each candle). We usually take turns lighting and naming the candles. Immediately after lighting the candles we sing a song.

Optional: Give a $1 bill to the child who lights the Menorah during the singing of the song and the dancing.

Blessings

The blessings are said with the lit shamash in hand, and the candles are lit immediately after reciting the blessings. After lighting the candles, one or two songs are sung: Though traditionally the Hanerot Hallalu and Ma’oz Tzur are sung (these can be downloaded online), we have chosen to sing Christmas hymns in connection with the readings from Maccabees (see next section).

Day 1 – The Bible is the Light

Leader: Explain the following - We need an objective revelation to live by in an age of darkness (just as the Maccabees did). We cannot simply follow our opinions, since opinions constantly change. But the Word of God is a Light that never changes. It is the first light we light and it is the foundation for our lives. We live in a time of great darkness when the Word of God is ignored. But we should not be discouraged. There was great darkness in the time of the Maccabees as well as at the time of Christ’s birth. Yet God overcame the darkness. It is important that we hold fast to God’s Word.

For a bit of fun, instruct your children that every time the evil name of Antiochus, Antiochus Epiphanes, or “the king” is mentioned, they can stamp their feet on the ground several times.

Reading from the Maccabees

The Jews had abandoned God’s Word

In those days certain renegades came out from Israel and misled many, saying, “Let us go and make a covenant with the Gentiles around us, for since we separated from them many disasters have come upon us.” This proposal pleased them, and some of the people eagerly went to the king, who authorized them to observe the ordinances of the Gentiles. So they built a gymnasium in Jerusalem, according to Gentile custom, and removed the marks of circumcision, and abandoned the holy covenant. They joined with the Gentiles and sold themselves to do evil.⁴

God Disciplines His People With Antiochus Epiphanes

After subduing Egypt, Antiochus returned in the one hundred forty-third year. He went up against Israel and came to Jerusalem with a strong force. He arrogantly entered the sanctuary and took the golden altar, the lampstand for the light, and all its utensils. He took also the table for the bread of the Presence, the cups for drink offerings, the bowls, the golden censers, the curtain, the crowns, and the gold decoration on the front of the temple; he stripped it all off. He took the silver and the gold, and the costly vessels; he took also the hidden treasures that he found. Taking them all, he went into his own land.

He shed much blood,
and spoke with great arrogance.
Israel mourned deeply in every community,
rulers and elders groaned,
young women and young men became faint,
the beauty of the women faded.
Every bridegroom took up the lament;
she who sat in the bridal chamber was mourning.
Even the land trembled for its inhabitants,
and all the house of Jacob was clothed with shame.

Two years later the king sent to the cities of Judah a chief collector of tribute, and he came to Jerusalem with a large force. Deceitfully he spoke peaceable words to them, and they believed him; but he suddenly fell upon the city, dealt it a severe blow, and destroyed many people of Israel. He plundered the city, burned it with fire, and tore down its houses and its surrounding walls. They took captive the women and children, and seized the livestock. Then they fortified the city of David with a great strong wall and strong towers, and it became their citadel. They stationed there a sinful people, men who were renegades. These strengthened their position; they stored up arms and food, and collecting the spoils of Jerusalem they stored them there, and became a great menace,

For the citadel became an ambush against the sanctuary,
an evil adversary of Israel at all times.
On every side of the sanctuary they shed innocent blood;
they even defiled the sanctuary.
Because of them the residents of Jerusalem fled;
she became a dwelling of strangers;
She became strange to her offspring,
and her children forsook her.
Her sanctuary became desolate like a desert;
her feasts were turned into mourning,
Her sabbaths into a reproach,
her honor into contempt.
Her dishonor now grew as great as her glory;
her exaltation was turned into mourning.

Then the king wrote to his whole kingdom that all should be one people, and that all should give up their particular customs. All the Gentiles accepted the command of the king. Many even from Israel gladly adopted his religion; they sacrificed to idols and profaned the sabbath. And the king sent letters by messengers to Jerusalem and the towns of Judah; he directed them to follow customs strange to the land, to forbid burnt offerings and sacrifices and drink offerings in the sanctuary, to profane sabbaths and festivals, to defile the sanctuary and the priests, to build altars and sacred precincts and shrines for idols, to sacrifice swine and other unclean animals, and to leave their sons uncircumcised. They were to make themselves abominable by everything unclean and profane, so that they would forget the law and change all the ordinances. He added, “And whoever does not obey the command of the king shall die.”

In such words he wrote to his whole kingdom. He appointed inspectors over all the people and commanded the towns of Judah to offer sacrifice, town by town. Many of the people, everyone who forsook the law, joined them, and they did evil in the land; they drove Israel into hiding in every place of refuge they had.

Now on the fifteenth day of Chislev, in the one hundred forty-fifth year, they erected a desolating sacrilege on the altar of burnt offering. They also built altars in the surrounding towns of Judah, and offered incense at the doors of the houses and in the streets. The books of the law that they found they tore to pieces and burned with fire. Anyone found possessing the book of the covenant, or anyone who adhered to the law, was condemned to death by decree of the king. They kept using violence against Israel, against those who were found month after month in the towns. On the twenty-fifth day of the month they offered sacrifice on the altar that was on top of the altar of burnt offering. According to the decree, they put to death the women who had their children circumcised, and their families and those who circumcised them; and they hung the infants from their mothers’ necks.

Despite The Evil, God Raised Up Many Uncompromising Believers

But many in Israel stood firm and were resolved in their hearts not to eat unclean food. They chose to die rather than to be defiled by food or to profane the holy covenant; and they did die. Very great wrath came upon Israel.⁵

Word came to Judas concerning Nicanor’s invasion; and when he told his companions of the arrival of the army, those who were cowardly and distrustful of God’s justice ran off and got away. Others sold all their remaining property, and at the same time implored the Lord to rescue those who had been sold by the ungodly Nicanor before he ever met them, if not for their own sake, then for the sake of the covenants made with their ancestors, and because he had called them by his holy and glorious name. But Maccabeus gathered his forces together, to the number six thousand, and exhorted them not to be frightened by the enemy and not to fear the great multitude of Gentiles who were wickedly coming against them, but to fight nobly, keeping before their eyes the lawless outrage that the Gentiles had committed against the holy place, and the torture of the derided city, and besides, the overthrow of their ancestral way of life. “For they trust to arms and acts of daring,” he said, “but we trust in the Almighty God, who is able with a single nod to strike down those who are coming against us, and even, if necessary, the whole world.”

