"For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him."
Colossians 1:16 (ESV)
Week 4 of 4
Preparation This Week
On the fourth Sunday of Advent, place something meaningful at the very top of the tree — ideally a cross. A star or an angel may also be used, but a cross makes the theology explicit. Surround the tree with your gifts. Then on Christmas morning, gather your family for worship before opening any presents — read Scripture, sing a hymn, and pray together.
The four-session study guide is below (the last block is written for Christmas morning).
Look at Your Tree
Step back and look at what has been built over the last four weeks.
In the first week, you brought a bare tree into your home and left it standing alone — stripped and unadorned, like the cross it was always pointing to. You read how God has been telling His story through trees from the very beginning: the Tree of Life in Eden, the tree of the curse, the tree at Calvary, the tree restored in the city of God.
In the second week, you hung lights on the bare branches and sat in the glow. You traced the thread of light through the whole Bible — from God's first creative act, through the darkness of exile and lament, through the prophets' promise that dawn was coming, to the night when the true Light entered the world as a baby.
In the third week, you hung ornaments — each one a memorial, a stone of remembrance. You told the stories. You traced the thread of prophecy from a vague promise in a garden to a specific baby in a specific town, and you saw how every detail was fulfilled.
Now, in the fourth week, the tree is complete. A cross sits at the top. Gifts are gathered beneath. And the question that has been building all Advent long finally arrives: What is the gift — and will you receive it?
"Every gift under the tree points to a gift that cannot be wrapped. Every light on the tree points to a Light that cannot be extinguished. The tree itself points to the cross — and the cross points to an empty tomb."
Advent Christmas Tree Devotional
The Gift You Cannot Earn
The Bible is relentlessly clear about this: salvation is a gift. You cannot earn it, purchase it, or achieve it. Paul wrote it as plainly as words allow: "The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23). And again: "By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8).
This is what makes Christmas different from every other holiday. It is not a celebration of something humanity accomplished. It is a celebration of something God gave — at unimaginable cost to Himself. Paul described it this way: though Jesus was in the form of God, He did not grasp at equality with God, but "emptied himself," taking the form of a servant, being born in human likeness. He humbled Himself to the point of death — death on a cross (Philippians 2:6-8). Death on a tree.
The baby in the manger is the Creator of the universe. The one wrapped in cloths is the one who holds all things together. Colossians says it directly: "By him all things were created, in heaven and on earth... all things were created through him and for him" (Colossians 1:16). The gift is not merely a good teacher or a moral example. The gift is God Himself, entering His own creation, taking on the frailty and suffering of the world He made, in order to rescue the people He loves.
The Question Christmas Asks
But a gift must be received. And this is where Christmas becomes personal.
John wrote, "Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life" (1 John 5:12). There is no middle ground. The gift is offered freely, but it demands a response. You can admire it from a distance. You can appreciate the story. You can enjoy the season. But none of that is the same as receiving the gift.
Look at the people in the Christmas story. Mary said yes — though it would cost her everything she had planned (Luke 1:38). The shepherds left their flocks in the middle of the night and went immediately (Luke 2:15-16). The Magi travelled for months, following a star, bringing their best (Matthew 2:11). Simeon, who had waited his entire life, held the baby in his arms and said, "Now you are letting your servant depart in peace" (Luke 2:29). Each of them received the gift. Each of them was changed by it.
And then there were those who missed it entirely. Herod saw only a threat — and tried to kill the child. The religious leaders knew the prophecies by heart — they could quote Micah, they could point to Bethlehem (Matthew 2:5-6) — but they never walked the few miles to see for themselves. The gift was right in front of them, and they did not receive it.
Before You Open the Presents
On Christmas morning, before the wrapping paper flies, gather your family. Open the Word before you open the gifts. Read the story of Jesus' birth aloud (Luke 2:1–20) — let the youngest child who can read take a part. Sing one verse of a Christmas hymn together: O Come, All Ye Faithful or Hark! The Herald Angels Sing. Close with a prayer of thanksgiving. Then let the morning begin.
You will find, year after year, that this act of worship at the start of Christmas morning becomes one of the most treasured memories your family carries. It declares, once more, what the tree has been saying all along: the gift is not under the tree. The gift is on the tree — and He is risen.
The readings below trace the thread of the gift through the whole Bible — from its first promise in the garden, through the centuries of anticipation and silence, to the night it finally arrived, the revelation of who this child truly is, and the question every person must answer: will you receive it?
Study Guide
Four sessions for the family — one for the Sunday gathering, three for the days of the week (the last is written for Christmas morning before the gifts are opened). Times are guides, not timers.
Session 1 — Sunday Gathering ~30 min
The Gift Promised
Place the cross at the top of the tree. Long before the manger, God painted the gift in overlapping pictures — Abraham's lamb, Boaz's quiet redemption, Moses' greater prophet, Isaiah's child given, and Malachi's messenger who comes suddenly to His temple.
A Father's Lamb, A Prophet, A Child, A Messenger
Genesis 22:1–18Abraham offers Isaac — "God will provide for himself the lamb." A father's willingness foreshadows the Father's gift.
Ruth 4:13–22A widow given a redeemer, a Moabite grafted into Israel, a son who is grandfather to David — the gift comes through quiet, ordinary grace.
Deuteronomy 18:15–19"The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you" — Moses promises one greater than himself.
Isaiah 9:6–7"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given" — the gift described centuries before it arrives.
Malachi 3:1–4"The Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple" — the last prophetic voice before four centuries of silence.
