The Season of Advent is upon us and several people have already been asking me about resources for celebrating Advent at home. Rather than churn out a bunch of papers this year I thought I would post links and resources here which people can follow and download as they would like.
The first link is to another Anglican Church's site where you can download an excellent little service booklet for a family Advent wreath lighting service to be used at home before or after the evening meal. All the prayers as well as the recommended readings come out of the Book of Common Prayer. They have just been neatly arranged here for ease of use. There are some other ideas in this same booklet, such as the Jesse Tree which families or individuals may find helpful or interesting.
This year the theme we will be exploring at Christ Our Hope is Welcoming the Word. In this theme we recognize that Advent not only prepares us to welcome Christ when he comes among us in Glory on that Last Day, but that we can also prepare our hearts and welcome Him today as he comes to us in the Power of His Spirit, through the Word of God written to us in the Scriptures. With that theme in mind I have a few other ideas for personal Scripture reading during this season.
First, for those who feel they only have time to read perhaps one chapter of Scripture a day: If you begin reading Matthew's gospel, one chapter a day beginning on the first Sunday of Advent; and if you read two chapters on the weekends starting the second week of Advent, then you will finish reading Christmas Eve. As we prepare to celebrate Christ's incarnation this may be a helpful discipline for reminding us of the purposes for which our Lord came.
Or, if you feel a little more ambitious about what you can read in this season you may wish to follow the reading schedule from the Daily Office lectionary in the Book of Common Prayer. (I may post a document on using the Daily Office as a framework for personal reading and worship in a later post). This schedule will get you reading an Old Testament lesson, one or more Psalms, an Epistle and a Gospel reading each day.
Whatever disciplines you choose as an individual or a family this season, my prayer is that you will be blessed as you focus in and Welcome Christ, the Living Word as He comes among us in fresh ways this Advent Season.