Moreover, he told them of the occasions when help came to their ancestors; how, in the time of Sennacherib, when one hundred eighty-five thousand perished, and the time of the battle against the Galatians that took place in Babylonia, when eight thousand Jews fought along with four thousand Macedonians; yet when the Macedonians were hard pressed, the eight thousand, by the help that came to them from heaven, destroyed one hundred twenty thousand Galatians and took a great amount of booty.

Christmas hymn

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
and ransom captive Israel,
that mourns in lonely exile here,
until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel has come to thee, O Israel.

O come, O come, thou Lord of might,
who to thy tribes, on Sinai’s height,
in ancient times didst give the law
in cloud and majesty and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel has come to thee, O Israel.

O come, thou Rod of Jesse, free
thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
from depths of hell thy people save,
and give them vict’ry o’er the grave.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel has come to thee, O Israel.

O come, thou Dayspring from on high
and cheer us by thy drawing nigh;
disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
and death’s dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel has come to thee, O Israel.

O come, thou Key of David, come
and open wide our heav’nly home;
make safe the way that leads on high,
and close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel has come to thee, O Israel.

Words: translated by John Mason Neale 1851. Music: Veni Emmanuel. Public Domain.

Readings on the Bible Being the Light

Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path. The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple. To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.⁶

Hanerot Hallalu (Can be read or sung.)⁷

We light these lights for the miracles and the wonders,

For the redemption and the battles that you made for our forefathers In those days at this season, through your holy priests.

Blessings and Candles

Have a child light the Shamash candle and hold it while the blessings are read by the father:

First Blessing to Recite

Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the universe, who wrought miracles for our fathers in days of old, at this season.

Second Blessing to Recite

Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has kept us alive, and has preserved us, and enabled us to reach this time.

Light the first candle (starting on the left) with the Shamash, and name the candle – “The Bible is the Light.”

Sing “Through Our God, We Shall Do Valiantly” and a hand dollar bill to the child lighting the candle, while dancing and singing.

Through Our God, We Shall Do Valiantly

Through our God we shall do valiantly, it is He who will tread down our enemies. We’ll sing and shout His victory, Christ is King! For God has won the victory and set His people free, His Word has slain the enemy, the earth shall stand and see that through our God we shall do valiantly, it is He who will tread down our enemies. We’ll sing and shout His victory, Christ is King! Christ is King! Christ is King!

© 1979 Thank you Music.

Christmas Story

Matthew’s Story of the Birth of Jesus

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.”

So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”

Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name JESUS.⁸

Luke’s Story of the Birth of Jesus

And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.

Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.

Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.⁹

Prayer of thanks for the Light of the Bible

Christmas Presents for Day One

Games

Day 2 – Jesus is the Light

For background, play the Hanerot Hallalu¹⁰

Leader: Explain the following – Down through history God has always raised up a deliverer in the midst of the darkness. There were many judges who prefigured the coming of Jesus. At the first Hanukkah, Israel had Moses as their deliverer. During the time of the Maccabees, another deliverer arose called Judas Maccabeas. Though Judas and the other Maccabees helped to deliver the Jews, they recognized that they were still looking forward to the Messiah, Jesus, who would deliver all people from Satan and sin.

Reading from the Maccabees

God Raises Up A Deliverer

The king’s officers who were enforcing the apostasy came to the town of Modein to make them offer sacrifice. Many from Israel came to them; and Mattathias and his sons were assembled. Then the king’s officers spoke to Mattathias as follows: “You are a leader, honored and great in this town, and supported by sons and brothers. Now be the first to come and do what the king commands, as all the Gentiles and the people of Judah and those that are left in Jerusalem have done. Then you and your sons will be numbered among the Friends of the king, and you and your sons will be honored with silver and gold and many gifts.”

But Mattathias answered and said in a loud voice: “Even if all the nations that live under the rule of the king obey him, and have chosen to obey his commandments, everyone of them abandoning the religion of their ancestors,

I and my sons and my brothers will continue to live by the covenant of our ancestors. Far be it from us to desert the law and the ordinances. We will not obey the king’s words by turning aside from our religion to the right hand or to the left.”

When he had finished speaking these words, a Jew came forward in the sight of all to offer sacrifice on the altar in Modein, according to the king’s command.

When Mattathias saw it, he burned with zeal and his heart was stirred. He gave vent to righteous anger; he ran and killed him on the altar. At the same time he killed the king’s officer who was forcing them to sacrifice, and he tore down the altar. Thus he burned with zeal for the law, just as Phinehas did against Zimri son of Salu.

Then Mattathias cried out in the town with a loud voice, saying: “Let every one who is zealous for the law and supports the covenant come out with me!”

Then he and his sons fled to the hills and left all that they had in the town.¹¹

Meanwhile Judas, who was also called Maccabeus, and his companions secretly entered the villages and summoned their kindred and enlisted those who had continued in the Jewish faith, and so they gathered about six thousand. They implored the Lord to look upon the people who were oppressed by all; and to have pity on the temple that had been profaned by the godless; to have mercy on the city that was being destroyed and about to be leveled to the ground; to hearken to the blood that cried out to him; to remember also the lawless destruction of the innocent babies and the blasphemies committed against his name; and to show his hatred of evil.

As soon as Maccabeus got his army organized, the Gentiles could not withstand him, for the wrath of the Lord had turned to mercy. Coming without warning, he would set fire to towns and villages. He captured strategic positions and put to flight not a few of the enemy. He found the nights most advantageous for such attacks. And talk of his valor spread everywhere.

