A prophet is someone sent by God to help form His people and prepare them for salvation.  From Elijah to John the Baptist, no matter how far God’s people strayed He always sent someone with the welcome reminder of his love and the hard message of how to get back to it.

This lesson is about Isaiah and specifically about his connections with John the Baptist.  Hundreds of years ago Isaiah said this:

A voice cries out:  In the desert prepare the way of the Lord!  Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God!  Isaian 40:3

and today we recognize that he was announcing the future arrival of John the Baptist, who very literally came to prepare us for Salvation.  We hear from both of them in the Sunday readings during Advent, so listen for it and do these activities to reinforce the connections.

If you have older kids, spend a little time with the Prophecy Concentration game.  Whether you play it with classic Concentration rules or simply match the Old Testament prophecies with their New Testament fulfillment your kids will get a sense of the enormity and intricacy of God’s plan for their salvation!

And if your kids are younger don’t miss the Titles of God worksheet.  Isaiah used many words to describe God, and it’s a wonderful exercise in praise for us to do the same!  The alphabet component makes it friendly for a younger crowd, but this is an activity that the whole family can work on together.  When you’re done, be sure to post it somewhere as an Advent reminder of just how good our God is!

And finally, we’ve provided the easiest decoration possible with the Isaiah Scripture Tent.  Simply fold it in half and put it in your prayer space (or a shelf, or a mantle).  Decorate it if you want, but the graphic design stands on its own and it is a great reminder of the overall “prepare” character of Advent.