This advent season we are talking all about how God loves us so much that He sent Jesus! I love that when Jesus was born, God put a special star in the sky!

Can you remember to look for stars tonight once it gets dark?!

The challenge for today can stretch a few days if you need. We challenge you to find 3 stars as you are out and about. Not stars in the sky, but stars that are used for decorations. Maybe it’s a star on the top of a Christmas Tree or a star made of Christmas lights. However long it takes, keep looking until you find 3. Ready…set…GO!

Click here for today’s video!

Reminder, this week’s verse is “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” Luke 2:14 NIrV

On Sunday at check in, kids will have a chance to share the verse they memorized to be entered to win a prize so come ready to share!

All week we have learned what a gift of grace Jesus was. He brought peace, He brought joy, and He is a beautiful example of God’s love. Remember, grace isn’t something we earn or deserve, it is a gift. God showed his grace by sending Jesus to die on the cross for our sins so we can be with God forever!

Today we want to challenge you to have a conversation with your parents. Begin by asking the following question and make sure to answer yourself.

How have you seen God’s grace in your life?

Have you ever looked at someone and said “wow, they are old” or “dang, they are young” and they are doing that? Maybe it was an older person running a marathon or a young child singing in front of a huge crowd. It amazes you that no matter their age they don’t let it determine what they do. Anna was exactly one of those kinds of people. She did not let her age determine her contribution. Anna is a prophetess who devoted her entire life to prayer, fasting, and worship in the temple. Then upon seeing the infant Jesus she recognized Him as the long awaited savior and then gave thanks to God, and went out and told anyone and everyone. 

READ 

Let's read Luke 2:36-40

“There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.”

REFLECT

For Anna, it could’ve been super easy for her to stay quiet, to say nothing about the encounter she just had. She had little to no influence and a very poor social status because she was a widow. No one was asking for her opinion, yet she did keep it to herself. No matter her age or her status she told everyone about the encounter she had. 

This is because Anna understood something crucial: A real encounter with Jesus will produce a response within us that we cannot hold inside. When we truly experience God’s redemptive work, silence is not an option. Anna became a voice for God’s kingdom telling everyone about this little baby that would be the messiah!

Anna’s willingness to share what God has done in her teaches us several things. First of all, your age does not have to determine your contribution to the Kingdom. No matter how old or young God can use you for his glory and for his redemptive work. Never let your age stop you from sharing the good news of the gospel. 

Secondly, Anna’s faithfulness in the quiet place prepared her for the public proclamation she gave. The preparation process is necessary for us to go through in order for us to properly respond when God does something big in our lives. And in order for God to do work through us, He first has to do a work in us. And that's what the time in the quiet place was for Anna. Anna’s obedience to do the small things and steward the opportunities that she had well is what got her to the place to proclaim publicly that Jesus was coming!

Lastly, God used an unlikely candidate like Anna, a widow with no platform, no influence, and no social status. Yet none of that disqualified her. Her lack of influence didn’t matter to God, because God isn’t looking for people with the biggest platforms; He is looking for people who are willing, available, and faithful. And God chose Anna, someone the world would overlook, to share the greatest news of all time, that the Messiah had come!

But what does this mean for us? What has God shown us about His redemptive work? What have we seen Him do in our lives, in the lives of others, in our schools, sports teams, and even our world? Are we telling the world about it? We don’t need a platform in order to tell people about the good news of Jesus. We just need a voice and a willingness to put our “yes” on the table just like Anna. 

Being a person of boldness or a witness for Christ doesn’t mean you have to know everything or have some crazy testimony. You just have to have the eyes to see God’s work, the willingness to say yes, and the voice to proclaim all the good work you’ve seen Him do in your life and in the lives of others. But in order for us to proclaim the good news and speak of the redemptive work of Jesus we need to first let Him do a work in us, in the quiet place, in the place where people might not see. It’s about staying faithful in those places so that when God moves publicly we're ready to point others in the right direction, the direction of Jesus. Anna had nothing to lose and everything to gain by speaking up about the good news of Jesus and so do we. 