When Philip saw that the man was gaining ground little by little, and that he was pushing ahead with more frequent successes, he wrote to Ptolemy, the governor of Coelesyria and Phoenicia, to come to the aid of the king’s government. Then Ptolemy promptly appointed Nicanor son of Patroclus, one of the king’s chief Friends, and sent him, in command of no fewer than twenty thousand Gentiles of all nations, to wipe out the whole race of Judea. He associated with him Gorgias, a general and a man of experience in military service. Nicanor determined to make up for the king the tribute due to the Romans, two thousand talents, by selling the captured Jews into slavery.

So he immediately sent to the towns on the seacoast, inviting them to buy Jewish slaves and promising to hand over ninety slaves for a talent, not expecting the judgment from the Almighty that was about to overtake him.¹²

Christmas hymn

The People who In Darkness Walked

(To the tune of God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman)

The people who in darkness walked
have seen a glorious light;
the heavenly dawn broke forth on those
who dwelt in death and night,
to greet you Son of Righteousness,
the gathering nations come.

O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy,
O tidings of comfort and joy.

To us the promised child is born,
to us a Son is given;
and on his shoulders ever rests
all power in earth and heaven.
the Wonderful, the Counselor,
the Mighty God is he.

O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy,
O tidings of comfort and joy.

His peace and righteous government
shall over all extend;
on judgment and on justice based,
his reign shall never end;
his name shall be the Prince of Peace
forevermore adored.

O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy,
O tidings of comfort and joy.

Words: Psalter Hymnal, CRC Publications.

Readings on Jesus Being the Light

The LORD is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid?
The people who walked in darkness
Have seen a great light;
Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death,
Upon them a light has shined.
“I, the LORD, have called You in righteousness,
And will hold Your hand;
I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people,
As a light to the Gentiles, Indeed He says,
“It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant
To raise up the tribes of Jacob,
And to restore the preserved ones of Israel;
I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles,
That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.’”

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.¹³

Rock of Ages (Maoz Tzur) (Popular English Version)

Rock of ages, let our song praise your saving power
You amid the raging foes were our sheltering tower
Furious they assailed us but your arm availed us
And your word broke their sword when our own strength failed us {pagebreak}
Children of the wanderers whether free or fettered
Wake the echoes of the songs where you may be scattered
Yours the message cheering that the time is nearing
Which will see all men free tyrants disappearing

Blessings and Candles

Have a child light the Shamash candle and hold it while the blessings are read by the father:

First Blessing to Recite

Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the universe, who wrought miracles for our fathers in days of old, at this season.

Second Blessing to Recite

Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has kept us alive, and has preserved us, and enabled us to reach this time.

Light the second candle (starting on the left) with the Shamash, and name the candle – “Jesus is the Light.”

Then light the first candle with the Shamash, and name the candle – “The Bible is the Light.”

Sing “Through Our God, We Shall Do Valiantly” and hand dollar bill to the child lighting the candle, while dancing and singing.

Christmas Story

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”

When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.

So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:”

“But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;
For out of you shall come a Ruler
Who will shepherd My people Israel.”

Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.”

When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.

Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.”

When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”

Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men.

Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:

“A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted, Because they are no more.”

Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child’s life are dead.”

Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel.

But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee.

And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, “He shall be called a Nazarene.”¹⁴

Prayer of thanks for Jesus our Light

Christmas Presents for Day Two

Games

Day 3 – Believers are Lights

Leader: Explain the following - We are to be lights shining in the world as testimonies. We have to take the light to the world rather than hiding it under a basket. But our light must come from God’s grace.

Reading from the Maccabees

Jews in the time of the Maccabees who were willing to be lights

It happened also that seven brothers and their mother were arrested and were being compelled by the king, under torture with whips and thongs, to partake of unlawful swine’s flesh. One of them, acting as their spokesman, said, “What do you intend to ask and learn from us? For we are ready to die rather than transgress the laws of our ancestors.”

The king fell into a rage, and gave orders to have pans and caldrons heated.

These were heated immediately, and he commanded that the tongue of their spokesman be cut out and that they scalp him and cut off his hands and feet, while the rest of the brothers and the mother looked on. When he was utterly helpless, the king ordered them to take him to the fire, still breathing, and to fry him in a pan. The smoke from the pan spread widely, but the brothers and their mother encouraged one another to die nobly, saying, “The Lord God is watching over us and in truth has compassion on us, as Moses declared in his song that bore witness against the people to their faces, when he said, ‘And he will have compassion on his servants.’”

After the first brother had died in this way, they brought forward the second for their sport. They tore off the skin of his head with the hair, and asked him, “Will you eat rather than have your body punished limb by limb?” He replied in the language of his ancestors and said to them, “No.” Therefore he in turn underwent tortures as the first brother had done. And when he was at his last breath, he said, “You accursed wretch, you dismiss us from this present life, but the King of the universe will raise us up to an everlasting renewal of life, because we have died for his laws.”

After him, the third was the victim of their sport. When it was demanded, he quickly put out his tongue and courageously stretched forth his hands, and said nobly, “I got these from Heaven, and because of his laws I disdain them, and from him I hope to get them back again.” As a result the king himself and those with him were astonished at the young man’s spirit, for he regarded his sufferings as nothing.

After he too had died, they maltreated and tortured the fourth in the same way.

When he was near death, he said, “One cannot but choose to die at the hands of mortals and to cherish the hope God gives of being raised again by him. But for you there will be no resurrection to life!”

Next they brought forward the fifth and maltreated him. But he looked at the king, and said, “Because you have authority among mortals, though you also are mortal, you do what you please. But do not think that God has forsaken our people. Keep on, and see how his mighty power will torture you and your descendants!”

After him they brought forward the sixth. And when he was about to die, he said, “Do not deceive yourself in vain. For we are suffering these things on our own account, because of our sins against our own God. Therefore astounding things have happened. But do not think that you will go unpunished for having tried to fight against God!”

The mother was especially admirable and worthy of honorable memory. Although she saw her seven sons perish within a single day, she bore it with good courage because of her hope in the Lord. She encouraged each of them in the language of their ancestors. Filled with a noble spirit, she reinforced her woman’s reasoning with a man’s courage, and said to them, “I do not know how you came into being in my womb. It was not I who gave you life and breath, nor I who set in order the elements within each of you. Therefore the Creator of the world, who shaped the beginning of humankind and devised the origin of all things, will in his mercy give life and breath back to you again, since you now forget yourselves for the sake of his laws.”

