A church’s liturgy is what its people do when they come together.  When Veritas gathers on Sunday mornings, we engage with God, embrace the Gospel, and encourage one another as God meets with us, shows us his grace, and builds us up as his people. During Advent the readings, prayers, and songs of our liturgy will focus on celebrating that Christ has come, as well as waiting for Christ to come again. We will sing some traditional Christmas carols as well as songs of waiting and longing.  We will also use some decorations in our gathering space that use traditional colors and textures associated with the waiting and hoping themes of Advent.

During our Liturgy and Pastoral Prayer we will spend some time longing and lamenting. To lament is to cry out to God in response to events that don’t line up with God’s character or Kingdom. In Advent, as we anticipate the day when all things will finally and fully line up with God’s character and Kingdom, we can be honest about the broken and unfinished nature of the world we live in. While lament is not the theme of Advent, it is one of the ways God invites us to engage with him when we are aware of the “already/not-yet” tension we live in.

There are many simple traditions people have used to remind them of the season we are in at home in addition to our Gatherings. Some people set an extra place at the dinner table to remind them that Jesus is not with us physically, though we wish he was. Some people have four advent candles, lighting an additional candle each week to show the light coming into the world, and the slow passage of time as we wait. Some people fast from dessert at certain meals to remind them that our celebration in this world is not complete. Some refrain from certain activities or entertainment that we tend to use when we are troubled or tired in order to enhance our feeling of longing.  Some read an Advent devotional or the first 25 chapters of “The Jesus Storybook Bible”.  There are many ways for us to creatively remember the unfinished story we are in, and build anticipation as we wait to celebrate together.

These web pages can be used in private worship for morning or evening prayer. Each week contains a single prayer liturgy for the week to aid us in receiving and praying our longings to God in hope. Reading and praying the same passages for a week can help us meditate deeper on the passages over the week along with our church family.

Throughout each liturgy, you will see some lines in bold text. These indicate lines which can said in a call and response when the liturgy is being read aloud in a group.

None of these practices are rules we must follow as Christians, but we think these practices can be helpful as we seek to follow Jesus as His church in this unfinished world we live in.  We are free to continue celebrating Christmas in the fun ways we’ve come to love, while also remembering the best is yet to come. Please be praying that during this Season of Advent our church would be built up, our faith made stronger, and our love for Jesus magnified for the world to see.

The Opening and Closing Candle Meditations are meant to be a helpful way to engage our bodies to be present with the Lord. During a busy time of year in an anxious age, it can be helpful to take some deep breaths and connect with something physical to help us acknowledge God meeting with us in this present moment.

Additionally, the candles help us wait by showing the slow passage of time. The meditations involve lighting the first candle during the First Week of Advent, lighting the first and second candles during the Second Week of Advent, and continuing on until lighting a fifth candle, called a Christ Candle during the Christmas season. The candles do not need to be anything fancy, although sometimes the Christ Candle can be slightly different from the others to stand out. Simply pick up some candles that fit your decor and add this in to your normal prayer routine at the beginning and the end.

There is a short meditation to say while lighting each candle, and you are encouraged to say it while lighting that candle each time, even when lighting additional candles. The meditation will get longer as the season progresses. Additionally, you are encouraged to extinguish the candles in the order you lit them.

If you have kids, they love candles, so incorporate them in lighting and extinguishing them. If needed, you can just do the candle meditations, or adapt the liturgy as necessary to fit your family’s stage of life.