Advent sermon series ideas for 2026, and the graphics to go with them
Advent starts November 29. Eight series that hold up for four weeks, the dates to plan around, and what each one needs on screen.
The first Sunday of Advent 2026 is November 29. That gives you four Sundays, then Christmas Eve on a Thursday, and the series graphic is the first thing to go up and the last thing to come down.
It sits on the screens for a month. It ends up in the lobby, the feed, the website header and the bulletin loop. If one design is going to carry your whole December, it's worth a little thought before Thanksgiving swallows the week.
Below are eight Advent series that hold up for four weeks, the dates to plan around, and what each one needs on screen.
The 2026 Advent calendar
Count back in Sundays, the way you already do.
| Sunday | Date | Common theme | What should be up by then |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Sunday of Advent | Nov 29 | Hope | Series slide on the screens, a feed post, the lobby TV |
| Second Sunday | Dec 6 | Peace | Your Christmas Eve invite, so people have three Sundays to share it |
| Third Sunday | Dec 13 | Joy | A reminder post for Christmas Eve service times |
| Fourth Sunday | Dec 20 | Love | Last push for Christmas Eve, plus the service slides |
| Christmas Eve | Thu, Dec 24 | The Christ candle | Welcome slide, lyrics backgrounds, a thank-you post for after |
Plenty of churches run the four themes as Hope, Peace, Joy, Love. Others use Hope, Love, Joy, Peace. Use whatever order your liturgy or your pastor already uses. The design doesn't care, as long as the order is set before you build anything.
Eight Advent sermon series ideas
Every idea here works as a four-week series with one sermon per Sunday. Each comes with the week-by-week shape and a direction for the graphic.
1. Hope, Peace, Joy, Love
The classic, and the one most of your people will expect. Each week follows a candle. Week one is hope from Isaiah 9:2. Week two is peace, from the angels in Luke 2:14. Week three is joy from Luke 2:10, and week four is love from John 3:16.
For the graphic, show four of something. Four candles, four arches or four windows, one for each week. That gives you an easy weekly variation later, where one more candle is lit on each Sunday's slide.
2. The Waiting
Advent is a season about waiting, and most of us are bad at it. Week one is Isaiah 40:31, those who wait on the Lord. Week two is Zechariah and Elizabeth in Luke 1. Week three is Mary's yes in Luke 1:26-38, and week four is Simeon and Anna in Luke 2, two people who waited their whole lives.
Design it quiet. Warm light, a horizon, open space and one small figure. Hourglasses show up a lot on this one, and they work.
3. Look No Further
December is full of things that promise peace and don't deliver. This series names them one at a time and points past each one. Week one is the perfect Christmas, week two is getting everything done, week three is the gift, and week four is the One the season is about.
The graphic can be a familiar Advent object done simply. The wreath above on a plain field is a good example. It says Advent before anyone reads a word.
4. Anchored in Hope
Built on Hebrews 6:19, hope as an anchor for the soul. It works well in a year when your church has been through something hard. Each week takes one storm people are carrying into the holidays, like grief, money, family or fear.
One strong object carries this series. An anchor, drawn big, with the title set right against it.
5. The People of Christmas
Four weeks, four people. Mary in Luke 1, Joseph in Matthew 1:18-25, the shepherds in Luke 2:8-20 and the Magi in Matthew 2:1-12. Most of your people know these stories so well they've stopped hearing them. Giving each person a whole Sunday slows it down.
Storybook illustration fits this one, or a photo-led look if your church leans that way.
6. From the Manger to the Cross
Christmas told with the end in view, which some pastors want every year. Week one is Isaiah 9:6, week two is Galatians 4:4-5, week three is Matthew 1:21, and week four is Philippians 2:5-11. This one hands off naturally to Easter.
Show both ends of the story. The design below puts a small manger and a small cross on the same horizon, and that's the whole sermon in one picture.
7. A Simple Christmas
For the church that is tired, which by mid-December is most of them. Each week is permission to drop something and keep something. Mary and Martha in Luke 10:38-42 makes a good opening week.
Keep the design as simple as the title. One mark, lots of space, nothing to decode.
8. The Carols
One carol per week, and the theology packed into it. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel for week one. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing for week two, Silent Night for week three and Joy to the World for week four. The traditional lyrics are public domain, so you can put lines from them on the screen. Newer arrangements may not be, so check before you use one.
Pick a look that matches the carols your church actually sings. A vintage stamp, a gold star or an engraved texture all work here.
What one Advent series needs on screen
A series lives in more places than the Sunday slide. Before you make anything, list the places it has to show up so you ask for every size at once.
- The series slide. 16:9 for the sanctuary screens and the lobby TVs.
- A background with no words. Same design with the title taken off, for lyrics, sermon notes and announcements.
- A feed post. 4:5 for Instagram and Facebook.
- A story. 9:16, with the title away from the top and bottom edges where the app puts its buttons.
- A square. 1:1 for anywhere that crops to a square, like some church apps and email headers.
- The Christmas Eve invite. A separate design, because it goes to people who have never been to your church. I wrote a whole post on making a Christmas Eve invite people will actually share.
If you want the pixel sizes for each of those, they're all in our church graphic sizes guide.
When to have it ready
Aim to have the series graphic finished by Sunday, November 15. That's two weeks before Advent starts.
It lets you announce the series on November 22, so the first Sunday doesn't arrive cold. It also gets the work done before Thanksgiving on November 26, a week that eats every plan anyone makes for it.
Then start the Christmas Eve invite. If the series graphic is done by the 15th, you have room for the invite before December 6, when it should start showing on your screens.
How to ask for it in one sentence
A good request names the title, the feeling and one image idea. That's it.
Example request: Create an Advent sermon series graphic called The Waiting, quiet and warm, with a single figure on a hill at dawn.
Example request: Create a Hope, Peace, Joy, Love Advent series graphic with four candles in arches, deep blue and gold, room to light one more candle each week.
Example request: Create an Advent series called Anchored in Hope with one big engraved anchor and the title set against it, calm and steady.
None of them mention a font or a hex code. If what comes back is close, say what to change in one more sentence and ask again.
Questions people ask about Advent series
When does Advent start in 2026?
Advent 2026 starts on Sunday, November 29. The four Sundays are November 29, December 6, December 13 and December 20, and Christmas Eve falls on Thursday, December 24.
What are the four themes of Advent?
The most common set is Hope, Peace, Joy and Love, one per Sunday. Some traditions use a different order, such as Hope, Love, Joy, Peace. Follow the order your church already uses.
What color is the third Advent candle?
The third candle is usually pink or rose, for the Sunday of Joy. The other three are purple, or blue in some churches, and a white Christ candle is lit on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.
Do we need a new graphic every week of Advent?
No. Keep one series graphic for all four weeks so people recognize it. If you want weekly variety, change one small thing, like lighting one more candle or swapping the week's theme word under the title.
How far ahead should the Advent graphic be finished?
Two weeks before the first Sunday is a good target. For 2026 that's Sunday, November 15, which leaves a week to announce it before Advent starts.