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December 2024

Dec

Preparations

Come, Let Us Adore Him

First Sunday of Advent, Year C

With Advent comes, for many communities, the lighting of the Advent wreath. As you plan for how to incorporate the lighting of the Advent wreath into worship, consider what role this ritual plays in worship.

The Advent-Christmas-Epiphany season is often experienced as time folding in on itself. We visit the age-old story of a baby born in a manger with familiar songs, family traditions, and foods that help us celebrate. Still, we experience each retelling anew as we come to this time with another year in our rearview mirror and with it an awareness of things lost, things found, and things realized. So, we come home, back to our familiar beginning of the Christian year, older, wiser, and maybe more hopeful and thankful for what God has provided and where God is leading us in a new season.

“Come Home for Christmas” is an invitation to start over while also remembering who we are. It’s an invitation to a banquet feast with a table of grace filled to overflowing. It’s an invitation to remember what we’ve been through and remember that no matter what, God calls us to come home, where we are cherished and loved. So, let’s look at some songs of invitation that can be used throughout this series. The following pieces reflect the theme, and you will want to balance some of these pieces with songs that are familiar and meaningful to your congregation during this season. Coming home invokes a sense of familiarity and knowing what to expect. Balancing that with some fresh renditions of God’s story will enhance everyone’s experience this season!

Abbreviations:

  • TFWS=The Faith We Sing
  • UMH=United Methodist Hymnal
  • W&S=Worship & Song

Theme Songs for This Series

Service Music

Other Music for Specific Weeks

November 28

  • “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” 211 UMH
  • “Come, Though Long Expected Jesus” 196 UMH
  • “I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light” 206 UMH
  • “He Came Down” 2085 TFWS

In This Series...


First Sunday of Advent, Year C - Lectionary Planning Notes Second Sunday of Advent, Year C - Lectionary Planning Notes Third Sunday of Advent, Year C - Lectionary Planning Notes Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year C - Lectionary Planning Notes Christmas Eve, Year C - Lectionary Planning Notes First Sunday after Christmas, Year C - Lectionary Planning Notes Second Sunday after Christmas, Year C - Lectionary Planning Notes

Colors


  • Purple
  • Blue

In This Series...


First Sunday of Advent, Year C - Lectionary Planning Notes Second Sunday of Advent, Year C - Lectionary Planning Notes Third Sunday of Advent, Year C - Lectionary Planning Notes Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year C - Lectionary Planning Notes Christmas Eve, Year C - Lectionary Planning Notes First Sunday after Christmas, Year C - Lectionary Planning Notes Second Sunday after Christmas, Year C - Lectionary Planning Notes