Are We There Yet?

Advent Candle Reading for 01 December 2019 - “PEACE”

Today is the first Sunday of Advent, when we light the candles

in this wreath. With its circle form we are reminded that God is
eternal and everlasting...

...while the candles symbolize the light that came to the world
through Jesus, who shines through a darkened world.

(Read Isaiah 9:2-6)

Our Advent journey begins with rules of the road. We are on the
way to where God would have us be, and we’re not there yet.
But how shall we go? We shall go together, as one body, living
and trusting in one another. We shall go as this community of
faith, working side by side, and leaning into the grace of God
every step of the way. We shall go in peace.

Isaiah says that in days to come, the nations shall stream to the
mountain of the Lord, and there we will beat swords into
plowshares and spears into pruning hooks; there, we will learn
war no more. God will teach us peace.

We light this first candle to burn as sign of peace among all

people.

(Light one candle on the wreath.)

Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, that God may

teach us the ways of peace.

(Sing the response.)

From the Discipleship Ministries Resources

(https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/articles/advent-candle-lighting-liturgy-2019)
Are We There Yet?
Advent Candle Reading for 08 December 2019 - “HOPE”

Today is the second Sunday of Advent. Once again we gather

around this circle wreath, reminding us the God’s love never
ends and never changes; and we light these candles to symbolize
the light that came to the world through Jesus, who shines
through a darkened world.

We have lit this first candle as sign of peace among all people...
(Light one candle on the wreath.)

Let us now continue the journey of finding Christ...

(Read Isaiah 9:2-6)

Every journey faces the unknown. And anxiety can sometimes

overwhelm us. There is too much to do; our lists are long; our
calendars are filled up; we worry that something will go wrong,
or we won’t end up in the right place or take the right route.
Getting lost is a real possibility on a journey. And yet. We claim
hope for the journey, because we follow the one who will travel
with us and sustain us on the way.

Isaiah says that there is one who is to come who will be the
fulfillment of all our hope. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on
this one, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of
counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the
Lord. We place our hope in this one.

We light the candle of hope to give us strength for the journey.

(Light one candle on the wreath.)

Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, that God may

teach us the ways of peace and hope.
From the Discipleship Ministries Resources
(https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/articles/advent-candle-lighting-liturgy-2019)

Are We There Yet?

Advent Candle Reading for 15 December 2019 - “TRUST”

Today is the third Sunday of Advent, the season when we

celebrate and anticipate the coming of the Savior. Once again
we light these candles to symbolize the light that came to our
darkened world through Jesus, in a round-shaped wreath
reminding us that God’s grace and mercy is everlasting and
never-changing.

We have lit the candle of peace as a sign of God’s promise to his

people, and the candle of hope to give us strength for the
journey.
(Light two purple candles on the wreath.)

One thing we have learned on our Advent journey is that it is

better not to go alone. We live in a do-it-yourself culture that
celebrates the individual. But faith is not something that we can
do on our own. We need companions on the journey; we need
others to support us and strengthen us and encourage us. We put
our journey in the hands of many people around us; and
although it is a risk, we are better for it. We learn to trust that
someone has our back, as we make this journey of faith.

Matthew reminds us that when God chose to come to earth the

first time, God chose to trust in people to help make it happen.
God trusted in Mary, and God trusted in Joseph. In turn, we trust
in God to be faithful to the promise and to sustain us through
many others as we continue our journey of faith.

We now light the candle of trust to sustain us as we continue our

journey of faith in seeking Christ. (Light a purple candle on the
wreath.)

Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, that God may

 teach us the ways of peace, hope, and now trust.

From the Discipleship Ministries Resources

(https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/articles/advent-candle-lighting-liturgy-2019)

Are We There Yet?

Advent Candle Reading for 22 December 2019 - “JOY”

We gather once again to lights these candles, a symbolic

reminder of the light God has brought us through Jesus—a
beacon, a lighthouse, a spotlight—all directing us to God’s
grace and mercy.

We have lit the candle of peace to give us His purpose, the

candle of hope to give us His direction, and the candle of trust to
give us His strength. (Light all three purple candles on the
wreath.)

Sometimes on our journey, our feet get heavy, our shoulders feel
burdened, and our hearts seem slow. Sometimes in the
preparation, the busyness overwhelms us, and we get lost in the
doing and the planning and the running. And what we lose is a
sense of why. Why do we do all of this? Why is this journey
necessary? And the answer is simple: for the joy of it. We forget
the joy when we get caught up in the to-do lists. We forget the
joy when we worry more about how things look than connecting
with others.

Matthew tells us that when John asked if Jesus was the one to
come, Jesus responded by saying look around you. Our call in
this Advent journey is to look around us to see the one who
comes already at work among us and to celebrate that presence
with joy.

We now light the candle of joy, as our circle is complete.

(Light the pink candle on the wreath.)
 Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, that God may
teach us the ways of peace and hope and trust and joy.

From the Discipleship Ministries Resources

(https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/articles/advent-candle-lighting-liturgy-2019)

Are We There Yet?

Advent Candle Reading for 25 December 2019 - “LOVE”

RAIN We light these candles. It seems a simple thing, lighting a

candle, a quiet thing that I do alone, to provide something bright
in the midst of all my darkness. But it doesn’t make that much
difference. It doesn’t change the power of the night to bring
doubt and fear and separation. It doesn’t make the world a better
place, lighting a candle. Does it? (Light all colored candles.)

JEREMIE We light these candles. Because we have seen a light and we

believe increasing that light does make a difference in the world
around us. We light these candles because we want to be people
of the light, who know a God who loved the world so much, this
God chose to be born in a manger in the midst of the darkness.
We light these candles as a sign of the light of the world that is
coming into our darkness, and we sing with joy.

RAIN We have lit the candles of Peace, Hope, Joy and Trust as our
circle is complete, reminding us of our purpose, direction, and
strength to sustain us as we continue our journey of faith in
seeking Christ.

MIRA And we light the light of Love as the sign of Christ’s presence
among us, no matter how dark it may seem. (Light the white
candle.)

JEREMIE The people who have walked in darkness have seen a great light.
Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth let there be
Love.
From the Discipleship Ministries Resources
(https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/articles/advent-candle-lighting-liturgy-2019)