Sermon Audio

The Advent Wreath is a fairly recent tradition in church history. The first Advent Wreath was invented by a German pastor back in 1839.  Originally the wreath had twenty-eight candles – twenty-four small red candles around the rim interspersed with four larger white candles. The pastor devised the wreath to satisfy the children at the mission school who would ask every day, “Is it Christmas yet?” And so they would light a new candle each day to help them count the days until Christmas. The larger candles were lit on Sundays and the smaller candles on the days in between. The custom did not reach the United States until the 1930s.

The themes of the Advent Wreath—hope, peace, joy and love—are represented throughout all of Scripture. This year’s Advent series we will consider these various word themes in light of Scripture and the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.