ADVENT 2025
WEEK 4 – Love
Reader 1: As we move deeper into Advent, we remember that we are God’s chosen people…holy and dearly loved. Today we light the candle of love (light the candle). Paul’s words to the Colossians (3:12-14) remind us that our identity comes not from who others say we are but from who God declares us to be:
“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”
Reader 2: We are called to put on certain qualities, like clothing we choose each day: Compassion. Kindness. Humility. Gentleness. Patience. These are not just virtues; they are expressions of Christ’s love seen in our lives.
Reader 1: Advent invites us to look forward to the coming Christ, who embodied these qualities perfectly. In a world that is broken and anxious, the holiness of Jesus becomes the path toward brotherly love and Christian unity.
Reader 2: And unity begins not with agreement on everything, but with the choice to love one another as Christ has loved us. When we “put on love,” we bind ourselves together in the peace and purpose of God.
Reader 1: This Advent, may we clothe ourselves intentionally with the character of Christ. Let us bear each other’s burdens and forgive each other as we await the coming of the King.
ALL: May compassion shape our relationships, kindness soften our words, humility guide our actions, and love bind us together in perfect unity as we await the coming of our Savior. Amen.
HYMN #152 “Angels We Have Heard on High” (verse 4)
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