This is the fourth Sunday of the Advent Season. We will light the candle of Love today. As a re-cap, over the past three weeks, we have lit the candles of Hope, Peace and Joy. We will light these three candles today along with our candle of Love.
These candles remind us of the attributes of God we use during our anticipation of Christ’s coming: his first coming for Christmas and his long-awaited second coming.
Candle Lighting of Love
As I shared above, today we are lighting the candles of Hope, Peace, Joy and Love. As we light the Candle of Love, we remember that God’s greatest gift to the world is love—born in a manger and lived out through us.
Let us pray as we light the four candles:
Father God, thank you for this day. As we light these candles, let us remember the love that you have for us. You love us so much that you sent your Son to walk this earth. In just a few days, we will celebrate the birth of Jesus. Thank you for sending him to save us. We praise you God for how Christ has fulfilled and will fulfill every prophecy – past, present and future. Open our hearts and minds as we read the scriptures this week. We pray that we will be the need in someone else’s life whether it be a friend, a brother or sister or a neighbor. Let us show love to one another as Christ loves us.
In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
Encouragement
I encourage you to study the scriptures I have listed below this week. Read before and after so you can get the truth in context. A good and trusted website I love using is Precept Austin. It has great commentary. Just google it online. I also enjoy Bible Hub. It goes deeper into all the books of the Bible along with the scriptures. It’s what changed my walk with the Lord. I wasn’t understanding the Bible and didn’t even know where to read each week. I now have a good study plan that I love and can understand scripture. Reading the Bible daily is something I enjoy now.
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Scriptures for this Week
Galatians 4:4-5
”but when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons”.
Over the past three weeks, we have traveled throughout the Old Testament and New Testament in the Bible. When we study God’s faithfulness in the past, we learn how to trust him in the present.
God’s timing may not always make sense, but we can trust that HE will complete His plan of redemption that He started from the beginning of creation.
1 John 4:9
“In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.”
Jeremiah 23:5-8
”Behold, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch;
And He will reign as king and act wisely And do justice and righteousness in the land.”
See my full disclosure here.
How Does God Show Us Love?
The Bible captures this beautifully in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” This verse reveals that God’s love is not distant or conditional—it’s active and sacrificial. He didn’t just feel love; He demonstrated it by sending Jesus into the world as a baby in Bethlehem, knowing it would lead to the cross, where Jesus would die for our sins.
Others Ways God Demonstrates His Love
- Through creation and provision — He made a beautiful world and sustains life, giving us beauty, relationships, and daily needs as expressions of His care (Psalm 136 repeats “His love endures forever” alongside acts of creation and deliverance).
- Through forgiveness and grace — Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us..” His love reaches us at our worst, offering redemption without us earning it.
- Through His constant presence — Nothing can separate us from His love (Romans 8:38-39), and He invites the weary to find rest in Him (Matthew 11:28).
- By making us His children — 1 John 3:1 declares, “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.”
The Christmas Candle
Have you ever seen the movie, The Christmas Candle? It’s one of my favorite movies to watch. I even watch it in April or June. It is based off the novel, The Christmas Candle, written by Max Lucado. It’s FREE to watch on Amazon if you are a Prime member or $3.99 to rent. I think it’s the perfect movie to watch on Christmas Eve.
Plot
In the fictional village of Gladbury, every twenty-five years an angel visits the candlemaker and bestows a miracle upon whoever lights the Christmas Candle. The whole town believes in the candle except the new pastor, Rev. David Richmond. It is 1890 and the Haddingtons make candles and the town and church use them. It is the Christmas season and the pastor preaches the Advent themes and lights a candle each Sunday. He tries to convince the town folk to believe in God and not candle miracles.
The angel appears and marks a special candle. Whoever lights that candle will receive a miracle. Mr. Haddington wants to keep the candle for himself so that their missing son will return and live in Gladbury. However, on the night that the candle is to be blessed, the magic candle is misplaced when the prepared candles are knocked over and the Christmas candle cannot be identified. Despite this, the Haddingtons pass out candles to a boy who can’t talk, a woman who wants to find a husband, a blind man and twenty-six other candles to people who all have individual needs, suggesting to each that they have the Christmas candle but not saying it explicitly. The preacher wants people to pray to God and not seek hope and change in a candle.
How Do We Show Love to Others?
The Candle of Love
The Advent Candle of Love invites us to open our hearts—receiving God’s love and sharing it generously with others. Not just at Christmastime but all year long.
During the movie, The Christmas Candle, the pastor was lighting the candle of love and asked the congregation to ”be the miracle” in someone’s life. When everyone was putting their hope in “One” candle, we as Christians can love our neighbors and more people can receive the miracle they may be looking for.
Simple Heartfelt Ways
- Check in on them – A friendly visit, especially with elderly or lonely neighbors.
- Offer help without being asked – Shoveling snow, mowing their lawn, carrying groceries, fixing something small.
- Share food – Fresh baked bread, soup, baked goods, or a home-cooked meal.
- Listen – Maybe someone just lost a loved one or became divorced recently. An ear goes a long way.
Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls Using Fresh-Milled Flour
Make these yummy cinnamon rolls for Christmas Eve dessert or Christmas morning breakfast. I’ve combined the gut health benefits of the Sourdough along with the health benefits of using fresh milled flour. I have a twist and added a layer of my homemade apple butter on top of the ooey gooey filing. Your family will love these!
Quiet Acts of Service
- Leave anonymous kindness – A note, small gift, or flowers with no name attached.
- Help in hard times – Childcare, errands, or simply presence during grief or stress.
- Be patient and forgiving – Overlook irritations and respond with grace.
Community Focused
- Bring people together – Invite neighbors for coffee, caroling, or a simple gathering.
- Include the overlooked – New residents, widows, single parents, or those who seem isolated.
- Pray or wish well for them – Even unseen care matters, a key theme of the movie.
The movie’s message is that small, sincere acts—done without expectation—can change hearts and communities. The film teaches that love doesn’t have to be dramatic to be powerful. Like the candle in the story, one small light can inspire hope far beyond what you expect.
Bible Verse Mapping
My walk with God changed when I started verse mapping in the Bible. I used to just pick my Bible up on Sunday’s and then again the following Sunday. Now, I really enjoy my Bible and look forward to spending time with God on a daily basis.
Resources
She Reads Truth – Advent Study Guide
The Daily Grace Co. – Advent Study Guide
https://www.christianity.com/wiki/holidays/what-is-advent.html
Advent Season Readings
This post is part of a four-week Bible Study on the Advent Christmas Season. Join me as we dive into all the scriptures leading up to the birth of Jesus.
Week 4. The Candle of Love
For only in Christ, we find the hope, joy, peace and love that we’ve come to know this Advent season.
Stay tuned as I’ll be sending out on Tuesday, the study for Christmas Eve. We will be lighting the Christ candle as we celebrate the birth of Jesus, our Savior!
Wendy Lea Walker, NTP
Nutritional Therapy Practitioner
I’m Wendy. A wife, empty-nester mama, homemaker, homebaker, gardener and small-time farmer. I love sharing wisdom and mistakes I’ve learned along the way. Anyone can garden or homestead, no matter where you live. It’s a mindset. You just have to start somewhere. I believe food is medicine. Feed the body real whole foods and healing will begin. I’ve learned to slow down over the years from all the noise that came with life and enjoy creating a simple home.
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