Invocation
November 28th is the beginning of the first week of Advent! Do you have an Advent wreath? If so, bring it out now. If you do not have one, please let me know – we can provide one for your family. Your Advent Wreath should have five candles in all, four on the outer edge and one in the center. Each week we’ll light one candle, ending with the Christ Candle on Christmas Eve.
Invocation: the act of inviting or welcoming or acknowledging that God is present in our space.
As you light your candle, say this invocation out loud: “I light this candle in the name of God, our Creator; Jesus, our Savior; and the Holy Spirit, our Inspirer. The three in one! This is the Hope Candle, we have hope in Jesus.”
Opening Question
What does HOPE mean? What do you hope for? What do you hope for the world?
Advent Week 1, Hope
We have hope because God is with us.
Our full reading today is from Jeremiah 29:1 and 4-14. In Jeremiah 29:11, God tells us, “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” God has been with us from generation to generation, giving us hope through Jesus and our families. We can see in this reading that God is giving a hopeful message to the entirety of the community. They were living in exile, away from the land they loved, in a different culture, not by their choosing. God has told them to live in that land, to settle with their families and community. God also reminds them to have hope for the future and to LIVE fully where they are.
We may not have everything we want. We have goals that have not been met, we have desires and dreams that are not being fulfilled, but have hope for the future. Hope for our families and our community. Sometimes I find that I get so focused on my have-not’s that I forget to appreciate everything that I have and to LIVE fully.
Today I have a project for your family to create to help remind you of all the gifts you already have.
An Advent Gift Jar 🙂 Club 56 Advent project
Enjoy the time with your family today, feel blessed by God’s wonderful love, and have hope for us all!
When you pray…
Maybe you’re inspired to write or speak your own, if so, please do so! If you’d rather, you can just read together with the following:
Creator God, thank you for the Hope that we find in Jesus. Help us to rejoice in our gifts, and show gratitude for everything and everyone we have. Give us the wisdom that we need to live with each other in peace. AMEN