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Advent Candle Lighting Liturgy + Music for 2020

Submitted by Bethany on Tue, 11/10/2020 - 10:00

The year 2020 has been...shall we say, unexpected.

Advent and Christmas this year are going to be different, but this time of celebration in the church is needed now, more than ever. I am writing an Advent series based on the theme put forth by the Methodist Church in Britain this year - God Is With Us. Their social media campaign will focus on sharing stories from people who have felt the presence of God throughout this difficult year. My accompanying worship series will focus on the idea of God With Us paired with the traditional Advent themes of Hope, Peace, Joy and Love. 

I couldn't find any Advent Candle lighting liturgy that matched my theme well enough, so I wrote my own! Each week is based on the Psalm from the lectionary for the week. I also wrote my own words that can be sung to the tune "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel." The song is designed to be sung progressively each week, with all of the verses sung together on Christmas Eve/Day. 

If this liturgy would be helpful in your own church context, please feel free to use it! I would appreciate credit. Thank you!

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ADVENT 1 - HOPE (Based on Psalm 80)

We light our first Advent candle, a symbol of Hope.
Light first candle

Like a single candle lit in the darkness,
hope can sometimes be a fragile, flickering thing…
Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved.
In a world that sometimes feels like there is no hope,
in a year that sometimes feels like all hope has been lost,
stir up your might, O God, and come to save us!
Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved.
God, we trust that you are with us,
fanning our flicker of hope into a flame that can light up the whole world.
Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved.
Let us never turn away from you,
let us proclaim the truth to the ends of the earth,
we have hope because God is with us!
Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved.

Sing verse 1 of modified “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” (StF 180/H&P 85)

O come, O Come, Emmanuel
Help us our story of hope to tell
Into the darkness of the night
A child will come to bring eternal light
     Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel…
     Our story to the world, we will tell.

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ADVENT 2 - PEACE (Based on Psalm 85)

We light our first Advent candle, a symbol of Hope.
Light first candle

We light our second Advent candle, a symbol of Peace.
Light second candle

Like a second candle lit in the darkness,
peace can sometimes be found in the small, still moments, if we pause and listen.
Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people.
In a world that often feels chaotic,
in a year when every single aspect of our lives has been upended,
God, we long to feel your peace.
Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people.
God, we trust that you are with us,
sowing peace among your people,
even when it seems out of reach.
Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people.
Let us be faithful and turn to you in our hearts,
let us proclaim the truth to the ends of the earth,
we have peace because God is with us!
Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people.

Sing verses 1-2 of modified “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” (StF 180/H&P 85)

O come, O Come, Emmanuel
Help us our story of hope to tell
Into the darkness of the night
A child will come to bring eternal light
     Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel…
     Our story to the world, we will tell.

O come, O Come, Emmanuel
Help us our story of peace to tell
Into the chaos of the night
A child will come to save us from our plight
     Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel…
    Our story to the world, we will tell.

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ADVENT 3 - JOY (Based on Psalm 126)

We light our first Advent candle, a symbol of Hope.
Light first candle

We light our second Advent candle, a symbol of Peace.
Light second candle

We light our third Advent candle, a symbol of Joy.
Light third candle

Like a third candle lit in the darkness,
joy shines brighter and brighter, and dances in the wind.
The Lord has done great things for us, and we rejoiced.
In a world that sometimes feels devoid of joy,
in a year when we have missed out on expected, routine joys,
God, help us to find the joy in the unexpected, in the disruption, in the silver linings.
The Lord has done great things for us, and we rejoiced.
God, we trust that you are with us,
and that those who sow in tears will reap with shouts of joy.
The Lord has done great things for us, and we rejoiced.
Let our mouths be filled with laughter and our tongues with shouts of joy,
let us proclaim the truth to the ends of the earth,
we have joy because God is with us!
The Lord has done great things for us, and we rejoiced.

Sing verses 1-3 of modified “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” (StF 180/H&P 85)

O come, O Come, Emmanuel
Help us our story of hope to tell
Into the darkness of the night
A child will come to bring eternal light
     Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel…
     Our story to the world, we will tell.

O come, O Come, Emmanuel
Help us our story of peace to tell
Into the chaos of the night
A child will come to save us from our plight
     Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel…
    Our story to the world, we will tell.

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
Help us our story of joy to tell
Into the sadness of the night
A child will come with joy burning bright
     Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel…
     Our story to the world, we will tell.