• What are some things you feel might hold you back from speaking up about your faith, and what would it look like to trust God with those insecurities?

• Where in your everyday life (school, sports, friends, family) could you be more bold or intentional about sharing what God is doing in you?

PRAY

Lord Jesus, give me faith like Anna, a faith that always worships, is committed to prayer, and always seeking you, no matter who is looking. Help me recognize what you are doing in me and in others so that I might be able to be a witness to your redemptive work. Give me the courage to speak up about your goodness, your grace, and your name. Despite whether I feel unequipped, unqualified or overlooked, help me know that you equip me, you qualify me and you call me by name to do the work of your kingdom. Use my voice to point others to you. Amen.

READ

After Simeon's dramatic prophecy, Luke immediately introduces us to Anna. She's 84 years old, maybe older—the text is a bit ambiguous about whether she's been a widow for 84 years or is 84 years old total. Either way, she's ancient by first-century standards. She'd been married for seven years before her husband died, and she never remarried. Instead, she devoted herself to worship at the temple. Luke says she "never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying." This woman had turned her life into one long act of worship. While others her age might have retired to take it easy, Anna was all-in. The temple was her home, prayer was her occupation, and God was her focus.

And then, "at that very moment," she came up to Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. The timing is perfect—right after Simeon's prophecy, Anna arrives. She'd been waiting too, just like Simeon. She'd been faithful too, just like Simeon. And she also recognized what others missed: this baby was the redemption of Jerusalem.

But here's where Anna's story becomes particularly powerful: she didn't just see Jesus and keep it to herself. She immediately began "to speak about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem." She became a witness. An evangelist. At 84 years old, she found her voice and her mission.

Let’s take a moment to read Luke 2:36-40:

There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.

REFLECT

Think about how easy it would have been for Anna to stay quiet. She was old. She was a woman in a patriarchal society. She was a widow without social status or power. Nobody was asking for her opinion. She could have held this beautiful moment in her heart as a private treasure and let it end there.

But Anna understood something crucial: when you encounter God's redemptive work, silence isn't an option. When you see God keeping His promises, you have to tell somebody. So she became a megaphone for good news, telling everyone who would listen about this baby who would redeem Jerusalem.

Simeon got to hold Jesus and declare God's salvation. Anna got to see Jesus and declare God's redemption. Two faithful seniors who'd spent decades in worship, prayer, and waiting. Two witnesses who recognized what God was doing when others walked right past.

Anna's witness teaches us several things. First, you're never too old to serve God. Anna didn't retire from her faith; she intensified it. Second, faithfulness in hidden places prepares us for public moments. All those years of prayer and fasting in the temple weren't wasted—they positioned Anna to recognize and respond to Jesus. Third, God uses unlikely witnesses. A widow in the first century had virtually no platform, no influence, no power. But God used her anyway.

Here's the question for us: What has God shown us about His redemptive work? What have we seen Him do in our lives, in our families, in our world? And are we telling people about it? Sometimes we think we need a platform, a podcast, or thousands of followers to be a witness. But Anna just needed a voice and a willingness to use it. She talked to "all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem"—she found the people who were already seeking and told them where to look.

Maybe being a witness isn't about having all the right words or the perfect testimony. Maybe it's about being so captivated by what God has done that you can't help but talk about it. Maybe it's about staying faithful in the hidden places so that when God moves publicly, you're ready to point others to Him. Anna had nothing to lose and everything to gain by speaking up. So do we.

RESPOND

Take a moment to process what God might be leading you to do in light of what you read.

• How can you be a witness to God's redemptive work like Anna was?

• What "hidden place" faithfulness might God be using to prepare you for public witness?

• Who are the people in your life who are "looking forward to redemption," and how can you point them to Jesus?

REST

Take a moment to rest in God’s presence and consider one thing you can take away from your time reading, then close your devotional experience by praying:

Lord, give us the faithfulness of Anna—devoted to worship, committed to prayer, attentive to Your work. Help us to recognize what You're doing in our lives and in the world around us. Give us courage to be witnesses, to speak up about Your redemptive love even when we feel unqualified or overlooked. Use our voices to point others to Jesus. Amen.