Voice 1 - Our second Advent candle is the FAITH candle. It is also called the Bethlehem candle, as it recalls God’s appointed place in which the promised Messiah would be born. God’s plan is unfolding as Mary and Joseph leave their home in Nazareth and make the long journey to Bethlehem.
Voice 2 - Our circle of light will grow brighter as we remember the words spoken about Bethlehem by the prophet Micah, 700 years before Jesus’ birth:
“Out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from old, from ancient days.”
Voice 3 – Mary and Joseph made the long, arduous journey to Bethlehem, because they were descendants of King David, whose hometown was Bethlehem. They were required to go there in person to be counted for the census. In God’s amazing providence, the end of Mary’s pregnancy coincided with the timing of the census. And so the prophecy was fulfilled that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem.
Voice 4 – Believing that Jesus is the promised Messiah is the basis of our faith, and this is the truth: “without faith it is impossible to please God.”
Voice 1 –The Messiah himself descended from a long line of heroes of faith:
By faith Noah built an ark in the dessert where it had never rained, and
his family was saved from the flood.
By faith Abraham left his country, home, and family to follow God to a
new homeland.
By faith Moses led God’s people out of slavery in Egypt to the shores of the
Promised Land.
Voice 2 – Hundreds of years later, by faith, a young peasant girl named Mary believed the angel who told her: “You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High.” She was willing to suffer public humiliation, because she believed that “nothing is impossible with God.”
Voice 3 - As we light this Advent candle, let us remember the heroes of faith who have gone before us. May we also be heroes of faith, lighting the path for those who will come after us, so the Good News will be lived and proclaimed until Jesus comes again in glory.
(Light purple candles 1 and 2.)
Voice 4 – We have lit this candle to remind us that “faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
LET US PRAY: Jesus, you are the author and perfecter of our faith. Shine your light into our hearts to illuminate the truth that is more real than anything we can see, or hear, or taste, or touch, or smell. Give us the heart to be faithful followers of the One who is always faithful. Amen.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment