Gathering God’s
People
Acknowledgement of
First Peoples
From river to ocean, from campfire to hearth,
May the First People who have cared for this Land be
blessed.
From breath to song, from step to dance,
May those who follow Your Songlines guide us on the
journey of living honourably in this place.
From greeting to Amen, from silence to chorus,
Call to Worship
(Abingdon Worship Annual 2009
God has done great things for us!
God’s love is heralded in the promise of Christ.
Holy is God’s name!
God’s promises are fulfilled in the coming of Christ. God’s mercy extends from generation to generation. God’s salvation is offered in the gift of Christ
Hymn TIS
272: “Come,
thou long-expected Jesus ...”
Opening Prayer
Referring to the prophecy of Jesus birth, and the
fulfillment of that promise, John prayed:
Make us bold enough to proclaim with faith— the coming
of your kingdom, the coming of your justice, the coming of your peace. May we
sing out the good news of your salvation, trusting in fulfillment of your
promises. All this we pray in the name of the one who comes. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Loving God, even in the midst of this season of
goodwill, there is much to confess.
In spite of holiday cheer, stress and anxiety rule our
lives. We miss the reason for the season, focusing instead on Christmas
parties, long to-do lists, and trying to get the shopping done.
We fail to think about your reordered world— a world
where the lowly are lifted up and the hungry are filled with good things.
Help us adjust our Christmas priorities, that we might
join with you, O God, in preparing a world that welcomes the one who brings us
peace.
Declaration of
Forgiveness
The ancient promises of God are fulfilled. God does
not forget us. God’s mercy extends from generation to generation. Let our
souls rejoice in God!
Thanks
be to God!
The
Peace
Let us share together signs of the peace of God—the
peace that passes all understanding, the peace that overcomes all divisions.
Peace be with you!
And also, with you
(We
then exchanged the sign of peace with each other.)
Offering Dear God, …Knowing that your promises (of Jesus’s birth)
will be fulfilled, we pledge our lives to you in anticipation of the coming of
the one who brings us peace. Amen.
Hymn CAOHN: “When God Almighty came to earth”
The
Service of the Word
The First Reading: Micah 5:2-5a A prophecy: And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the Lord, in
the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall live secure, for
now he shall be great to the ends of the earth;
and he shall be the one of peace.
The Gospel Reading: Luke 1:39-55 The meeting between
Mary and Elizabeth and Mary’s prayer of astonishment at the future the birth of
her child would bring.
Preaching
of the Word
Here I will share with you, the most pertinent words
of the sermon:
On this morning, we also hear these beloved segments
of scripture and our hearts thrill within us. Like Elizabeth, when she saw her
cousin Mary, our hearts dance within us.
There is darkness around us. In this darkness, it is a physical relief to enter the
church and to feel again anticipation, one of the most cherished human
experiences. It is a relief to be able to with our entire senses wait for the
light that is to come. To wait like a people who are suffering from insomnia
who long for the night to end so that they can see the light of day and stop
feeling the anxiety of their sleeplessness.
Micah tells us of the care and tenderness of the good
shepherd. The writer of Hebrews assures us that the old order has passed, that
God is not satisfied with burnt or sin offerings, but only with hearts that are
obedient to God's will.
However, the most tender and courageous images come
from Luke's Gospel. Two women meet on a hill…It is the humble who are being
raised. It is those who feel awe before God their maker, that are shown mercy.
The powerful are brought down. The lowly are lifted up. And the hungry are fed…So
now, we who hear these words 2000 years later discover that they make good
sense to us also. They remind us of what matters to God, what God requires of
us.
Hymn 161: Tell
out, my soul the greatness of the Lord!
Music
to lead us to intercessory prayer where Ruth prayed for God’s will to be done in all
areas of human life, that burdens might be lifted and the darkness and evil
that ruins lives will be vanquished. We followed with the Lord’s Prayer.
Benediction
Go with the love of God, who extends mercy from
generation to generation. Go with the illumination of the Holy Spirit, who
prepares us for the coming of our Lord. Go with the peace of the Christ child,
who comes to partner with us to bring the kingdom that will never end. Amen.
Hymn
779: May the feet of God walk with you.
A prayer of good wishes to each other
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