Antiochus felt that he was being treated with contempt, and he was suspicious of her reproachful tone. The youngest brother being still alive, Antiochus not only appealed to him in words, but promised with oaths that he would make him rich and enviable if he would turn from the ways of his ancestors, and that he would take him for his Friend and entrust him with public affairs. Since the young man would not listen to him at all, the king called the mother to him and urged her to advise the youth to save himself. After much urging on his part, she undertook to persuade her son. But, leaning close to him, she spoke in their native language as follows, deriding the cruel tyrant: “My son, have pity on me. I carried you nine months in my womb, and nursed you for three years, and have reared you and brought you up to this point in your life, and have taken care of you. I beg you, my child, to look at the heaven and the earth and see everything that is in them, and recognize that God did not make them out of things that existed. And in the same way the human race came into being. Do not fear this butcher, but prove worthy of your brothers. Accept death, so that in God’s mercy I may get you back again along with your brothers.”

While she was still speaking, the young man said, “What are you waiting for? I will not obey the king’s command, but I obey the command of the law that was given to our ancestors through Moses. But you, who have contrived all sorts of evil against the Hebrews, will certainly not escape the hands of God. For we are suffering because of our own sins. And if our living Lord is angry for a little while, to rebuke and discipline us, he will again be reconciled with his own servants. But you, unholy wretch, you most defiled of all mortals, do not be elated in vain and puffed up by uncertain hopes, when you raise your hand against the children of heaven. You have not yet escaped the judgment of the almighty, all-seeing God. For our brothers after enduring a brief suffering have drunk of ever-flowing life, under God’s covenant; but you, by the judgment of God, will receive just punishment for your arrogance. I, like my brothers, give up body and life for the laws of our ancestors, appealing to God to show mercy soon to our nation and by trials and plagues to make you confess that he alone is God, and through me and my brothers to bring to an end the wrath of the Almighty that has justly fallen on our whole nation.”

The king fell into a rage, and handled him worse than the others, being exasperated at his scorn. So he died in his integrity, putting his whole trust in the Lord.

Last of all, the mother died, after her sons. Let this be enough, then, about the eating of sacrifices and the extreme tortures.¹⁵

Christmas hymn

Go Tell It On the Mountain

Go tell it on the mountain,
Over the hills and everywhere,
Go tell it on the mountain,
That Jesus Christ is born.

When I was a seeker
I sought both night and day,
I asked the Lord to help me,
And he showed me the way.

Go tell it on the mountain,
Over the hills and everywhere,
Go tell it on the mountain,
That Jesus Christ is born.

He made me a watchman
Upon a city wall,
And if I am a Christian,
I am the least of all.

Go tell it on the mountain,
Over the hills and everywhere,
Go tell it on the mountain,
That Jesus Christ is born.

Readings on the Believers Being the Light

Thus says God the LORD,
Who created the heavens and stretched them out,
Who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it,
Who gives breath to the people on it,
And spirit to those who walk on it:

“I, the LORD, have called You in righteousness,
And will hold Your hand;
I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people,
As a light to the Gentiles,
To open blind eyes,
To bring out prisoners from the prison,
Those who sit in darkness from the prison house.
I will bring the blind by a way they did not know;
I will lead them in paths they have not known.
I will make darkness light before them,
And crooked places straight.
These things I will do for them,
And not forsake them.

“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.¹⁶

Blessings and Candles

Have a child light the Shamash candle and hold it while the blessings are read by the father:

First Blessing to Recite

Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the universe, who wrought miracles for our fathers in days of old, at this season.

Second Blessing to Recite

Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has kept us alive, and has preserved us, and enabled us to reach this time.

Light the third candle (from the left) with the Shamash, and name the candle – “We are the Light.”

Then light the second candle with the Shamash, and name the candle – “Jesus is the Light.”

Then light the first candle with the Shamash, and name the candle – “The Bible is the Light.”

Sing “Through Our God, We Shall Do Valiantly” and hand a dollar bill to the child lighting the candle, while dancing and singing.

Christmas Story

John the Baptist also came to be a light and testimony to Jesus.

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea,

and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying:

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the LORD;
Make His paths straight.’”

Now John himself was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”¹⁷

Prayer that God would help us to be faithful lights

Christmas Presents for Day Three

Games

Day 4 – The Spirit is the Light

Leader: Explain the following - Apart from the convicting work of the Spirit in the world, we would not make much progress. He convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment.

Reading from the Maccabees

God gave victory to the Jews

Apollonius now gathered together Gentiles and a large force from Samaria to fight against Israel. When Judas learned of it, he went out to meet him, and he defeated and killed him. Many were wounded and fell, and the rest fled.

Then they seized their spoils; and Judas took the sword of Apollonius, and used it in battle the rest of his life.

When Seron, the commander of the Syrian army, heard that Judas had gathered a large company, including a body of faithful soldiers who stayed with him and went out to battle, he said, “I will make a name for myself and win honor in the kingdom. I will make war on Judas and his companions, who scorn the king’s command.” Once again a strong army of godless men went up with him to help him, to take vengeance on the Israelites.

When he approached the ascent of Beth-horon, Judas went out to meet him with a small company. But when they saw the army coming to meet them, they said to Judas, “How can we, few as we are, fight against so great and so strong a multitude? And we are faint, for we have eaten nothing today.” Judas replied, “It is easy for many to be hemmed in by few, for in the sight of Heaven there is no difference between saving by many or by few. It is not on the size of the army that victory in battle depends, but strength comes from Heaven. They come against us in great insolence and lawlessness to destroy us and our wives and our children, and to despoil us; but we fight for our lives and our laws. He himself will crush them before us; as for you, do not be afraid of them.”

When he finished speaking, he rushed suddenly against Seron and his army, and they were crushed before him. They pursued them down the descent of Beth-horon to the plain; eight hundred of them fell, and the rest fled into the land of the Philistines.¹⁸

Christmas hymn

Of the Father’s Love Begotten

Of the Father’s love begotten,
Ere the worlds began to be,
He is Alpha and Omega,
He the Source, the Ending He,
Of the things that are, that ha- - - -ve been,
And that future years shall see, Evermore and evermore!

