Liturgy for the Fourth Sunday of Advent

Fourth Candle:
The Love and Angels Candle
(purple)

We Celebrate the growing brightness & We Celebrate that His coming is closer!

The angels were the first creatures to proclaim the coming…

They came to Mary, Joseph, Elizabeth, Zechariah, and to the shepherds…
to tell them that God was going to send a Savior so that we would know that He loves us!

Voice 1: The Fourth Candle of Advent is the Candle of Love.

Its light reminds us of the love that God had for us!

John 3:16
For God so loved the world
that He gave His only Son…

Voice 2: Jesus shows us God’s perfect love… He is God’s love in human form.

Voice 3: Love is patient… Love is kind and envies no one.Love is never boastful or conceited, rude or selfish. Love is not quick to take offense, it keeps no record of wrongs, it does not gloat over other people’s troubles but rejoices in the right, the
good, and the true. There is nothing that love cannot face; there is no limit to its
faith…to its hope…Love never fails!

Voice 4: We light this candle today to remind us of
how God’s perfect love is found in Jesus.

~Light the Three Purple Candles,
And the One Rose Candle~

Prayer:
Loving God,
We thank You for your love!
Thank you for Jesus.
Help us to receive the Gift of Your son.
Help us to be worthy of that love
by loving others in Your name.
Amen.

Hymn:
Love Came Down at Christmas

~Extinguish Candles~

Third Sunday of Advent: Liturgy

Today is the Third Sunday of Advent

We Light the Third Candle:The Rose Candle(pink)

Today is also known as “White Gift Sunday.”

White Gift Sunday dates back to 1904 in Ohio. It was the idea of the wife of a Methodist minister and her two daughters. Borrowing from a Chinese tradition
in which the people gave their king gifts wrapped in plain white paper so that every gift would look the same, the women created this day, the third Sunday of advent, as a day when parishioners could bring gifts to the church for others in the community who were in need. As with the Chinese tradition, the white paper allows for the ability for each person to be able to give what they are able, anonymously so that people who can only give a little will not be embarrassed.

The White Gift shares in the spirit of Christ and the God of love at Christmas. God loved us and gave the gift of His Son to us to show that love. In turn, we give gifts of love to people in need, throught the year and as Christmastime.

White Gift Sunday celebrates the stewardship of God’s love and giving at the time of year when we remember the coming of the King of Kings.

Advent Liturgy~

Voice 1: The Third Candle of Advent is the Candle of Joy. It reminds us of the joy that Mary felt when the angel, Gabriel told her that a special child would be born to her- a child who would save and deliver the world.

Voice 2: God wants us all to experience Joy!The angel who announced to the shepherds that Jesus had been born told them: “Fear Not! I bring you Good Tidings of Great Joy for all people. Unto you is born this day…A Savior …The Messiah!”

Voice 3: We light this candle to remember that Jesus brings gifts to us…
Sight for the blind…
Dancing for the crippled…
Freedom for captives…
Beauty for ashes…
Laughter for mourning…
Peace for despair…

Voice 4: We light this candle today to remind us that He brings Joy to all who trust in Him.

~Light the Two Purple Candles,And the One Rose Candle~

Prayer:
Loving God,
We thank You for the joy that you bring us.
Help us prepare for this gift.
Bless our Christmas preparations.
Fill us with your joy.
Help us to know how to bring Your joy to others.
Amen.

Scripture Reading:
Isaiah 61

Hymn:
Joy to the World!

~Extinguish Candles~

Second Sunday of Advent: An Easy to Do-at-Home Liturgy

Today, We Light the Second Candle:
It is "The Peace of Bethlehem Candle," and it is also purple.

It Symbolizes Peace

Prayer:

Loving God,
We Desperately need the Peace that you have promised.
We know that such peace is only found in Jesus.
Thank you for giving us Jesus.
Thank you for the peace you give us through Him.
Help us to prepare our hearts to receive Him.
Bless our hearts, soften our hearts,
Humble our lowly hearts as we receive your peace.
Amen.

~Light the Two Purple Candles~

Voice 1: The Second Candle of Advent is the “Candle of Peace”. It is sometimes called the “Bethlehem Candle” to remind us of the place and the preparations that were made to receive and cradle the Christ-child.

