Happy Advent Sunday! It’s Week Three of Advent. Advent begins the Countdown to Christmas Eve and the arrival of our Lord Jesus.
To celebrate, each Advent Sunday we read scripture and Bible verses, bake something to go with it and do our Advent candles. A sweet friend has shared these scriptures and prayers with us and I am sharing them with you.
Here’s a quick overview:
Sunday 3 — Joy: Shepherd’s Candle (pink)
Sunday 4 — Love: Angel’s Candle (purple)
Christmas Eve — Christ’s Candle (white)
Let’s get started!
Sunday 3 — Joy: Shepherd’s Candle – pink
The Candle of Joy
Joy is like a light shining in a dark place. As we look at this candle we celebrate the joy we find in Jesus Christ. The word joy is in the Bible 110 times!
The third Sunday of Advent we are invited to reflect on the joy we have access to because of our faith in Jesus. One of the defining characteristics of Christ-followers is their joyful demeanor. Let’s not allow the struggles of this year steal from the great joy we have because of Jesus.
Philippians 4:4-5 says, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.”
There is so much comfort to be found in the practice of pausing to read, pray, and reflect over the course of the Advent season. Believers are eagerly anticipating the celebration of Christ’s birth. The third Sunday of Advent gives us the opportunity to prepare in our hearts a sense of holy anticipation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus as well as for his promised second coming. We can study the Scriptures as a reminder of the ways God has been faithful to us through the fulfillment of prophecy—and find joy in the promises of God that are laid out in his Word.
Today’s Song is: O Night Divine/Oh Holy Night and Joy to the World
Today’s Food is: Cookies! We eat cookies because between 2nd Advent Sunday and 3rd Advent Sunday, we generally bake cookies! Today’s cookie is a Cereal Wreath Treat.
Cereal Wreath Treat: Melt 2 tbsp butter with 2 cups marshmallows and 1 tsp vanilla. Once melted, mix well and add about 3 cups of any cereal you like. We are using bran flakes. Add a sprinkle of mini M&Ms. shape into wreaths. Press a few more M&Ms onto the top. Let set. You can use green dye if you like.
Today’s Prayer: Lord, the good news of Jesus’ arrival brings such joy to our world! Reach those who are lost and searching with the message of hope that we have through the Messiah. God, allow your message of peace to bring comfort to our anxious world. As we all go about the holiday season, let the message of great joy pierce through all the noise and into people’s hearts. Amen.
Making Candles – The Candle of Joy
First, melt wax in hot water. We are using a soy-paraffin wax blend. We are using our leftover wax from last year. I put quite a bit of water in my large pot I use for soap making. Place wax in and let it melt. Do not boil because the wax will foam and it’ll have to be skimmed which is simply wasting wax. Once wax is melted, turn the burner off. It’ll stay hot for a while.
We are using leftover pink wax from last year and I will add half a pink crayon to make our candles a bit more pink.
Now that the wax is melting, cut the wick to the desired length. We cut the wick at 8”.
Once the wax has melted, turn off the burner. It’ll stay hot for a while. It’s now time to dip. Dip the wick into the wax, leaving the top half inch not dipped (so we will be able to light the candle), then dip into cold water. Straighten the wick with your fingers, lightly squeezing excess water out, then dip into the wax and repeat. Dip into wax, dunk into water and straighten. Continue until you get the desired size of candle you want.
Once you are done, leave the wax cool. You’ll be able to lift the wax out the water – let cool completely before putting it away. If you did not melt too much wax, you can make extra candles until the wax is done. We will save the excess wax for another year.
Lighting our Candles
We attached the Joy candle using wax that’s meant to attach candles to their holders. It’s pliable and you warm it in your hands before attaching it. It actually works quite well!
Here are our Advent Wreaths lit:
Today’s Joy Scripture comes from, Matthew 2:1-12
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east, came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
“‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
Today’s Bible Verses:
Isaiah 35:1-6
Luke 2:10-11
Psalm 146:6-10
James 5:7-10
And that’s the 3rd Sunday of Advent. We especially enjoy this time of year. We take time to focus on the Lord’s light, slow down a bit, re-direct our focus to God and the birth of Jesus, reflect on the past year, let go of things that simply do not matter and remember what is truly important.
enjoy from Our City Homestead to yours