Advent Liturgy
Four Sundays of hope, peace, joy, and love
Advent is the church's season of holy waiting. For four Sundays before Christmas, we light candles against the dark, confess our longing, and prepare our hearts for the Christ who came in Bethlehem and who will come again.
Below you will find complete liturgies for every Sunday of Advent in each year of the Revised Common Lectionary, candle-lighting liturgies you can use in any year, and prayers written for the season.
Use the complete liturgies below, or go straight to the part of the service you need:
Each Advent follows one Gospel: Year A is Matthew, Year B is Mark, and Year C is Luke.
Advent Liturgies by Lectionary Year
Each liturgy includes a call to worship, prayers of confession and illumination, an assurance of pardon, and a benediction for that Sunday's readings.
Year A: Matthew This Advent
Year B: Mark This Advent
New Year B liturgies are added each week during Advent.
Year C: Luke This Advent
Advent Candle Liturgies for Any Year
Liturgies built around the four Advent candles of hope, peace, joy, and love. Use them in any year of the lectionary.
Calls to Worship and Prayers for Advent
Use these on their own or alongside any of the liturgies above.
Advent Gospel Readings
The Gospel reading for each Sunday of Advent in the Revised Common Lectionary. Each year moves from Christ's coming again, to John the Baptist, to the joy of what God is doing, to the birth announcement.
More for Advent
Sermons and daily prayers for the season.
Common Questions About Advent
What is Advent?
Advent is the first season of the Christian year, the four Sundays before Christmas. The word comes from the Latin adventus, "coming." Advent looks in two directions at once: back to Christ's birth in Bethlehem, and forward to his promised return. It is a season of hope, honest longing, and preparation.
When does Advent begin?
Advent begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas, always between November 27 and December 3. It also begins a new year of the church calendar and a new year of the lectionary.
The First Sunday of Advent falls on November 29, 2026; November 28, 2027; December 3, 2028; December 2, 2029; December 1, 2030.
What do the Advent candles mean?
Many churches light one more candle on the Advent wreath each Sunday. A common pattern names them hope, peace, joy, and love. The third candle is often rose or pink for Gaudete Sunday, from the Latin for "rejoice," marking joy breaking into the waiting. A white Christ candle in the center is lit on Christmas Eve.
Is the color of Advent blue or purple?
Both are used. Purple, shared with Lent, emphasizes repentance and royalty. Blue, used in many Presbyterian, Lutheran, and Methodist churches, emphasizes hope and expectation and keeps Advent distinct from Lent.
Which lectionary year is this Advent?
Each new lectionary year begins on the First Sunday of Advent. Year A follows Matthew, Year B follows Mark, and Year C follows Luke. The note at the top of this page shows the year and dates for the coming Advent.
Liturgy for December 21, 2025 (Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year A). Worship resources from Isaiah 7, Psalm 80, Romans 1, and Matthew 1—celebrating Emmanuel, God with us, and the fulfillment of divine promise.