O that birth forever blessed,
When the Virgin, full of grace,
By the Holy Ghost conceiving,
Bore the Savior of our race;
And the babe, the world’s Redeem- - - -er,
First revealed His sacred face, Evermore and evermore!

This is He whom heav’n-taught singers,
Sang of old with one accord,
Whom the Scriptures of the prophets,
Promised in their faithful word;
Now He shines, the long-expect- - - - ed;
Let creation praise its Lord, Evermore and evermore!

O ye heights of heav’n, adore him;
Angel hosts, His praises sing;
All dominions, bow before Him,
And extol our God and King;
Let no tongue on earth be si- - - - lent,
Ev’ry voice in concert ring, Evermore and evermore!

Christ, to Thee, with God the Father,
And, O Holy Ghost, to Thee,
Hymn, and chant, and high thanksgiving,
And unwearied praises be,
Honor, glory, and domin- - - -ion,
And eternal victory, Evermore and evermore!

Readings on the Holy Spirit Being the Light

And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.

Now the angel who talked with me came back and wakened me, as a man who is wakened out of his sleep. And he said to me, “What do you see?”

So I said, “I am looking, and there is a lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on top of it, and on the stand seven lamps with seven pipes to the seven lamps. Two olive trees are by it, one at the right of the bowl and the other at its left.” So I answered and spoke to the angel who talked with me, saying, “What are these, my lord?”

Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.”

So he answered and said to me:

“This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel:
‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’
Says the LORD of hosts.¹⁹

Blessings and Candles

Have a child light the Shamash candle and hold it while the blessings are read by the father:

First Blessing to Recite

Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the universe, who wrought miracles for our fathers in days of old, at this season.

Second Blessing to Recite

Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has kept us alive, and has preserved us, and enabled us to reach this time.

Light the fourth candle (from the left) with the Shamash, and name the candle – “The Holy Spirit is the Light.”

Then light the third candle with the Shamash, and name the candle – “We are the Light.”

Then light the second candle with the Shamash, and name the candle – “Jesus is the Light.”

Then light the first candle with the Shamash, and name the candle – “The Bible is the Light.”

Sing “Through Our God, We Shall Do Valiantly” and hand a dollar bill to the child lighting the candle, while dancing and singing.

Christmas Story

The Spirit’s work in the pre-Christmas story

Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”

And Mary said:

“My soul magnifies the Lord,
And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;
For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
For He who is mighty has done great things for me,
And holy is His name.
And His mercy is on those who fear Him
From generation to generation.
He has shown strength with His arm;
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
And exalted the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
And the rich He has sent away empty.
He has helped His servant Israel,
In remembrance of His mercy,
As He spoke to our fathers,
To Abraham and to his seed forever.”

And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her house.

Prayer of thanks for the Light of the Holy Spirit in our lives

Christmas Presents for Day Four

Games

Day 5 – The Kingdom is the Light

Leader: Explain the following – Though God’s kingdom has always existed, the kingdom of Messiah began at Christ’s first coming. He was given all authority in heaven and on earth at His ascension (Matt. 28:16-20 with Dan. 7:13-14). As the sun rising at dawn, Christ’s kingdom will continue to grow (Is. 9:7) until the noon-day light covers the earth.

Reading from the Maccabees

Re-establishing the Jewish Kingdom in the Old Testament times

After this Judas appointed leaders of the people, in charge of thousands and hundreds and fifties and tens.

Those who were building houses, or were about to be married, or were planting a vineyard, or were fainthearted, he told to go home again, according to the law. Then the army marched out and encamped to the south of Emmaus.

And Judas said, “Arm yourselves and be courageous. Be ready early in the morning to fight with these Gentiles who have assembled against us to destroy us and our sanctuary. It is better for us to die in battle than to see the misfortunes of our nation and of the sanctuary. But as his will in heaven may be, so shall he do.”

Now Gorgias took five thousand infantry and one thousand picked cavalry, and this division moved out by night to fall upon the camp of the Jews and attack them suddenly. Men from the citadel were his guides. But Judas heard of it, and he and his warriors moved out to attack the king’s force in Emmaus

while the division was still absent from the camp. When Gorgias entered the camp of Judas by night, he found no one there, so he looked for them in the hills, because he said, “These men are running away from us.”

At daybreak Judas appeared in the plain with three thousand men, but they did not have armor and swords such as they desired. And they saw the camp of the Gentiles, strong and fortified, with cavalry all around it; and these men were trained in war. But Judas said to those who were with him, “Do not fear their numbers or be afraid when they charge. Remember how our ancestors were saved at the Red Sea, when Pharaoh with his forces pursued them. And now, let us cry to Heaven, to see whether he will favor us and remember his covenant with our ancestors and crush this army before us today. Then all the Gentiles will know that there is one who redeems and saves Israel.”

When the foreigners looked up and saw them coming against them,

they went out from their camp to battle. Then the men with Judas blew their trumpets and engaged in battle. The Gentiles were crushed, and fled into the plain, and all those in the rear fell by the sword. They pursued them to Gazara, and to the plains of Idumea, and to Azotus and Jamnia; and three thousand of them fell. Then Judas and his force turned back from pursuing them,

and he said to the people, “Do not be greedy for plunder, for there is a battle before us; Gorgias and his force are near us in the hills. But stand now against our enemies and fight them, and afterward seize the plunder boldly.”²⁰

Christmas hymn

Hark the Herald Angels Sing

Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King;
peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!”
Joyful, all ye nations rise,
join the triumph of the skies;
with th’angelic host proclaim,
“Christ is born in Bethlehem!”

Hark! the herald angels sing, “Glory to the newborn King!”

Christ, by highest heav’n adored;
Christ the everlasting Lord;
late in time, behold him come,
offspring of a virgin’s womb.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
hail th’incarnate Deity,
pleased as man with men to dwell,
Jesus our Emmanuel.

Hark! the herald angels sing, “Glory to the newborn King!”

