When I was thinking about what to say in my message today, some of the lyrics from the song “We Need a Little Christmas” immediately came to mind. I’d like to share these with you: “For we need a little Christmas right this very minute, candles in the window, carols at the spinet… For I've grown a little leaner, grown a little colder, grown a little sadder, grown a little older.

And I need a little angel sitting on my shoulder, need a little Christmas now.

For we need a little music, need a little laughter, need a little singing, ringing through the rafter.

And we need a little snappy "Happy ever after," need a little Christmas now.”

The advent season is all about God’s promise for our “happy ever after.” The season of Advent begins with hope, not the wishful thinking kind of hope, but the biblical hope, the hope that offers a secure assurance, a trust placed in a trustworthy God who has not, and will not, fail us. Now more than ever we need hope to sustain us during these often dark and uncertain times. Hope for an end to the pandemic. Hope for stability for ourselves and our country. Hope for a better world. Hope for new birth. Hope for a return of gatherings of family and friends and of the Christmas magic that takes place during more “normal” Christmas seasons.

Advent is a season of waiting, expecting, and hoping. It helps us prepare for the coming, or “advent” of the Christ child at Christmas. It prompts us to pause each day in December and remember why God sent us the ultimate Christmas gift, his son Jesus in the form of a man, so that we might believe and have eternal life.

For hundreds of years, Christians have used an Advent wreath as a visual display of the significance of the season and as a way to inspire hope for the coming of Christ. This wreath first appeared in Germany in 1839. A Lutheran minister working at a mission for children created a wreath out of the wheel of a cart to help children count down the days until Christmas. He placed twenty small red candles and four large white candles inside the wheel. The red candles were lit on weekdays and the four white candles were lit on Sundays.

Eventually, the Advent wreath was crafted out of evergreens, symbolizing everlasting life in the midst of winter.

The symbols of the Advent Wreath are interpreted in many ways.

• The circle of evergreens reminds us of God’s unending love, the everlasting life He makes possible, and the eternal and ever- renewing promises of Christ.

• The lighting of candles throughout the season acknowledges the deepening phases of our preparation and signifies the ever- increasing light that shines at Christmas.

• The colors of the candles may vary from wreath to wreath. Often the candles are purple or blue, symbolizing royalty, liberation, redemption, repentance, and hope.

• The first candle lit on the first Sunday in Advent represents hope and is also known as the prophet’s candle; the second, faith, and is referred to as Bethlehem’s candle; the third, joy, or the Shepherds’ candle; and the fourth, peace, and is otherwise known as the Angels’ candle.

• For the third Sunday of Advent, the candle is pink. This traditionally represents John the Baptist’s call for repentance.

• The first two Sundays of Advent focus on the Bible's prophetic vision of Christ's future and final return, but then the Advent themes shift on the third and fourth Sundays to focus on the coming of Jesus Christ.

• The fourth Sunday recounts God's call to Mary and her faithful response. • Finally, on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, a center white candle is lit (Christ’s candle) signifying that the light of Christ is fully present and Jesus is born.

Our advent preparation in the church, and on a personal level, includes many things. Among these are:

• The remembrance, through scripture readings, of Israel’s hope for the coming of God’s Messiah to forgive, to save, and to restore;

• The hope for the second coming of Jesus;

• Our acknowledgement of the need for Jesus to save us from our sins;

• Our preparation to welcome Christ at Christmas into our world and into our hearts.

By lighting one candle each week of Advent, we help ourselves prepare for the birth of Jesus and are revitalized at the meaning of His birth and excited about his coming.

This first candle lit today in the Advent wreath symbolizes hope and is called the "Prophet’s Candle." The prophets of the Old Testament, especially Isaiah, waited in hope for the Messiah’s arrival. They shared God’s great “rescue plan” for us and foretold the arrival of Christ. Their prophesies and teachings in the Bible give us a glimpse of our future, outline a pathway to salvation through Jesus, and provide hope for our everlasting life.

On this first Sunday of Advent, we open our hearts in preparation so that we may experience the renewed hope of the everlasting joy, salvation, and eternal life made possible by the birth of Jesus. In these current times of anxiety, isolation, sickness, and change, may we all realize that we “Need a Little Christmas.” Amen.

Musical Call to Prayer

Pastoral Prayer

Father, let your hope arise in our hearts! Lift our eyes up to see that you alone are where our hope comes from. Help us to shake off the anxiety, discouragements, and distractions that have filled this year.

May we pause to remember that we have hope in you.

You know the end of our stories, and we give thanks because you have promised that it will be a victorious ending. Give us the grace we need to wrap up this year joyfully.

We invite your Spirit into this beautiful Advent season. Renew our sense of holy anticipation! Let us be those who are waiting eagerly for Jesus to come again.

More than anything, we ask that you be glorified in this season of expectation. Amen.

Musical Response to Prayer

Tithes and Offerings Dear God, in your faithfulness and generosity, you lavish us with so many blessings. Thank You! Help us to be generous with all our gifts. Bless these gifts so that they may be used for your good purpose in our community, in our nation and throughout the world. In Christ's name we pray, Amen.

Benediction Be people of hope. Let hope live in your heart and share the hope of Christ with all you meet. Share hope by noticing someone else’s humanity. Share hope by listening to someone’s story. Share hope by praying for our world. In this Advent season, we need to see, feel, and share hope. As you go out into the wonder of God’s creations, share hope with those you meet. Amen.