“ ..light of the world, you stepped down into darkness.. ”

1. “..light of the world, you stepped down into darkness..” [photo credits on final slide]

2. [the star] [mary] [john the baptist] [joseph] [gifts] [the manger] Some themes of Advent & Christmas [the incarnation] [the magi] [expectation] [click a link to continue]

3. [the star] God of Light… Help me to see the light of your love every day of my life, and help me to follow it joyfully. Help me to see you at work in everybody I meet and in every experience I have. Help me to be a star that brings light to others. Amen. God put the star in the sky to show the Magi where to find the new born king… “..the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy..” Matt 2:9-10 How can I be sure that I’m heading in the right direction? [back home] [end]

4. [mary] The teenage girl who said yes to the angel.. God of Trust… Help me to see the chances I have in my life to say yes to you. Help me to remember that you trust me to make a difference, even if I don’t always trust myself. Amen. ..and allowed God to come into the world. “..behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word..” [Luke 1:38] [back home] [end]

5. [john the baptist] God of Wonder… Help us this Christmas to listen to those who point the way to you. Help us to be ready to welcome you into our lives. Amen. “..In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand..’” [Matt 3:1-2] John’s message was one of repentance… ..because the coming of Christ changes us John led a simple life. It was his job to prepare the way for Christ, and to let people know that somebody was coming who would change the world. John pointed to something greater than himself. ..because he was in awe. [back home] [end]

6. If you were Joseph, don’t [joseph] you think God of Faithfulness… Help us this Christmas and throughout our lives, to stick by the people we love, even when it’s not easy. Help us to show them the love and faithfulness that Joseph showed to Jesus and Mary. Amen. First of all your fiancée gets mysteriously pregnant. And then, you learn that you’re going to be step-father to the Son of God. But yet the carpenter from Nazareth decided to stick with it. He showed Mary the love of a Husband, and he showed Jesus the love of a Father! there would be a small part of you that wanted to… You have to wonder if he knew what was to come in the years ahead? …run a mile? [back home] [end]

7. [gifts] It lets us remind ourselves that we are loved. God of Giving… Help us to be ready to open our treasures to others, by the love that we show and the way we make them feel. And may we always remember those who won’t be giving or receiving gifts this Christmas. Amen. I wonder what I’m getting for Christmas with a new iPod Would he like a jumper? Giving and receiving gifts is one of the most beautiful parts of Christmas When will I finish my shopping? How can I afford all this? She is so hard to buy for! Why is Christmas so stressful? Shopping. Why? And it lets us share our love with other people. Must buy wrapping paper… Toys cloths gadgets [back home] [end]

8. When God came to earth… [the manger] God of Humility… When we celebrate the day when you came among us, help us to remember that life isn’t about status or power or wealth, but about being with the people we love. Help us to serve others in humility and generosity. Amen. ..he could have come as a King ..he could have been the head of a powerful army ..he could been rich or powerful But instead he chose to be born in a stable, among the animals and the poor. [back home] [end]

9. I don’t think I’ll ever understand it… You created the world. There is nothing you need, and nothing you want. [the incarnation] You have no beginning and no end. I don’t even have the language to describe you. …you are God! [back home] [end]

10. And yet you loved us so much that you stepped down into the world you had made… God of Presence… Help me to be the kind of person who is ready to enter into the lives of others with the same love that you showed us. Amen. ..to teach us how to love ..to live with us ..to heal us [the incarnation] ..to die for us ..to redeem us ..to love us [back home] [end]

11. Sometimes… When the magi started their journey, they were on a mission from Herod… ..the experiences we have.. God of Encounters… Let our experiences change us for the better. Make us always ready to respond in the way we should. Help us to always chose what is right and good. Amen. Herod had told them to find the new born king and to let him know where he was. ..will change us! [the magi] But once they had found Jesus, they were warned in a dream not to return to Herod. [back home] [end]

12. Waiting for something can be difficult.. God of Hope… Whenever we have to wait for something, help us to use the time to make sure we are properly ready. Amen. ..especially something we’re really looking forward to. But it’s also a time to remember that Christ will one day come again. Advent is a time to prepare ourselves to celebrate the fact that Christ has come into the world. [expectation] [back home] [end]

13. ABOUT THIS RESOURCE This PowerPoint presentation was produced by CatholicYouthWork.com, and is intended to be used as a series of short reflections for young people to bring home some of the themes of the seasons of Advent and Christmas. CREDITS AND LICENSES Advent Themes by CatholicYouthWork.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales License. Produced and written by: Jack Regan. This work may be freely distributed or altered as long as this page remains in tact. Neither this work, nor anything derived from it, may be sold for commercial gain Photo credits: Background (all slides) - flickr.com user Harald52 Slide 3 (star), first image - flickr.com user darkpatator, second image - flickr.com user law kevan, third image - flickr.com user lenchensmama Slide 4 (mary), first image - flickr.com user emilyvanwormer, second image - flickr.com user lars hammar Slide 5 (john the baptist), first image - flickr.com user kamshots, second image - flickr.com user Ahron de Leeuw, third image - flickr.com user mrhayata Slide 6 (joseph), first image - flickr.com user God’sMoon Slide 7 (gifts), first image - flickr.com user TheAlieness GiselaGiardino²³, second image - flickr.com user riot jane, third image - flickr.com user Mr. Kris Slide 8 (the manger), first image - flickr.com user Ferdinand Reus, second image - flickr.com user luis de bethencourt Slide 9+10 (the incarnation), first image - flickr.com user llimllib, second image - flickr.com user kalandrakas, third image - flickr.com user lepiaf.geo, fourth image - flickr.com user seanmcgrath Slide 11 (the magi), first image - flickr.com user Phillie Casablanca, second image - flickr.com user Untitled blue, third image - flickr.com user romainmo Slide 12 (expectation), first image - flickr.com user erik langer, second image - flickr.com user pfv Other credits: Slide 1 - “light of the world…” quote from the song Here I am to Worship by Tim Hughes All scripture quotations taken from the Revised Standard Version (RSV)