Sometimes it felt like this day would never come
Like the waiting would be too much to bear
As we counted the hours, the days, the weeks
And whispered our hopeful prayers
As these candle flames burst into life one by one
They served to constantly remind us
In the midst of our waiting God’s promise holds true
For he promised to come down and find us
Now the day has arrived we remember again
How he came without fanfare or distinction
In the midst of our dark, dirty world came a child
To bring light to the whole of creation
So today, as we celebrate the source of all joy
We must start to look forward again
For Christ who came to us is coming once more
To restore all creation to His rule and reign

(c) Rich Clarkson 2010

All that’s left to do is wait
The pieces are in place
As the brightness builds and flickering flames
Finally turn to face
The central candle, that longed for light
The hope that is to come
These four shining candles remind us
That the waiting is almost done
The time is near when there’ll be no pain
Or mourning or crying to do
For the creator God who made all things
Is making all things new
The stage is set
And all the preparations have been made
Christ is coming back, we know
Now all that’s left to do is wait

(c) Rich Clarkson 2010

As we await the coming of our king
and darkness battles light to gain control
of hearts and minds, the prize is everything
in this great cosmic struggle for our souls.
The battle rages on but both sides know
there really isn’t much left to decide
The killer blow was dealt so long ago
when God was born a man, and lived and died
So we light these candles, not one, not two, but three
As those ablaze outnumber those unlit
to remind us that Christ’s light has victory
And darkness has no power to conquer it
So now we wait and hear that tale repeated
for Christ has won and darkness is defeated

(c) Rich Clarkson 2010

As we move deeper into advent
    [holy holy holy]
We strain our eyes towards the dawn
    [holy holy holy]
To see a shard, a flicker, a fragment
    [holy holy holy]
Of Heaven in the coming morn
    [holy holy holy]
So we light these candles, not one but two
    [holy holy holy]
To remind us that the day draws nearer
    [holy holy holy]
When He will be revealed anew
    [holy holy holy]
And we will see Him so much clearer
    [holy holy holy]
But now we wait, we watch , we pray
    [holy holy holy]
As advent slowly passes by
    [holy holy holy]
And we await that glorious day
    [holy holy holy]
When with countless angels we’ll cry
Holy Holy Holy

(c) Rich Clarkson 2010

Advent is here
The waiting begins
Anticipation feeds our expectation
As the hope of salvation lies in incubation
The heavens sing in exaltation
As all creation waits
for the coming of the creator

[pause to light candle]

So we light this candle
One solitary light
Reminding us of those first words
“let there be light”
And his promise that in our darkness
He is our light
And at the end we’ll need no sun or moon
for he will be our light
As the Alpha and Omega
gives us vision, gives us sight
So this candle is a reminder
As we wait in the night
That the dawn is coming soon
When we will see our creator

(c) Rich Clarkson 2010