Advent ideas

I'm very grateful to Neil Thorogood of Westminster College for his ideas about Advent
downloadable here, along with a whole host of ideas from the wonderful Westminster staff.

I've decided to have a theme running through Advent: "The Gifts God can't wait to give". (Yes, I also owe inspiration to the John Lewis ad here - if you haven't seen it
(It still makes me cry when I watch - I think its beautifully filmed & a lovely sound track).

So, each Sunday of Advent I will pull out of my modified John Lewis bag (modified to read 'God's Advent - for gifts God can't wait to give) a symbol of the Advent theme for that week, as an intro into the sermon. This means I now need to sit down and decide what my theme will be for each week of Advent - but when I've done it, it could take a lot of the heat out of preparing worship for the next 5 weeks! So here's the outline:

Advent 1 Theme = hope
Isaiah 64:1-9
Mark 13:24-37
‘The day of the Lord – who comes’
Object: a candle to light (hope in the darkness – you could use this to then light the Advent candle)

Advent 2 Theme = God’s Word
Isaiah 40:1-11
Mark 1:1-8
‘The voice that calls out ‘prepare’
Objects could be: Bible

Advent 3 Theme = John the Baptist
Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11
John 1:6-8,19-28
‘The forerunner of the Messiah’
Objects could be: font (or a tap!)

Advent 4 Theme = Mary
2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16
Luke 1:26-38
‘God decides how he will be ‘housed’ in this world’
Objects could be: baby clothes or a baby photo

Christmas Day Theme = the birth
Isaiah 9:2-7
Luke 2:1-14
‘God with us’
Object: a crown (to help focus upon all that Jesus is);

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