Hail the heav’nly Prince of Peace!
Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all he brings,
ris’n with healing in his wings.
Mild he lays his glory by,
born that man no more may die.
Born to raise the sons of earth,
born to give them second birth.

Hark! the herald angels sing, “Glory to the newborn King!”

Come, Desire of nations, come,
fix in us thy humble home;
rise, the woman’s conqu’ring Seed,
bruise in us the serpent’s head.
Now display thy saving power,
ruined nature now restore;
now in mystic union join
thine to ours, and ours to thine.

Hark! the herald angels sing, “Glory to the newborn King!”

Adam’s likeness, Lord, efface,
stamp thine image in its place:
second Adam from above,
reinstate us in thy love.
Let us thee, though lost, regain,
thee, the Life, the inner man:
O, to all thyself impart,
formed in each believing heart.

Hark! the herald angels sing, “Glory to the newborn King!”

Words: Charles Wesley, 1739. Music: Felix Mendelssohn, 1840.

Readings on the Kingdom Being the Light

Arise, shine;
For your light has come!
And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you.
For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,
And deep darkness the people;
But the LORD will arise over you,
And His glory will be seen upon you.
The Gentiles shall come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.
His name shall endure forever;
His name shall continue as long as the sun.
And men shall be blessed in Him;
All nations shall call Him blessed.
Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel,
Who only does wondrous things!
And blessed be His glorious name forever!
And let the whole earth be filled with His glory.
Amen and Amen.²¹

Blessings and Candles

Have a child light the Shamash candle and hold it while the blessings are read by the father:

First Blessing to Recite

Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the universe, who wrought miracles for our fathers in days of old, at this season.

Second Blessing to Recite

Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has kept us alive, and has preserved us, and enabled us to reach this time.

Light the fifth candle (from the left) with the Shamash, and name the candle – “The Kingdom is the Light.”

Light the fourth candle and name the candle – “The Holy Spirit is the Light.”

Then light the third candle with the Shamash, and name the candle – “We are the Light.”

Then light the second candle with the Shamash, and name the candle – “Jesus is the Light.”

Then light the first candle with the Shamash, and name the candle – “The Bible is the Light.”

Sing “Through Our God, We Shall Do Valiantly” and hand a dollar bill to the child lighting the candle, while dancing and singing.

Christmas Story

Zechariah’s prophecy of the imminent kingdom

Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:

“Blessed is the Lord God of Israel,
For He has visited and redeemed His people,
And has raised up a horn of salvation for us
In the house of His servant David,
As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets,
Who have been since the world began,
That we should be saved from our enemies
And from the hand of all who hate us,
To perform the mercy promised to our fathers
And to remember His holy covenant,
The oath which He swore to our father Abraham:
To grant us that we,
Being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
Might serve Him without fear,
In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.
“And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest;
For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways,
To give knowledge of salvation to His people
By the remission of their sins,
Through the tender mercy of our God,
With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us;
To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
To guide our feet into the way of peace.”

So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.²²

Prayer of thanks for the Kingdom of Light

Christmas Presents for Day Five

Games

Day 6 – Guidance is Our Light

Leader: Explain the following - We need guidance in how to advance the cause of Christ. We cannot just do what we want to do.

Reading from the Maccabees

We don’t always understand God’s providence

Then Judas and his force turned back from pursuing them, and he said to the people, “Do not be greedy for plunder, for there is a battle before us; Gorgias and his force are near us in the hills. But stand now against our enemies and fight them, and afterward seize the plunder boldly.”

Just as Judas was finishing this speech, a detachment appeared, coming out of the hills. They saw that their army had been put to flight, and that the Jews were burning the camp, for the smoke that was seen showed what had happened.

When they perceived this, they were greatly frightened, and when they also saw the army of Judas drawn up in the plain for battle, they all fled into the land of the Philistines. Then Judas returned to plunder the camp, and they seized a great amount of gold and silver, and cloth dyed blue and sea purple, and great riches.

On their return they sang hymns and praises to Heaven—“For he is good, for his mercy endures forever.” Thus Israel had a great deliverance that day.

Those of the foreigners who escaped went and reported to Lysias all that had happened. When he heard it, he was perplexed and discouraged, for things had not happened to Israel as he had intended, nor had they turned out as the king had ordered. But the next year he mustered sixty thousand picked infantry and five thousand cavalry to subdue them. They came into Idumea and encamped at Beth-zur, and Judas met them with ten thousand men.

When he saw that their army was strong, he prayed, saying, “Blessed are you, O Savior of Israel, who crushed the attack of the mighty warrior by the hand of your servant David, and gave the camp of the Philistines into the hands of Jonathan son of Saul, and of the man who carried his armor. Hem in this army by the hand of your people Israel, and let them be ashamed of their troops and their cavalry. Fill them with cowardice; melt the boldness of their strength; let them tremble in their destruction. Strike them down with the sword of those who love you, and let all who know your name praise you with hymns.”

Then both sides attacked, and there fell of the army of Lysias five thousand men; they fell in action. When Lysias saw the rout of his troops and observed the boldness that inspired those of Judas, and how ready they were either to live or to die nobly, he withdrew to Antioch and enlisted mercenaries in order to invade Judea again with an even larger army.²³

Christmas hymn

We Three Kings

We three kings of Orient are Bearing gifts we traverse afar
Field and fountain, moor and mountain
Following yonder star

O Star of wonder, star of night Star with royal beauty bright
Westward leading, still proceeding
Guide us to thy Perfect Light

Born a King on Bethlehem’s plain Gold I bring to crown Him again
King forever, ceasing never
Over us all to rein

O Star of wonder, star of night Star with royal beauty bright
Westward leading, still proceeding
Guide us to Thy perfect light

Frankincense to offer have I Incense owns a Deity nigh
Pray’r and praising, all men raising
Worship Him, God most high

O Star of wonder, star of night Star with royal beauty bright
Westward leading, still proceeding
Guide us to Thy perfect light

Myrrh is mine, its bitter perfume Breathes a life of gathering gloom
Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying
Sealed in the stone-cold tomb

O Star of wonder, star of night Star with royal beauty bright
Westward leading, still proceeding
Guide us to Thy perfect light

