Gathering God’s
People. Prelude Music to prepare for worship
Call to Worship - (Karen Ellis, Abingdon 2016)
On the journey toward
Christmas, God calls: change your hearts, transform your lives, and prepare the
way of the Lord!
As we prepare to grow
with God, we nurture love and understanding.
As we prepare to grow
with Christ, we bring forth justice and peace.
As we prepare to grow
in the Spirit, we live the promises of Christmas— promises of love, peace,
hope, and joy
Advent Candle:
Trust
The Spirit of God
conceives new life and hope in our midst... God of peace, we light this
second advent candle... may we who are also searching, find strength, hope
and vision in this tiny light. Sometimes weak, sometimes small, often
vulnerable – we are ONE with the many who kneel in hope and trust for
themselves, their children and this world...We bring our prayers, written,
spoken or silent – And place them within this circle. God of immeasurable
love – you are near.
Hymn TIS 275: “Hail to the Lord’s anointed” Jesus'
arrival signals a new order and nothing will be the same. "The tide of
time shall never his covenant remove; his name shall stand forever, that name
to us is love."
Opening Prayer
Nurture us with the
bread of justice. Strengthen us with wine of compassion and peace. Shower us
with wellspring of hope and promise, live in us this day, that we may grow in
stature and grace. In Christ’s name, we pray. Amen.
A Prayer of
Confession
Holy Spirit, send your
cleansing fire into our lives, that we may bear the fruit of righteousness.
When we create division
where peace is most needed, lead us into the ways of life. When we cling to old
patterns that destroy, straighten out the crooked roads of doubt and despair.
When we harden our
hearts against love and kindness, soften our hearts so that love guides our
paths. Grant us the peace that passes all understanding, and nourish us with
hope and faith, that we might walk in your ways and bear the fruit of your
love.
Declaration of
Forgiveness
Christ is God’s branch
of mercy and grace— the promise of new life out of death and despair. In
Christ, we are freed to begin anew, and to grow in the love of God! Thanks
be to God!
The Peace
Peace be within you! And
also with you
Offering Prayer
Bless these gifts, O
God, that they may become justice for the poor, deliverance to the needy, and
hope to the oppressed. Bless our gifts, Holy One, that we may grow in your
grace, and produce the fruit of your Spirit: Love, peace, hope, and joy.
Hymn TIS 270: “On Jordan’s
bank the Baptist’s cry” With Jesus'
baptism, his mission became public and the world started changing right then
and there.
The Service of
Holy Communion
The Great Thanksgiving
The Lord be with you. And
also with you.
Lift up your hearts. We
lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to
the Lord our God. It is right to give our thanks and praise.
We were reminded that
Jesus, as Creator, was there at the beginning of everything....he knows our every
thought, our every unspoken word...everything about us and his love for us
extends to areas of our lives we are not conscious of ourselves, therefore with
choirs of angels and archangels and with those of every time and place, we give
you praise and glory:
Holy, holy, holy
Lord, God of power and might, Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna
in the highest!
Blessed is the one
who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.
We were then reminded
of the institution of the meal to follow...We remember how he poured his love
out to all he met and look forward to his return and the coming reign of peace,
love, and justice. And so, remembering Christ’s life, love, death, and
resurrection, we proclaim the mystery of faith:
Christ has died.
Christ is risen. Christ
will come again!
And now, faithful God,
send us your Spirit to feed us with the body and the blood of our Saviour,
Jesus Christ: Blessing and honour and glory and power are yours for ever and
ever. Amen.
Lamb of God you take
away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God you take
away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God you take
away the sins of the world, grant us peace.
Invitation to
Communion
Come and eat, the
banquet awaits.
Prayer after
Communion
Eternal God, we thank
you for this holy mystery in which you have given yourself to us. Send us into
the world in peace for we have seen, have heard, and been fed by your grace.
The Service of
the Word The readings
were delivered by Mae.
Isaiah 11:1-10 He is coming who will set the world aright.
Matthew 3:1- 12 John the Baptist prepares the way of the
Lord. If we think about it, John's Jesus was far more judgmental than the real
Jesus who seemed more interested in lifting the burdens that weighed down
people. God of mercy.
For the Word of the
Lord. Thanks be to
God.
Preaching of the
Word - Prepare Our Hearts – Matthew 3:1-12
These are the words
from John's sermon that jumped out and grabbed me.
The reading from
Matthew points past the time of the birth of Jesus which is our immediate
focus, to the reason that Jesus entered history. People had well and truly lost
their way and needed to be stunned out of their lack of understanding of God's
plan for them.
John had no
qualifications. He simply showed up out of nowhere with a passion for the
message he preached. He told the people that it won't be easy; that self
examination and confession is needed; we need to think about what separates us
from God; we need to give serious thought to what we are without God; we need
to think about how we can contribute to the mending of a broken world and how
we can possibly do that without God; we need to open ourselves to be shocked
out of our complacency and John tells us the old story that it's about the love
of God that gathers us up to be a child of a God.
Hymn TIS 616: “O day of God, draw near” A Prayer that
God will, in fact, draw near and do his work in our lives.
Intercessory
Prayers
John led us in prayer
for all those who suffer or who are burdened in this world, whether known to us
or far away. He prayed particularly for the oppressed and exploited and victims
of any sort of violence. He prayed that leaders accept their responsibilities
and that those of us living in shame will realize that the love of God can lift
us up. He asked that Jesus come to us. We then joined in the Lord's Prayer.
Amen.
Hymn TIS 264: “Hark! a herald voice is calling” Jesus
is here today for anyone who turns to him and accepts the invitation that has
always been there.
Benediction
May God fill you with
peace. May God fill you with joy. May God bless you with hope and love.
And may the whole
earth be restored to hope, the heavens sing aloud with the promise of good to
come and God in three persons, the Holy Trinity be with you all in each moment
of your lives.
Hymn TIS 779: “May the feet of God walk with you
No comments:
Post a Comment