1st Scripture Reading – Isaiah 9:2 & 6
2 The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who lived in a land of deep darkness—
on them light has shined.
6 For a child has been born for us,
a son given to us;
authority rests upon his shoulders,
and he is named
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
2nd Scripture Reading – Luke 2:8-14
The Shepherds and the Angels
8 Now in that same region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their
flock by night. 9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone
around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for see, I
am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: 11
to you is born this day in the city of
David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign for you: you will find a child
wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.”
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a
multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”
Lighting the Advent Candle – Christmas Eve – Christ Candle
Reader 1: Tonight is the night for which we have been preparing, the night for which we have been
waiting.
Reader 2: To a people longing for hope and yearning for deliverance, the prophet Isaiah declared,
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep
darkness on them light has shined…For a child has been born for us, a son given to us;
authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:2, 6)
Reader 3: Tonight, we come seeking hope, peace, joy, and love, and we find these things in a child. God
made flesh as a baby in a manger. A baby who is both the beginning and the end of our salvation, who
dwells with us even now, our Emmanuel, God with us.
Congregation: We live as people in the in-between who celebrate the arrival of the Light that shines
in lost and broken places as we wait for the day when we will live in the fullness of God’s kin-dom.
Reader 4: We light these candles as signs of our shocking hope, our just peace, our fierce joy, the love
that transforms us, and Jesus Christ, our wondrous Light. May the Light burning in our hearts guide us,
comfort us, protect us, and tend us in all seasons and circumstances, reminding us that day and night,
in the light and in the darkness, God is with us. Our salvation has come! Amen.
Light all five candles of the Advent wreath.