Solagratiamom: Day 6 Advent - Hark the Herald Angels Sing

Day 6 Advent - Hark the Herald Angels Sing

"And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” Luke 2:8-15 (bolding is mine)

Instructions below

I thought doing a craft on angels and taking a look at the created beings who announced the birth of Christ was in order for today's day 6 of Advent.

God chose angels to announce to Mary that she would carry the Savior of the World (Luke 19:28-44), and an angel was sent to convince Joseph to take her as his wife still, a great company of angels were sent to proclaim the birth of Jesus to the shepherds, and angels were sent to minister to Jesus himself during his ministry on earth! Angels are important facilitators of God's work of salvation for man and we are told in the Scriptures that they rejoice in it. There are numerous examples in the Bible of angels performing the will of God, which is what they were created to do. We all know the name of that fallen angel that set the need for a plan of salvation into motion. So our lives both now and evermore, are all part of this intertwined plan God has, involving angels and man. In the end God's glory is revealed in it's fullness as His chosen people worship Him with the angels for all of eternity (Revelation Chapter 5).

So I decided to do a personal study taking a closer look in the Scriptures at what God's word tells us about angels. Angels are referenced in the Bible 273 different times. I won't site all those references but I will share with you an overview of what I believe are some of the main concepts I took away as I studied about them...

Angels are referred to by the following names in Scripture: cherubim (Ezekiel 1:1-28) seraphim (Isaiah 6:1-8) ministers (Psalm 103:20-21) messengers (Daniel 4:13) watcher (Daniel 4:17) hosts (1 Samuel 17:45) sons of the mighty (Psalm 89:6) sons of God (Job 2:1) and chariots (2 Kings 6:16-17).
Some Angels are specifically named; Gabriel (Daniel 8:16, Luke 1:18, Luke 1:26) Michael the Archangel (Daniel 10:13, Daniel 12:1, Jude 9, Revelation 12:7) and lucifer or satan/devil (Ezekial 28:13-19) (Isaiah 14:12-15) (Revelation 12:9) (Luke 10:18) (1Peter 5:8-9).
Angels are created as spiritual beings by God (Colossians 1:16 & Psalm 104:4) and created to live for eternity (Luke 20:36 & Revelation 4:8).
Angels were created with a will (Isaiah 14:12-14) and have the ability to choose good or evil (Jude 1:6).
Angels were created to feel and express emotions such as joy or longing (Job 38:7; Hebrews 12:22 & 1 Peter 1:12) and to glorify and worship God the Father and Christ His son (Revelation 4:8 & Hebrews 1:6).
Angels are too numerous to count (Psalm 68:17) (Revelation 5:11-14)
Angels were present at the Creation and "shouted for joy"(Job 38:1-7 & Revelation 4:11).
Angels don't marry (Matthew 22:30).
Angels are intelligent and able to discern good from evil, having wisdom (Ezekial 28:12-14).
Angels are faithful and loyal to God with the exception of a small number that followed Satan (Revelation 5:11-12).
Angels have knowledge of and interest regarding the affairs of men and have involvement in them. (Hebrews 1:14; Daniel 10:14; Luke 15:10; 1Corinthians 4:9 & 1 Timothy 5:21)
Angels rejoice in God's work of salvation for man. (Luke 15:10)
Angels are swift (Daniel 9:21) and are referred to as flying at times (Revelation 14:6).
Angels are sometimes invisible (Job 4:15-18) and appear to men throughout scripture (Daniel 10:5-11) (Acts 8:26).
Angels are not meant to be worshipped by men (Revelation 19:10) and are subject to Christ (1Peter 3:22), created to worship God and the son.
Angels are not like God -they are not omniscient, omnipresent or omnipotent (Daniel 10:12-13 & Jude 1:9).
Angels reside in heaven (Luke 2:15)

Supplies needed to make hand/footprint angels:

Construction Paper

White and Black Paint

Paint brush

Wet wipes (or something to clean feet/hands after painting)

Gold/Silver glitter glue

Hot glue gun

Gold curling ribbon (optional - could paint it on or use glitter glue)

First paint feet - this is fun and silly! Kids love it - it's tickly, goopy and a great sensory activity! I let them do each other's feet because that was even more fun than me doing it for them!

Then press their foot onto the paper. The heel will be the head and the toes will be the angels feet.

Next paint their hands one at a time and press them onto the paper about where the arch of the foot is seen. These will become their wings. It works best to have them keep their fingers close together or you can overlap the handprints if they like. We did it both ways.

We took white paint and filled in the "body" of the angel a little better (but you don't have to do that). Next take black paint with a fine paintbrush and have them make dots for eyes and a nose. Then they can make a big singing oval mouth praising God! :)