This set of Advent liturgies has been written by
Matthew Hoskins for the fourth week of Advent. This is
the week when the church has historically celebrated the
theme of God’s love as they wait in expectation of the
coming Messiah. These materials are used with permission
from Matthew. They are accompanied by his hopes that
they will multiply the blessing of Advent to many.
These materials are written for use with four Advent
candles and are most meaningful if the lighting of candles
is included; however these are not necessary.
It is our prayer that Advent will become more
hallowed by the presence of God as we turn our hearts and
minds to attend to the love of God so evident in the giving
of his only begotten Son, full of grace and truth.
Sunday
As the first candle is lit, the following is said: We light the first candle, remembering Christ who is our hope in
the darkness.
As the second candle is lit, the following is said: We light the second candle, remembering in the midst of the
darkness of a world torn by strife that Christ is the Prince of Peace.
As the third candle is lit, the following is said: We light the third candle, remembering that in the Dark Night of the
Soul, the joy of the Lord is our strength.
As the fourth candle is lit, the following is said: We light the fourth candle, remembering that God is love, and
perfect love casts out the darkness of fear.
Leader: God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son.
Response: Whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.
All: Lord Jesus Christ, thank you for giving yourself for us; please give us the strength daily to believe in you and your
love.
Reader: A reading from Romans 16:25-27. The reader shall close with: The Word of the Lord.
Response: Thanks be to God.
Advent readings: ‘Holy Sonnet 1: La Corona,’ by John Donne:
Deign at my hands this crown of prayer and praise,
Weav'd in my low devout melancholy,
Thou which of good, hast, yea art treasury,
All changing unchanged Ancient of days,
But do not, with a vile crown of frail bays,
Reward my muse's white sincerity,
But what thy thorny crown gained, that give me,
A crown of Glory, which doth flower always;
The ends crown our works, but thou crown'st our ends,
For at our end begins our endlesse rest,
The first last end, now zealously possest,
With a strong sober thirst, my soul attends.
'Tis time that heart and voice be lifted high,
Salvation to all that will is nigh.
Then shall be prayed the Collect for Advent IV:
Raise up, we beseech thee, O Lord, thy power, and come among us, and with great might succour us; that whereas,
through our sins and wickedness, we are sore let and hindered in running the race that is set before us, thy bountiful
grace and mercy may speedily help and deliver us; who with the Father and the Holy Spirit livest and reignest, one God,
world without end. Amen.
A time for prayer shall follow, concluding with:
Leader: The Lord Almighty grant us a quiet night and a perfect end.
Response: Amen.
Then shall be sung the John Michael Talbot song, ‘Holy Is His Name.’
Monday
As the first candle is lit, the following is said: We light the first candle, remembering Christ who is our hope in
the darkness.
As the second candle is lit, the following is said: We light the second candle, remembering in the midst of the
darkness of a world torn by strife that Christ is the Prince of Peace.
As the third candle is lit, the following is said: We light the third candle, remembering that in the Dark Night of the
Soul, the joy of the Lord is our strength.
As the fourth candle is lit, the following is said: We light the fourth candle, remembering that God is love, and
perfect love casts out the darkness of fear.
Leader: Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
Response: He that loveth not, knoweth not God, for God is love.
Reader: A reading from Matthew 1:18-25. The reader shall close with: The Word of the Lord.
Response: Thanks be to God.
Advent readings: ‘Holy Sonnet 2: Annunciation’ by John Donne:
Salvation to all that will is nigh,
That All, which always is All everywhere,
Which cannot sin, and yet all sins must bear,
Which cannot die, yet cannot choose but die,
Loe, faithful Virgin, yields himself to lie
In prison, in thy womb; and though he there
Can take no sin, nor thou give, yet he’will wear
Taken from thence, flesh, which death’s force may try.
Ere by the spheres time was created, thou
Wast in his mind, who is thy Son, and Brother,
Whom thou conceiv’st, conceiv’d; yea thou art now
Thy maker’s maker, and thy Father’s mother,
Thou hast light in dark; and shutst in little room,
Immensity cloistered in thy dear womb.
Then shall be prayed the Collect for Advent IV:
Raise up, we beseech thee, O Lord, thy power, and come among us, and with great might succour us; that whereas, through our sins
and wickedness, we are sore let and hindered in running the race that is set before us, thy bountiful grace and mercy may speedily help
and deliver us; who with the Father and the Holy Spirit livest and reignest, one God, world without end. Amen.
A time for prayer shall follow, concluding with:
Leader: The Lord Almighty grant us a quiet night and a perfect end.
Response: Amen.
Then shall be sung the hymn, ‘We Three Kings,’ followed by a hymn of your choosing.
