Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Advent 2013

Every Sunday night during Advent my family lights the Advent wreath and listens to Christmas music. A pretty simple tradition, and one I always looked forward to, even as a child. A couple years ago, I researched the meaning of the candles and discovered that in churches that celebrate the "church year," each week of Advent has a different theme. It begins with hope for Christ's coming, then proceeds to peace at the promise of His imminent arrival, joy at His appearing, and love for Him for eternity. This year, with my parents' permission, I embellished our normal Sunday evenings with Scriptures that we took turns reading, and I carefully selected playlists of Christmas songs that best fit the night's theme. It wasn't a perfect program, but here's what we actually did. I already have a lot of ideas for next year!

Advent Week 1 : Prophecy/Hope

Songs for the first week of Advent are hard to find. A lot of Christmas carols actually proceed through the entire story from Old Testament prophecy to the joy of Jesus' birth. That's good because the Messiah has come; as a Christian it's hard to write a song about the waiting and leave it at that. So a lot of the songs I picked, even if they tell the whole story, celebrate how Jesus fulfilled the prophecy. I also included some worship songs that make us consider how much we need God and how our Messiah is going to return for us one more time, and are still beautiful enough to blend in with the "real" Christmas music.

Advent Worship Songs and Carols, Week 1













 
Advent Scripture Readings, Week 1

Genesis 3:14,15 The first promise of a Messiah

Genesis 26:2-5 The Messiah a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

Genesis 49:8-11 The Messiah a descendant of Judah

Exodus 12:21-27 The Passover Lamb

2 Samuel 7:10-16 The Messiah a descendant of David

Isaiah 40:3-5 A voice crying out, John the Baptist

Micah 5:2 The Messiah to be born in Bethlehem

Isaiah 7:14 The virgin birth

Hosea 11:1 Coming out of Egypt

Isaiah 9:1-7 The Messiah to be from Galilee, and the famous passage including His beautiful Names

Isaiah 11:1-5 The Righteous Judge

Isaiah 61:1-3 The Messiah's ministry

Isaiah 53:3-12 The Messiah's death

Isaiah 59:16-20 The Redeemer
 
Advent Week 2: Preparation for Christ/ Peace

This is when God finally revealed to people that it was the time for the Christ to arrive. We have peace because we realize that God kept His promises before, and He will again. We don't know when He will return. He's right outside the door! I chose songs that Mary and Joseph and we today can all identify with. And songs that repeat the word "peace" enough times. *grin*

Advent Worship Songs and Carols, Week 2
 









Advent Scripture Readings, Week 2
 
Luke 1:5-79

Matthew 1:18-25

2 Peter 3:13-15a

 Ephesians 2:11-16

Romans 5:1

Advent Week 3: Jesus' Birth/ Joy

Jesus is born! We have a Savior! We can celebrate because we know everything will be made right!
Almost any song written as a "Christmas" song is fitting, but I listed a few of the obvious ones below. We listened to these on CDs that my family has, so I didn't make a playlist this time.

Advent Worship Songs and Carols, Week 3
 
Joy to the World

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

Angels We Have Heard on High

Good Christian Men Rejoice

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

Go Tell It on the Mountain

Anthem for Christmas- Michael W. Smith
 
Advent Scripture Readings, Week 3
 
Luke 2:1-7

Luke 2:8-14

Luke 2:15-20

Luke 2:21-27

Luke 2:28-33

Luke 2:34-39
 
Advent Week 4: Life with Christ/ Love

This is when we give Christ our adoration and our lives.
 
Advent Worship Songs and Carols, Week 4
 
We listened to Michael O'Brien's album Christ` Mas, so I didn't try too hard to find songs.
 
Advent Scripture Readings, Week 4
 
Matthew 2
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