Voice 2: The Angels proclaimed: “Peace on Earth!” and announced God’s that God’s intention is to bestow peace upon us through the gift of His Son. Peace is a gift, and we must actively receive it. God gives us the gift of peace when we turn to Him in faith.

Voice 3: The prophet Isaiah calls Christ the “Prince of Peace.” Through John the Baptist and the other prophets, God asks us to prepare our hearts for the Christ-child’s coming. We are like Bethlehem… We decide whether out hearts will be like the Inn- no room…or like the lowly manger- humbly willing to house the King of Kings.

Voice 4: Our hope is in God and in His Son, Jesus Christ. Our peace is found in Him. We light this candle to remind us of the peace He brings us.

Prayer:

Loving God, thank you for the peace you give us in Jesus.
Thank you for preparing our hearts to receive Him.
As this Season of Advent continues, and throughout the year,
Continue to Bless and soften our hearts,that we might continue to Receive,
and then to Re-transmit Your Peace.
Help us to be Your Peace to a World that so desperately needs it.
We ask in the name of the One Born in Bethlehem…
Amen.

Hymn: Silent Night

~Extinguish Candles~

Liturgy for First Week of Advent 2011

First Candle: The Prophesy Candle (purple)~
Symbolizes hope and expectation.

We await all that the prophets promised would come to pass…

As our nights grow longer and our days grow short,
we look on these earthly signs-
light, and green branches-
and we remember God’s promise to our world~

Christ, Our Light and Our Hope, will come.

Hear the words of the Prophet Isaiah:

The people that walked in darkness
Have seen a great light;
On those who lived in a land as dark as death,
A light has dawned.
You have increased their joy
and given them gladness;
They rejoice in your presence
as those who rejoice at harvest.
Isaiah 9:1-2

Prayer:
Oh God~
Rejoicing, we remember the promise of your Son!
Shine your blessings upon us.
May Christ shine on us and brighten our way by guiding us in His truth.
Amen

Voice 1: Today we celebrate the first week of advent. We remember the hope we have in Jesus.

Voice 2: The prophets of Israel all spoke of the coming of The Christ…of how a Savior would be born…that He would be a King from the line of David. They spoke of how he would rule the world wisely and bless all nations.

Voice 3: As the followers of Jesus, we await His return. We light this candle to remember that as he came to us humbly in a manger at Bethlehem and gave light to the world, so He is coming again in power to deliver His people.

Voice 4: We light this candle to remind us to be alert and to watch for His return.

~Light the Candle~

Prayer:
Lord, thank you for coming!
As we wait for you…
as we celebrate this Holy Season-
Let us not lose our focus.
Help us to keep our eyes on You.
Help us to see You.
Amen

Hymn:
O Come, O Come- Emmanuel!

~Blow Out Candle~

What is Advent? A Video Tutorial

An Unusual Thanksgiving Prayer

Heavenly Father, it is the time of year when thoughts of
Thanksgiving, lights, feasting and merriment come to the fore…
But also a time in which…on the edges of our minds,
We cannot totally forget that in this world there is also
Bitterness, darkness, hunger and sadness…
We know these things are not of your powerful Kingdom…
They are of our impotent, yet harmful fiefdoms…
And though they are only temporary,
They are devastating for those who must endure them…even for a time.
It is at this time that we pray this prayer:

Our Father, who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name-
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,
On earth…as it is in heaven…

Our Father, we stop now, mid-recitation…
And we recognize that we’ve been saying the words without paying attention

to how provocative they are…
Without fully understanding how terribly devastating

those words might be if we prayed them in truth.
Help us to remember that these words…when prayed in earnest…
Mean that we are willing to give up our own fiefdoms in favor of

Your Kingdom…

We ask that you pour your Spirit into our hearts,

so that we might be awake to the words of this prayer.
That we might be fully aware of their implications…
That we would ask of ourselves these important questions:

“What would suddenly happen

if Thy Kingdom DID come…on earth?

What would happen to the things that I stand for…

that I throw myself into and live for daily?

Would those things stand or fall

in the face of this beautiful and devastating prayer?

