A guide to Advent Week Three: JOY | Dec 15 - 21
During week three, we light the shepherds’ candle and think about the JOY of Christ’s coming.
Read aloud or meditate on this week’s Scripture Reading each time you light the first three of your Advent candles this week. Fill your home or car with music from this week’s playlists. And scroll down for ideas for actively observing and expressing JOY this week.
Week three Scripture Reading
- The Word of the Lord from Zechariah 2 -
“Shout and be glad, Daughter Zion, for I am coming and I will live among you,” declares the Lord. “Many nations will be joined with the Lord in that day and will become my people. I will live among you and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you.”
- and from Luke 2 -
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.
But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
ideas for observing and expressing joy this week
Make a list individually or as a household of what brings joy. Your list might include spiritual realities, like the joy of knowing Christ. Your list might also include physical realities, like hearing children laugh or seeing holiday lights on neighbors' homes. Look for ways to experience and celebrate these joys this week.
Quietly look for ways to bring joy to the people with whom you regularly interact. Surprise someone with a cup of coffee, pass along a favorite book, do a task that lightens their load, take a walk, share an uplifting story.
Journal about - or talk about - seasons that have felt less joyful. What might it mean to "count it all joy" as James 1 encourages? What might the song "Joy to the World" mean in light of the realities of pain and trouble? Read the lyrics, below. Advent joy celebrates Christ's first coming, while looking forward to His return. Listen to or sing the hymn "Joy to the World" with these things in mind. Several versions are included, below. Enjoy all of them!
Joy to the World, Isaac Watts, 1719 | George Frederick Handel, 1742
V. 1: Joy to the world! The Lord is come: let earth receive her King; let every heart prepare Him room, and heav'n and nature sing.
V. 2: Joy to the earth! The Savior reigns: let men their songs employ; while fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains repeat the sounding joy.
V. 3: No more let sins and sorrows grow, nor thorns infest the ground; He comes to make his blessings flow far as the curse is found.
V. 4: He rules the world with truth and grace, and makes the nations prove the glories of His righteousness and wonders of His love.
joy-Filled music
Listen to songs of JOY throughout the week.