The Tree Tells
a Story

The Tradition

Why does a Christmas tree stand in a Christian home?

Most of us set up a Christmas tree the same way we always have — all at once, in an evening, before December has barely begun. But what if the tree could speak? What if the act of setting it up, lighting it, and decorating it could carry your family through the four weeks of Advent as a living, growing sign of the gospel?

This devotional began as one family's attempt to answer a child's question: "Why do we put a tree inside our house?" The answer turned out to run from Genesis to Revelation. From the Tree of Life in the garden to the tree of Calvary, from the darkness before creation to the city where there is no night — God has always been telling His story through trees.

Each week of Advent, your family adds one layer to the tree — bare branches, then light, then the ornaments of memory and faith, and finally the cross-topper and gifts beneath. Each week, the Scriptures open up the meaning of that layer. Fifteen minutes of family worship. A tradition that grows richer every year.