Help us to recognize that to pray these words…
To actually mean these powerful words…Is to pray the Lion out of His cage…
Heavenly Father, we pray in earnest for you to answer this question of our perplexed hearts…

What would happen if those of us who enjoy

abundance, privilege and of power…
What would happen if we sincerely prayed and lived this prayer:
“THY kingdom come, THY will be done…?”

And now Dear Father, we return to your prayer~

Give us…
Forgive us…
Don’t test us…
Deliver us…
For the Kingdom, Power and Glory are yours, and Yours alone…

You are omnipotent and without you,

we are completely impotent…

without you we are nothing…
For it is only Your name…Father…that makes this prayer bearable.
Because it is only in the role of a

helpless child we can even bear to approach your throne…
Knowing if we ask you for bread-

you will not disappoint us by giving us a stone,
Knowing that when we ask that your heavenly kingdom be unleashed on earth

that it will be… So very, very good…

in fact, it will be so pleasant and so full of splendor, that…
Our desire to maintain our shabby fiefdoms will be no more.
And so we pray…

those of us who sit in positions of earthly abundance and authority…
We pray in Spirit and in Truth…We come to you as small children…
And we ask You to make us the conduits of your Kingdom here on earth…

We pray: Thy Kingdom come…Thy will be done…

We pray the Lion out of His cage…AMEN!

Expecting the Unexpected

During the Advent season, we are in a state of expectation. We are waiting, longing, and looking forward to the arrival. But how that plays out over the period of a fortnight or so is as individual as it is intriguing.

The word “expecting” is an interesting one. It can be a verb: “I am expecting a package in the mail.” It can also used as a descriptor: “She is expecting.” (Similar to: “She is glowing.”)

When we link the idea of advent and expectation, what immediately comes to mind is how a pregnant Mary must have felt…what she thought…how she dreamed and planned…

We get a glimpse of that when we read her words in Luke 1:46-55~

46 And Mary said,
"My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
50 His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
52 He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
53 he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
55 according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever."

It is clear from these words, exclaimed in response to the angel Gabriel’s declaration that she would bear the Messiah, that she fully expected the babe in her womb to very literally overthrow the Roman occupiers of Palestine. It is- I suspect- how any one of us would have reacted…what any one of us would have imagined. But as she watched the babe grow into a young man and a then a full-grown man, we can be sure that she developed a more knowledgeable and informed understanding of her son and a broader understanding of the full scope His mission to the entire world. We can see this process clearly developing in the next chapter of Luke, where we see Mary watching her twelve-year-old son ingeniously debate with the learned religious leaders in the temple. Observing his keen spiritual insight and maturity, she “kept all these things in her mind, pondering them in her heart.” (Luke 2:19) It is quite clear that her understanding and expectations of Him were being transformed. Observing what she did in the temple, she could not help but realize that God was preparing Jesus for so much more than what she had originally imagined.

And so it is with us. When we begin our walk with him, we have certain expectations of what Jesus will do, and how he will “show up” in our lives. But as our relationship with Jesus develops with time and intimacy, our expectations of how He “shows up” in our lives begins to expand and transform. We move from mere expectations of salvation, protection, and prosperity (very ‘me-centered’ expectations, if we are honest with ourselves about it) to expectations that are more Christ-centered.

An important question to ask ourselves (not only during the Advent season, might I add) is this:

“Jesus is Coming: What Do We Expect?”

Perhaps by emulating Mary’s approach, we will find our answer. Perhaps it is in the pondering.

This Advent season- I want to learn to ponder better. I want to be more responsive to what God is actually doing, and less reactive to what I think He should be doing. The gift that I pray for this Christmas is that God will fill me with His Holy Imagination, so that I will be able to see him more each day, and therefore be able to know what it is that he wants me to do. That I will be able to Imagine Beyond the Ordinary…Expect the Unexpected. I thank Him ahead of time for doing this…and more- because he is able to do immeasurably more than I could ever ask or imagine.

And I pray the same for you-I ask—ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory—to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him—endless energy, boundless strength! (Ephesians 1:18-19, The Message) Amen!

Copyright 2011. Tracy B. Dickerson©