Glorious now behold Him arise King and God and Sacrifice
Alleluia, Alleluia
Earth to heav’n replies

O Star of wonder, star of night Star with royal beauty bright
Westward leading, still proceeding
Guide us to Thy perfect light

Rev. John Henry Hopkins, 1857

Readings on God’s Guidance Being the Light

For with You is the fountain of life;
In Your light we see light.
To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
To guide our feet into the way of peace.
If you extend your soul to the hungry
And satisfy the afflicted soul,
Then your light shall dawn in the darkness,
And your darkness shall be as the noonday.
The LORD will guide you continually,
And satisfy your soul in drought,
And strengthen your bones;
You shall be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.
Those from among you
Shall build the old waste places;
You shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach,
The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.²⁴

Blessings and Candles

Have a child light the Shamash candle and hold it while the blessings are read by the father:

First Blessing to Recite

Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the universe, who wrought miracles for our fathers in days of old, at this season.

Second Blessing to Recite

Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has kept us alive, and has preserved us, and enabled us to reach this time.

Light the sixth candle (from the left) with the Shamash, and name the candle – “Guidance is the Light.”

Light the fifth candle with the Shamash, and name the candle – “The Kingdom is the Light.”

Light the fourth candle with the Shamash, and name the candle – “The Holy Spirit is the Light.”

Then light the third candle with the Shamash, and name the candle – “We are the Light.”

Then light the second candle with the Shamash, and name the candle – “Jesus is the Light.”

Then light the first candle with the Shamash, and name the candle – “The Bible is the Light.”

Sing “Through Our God, We Shall Do Valiantly” and hand a dollar bill to the child lighting the candle, while dancing and singing.

Christmas Story

There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years.

So it was, that while he was serving as priest before God in the order of his division, according to the custom of the priesthood, his lot fell to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. And the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense. Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.

But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth.

For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God.

He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

And Zacharias said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.”

And the angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings.

But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time.”

And the people waited for Zacharias, and marveled that he lingered so long in the temple. But when he came out, he could not speak to them; and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple, for he beckoned to them and remained speechless.

So it was, as soon as the days of his service were completed, that he departed to his own house. Now after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived; and she hid herself five months, saying, “Thus the Lord has dealt with me, in the days when He looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”²⁵

Prayer of thanks for God’s Guidance

Christmas Presents for Day Six

Games

Day 7 – God’s Blessing on Our Work is Light

Leader: Explain the following – Psalm 127 explains that without God’s blessing upon all that we do, our striving will be in vain. Unless God shines the light of His countenance upon us, we will not succeed.

Reading from the Maccabees

God’s Blessings on the Jews

Then Judas and his brothers said, “See, our enemies are crushed; let us go up to cleanse the sanctuary and dedicate it.” So all the army assembled and went up to Mount Zion. There they saw the sanctuary desolate, the altar profaned, and the gates burned. In the courts they saw bushes sprung up as in a thicket, or as on one of the mountains. They saw also the chambers of the priests in ruins. Then they tore their clothes and mourned with great lamentation; they sprinkled themselves with ashes and fell face down on the ground. And when the signal was given with the trumpets, they cried out to Heaven.

Then Judas detailed men to fight against those in the citadel until he had cleansed the sanctuary. He chose blameless priests devoted to the law, and they cleansed the sanctuary and removed the defiled stones to an unclean place. They deliberated what to do about the altar of burnt offering, which had been profaned. And they thought it best to tear it down, so that it would not be a lasting shame to them that the Gentiles had defiled it. So they tore down the altar, and stored the stones in a convenient place on the temple hill until a prophet should come to tell what to do with them. Then they took unhewn stones, as the law directs, and built a new altar like the former one. They also rebuilt the sanctuary and the interior of the temple, and consecrated the courts.

They made new holy vessels, and brought the lampstand, the altar of incense, and the table into the temple. Then they offered incense on the altar and lit the lamps on the lampstand, and these gave light in the temple. They placed the bread on the table and hung up the curtains. Thus they finished all the work they had undertaken.

Early in the morning on the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month, which is the month of Chislev, in the one hundred forty-eighth year, they rose and offered sacrifice, as the law directs, on the new altar of burnt offering that they had built.

At the very season and on the very day that the Gentiles had profaned it, it was dedicated with songs and harps and lutes and cymbals. All the people fell on their faces and worshiped and blessed Heaven, who had prospered them. So they celebrated the dedication of the altar for eight days, and joyfully offered burnt offerings; they offered a sacrifice of well-being and a thanksgiving offering. They decorated the front of the temple with golden crowns and small shields; they restored the gates and the chambers for the priests, and fitted them with doors. There was very great joy among the people, and the disgrace brought by the Gentiles was removed.

Then Judas and his brothers and all the assembly of Israel determined that every year at that season the days of dedication of the altar should be observed with joy and gladness for eight days, beginning with the twenty-fifth day of the month of Chislev.

At that time they fortified Mount Zion with high walls and strong towers all around, to keep the Gentiles from coming and trampling them down as they had done before. Judas stationed a garrison there to guard it; he also fortified Beth-zur to guard it, so that the people might have a stronghold that faced Idumea.²⁶

Christmas hymn

O Little Town of Bethlehem

O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting Light
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight

For Christ is born of Mary, and gathered all above
While mortals sleep, the angels keep
Their watch of wondering love
O morning stars together
Proclaim the holy birth
And praises sing to God the King
And Peace to men on earth

How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is given!
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of His heaven.
No ear may his His coming,
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive him still,
The dear Christ enters in.

O holy Child of Bethlehem, descend to us, we pray
Cast out our sin and enter in
Be born to us today
We hear the Christmas angels
The great glad tidings tell
O come to us, abide with us
Our Lord Emmanuel

Phillips Brooks, 1868

Readings on God’s Blessing Being the Light

God be merciful to us and bless us, And cause His face to shine upon us.

Now therefore, our God, hear the prayer of Your servant, and his supplications, and for the Lord’s sake cause Your face to shine on Your sanctuary, which is desolate.²⁷

Blessings and Candles

Have a child light the Shamash candle and hold it while the blessings are read by the father:

First Blessing to Recite

Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the universe, who wrought miracles for our fathers in days of old, at this season.