Tuesday
As the first candle is lit, the following is said: We light the first candle, remembering Christ who is our hope in
the darkness.
As the second candle is lit, the following is said: We light the second candle, remembering in the midst of the
darkness of a world torn by strife that Christ is the Prince of Peace.
As the third candle is lit, the following is said: We light the third candle, remembering that in the Dark Night of the
Soul, the joy of the Lord is our strength.
As the fourth candle is lit, the following is said: We light the fourth candle, remembering that God is love, and
perfect love casts out the darkness of fear.
Leader: Faith, hope, and love remain, these three.
Response: But the greatest of these is love.
Reader: A reading from Matthew 2:1-6. The reader shall close with: The Word of the Lord.
Response: Thanks be to God.
Advent readings: ‘Holy sonnet 3: Nativitie’ by John Donne
Immensity cloistered in thy dear womb,
Now leaves his welbelov’d imprisonment,
There he hath made himself to his intent
Weak enough, now into our world to come;
But Oh, for thee, for him, hath th’Inne no roome?
Yet lay him in this stall, and from the Orient,
Stars, and wisemen will travel to prevent
Th’effect of Herod’s jealous general doom;
Seest thou, my Soul, with thy faith’s eyes, how he
Which fills all place, yet none holds him, doth lie?
Was not his pity towards thee wondrous high,
That would have need to be pitied by thee?
Kiss him, and with him into Egypt goe,
With his kind mother, who partakes thy woe.
Then shall be prayed the Collect for Advent IV:
Raise up, we beseech thee, O Lord, thy power, and come among us, and with great might succour us; that whereas, through our sins
and wickedness, we are sore let and hindered in running the race that is set before us, thy bountiful grace and mercy may speedily help
and deliver us; who with the Father and the Holy Spirit livest and reignest, one God, world without end. Amen.
A time for prayer shall follow, concluding with:
Leader: The Lord Almighty grant us a quiet night and a perfect end.
Response: Amen.
Then shall be sung the hymn ‘As with Gladness Men of Old,’ followed by a hymn of your choosing.
Wednesday
As the first candle is lit, the following is said: We light the first candle, remembering Christ who is our hope in
the darkness.
As the second candle is lit, the following is said: We light the second candle, remembering in the midst of the
darkness of a world torn by strife that Christ is the Prince of Peace.
As the third candle is lit, the following is said: We light the third candle, remembering that in the Dark Night of the
Soul, the joy of the Lord is our strength.
As the fourth candle is lit, the following is said: We light the fourth candle, remembering that God is love, and
perfect love casts out the darkness of fear.
Leader: I trust in your unfailing love;
Response: my heart rejoices in your salvation.
Reader: A reading from Matthew 2:7-12. The reader shall close with: The Word of the Lord.
Response: Thanks be to God.
Advent readings: ‘Holy Sonnet 4: Temple,’ by John Donne
With his kind mother, who partakes thy woe,
Joseph turn back; see where your child doth sit,
Blowing, yea blowing out those sparks of wit,
Which himself on the Doctors did bestow;
The Word but lately could not speake, and loe
It suddenly speaks wonders, whence comes it,
That all which was, and all which should be writ,
A shallow seeming child, should deeply know?
His Godhead was not soul to his manhood,
Nor had time mellow’d him to this ripenesse,
But as for one which hath a long task, ‘tis good,
With the Sunne to begin his businesse,
He in His age’s morning thus began
By miracles exceeding power of man.
Then shall be prayed the Collect for Advent IV:
Raise up, we beseech thee, O Lord, thy power, and come among us, and with great might succour us; that whereas, through our sins
and wickedness, we are sore let and hindered in running the race that is set before us, thy bountiful grace and mercy may speedily help
and deliver us; who with the Father and the Holy Spirit livest and reignest, one God, world without end. Amen.
A time for prayer shall follow, concluding with:
Leader: The Lord Almighty grant us a quiet night and a perfect end.
Response: Amen.
Then shall be sung the John Michael Talbot song, ‘Holy Is His Name,’ followed by a hymn of your choosing.
Christmas Eve
As the first candle is lit, the following is said: We light the first candle, remembering Christ who is our hope in
the darkness.
As the second candle is lit, the following is said: We light the second candle, remembering in the midst of the
darkness of a world torn by strife that Christ is the Prince of Peace.
As the third candle is lit, the following is said: We light the third candle, remembering that in the Dark Night of the
Soul, the joy of the Lord is our strength.
As the fourth candle is lit, the following is said: We light the fourth candle, remembering that God is love, and
perfect love casts out the darkness of fear.
The first lesson shall be Isaiah 40:1-11.
