Each year, for the churches I’ve served in, Advent readings have been a part of the services in the weeks leading up to Christmas. At times I’ve used things others have written. At times I’ve used videos to tell the story. At times I’ve had people within the local body write the readings. The purpose of the variety has always been to both tell the story for those who aren’t familiar with it while at the same time giving it a fresh spin for those who have heard it many times.
This year, my lovely wife did the writing. She did a great job connecting some of the themes of our Christmas season services with the themes of Advent. (See more of her writing here.) She also took a unique approach by connecting some of the traditions of the Christmas time of year with how Christ was to come and fulfill some of the original worship patterns laid out for the Israelites in the Tabernacles and Temple. The approach was unique as well in setting up the readings in the context of a child asking a question, much like is done in the traditional Passover observance.
Find the readings available below for download. Feel free to use and adapt as necessary. I hope that they may be useful in your setting.
Update: A while back, I changed how I was managing downloadable files, and in the process, the reading for Week 1 went missing. I hope that the others will still be of use to you.
Update 2: We found the Week 1 reading. Now all the weeks are available. Woo-hoo!
Week 1: Download
Week 2: Download
Week 3: Download
Week 4: Download
Week 5 – Christmas Eve: Download