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ADVENT 4 - LOVE (Based on Psalm 89)

We light our first Advent candle, a symbol of Hope.
Light first candle

We light our second Advent candle, a symbol of Peace.
Light second candle

We light our third Advent candle, a symbol of Joy.
Light third candle

We light our fourth Advent candle, a symbol of Love.
Light fourth candle

Like a fourth candle lit in the darkness,
Love increases the more it is shared.
I will sing of your steadfast love, O Lord, forever.
In a world where love can sometimes be seen as weakness, and hatred as strength,
in a year when we have felt far away from those we love,
God, remind us that your steadfast love is established forever.
I will sing of your steadfast love, O Lord, forever.
God, we trust that you are with us,
That your faithful love is as firm as the heavens.
I will sing of your steadfast love, O Lord, forever.
Let our mouths proclaim your faithfulness to all generations,
let us proclaim the truth to the ends of the earth,
we have love because God is with us!
I will sing of your steadfast love, O Lord, forever.

Sing verses 1-4 of modified “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” (StF 180/H&P 85)

O come, O Come, Emmanuel
Help us our story of hope to tell
Into the darkness of the night
A child will come to bring eternal light
     Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel…
     Our story to the world, we will tell.

O come, O Come, Emmanuel
Help us our story of peace to tell
Into the chaos of the night
A child will come to save us from our plight
     Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel…
    Our story to the world, we will tell.

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
Help us our story of joy to tell
Into the sadness of the night
A child will come with joy burning bright
     Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel…
     Our story to the world, we will tell.

O Come, O come, Emmanuel
Help us our story of love to tell
Into the hatred of the night
A child will come with love from greatest height
     Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel…
     Our story to the world, we will tell. 

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CHRISTMAS EVE - God Is With Us (Based on Psalm 96)

We light our first Advent candle, a symbol of Hope.
Light first candle

We light our second Advent candle, a symbol of Peace.
Light second candle

We light our third Advent candle, a symbol of Joy.
Light third candle

We light our fourth Advent candle, a symbol of Love.
Light fourth candle

We light our Christ candle, a symbol of the long awaited birth of Jesus.
Light Christ candle

Now all the candles shine forth in the darkness,
for hope, peace, joy and love have come to us in the birth of the Christ child.
Let the heavens be glad, let the earth rejoice!
In a world that often forgets the true reason for this celebration,
in a year when we need this celebration now more than ever,
let us say among the nations, “The Lord is King! The world is firmly established; it shall never be moved.”
Let the heavens be glad, let the earth rejoice!
God, we trust that you are with us,
for great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised.
Let the heavens be glad, let the earth rejoice!
Let us declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples,
let us sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord all the earth,
and tell of his salvation from day to day.
Let the heavens be glad, let the earth rejoice!

Sing all verses of modified “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” (StF 180/H&P 85)

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CHRISTMAS DAY - God is With Us (Based on Psalm 98)

We light our first candle, a symbol of Hope.
Light first candle

We light our second candle, a symbol of Peace.
Light second candle

We light our third candle, a symbol of Joy.
Light third candle

We light our fourth candle, a symbol of Love.
Light fourth candle

We light our Christ candle, a symbol of the long-awaited birth of Jesus.
Light Christ candle

With trumpets and the sound of the horn, make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord.
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and all who live in it.
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
Let the floods clap their hands; let the hills sing together for joy at the presence of the Lord.
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
For born this happy morning is Christ our King, come to dwell among us, God with us, Emmanuel.
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!

Sing all verses of modified “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” (StF 180/H&P 85)

O come, O Come, Emmanuel
Help us our story of hope to tell
Into the darkness of the night
A child will come to bring eternal light
     Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel…
     Our story to the world, we will tell.

O come, O Come, Emmanuel
Help us our story of peace to tell
Into the chaos of the night
A child will come to save us from our plight
     Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel…
    Our story to the world, we will tell.

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
Help us our story of joy to tell
Into the sadness of the night
A child will come with joy burning bright
     Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel…
     Our story to the world, we will tell.

O Come, O come, Emmanuel
Help us our story of love to tell
Into the hatred of the night
A child will come with love from greatest height
     Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel…
     Our story to the world, we will tell. 

O come, O Come, Emmanuel
Help us our story of Christ to tell
With hope, peace, joy and love come to earth,
Your kingdom come with Jesus’ birth
     Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel…
     Our story to the world, we will tell.