How to Make a Jesse Tree to Celebrate Advent With Children

Making a Jesse Tree is a way for you to be intentional about helping your family understand God's plan of salvation from creation through the coming of the baby Jesus. As a family you will make (or find) ornaments to hang on your "Jesse Tree" one-per-day leading up to Christmas. Each ornament represents a prophesy of the coming of the Messiah, Jesus. The term "Jesse Tree" comes from scripture, "Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit." (Isaiah 11:1, NASB)

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• a tree (see step 1)
• a pot
• ornaments
• bible

1. 
    

   Select your tree - Begin by selecting your tree. You may decide to choose a branch from a tree, leafless with lots of small branches, or you may prefer a small evergreen tree. Either way it should fit in a small pot that will sit on a table.

2. 
    

   Pick your scripture - Do some preparation ahead of time. There are MANY verses in the Bible that tell of the coming of Christ. How many days do you have? It's ok if you don't place an ornament on the tree every single day in December. Just look through the suggested verses and pick the ones that speak the loudest to you, or the ones that your children will best understand.

3. 
    

   There are many resources online to help you select scripture to use for your Jesse Tree. Here are some suggestions.
   **December 1
   Creation: Gen. 1:1-31; 2:1-4
   Symbols: sun, moon, stars, animals, earth
   
   **December 2
   Adam and Eve: Gen. 2:7-9, 18-24
   Symbols: tree, man, woman
   
   **December 3
   Fall of Man: Gen. 3:1-7 and 23-24
   Symbols: tree, serpent, apple with bite
   
   **December 4
   Noah: Gen. 6:5-8, 13-22; 7:17, 23, 24; 8:1, 6-22
   Symbols: ark, animals, dove, rainbow
   
   **December 5
   Abraham: Gen. 12:1-3
   Symbols: torch, sword, mountain
   
   **December 6
   Isaac: Gen. 22:1-14
   Symbols: bundle of wood, altar, ram in bush
   
   **December 7
   Jacob: Gen. 25:1-34; 28:10-15
   Symbols: kettle, ladder
   
   **December 8
   Joseph: Gen. 25:1-34; 28:10-15
   Symbols: bucket, well, silver coins, tunic
   
   **December 9
   Moses: Ex. 2:1-10
   Symbols: baby in basket, river and rushes
   
   **December 10
   Samuel: 1 Sam. 3:1-18
   Symbols: lamp, temple
   
   **December 11
   Jesse: 1 Sam. 16:1-13
   Symbols: crimson robe, shepherd's staff
   
   **December 12
   David: 1 Sam. 17:12-51
   Symbols: slingshot, 6-pointed star
   
   **December 13
   Solomon: 1 Kings 3:5-14, 16-28
   Symbols: scales of justice, temple, two babies and sword
   
   **December 14
   Joseph: Matt. 1:18-25
   Symbols: hammer, saw, chisel, angle
   
   **December 15
   Mary: Matt. 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-38
   Symbols: lily, crown of stars, pierced heart
   
   **December 16
   John the Baptist: Mark 1:1-8
   Symbols: shell with water, river
   
   **December 17
   Jesus is Wisdom: Sirach (or Ecclesiasticus in old Bibles) 24:2; Wisdom 8:1
   Symbols: oil lamp, open book
   
   **December 18
   Jesus is Lord: Ex. 3:2; 20:1
   Symbols: burning bush, stone tablets
   
   **December 19
   Jesus is Flower of Jesse: Isaiah 11:1-3
   Symbols: flower, plant with flower
   
   **December 20
   Jesus is Key of David: Isaiah 22:22
   Symbols: key, broken chains
   
   **December 21
   Jesus is the Radiant Dawn: Psalm 19:6-7 (in older Bibles this will be Psalm 18)
   Symbols: sun rising or high in sky
   
   **December 22
   Jesus is King of the Gentiles: Psalm 2:7-8; Ephesians 2:14-20
   Symbols: crown, scepter
   
   **December 23
   Jesus is Emmanuel: Isaiah 7:14; 33:22
   Symbols: tablets of stone, chalice and host
   
   **December 24
   Jesus is Light of the World: John 1:1-14
   Symbols: candle, flame, sun

4. 
    

   To create a paper ornament for each day you can print out clip-art images on card stock. Find an image that represents each scripture. Cut out the images, punch a hole in the top and use yarn to hang them on the tree. An alternative is to let your children draw an image for each day.

5. 
    

   Collecting ornaments will probably be more difficult than printing them out but will ultimately result in a far more interesting tree. Use a small globe from a key chain to represent the earth. A rainbow can be made using pipe cleaners. Your older children will have fun drilling a hole into a quarter to represent a silver coin. Do you have an old key you could donate to hang on the Jesse Tree? How about using an icicle ornament to represent a scepter. The possibilities are endless!

6. 
    

   Advent Devotions - Each night leading up to Christmas sit down with your family. Read the scripture about the coming of Christ. Talk about what the verses meant then and what they mean to you now. Hang your ornament on the Jesse Tree. Look over the ornaments you've already hung and see who can remember what they represent. Pray with your family and ask God to help you remember his words and how important the Messiah is to us individually and to the World.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't worry if you didn't start with enough time to do 24 days of Advent. Doing just a couple of days is better than none at all.
• You don't have to create all of your ornaments before you begin. Coloring the print-out or finding the symbol could be an activity for your kids each day.

Resources

• Print-outs
• Devotions

[voliegurl]

on 12/21/2008 Great article, great project!

[sneedc]

on 12/16/2008 Wow I did this as a kid, and LOVED it; thanks for taking me back to that simpler time! I loved the Jesse tree!!!! GREAT ARTICLE

[GreenMomma]

on 12/2/2008 i bet the kids really enjoy that!

[MommyBear]

on 12/2/2008 This is such a great project to do with the kids! Love it. :) Thank you! 5*****

[leanan]

on 12/1/2008 Never heard of a Jesse tree, thanks for the article!