{"id":1624,"date":"2006-12-04T02:20:59","date_gmt":"2006-12-04T02:20:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/jesuscreed\/2006\/12\/lighting-the-1st-advent-candle.html"},"modified":"2006-12-04T02:20:59","modified_gmt":"2006-12-04T02:20:59","slug":"lighting-the-1st-advent-candle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/jesuscreed\/2006\/12\/lighting-the-1st-advent-candle.html","title":{"rendered":"Lighting the 1st Advent Candle"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kris and I read this liturgy, and then lit the first advent candle in our home — with a little creche behind it.
\nToday we light the first candle of the Advent wreath. This is the candle of HOPE.
\nWith Christians around the world, we use this light to help us prepare our hearts and minds for the coming of God\u2019s Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ.
\nMay we receive God\u2019s light as we hear the words of the prophet Isaiah:
\n“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness — on them light has shined.”
\n— Isaiah 9:2
\nLet us pray:
\nLord as we look to the birth of Jesus, grant that the light of your love for us will help us to become lights in the lives of those around us. Prepare our hearts for the joy and gladness of your coming, for Jesus is our hope.
\nAmen.<\/em>
\nAnd our wreath.
\n\"Advent<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kris and I read this liturgy, and then lit the first advent candle in our home — with a little creche behind it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":298,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1624","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-advent"],"yoast_head":"\nLighting the 1st Advent Candle - Jesus Creed<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/jesuscreed\/2006\/12\/lighting-the-1st-advent-candle.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lighting the 1st Advent Candle - Jesus Creed\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Kris and I read this liturgy, and then lit the first advent candle in our home — with a little creche behind it.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/jesuscreed\/2006\/12\/lighting-the-1st-advent-candle.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Jesus Creed\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2006-12-04T02:20:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.jesuscreed.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/12\/100_0562.thumbnail.JPG\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"xscot mcknight\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Lighting the 1st Advent Candle - 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