First Sunday in Advent – Lighting of the First Advent Candle
1st Reader:
Your people sit in sackcloth and ashes,
Your creation broken,
Cain continues to hate Abel,
Hope has disappeared.
2nd Reader:
Come, bright Sun, and shine your face upon us!
Melt our sin; warm our cold hearts!
Save us from the darkness of our own creation
and lead us back from the brink of our destruction.
1st Reader:
We light this first candle of Advent in remembrance
of the image in which we were made.
(Light one purple candle)
This candle reminds us of God’s love for God’s people and the covenant of God’s salvation.
Congregation sings together “O God, Our Help in Ages Past” #117 in the RH
2nd Sunday in Advent – Lighting of the Second Advent Candle
1st Reader:
Out of the chaos,
Out of the desert,
Out of the wilderness
of our sin…
2nd Reader:
Comes a path,
A way forward
Towards peace
and reconciliation.
1st Reader:
God’s arms are flung open;
“Welcome Home” hung on the doorpost.
A promise of forgiveness
and unending grace is ours.
2nd Reader:
Will we hear when God speaks peace?
Will we recognize the gift God has sent?
Will we accept the baptism meant to heal us?
Will we live out the Good News?
1st Reader:
We light this second candle of Advent in remembrance
of the baptism of water and Holy Spirit.
(Light a second purple candle)
This candle reminds us of God’s provision of salvation through repentance and compassion.
Congregation speaks in unison:
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He resoreth my soul:
he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;
thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me
in the presence of mine enemies:
thou anointest my head with oil;
my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life:
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
3rd Sunday in Advent – Lighting of the Third Advent Candle
1st Reader:
No longer in darkness,
We glow from within.
Our God inhabits our very bones;
God is stitched into our every cell.
2nd Reader:
Salvation comes from a man from Galilee
Who anoints us with his life.
Follow him and we will know
Peace, Joy, Gladness.
1st Reader:
Love will be restored;
The people will know justice.
We will share the bounty of God
with each other.
2nd Reader:
We light this third candle of Advent in remembrance
of how grace can change the world.
(Light the pink candle)
This candle reminds us of what God offers us: the garment of salvation and the robe of righteousness.Congregation sings together “I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light,” RH #206
4th Sunday in Advent – Lighting of the Fourth Advent Candle
1st Reader:
We wander in the desert
Afraid, hungry, and thirsty.
You feed us and give us water.
You move among us…
And in us.
2nd Reader:
We are in need of shelter;
a place safe and secure.
You promise us a home
and rest from our enemies.
1st Reader:
This is the night
when Your promise is kept.
Into our world You send a child;
a child who will be home for us.
2nd Reader:
This child will be our shelter,
Our place of acceptance and love.
Mercy will flow from his heart
and we will know God.
1st Reader:
This child will be born in a cattle stall;
a Savior for all the people.
He is the Word made flesh;
Emmanuel, God with us.
And his name is Jesus.
2nd Reader:
We light this fourth candle of Advent in anticipation
of the Child who will save us.
(Light the fourth candle)
Congregation sings together “Joy to the World” RH#246
Christmas Eve – Lighting of the Christ Candle
1st Reader:
The child has been born;
the waiting is over.
Joy, joy, joy is felt
everywhere, in everything!
2nd Reader:
We gaze at this baby
and he gazes at us,
eyes full of love,
arms open wide.
1st Reader:
“This, this is Christ the King,
whom shepherds guard and angels sing;
haste, haste to bring him laud,
the babe, the son of Mary.”
2nd Reader:
We light the Christ candle as a reminder
that Jesus fills our hearts with beauty.
Love, compassion, and kindness flows from Him into us,
healing wounds, making us whole.
(Light the Christ candle)
The congregation sings: “O Come, All Ye Faithful” (v.1) RH #234
Liturgy for This and That 