Union Lutheran Church – Salisbury, NC

Advent Litany   

1. Praise be to your God!
2. For He has done marvelous things.
3. He promised to send His Son, Jesus.
4. We wait and anticipate His coming anew!

Today we continue in  the Season of Advent. The color is blue and is symbolic of hope. The first  candle is called THE PROPHECY CANDLE. The SECOND CANDLE IS CALL THE BETHLEHEM CANDLE.  THE THIRD CANDLE IS CALLED THE SHEPHERD’S CANDLE . TODAY WE LIGHT THE FOURTH CANDLE WHICH IS CALLED THE ANGEL’S CANDLE. It IS THE TIME WHEN THE ANGEL Gabriel announced to Mary that she would give birth to the Son of God and name Him Jesus.

 We read from Luke 1:26-31

          ²⁶Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, ²⁷to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!” ²⁹But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. ³⁰Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. ³¹“And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus.

WE NOW LIGHT THE ANGELS’S CANDLE AND WE SING
VERSE 1through 4 OF “LIGHT ONE CANDLE’ IN WOV 630

Advent Litany 

1. Praise be to your God!
2. For He has done marvelous things.
3. He promised to send His Son, Jesus.
4. We wait and anticipate His coming anew!

 Today we continue in the Season of Advent. The color is blue and is symbolic of hope. The first candle is called THE PROPHECY CANDLE. The SECOND CANDLE IS CALL THE BETHLEHEM CANDLE.      THE THIRD CANDLE IS CALLED THE SHEPHERD’S CANDLE It leads us back to the Old Testament prophet Ezekiel who told the Jews who had been in captivity for 70 years that they would be led home to Judah. God’s Great Shepherd would bring them home.  Many years later Jesus would give Himself the title “The Good Shepherd.

 ¹¹‘For thus says the Lord God: “Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. ¹²“As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so will I seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day. ¹³“And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land; I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the valleys and in all the inhabited places of the country. ¹⁴“I will feed them in good pasture, and their fold shall be on the high mountains of Israel. There they shall lie down in a good fold and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. ¹⁵“I will feed My flock, and I will make them lie down,” says the Lord God. ¹⁶“I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick; but I will destroy the fat and the strong, and feed them in judgment.”

WE NOW LIGHT THE SHEPHERD’S  CANDLE AND WE SING
VERSE 1,2 and 3 OF “LIGHT ONE CANDLE’ IN WOV 630

Advent Litany 

1. Praise be to your God!
2. For He has done marvelous things.
3. He promised to send His Son, Jesus.
4. We wait and anticipate His coming anew!

 Today we continue in the Season of Advent. The color is blue and is symbolic of hope. The first candle is called THE PROPHECY CANDLE. The SECOND CANDLE IS CALLED THE BETHLEHEM CANDLE.  It leads us back to the Old Testament prophet Micah who told where the Messiah would be born in the little town of Bethlehem. Micah prophesied in the latter part f the 8^th century.

We read Micah 5:2-4

²     “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, (F-RA-THA)

Though you are little among the thousands of Judah,

Yet out of you shall come forth to Me

The One to be Ruler in Israel,

Whose goings forth are from of old,

From everlasting.”

³              Therefore He shall give them up,

Until the time that she who is in labor has given birth;

Then the remnant of His brethren

Shall return to the children of Israel.

⁴              And He shall stand and feed His flock

In the strength of the Lord,

In the majesty of the name of the Lord His God.

WE NOW LIGHT THE BETHLEHEM CANDLE AND WE SING

VERSES 1 and 2 OF  “LIGHT ONE CANDLE’ IN WOV 630

Advent Litany 

1. Praise be to your God!
2. For He has done marvelous things.
3. He promised to send His Son, Jesus.
4. We wait and anticipate His coming anew!

 Today we begin the Season of Advent. The color is blue and is symbolic of hope. The fist candle is called THE PROPHECY CANDLE.         It leads us back to the Old Testament prophet Isaiah who told of the coming of the Messiah 800 years before Jesus was born. We read from Isaiah 9:2-7

²      The people who walked in darkness

Have seen a great light;

Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death,

Upon them a light has shined.

³              You have multiplied the nation

And increased its joy;

They rejoice before You

According to the joy of harvest,

As men rejoice when they divide the spoil.

⁴     For You have broken the yoke of his burden

And the staff of his shoulder,

The rod of his oppressor,

As in the day of Midian.

 ⁵      For every warrior’s sandal from the noisy battle,

And garments rolled in blood,

Will be used for burning and fuel of fire.

 ⁶      For unto us a Child is born,

Unto us a Son is given;

And the government will be upon His shoulder.

And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

 ⁷     Of the increase of His government and peace

There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,

To order it and establish it with judgment and justice

From that time forward, even forever.

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

WE NOW LIGHT THE PROPHECY CANDLE AND WE SING

VERSE 1 OF  “LIGHT ONE CANDLE’ IN WOV 630

Advent is a season observed in many Christian churches as a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas as well as the return of Jesus at the second coming. The term “Advent” is a version of the Latin word meaning “coming”.

The Advent Wreath

The Advent wreath first appeared in Germany in 1839. A Lutheran minister working at a mission for children created a wreath out of the wheel of a cart. He placed twenty small red candles and four large white candles inside the ring. The red candles were lit on weekdays and the four white candles were lit on Sundays.

Eventually, the Advent wreath was created out of evergreens, symbolizing everlasting life in the midst of winter and death. The circle reminds us of God’s unending love and the eternal life He makes possible. Advent candles are often nestled in the evergreen wreath. Additional decorations, like holly and berries, are sometimes added. Their red color points ahead to Jesus’ sacrifice and death. Pinecones can symbolize the new life that Jesus brings through His resurrection. Families begin lighting a candle on the fourth Sunday before Christmas, and they light another candle each subsequent Sunday. *

At Union Lutheran we use the color blue for both the cloth paraments on the altar, lectern and pulpit. The four candles are also blue and the color blue represents “hope”. Our hope is in the coming One – Jesus Christ our Lord.

* https://www.crosswalk.com/special-coverage/christmas-and-advent/advent-wreath-candles-understanding-the-meaning-history-tradition.html

Our Advent Wreath Lighting Families

12/2   First Sunday in Advent – The Prophecy Candle – The Dusty Morgan Family
12/9   Second Sunday in Advent – The Bethlehem Candle – The Luther John Lyerly Family
12/16 Third Sunday in Advent – The Shepherd Candle – The Matt Miller Family
12/23   Fourth Sunday in Advent – The Angels Candle – The Pete Nguyen Family