Jesse Tree

Tonight we put the first ornament on our Jesse Tree.  The Jesse Tree is our family's advent activity, and I absolutely love it because it goes from creation to Jesus explaining why we need a Savior and what all came about that lead to the birth of Christ.  And at 6 and 3, my kids are totally eating it up.  They look forward to it every evening as do I.  If you are interested in doing a Jesse Tree for yourself, you can find the images I used for my ornaments here.

There are about a gazillion different versions of the Jesse Tree depending on your denomination or personal preference.  I pulled the ones I liked best from the various versions I found and will be following this outline of topic, ornament symbol, and Scripture reference:

Day 1:  Jesse Tree, stump with sprout, Isaiah 11:1-2
Day 2:  Creation, world, Genesis 1:26-31
Day 3:  Fall of Man, fruit with serpent, Genesis 3:1-19
Day 4:  Noah and the Flood, rainbow, Genesis 6:11-14
Day 5:  Abraham, tent, Genesis 12:1-7
Day 6:  Isaac, cradle, Genesis 21:1-7
Day 7:  Sacrificing Isaac, ram, Genesis 22:1-14
Day 8:  Jacob, ladder, Genesis 28:10-22
Day 9:  Joseph, coat, Genesis 37:1-11
Day 10:  Moses and the 10 Commandments, tablets, Deuteronomy 5:1-22
Day 11:  Rahab, rope, Joshua 2:1-21
Day 12:  Ruth, wheat, Ruth 1:15-2:3
Day 13:  Samuel anoints David, horn of oil, 1 Samuel 16:1-13
Day 14:  Elijah, burning stones, 1 Kings 18:16-24, 36-39
Day 15:  Esther, sceptor, Esther 4
Day 16:  Isaiah, lamb and wolf, Isaiah 11:6-9
Day 17:  Daniel, lion, Daniel 6
Day 18:  Jonah, whale, Jonah 3:1-5
Day 19:  Bethlehem, city, Micah 5:1-5
Day 20:  Zechariah and Elisabeth, man and woman, Luke 1:5-25
Day 21:  John the Baptist, shell, Matthew 3:1-6
Day 22:  Mary, heart, Luke 1:26-28
Day 23:  Joseph, tools, Matthew 1:18, 25
Day 24:  Journey to Bethlehem, sandals, Luke 2:1-5
Day 25:  Jesus, star, Luke 2:6-11

If you start this outline on December 1, you end on Christmas reading the Christmas story from Luke 2.  I have so enjoyed the discussion that these ornaments spark.  I hope you find some way to bring more of Jesus into this Christmas with your own family!