The second lesson shall be 2 Peter 3:1-14.
The Psalm shall be Psalm 25.
The Collect & hymn shall be as above
Advent readings: ‘Holy Sonnet 5: Crucifying,’ by John Donne
By miracles exceeding power of man,
He faith in some, envy in some begat,
For, what weake spirits admire, ambitious hate:
In both affections many to him ran,
But Oh! the worst are most, they will and can,
Alas, and do, unto the immaculate,
Whose creature Fate is, now prescribe a Fate,
Measuring selfe-life’s infinity to a span,
Nay to an inch. Loe, where condemned he
Bears his own cross, with pain, yet by and by
When it bears him, he must bear more and die;
Now thou art lifted up, draw me to thee,
And at thy death giving such liberal dole,
Moist, with one drop of thy blood, my dry soule.
Then shall be prayed the Collect for Advent IV:
Raise up, we beseech thee, O Lord, thy power, and come among us, and with great might succour us; that whereas, through our sins
and wickedness, we are sore let and hindered in running the race that is set before us, thy bountiful grace and mercy may speedily help
and deliver us; who with the Father and the Holy Spirit livest and reignest, one God, world without end. Amen.
A time for prayer shall follow, concluding with:
Leader: The Lord Almighty grant us a quiet night and a perfect end.
Response: Amen.
Then shall be sung the hymn ‘O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,’ followed by a hymn of your choosing.
Christmas: The Incarnation of Our Lord
As the first candle is lit, the following is said: We light the first candle, remembering Christ who is our hope in
the darkness.
As the second candle is lit, the following is said: We light the second candle, remembering in the midst of the
darkness of a world torn by strife that Christ is the Prince of Peace.
As the third candle is lit, the following is said: We light the third candle, remembering that in the Dark Night of
the Soul, the joy of the Lord is our strength.
As the fourth candle is lit, the following is said: We light the fourth candle, remembering that God is love, and
perfect love casts out the darkness of fear.
Leader: May our attitude be the same as Christ Jesus,
Response: Who, though he was by his very nature God, did not grasp equality with God but chose to take
on the form of a slave.
All: Praise be to you, O God, who chose to become human like us and thereby to save us from the shadow and
sting of death, sin, and final sorrow. Glory to you, O Christ!
Reader: A reading from John 1:1-5, 10-14. The reader shall close with: The Word of the Lord.
Response: Thanks be to God.
Christmas reading: John Keble, Sermons Vol 2 Sermon 3, ‘Christmas Day’:
When a person wakes on a Christmas morning and turns his mind at once, as a thoughtful person naturally will,
to the great and unutterable miracle of the day, it is somewhat of the same kind of thought as when we gaze earnestly on the deep heaven above us. The longer we gaze, the more certainly we feel how far it reaches, how utterly
and entirely beyond us, how we might go on for ever and be more and more lost and swallowed up in the contemplation of it. ...
The space in which our eyesight loses itself when we look up on a clear day, or when we look all around
from a high place on some boundless prospect, is an appointed measure of God’s love—a token from Himself of
His pardoning and life-giving favor, shown us as members of His Son. ...
Let us endeavor steadily to contemplate the great wonder of this day, the Son of God born of a woman and
laid, like another child, in the manger at Bethlehem, with his prayer among others that our eyes may be opened to
understand, in some measure, God’s gracious and gentle beginnings with ourselves. As He our Lord and Savior
Himself, from the very moment of His birth as onthis day never ceased loving us and preparing all good things for
us, so never let us quite take off our thoughts from His unspeakable love, of which this day is the crown. It is such
love as we never can fathom, never can come truly to understand, but we may and shall understand more and
more, as we turn our minds towards it more earnestly. To watch and study Christ in His cradle is the very mystery
of humility, and, if of humility, then of love, peace, and joy. It is the very preparation, the beginning of eternal
happiness; for in knowledge of Him standeth our eternal life, and such knowledge must begin from His lowliness.
Jesus Himself is that little Child, like whom we must especially become, if we would be ever really fit for the Kingdom of Heaven.
Christmas: The Incarnation of Our Lord
Then shall be prayed the Collect for Christmas Day
Raise up, we beseech thee, O Lord, thy power, and come among us, and with great might succour us; that whereas,
through our sins and wickedness, we are sore let and hindered in running the race that is set before us, thy bountiful grace and mercy may speedily help and deliver us; who with the Father and the Holy Spirit livest and reignest,
one God, world without end. Amen.
Leader: Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly!
Response: Amen! Maranatha! Alleluia!
Then shall follow Christmas carols of your choosing
As well as a reading of the Nativity story
and the opening of gifts!