During Advent we celebrate that God
comes to his people.
Jesus is the One-who-comes; Jesus is the
One-who-rules.
Jesus is the One-who-was-promised
Jesus is God-with-us
We worship him!
Glory to God in highest heaven and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased (Luke 2:14)
Let the glory of God shine!
Let the peace of God shine!
Let the light of Jesus shine!
ADVENT 4
Jesus: God-with-us
During Advent we celebrate that God comes to his people.
Jesus is the One-who-comes;
Jesus is the One-who-rules.
Jesus is the One-who-was-promised
Jesus is God-with-us We worship him!
Jesus shines as God-with-us.
Let the light shine’
ADVENT 2
Jesus: the Ruling One
During Advent we celebrate that God comes to his people.
Jesus is the One-who-comes;
Jesus is the One-who-rules.
We worship him!
Jesus shines as the One-who-rules.
Let the light shine!
ADVENT 1
Jesus: the Coming One
During Advent we celebrate that God comes to his people.
Jesus is the One-who-comes.
We worship him! (The first candle is lit.)
Jesus shines as the One-who-comes.
Let the light shine!
From light comes life.
Deep in expectant earth, a seed stretches.
Through the fire-start of imagination, an idea takes root.
In a passionate flash, love glows with infant intensity.
Safe in the womb, a child senses its season turning and stirs.
It is Advent, something coming, vulnerable in its unstoppable desire…
God, unquenchable light, may they grow – the seed, the love, the idea, the child.
Let your light shine. Let your spirit soar. Throw open your mind. Hand over your heart. Here it comes – love. It shines in the darkness. It sings in the shadows. It will not cower and cannot be contained.
It was the hope of the saints, the call of the prophets. It was the fire in the belly of the Baptist and the courage of Mother Mary.
Lamp in the window, beacon on the hill, star in the night sky. Love, you lead us home.
On this fourth Sunday of Advent, we light a candle for love.
We light a candle for love. May it light the way.
A Story to Challenge and inspire
Fourth Sunday
Celebrating Jesus, the light who came into the world, many of us fill our homes at Christmas with light and laughter, family and friends. But for millions who are fleeing from conflict, a joyful home is a distant memory at best. As we celebrate the light of the world, we remember those surrounded by darkness, and pray that our candle will light the way.
From light comes life.
Deep in expectant earth, a seed stretches.
Through the re-start of imagination, an idea takes root.
In a passionate ash, love glows with infant intensity.
Safe in the womb, a child senses its season turning and stirs.
It is Advent, something coming, vulnerable in its unstoppable desire…
God, unquenchable light, may they grow – the seed, the love, the idea, the child.
Uncontainable, irrepressible, bubbling up in an explosion of energy.
What the weary long for, what our children often embody, what makes the Divine smile – joy.
It cannot be paid for, but is a priceless treasure.
As we hope for your arrival, as we pray for peace in your living, as we wait
and watch and wonder how you might reveal yourself to us, God give us joy in your Advent.
Joy is not a commodity that can be bought or sold, but lives deep in the human spirit. Help us to hear that
truth and believe it. Let go of what
our consumer culture says will bring us happiness – money, success, a scramble to the top that leaves us
at. If we have robbed others of what they need in our clamour and quest
for more than our fair share, forgive us. Help us hear the call of John the Baptist to turn around and begin again. God of love, we were made in joy.
May we live that way.
We light a candle for joy. May it light the way.
From light comes life.
Deep in expectant earth, a seed stretches.
Through the fire-start of imagination, an idea takes root.
In a passionate flash, love glows with infant intensity.
Safe in the womb, a child senses its season turning and stirs.
It is Advent, something coming, vulnerable in its unstoppable desire…
God, unquenchable light, may they grow – the seed, the love, the idea, the child.
In the settle and stir of a burnt-orange sunrise, in the lilting laughter around
a table full of friends, in the flash of clarity that turns on the light of
insight and leads us towards wisdom, we find the peace that passes all
understanding.
But there are things we need to understand. Help us hear you in the
stories of those who struggle. Peace is what the prophets foretold.
Peace is what is sacrificed when profit takes precedence.
We light a candle for peace and pray for the courage to stand up for it.
In this second week of Advent, as the waiting and expectation heighten,
deepen our desire for peace. Like the wise called to journey in
those early dawning days, may we seek, strive, search for peace. Like the
prophets old and new, may we cry out for its coming.
We light a candle for peace. May it light the way.
From light comes life.
Deep in expectant earth, a seed stretches.
Through the fire-start of imagination, an idea takes root.
In a passionate flash, love glows with infant intensity.
Safe in the womb, a child senses its season turning and stirs.
It is Advent, something coming, vulnerable in its unstoppable desire…
God, unquenchable light, may they grow – the seed, the love, the idea, the child.
As winter days dim and bow to early darkness, you, God of light, set watch
in the night sky and beckon the wise to follow.
When hope hangs low in the human heart, you, loving creator, kindle
compassion, breathing life into the early embers of change and empathy.
We light a candle for hope, sending prayers high into the inky heavens and
dreams deep into the human soul.
As Advent dawns, God of all hope, shine your light on the story of the
saints who journeyed before us. May the seeds they planted in the world
– peace, joy, love – take hold in our hearts and stretch towards the light.
We light a candle for hope. May it light the way.