Reflect
Abraham was asked to give up the son he loved. The Father did. What does that parallel say about the cost the gift carried for God Himself?
Ruth's story is small — a widow, a foreigner, a quiet wedding in a small town. And yet it ends with the line that runs to David, and through David to Christ. What does it teach you to trust God with the small, ordinary parts of your family's story, even when you cannot yet see what He is making of them?
Moses, Isaiah, and Malachi each describe the gift from a different angle — a prophet, a child, a messenger. Why does God describe His Son in so many overlapping pictures?
Look at the cross now sitting at the top of your tree. The whole story has been climbing toward this. What does it mean that the gift, in the end, looks like a cross?
Close in prayer. Thank the Father for not sparing His own Son, but giving Him up for us all.
Session 2 — Weekday ~25 min
The Gift Anticipated
A short session. Two psalms and two prophets show how the people of God carried the promise across centuries — singing about a King they had never seen.
The King Sung, the King Coming
Psalm 2"You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage" — the Father's gift to the Son.
Psalm 110"The Lord says to my Lord: Sit at my right hand" — David glimpses a King greater than himself.
Haggai 2:6–9"The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former" — a small, rebuilt temple promised greater glory because of who would walk into it.
Zechariah 9:9–13"Behold, your king is coming to you… humble and mounted on a donkey" — the King who will speak peace to the nations.
Reflect
David, Israel's greatest king, sings of a Lord greater than himself. What does it cost a leader to admit that the real King has not come yet?
Haggai's hearers wept because their rebuilt temple looked nothing like Solomon's. God told them the glory would be greater — because of who would one day walk in. What "small" thing in your life might God be planning to fill with unexpected glory?
Zechariah pictures the king arriving on a donkey, not a war horse. Where in your life have you been expecting God to come with power, when He may be coming with humility?
Close in prayer. Thank God for the long, faithful patience of His people who waited centuries to see what we celebrate every December.
Session 3 — Weekday ~50 min
The Gift Arrives
The Christmas story itself — Mary's yes, the manger, Simeon and Anna, the Magi. Read it slowly and let the children hear all of it.
The Arrival
Luke 1:26–56The annunciation to Mary and her song of praise — "He has done great things for me, and holy is his name."
Luke 2:1–21The birth of Jesus — the gift arrives in poverty and obscurity, wrapped in cloths, laid in a manger, announced to shepherds.
Luke 2:22–40Simeon and Anna — two people who had waited their whole lives for this gift, and recognized it when it came.
Matthew 2The Magi follow the star, bring gifts, and worship — outsiders travel farther than anyone to honor the King.
Reflect
Mary's "yes" to God meant her plans, her reputation, even her safety would never be the same. What does her response teach you about what it costs to receive God's gift on His terms?
Simeon waited his whole life for one moment with Jesus, and counted it enough. Anna spent her widowhood in the temple, watching for Him. What might "waiting like Simeon and Anna" look like in your own ordinary days?
The shepherds were close and came running. The Magi were far and came after months of travel. The religious leaders were nearest of all and never came. Which of those three is closest to your heart's posture this Advent?
Close in prayer. Sit quietly with the wonder that God came as a baby.
Session 4 — Weekday or Christmas Morning ~30 min
The Gift Revealed and Received
A long final session — the climax of the four weeks. We open by asking who this baby actually was, then turn to the question every person must answer: will you receive the gift? If you can, save the last block for Christmas morning before the gifts are opened.
Who Is This Child?
Colossians 1:15–23"He is the image of the invisible God… by him all things were created… and in him all things hold together."
Philippians 2:5–11"Though he was in the form of God, he did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself" — the cost of the gift.
Hebrews 1:1–4"He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature" — the final Word after all the prophets.
Reflect
Colossians says all things hold together in Him. The baby in the manger is the one keeping the stars in their courses. How does this reframe what it means that He cried, slept, and needed to be fed?
Philippians says Jesus did not grasp at equality with God — He let it go for our sake. Where in your life are you grasping at something Jesus would let go of?
Hebrews says God spoke through prophets in many ways, but in these last days has spoken to us by His Son. If Jesus is God's final word, what specifically is God saying to your family through Him this Christmas?
The Gift Is a Person
1 John 5:1–12"God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life" — the gift is not a thing, but a Person.
Reflect
"Whoever has the Son has life." Christianity is not a programme to follow but a Person to receive. What does that change about how you would talk about your faith with someone who doesn't yet believe?
A gift is something you receive, not something you earn. Where in your relationship with God are you still trying to earn what He has already given?
The Story Ends Where It Began — for Christmas Morning
Revelation 22:1–5The Tree of Life, the river of life, the throne of God and of the Lamb — every thread of the story arrives here.
Reflect
Look at the tree, fully decorated, cross at the top, gifts beneath. Walk through the four weeks aloud — the bare tree, the lights, the ornaments, the cross. What is the single sentence you most want your family to remember from this Advent?
The Tree of Life that was lost in Genesis stands open in Revelation 22. Every thread — the tree, the light, the prophecies, the gift — arrives at the same place. Why do you think God made the Bible end where it began?
The world Jesus came to did not recognise Him (John 1:11). What is one way your family will recognise Him this Christmas — name Him, thank Him, speak about Him — before anything else is opened?
If this is Christmas morning, take a moment before any wrapping paper is touched: have each person around the tree name one thing they are thankful to God for this year, then read Luke 2 aloud together. Close in prayer. Thank God for the inexpressible gift. Then — only then — open the others.
