The four weeks of Advent 2026
How to use this study
Meet one evening a week, on the Sunday or any evening that week. Each session takes about 30 minutes. Anyone can lead: take turns reading aloud, and let everyone answer in their own words.
- Read. Read the passage aloud, then the key verses.
- Talk. Read the reflection, then talk through the questions. You don’t have to answer them all.
- Pray. Pray the prayer together, or pray in your own words.
- Light the candle. If you use an Advent wreath, light one candle in week 1, two in week 2, and so on.
- Try it this week. Each week ends with one thing to do before you meet again.
Churches order the candle themes differently. Many use hope, peace, joy and love, in that order, as this study does. Others put the themes in another order, or name the candles for the prophets, Bethlehem, the shepherds and the angels. If your church does it differently, follow your church. The readings work in any order.
With young children, read just the key verses and pick one question. Scripture quotations are from the King James Version. Want the dates and the story behind the wreath? When Advent starts and what the candles mean.
Week 1 ·
Week 1: Hope
Read: Isaiah 9:2-7; Romans 15:13
“The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.”
“Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.”
Reflection
Isaiah wrote to people who knew darkness. Their land had been overrun, and the future looked closed. Into that darkness God spoke a promise: a great light was coming, and a child would be born to bring it. Hundreds of years passed before that child lay in a manger in Bethlehem. God kept His word.
That is what hope means in the Bible. It isn’t wishing that things turn out well. It is trusting a promise because of who made it. Paul calls Him “the God of hope,” and he prays that we would “abound in hope” through the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13).
Advent begins in the dark on purpose. Many of us carry something heavy into December: a worry, a loss, a prayer that hasn’t been answered yet. Bring it with you this week. The light Isaiah promised has already come, and the God who kept His first promise will keep every promise He has made.
Talk about it
- Isaiah describes people “that walked in darkness” (Isaiah 9:2). Where do you see darkness in the world, or in your own life, right now?
- Read Isaiah 9:6 again. Which of the names given to the child means the most to you this year, and why?
- What is the difference between wishing and hoping, as Romans 15:13 describes it?
- Who in your life needs hope this Advent, and how could you bring it to them?
Pray
God of hope, thank You for keeping Your promises. You sent Your Son as a light for people in darkness. Fill us with joy and peace as we trust You this week, and let our hope spill over to the people around us. In Jesus’ name, amen.
This week
Write down one promise of God from Scripture and put it where you will see it every morning: a mirror, your phone’s lock screen or the fridge.
If you use a wreath: Light the first candle.
Week 2 ·
Week 2: Peace
Read: Isaiah 9:6; Luke 2:13-14; John 14:27
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”
“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
Reflection
Isaiah gave the promised child a list of names, and the last is “The Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). On the night that child was born, a multitude of angels appeared to shepherds near Bethlehem, praising God and announcing peace on earth.
Yet the world Jesus was born into was not peaceful. Rome ruled by force, and a jealous king would soon try to take the child’s life. The peace the angels announced went deeper than a quiet season. It was peace between God and people, because God Himself had come near.
On the night before the cross, Jesus told His friends, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you” (John 14:27). He said His peace is not the kind the world gives. The world’s peace depends on everything going right. His peace holds when things go wrong.
December can be anything but peaceful. This week, let the Prince of Peace settle your heart before you try to settle your schedule.
Talk about it
- What usually takes away your peace in December?
- The angels announced peace on earth while Rome ruled by force. What does that tell you about the kind of peace Jesus brings?
- Jesus said, “not as the world giveth, give I unto you” (John 14:27). How is His peace different from the peace the world offers?
- Is there someone you need to make peace with? What is one step you could take this week?
Pray
Prince of Peace, You came near so that we could have peace with God. Quiet our anxious hearts this week. Where there is conflict in our homes, our churches or our friendships, make us peacemakers. In Jesus’ name, amen.
This week
Set aside ten quiet minutes each day. Put your phone away, read John 14:27 slowly, and give God whatever is troubling you.
If you use a wreath: Light two candles.
Week 3 ·
Week 3: Joy
Read: Luke 2:8-11; Luke 1:46-49
“And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.”
Reflection
Last week we heard the angels praise God. This week we step back to the moment just before, when one angel spoke to a few shepherds keeping watch in a field at night.
The shepherds were ordinary working people, and they were among the first to hear the news. The news was joy: “good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people” (Luke 2:10). Nothing about their night had changed. They were still in the same field with the same flocks. Their joy was in a Person: “a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11).
Months earlier, Mary had praised God with the same joy. Engaged but not yet married, and facing an uncertain future, she said her “spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour” (Luke 1:47).
Joy in the Bible isn’t the same as a good mood. It is gladness rooted in what God has done. That kind of joy can sit alongside grief and stress, because its source never changes. This week, look for your joy in Jesus first.
Talk about it
- The angel said the news was for “all people” (Luke 2:10). Why does it matter that shepherds were among the first to hear it?
- Nothing about the shepherds’ circumstances changed that night. Where did their joy come from?
- Read Luke 1:46-49. What does Mary praise God for, and what can you praise Him for this week?
- What is the difference between happiness and joy? Has there been a time you had joy in a hard season?
Pray
Lord, thank You for good news of great joy for all people. When we are tired or sad this season, remind us that our joy is in You. Make us glad in Jesus, our Savior, and help us share that joy with someone who needs it. In Jesus’ name, amen.
This week
Tell someone what Jesus has done for you. Write a note, send a message or share it over a meal.
If you use a wreath: Light three candles. In many traditions the third candle is pink, for Gaudete Sunday, a Sunday of rejoicing.
Week 4 ·
Week 4: Love
Read: John 3:16-17; 1 John 4:9-10
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
“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.”
Reflection
You may know John 3:16 by heart. It begins with love: “For God so loved the world, that he gave” (John 3:16). Christmas is that gift. The baby in the manger is God’s love come in person.
The next verse goes on: God did not send His Son “to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved” (John 3:17). Jesus came to rescue, not to condemn.
John returns to the same truth in his first letter. God showed His love when He “sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him” (1 John 4:9). And real love starts with God, “not that we loved God, but that he loved us” (1 John 4:10).
That sets us free. We don’t have to earn God’s love before Christmas, or perform our way into it. We receive it. Then, because we have been loved, we can love others well, even the people who are hard to love.
Talk about it
- Read John 3:16 slowly, one phrase at a time. Which phrase stands out to you today?
- John 3:17 says Jesus came to save, not to condemn. How should that shape the way we treat people who don’t know Him yet?
- 1 John 4:10 says love begins with God, not with us. Why does that matter when you feel you have failed?
- Who is hard for you to love this Christmas? What would it look like to show them God’s love?
Pray
Father, thank You for loving the world so much that You gave Your Son. We didn’t earn it, and we can’t repay it. Help us receive Your love this Christmas, and let it overflow to our families, our neighbors and the people who are hard for us to love. In Jesus’ name, amen.
This week
Do one quiet act of love for someone who can’t repay you: a meal, a visit, a phone call or a small gift.
If you use a wreath: Light all four candles.
Christmas Eve
Read Luke 2:1-20 together, the story of Jesus' birth. If your wreath has a white candle in the middle, light it with the other four. Then thank God for each week: for hope, for peace, for joy and for love, all of them found in Jesus.
Keep going this Advent
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