Second Blessing to Recite

Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has kept us alive, and has preserved us, and enabled us to reach this time.

Light the seventh candle (starting from the left) with the Shamash, and name the candle – “The Blessing of God on our Work is Light.”

Light the sixth candle with the Shamash, and name the candle – “Guidance is the Light.”

Light the fifth candle with the Shamash, and name the candle – “The Kingdom is the Light.”

Light the fourth candle, and name the candle – “The Holy Spirit is the Light.”

Then light the third candle with the Shamash, and name the candle – “We are the Light.”

Then light the second candle with the Shamash, and name the candle – “Jesus is the Light.”

Then light the first candle with the Shamash, and name the candle – “The Bible is the Light.”

Sing “Through Our God, We Shall Do Valiantly” and hand a dollar bill to the child lighting the candle, while dancing and singing.

Christmas Story

Jesus is Dedicated to God

And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called JESUS, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord

(as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the LORD”), and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, “A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”²⁸

God blesses Simeon’s Faithfulness

And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said:

“Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, According to Your word; For my eyes have seen Your salvation Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel.”

And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him.²⁹

God’s Blessing Can Only Come Through Christ’s Suffering

Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.

So when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth. And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.³⁰

For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.³¹

Prayer of thanks for the Blessing of God on our Work

Christmas Presents for Day Seven

Games

Day 8 – The Eternal Kingdom Will Be the Light

Leader: Explain the following – God’s kingdom is eternal. He has a perfect plan that stretches from eternity past to eternity future. This plan includes an old creation and a renewed creation. This plan includes a grand battle between the seed of the woman and the seed of Satan. This plan includes redemption and judgment. God has always been victorious, and everything that was lost to man through the first Adam’s disobedience will be restored through the Second Adam’s perfect obedience. All of history is moving toward the glory of God as He rules in righteousness forever and ever. One day all darkness and all injustice will vanish as God makes a new heavens and a new earth in which dwells righteousness.

Reading from the Maccabees

The Jews in Jerusalem and those in the land of Judea, To their Jewish kindred in Egypt, Greetings and true peace.

May God do good to you, and may he remember his covenant with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, his faithful servants. May he give you all a heart to worship him and to do his will with a strong heart and a willing spirit. May he open your heart to his law and his commandments, and may he bring peace. May he hear your prayers and be reconciled to you, and may he not forsake you in time of evil. We are now praying for you here.

In the reign of Demetrius, in the one hundred sixty-ninth year, we Jews wrote to you, in the critical distress that came upon us in those years after Jason and his company revolted from the holy land and the kingdom and burned the gate and shed innocent blood. We prayed to the Lord and were heard, and we offered sacrifice and grain offering, and we lit the lamps and set out the loaves. And now see that you keep the festival of booths in the month of Chislev, in the one hundred eighty-eighth year.

The people of Jerusalem and of Judea and the senate and Judas, To Aristobulus, who is of the family of the anointed priests, teacher of King Ptolemy, and to the Jews in Egypt, Greetings and good health.

Having been saved by God out of grave dangers we thank him greatly for taking our side against the king, for he drove out those who fought against the holy city. When the leader reached Persia with a force that seemed irresistible, they were cut to pieces in the temple of Nanea by a deception employed by the priests of the goddess Nanea. On the pretext of intending to marry her, Antiochus came to the place together with his Friends, to secure most of its treasures as a dowry. When the priests of the temple of Nanea had set out the treasures and Antiochus had come with a few men inside the wall of the sacred precinct, they closed the temple as soon as he entered it. Opening a secret door in the ceiling, they threw stones and struck down the leader and his men; they dismembered them and cut off their heads and threw them to the people outside.

Blessed in every way be our God, who has brought judgment on those who have behaved impiously.

Since on the twenty-fifth day of Chislev we shall celebrate the purification of the temple, we thought it necessary to notify you, in order that you also may celebrate the festival of booths and the festival of the fire given when Nehemiah, who built the temple and the altar, offered sacrifices.³²

Christmas hymn

Joy to the World

Joy to the world! The Lord is come:
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare him room,
And heav’n and nature sing, And heav’n and nature sing,
And heav’n, and heav’n and nature sing.

Joy to the earth! The Savior reigns:
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains,
Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found, Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as the curse is found.

He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of his love And wonders of his love,
And wonders, wonders of his love.

Readings on the Eternal Kingdom Being the Light

Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

Those who are wise shall shine
like the brightness of the firmament,
And those who turn many to righteousness
like the stars forever and ever.

And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal,
proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb.
In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river,
was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits,
each tree yielding its fruit every month.
The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
and there shall be no more curse,
But the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it,
and His servants shall serve Him.
They shall see His face,
and His name shall be on their foreheads.
There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun,
for the Lord God gives them light.
And they shall reign forever and ever.³³

Blessings and Candles

Have a child light the Shamash candle and hold it while the blessings are read by the father:

First Blessing to Recite

Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the universe, who wrought miracles for our fathers in days of old, at this season.

Second Blessing to Recite

Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has kept us alive, and has preserved us, and enabled us to reach this time.

Light the eighth candle (starting from the left) with the Shamash, and name the candle – “The Eternal Kingdom will be the Light.”

Light the seventh candle and name the candle – “The Blessing of God on our Work is Light.”

Light the sixth candle with the Shamash, and name the candle – “Guidance is the Light.”

Light the fifth candle with the Shamash, and name the candle – “The Kingdom is the Light.”

Light the fourth candle, and name the candle – “The Holy Spirit is the Light.”

Light the third candle with the Shamash, and name the candle – “We are the Light.”

Light the second candle with the Shamash, and name the candle – “Jesus is the Light.”

Light the first candle with the Shamash, and name the candle – “The Bible is the Light.”

Sing “Through Our God, We Shall Do Valiantly” and hand a dollar bill to the child lighting the candle, while dancing and singing.

Christmas Story

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.

He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ ”

And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.

For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.³⁴

Prayer of thanks for the Light of the Eternal Kingdom

Christmas Presents for Day Eight

Games