GATHERING
* Those who are able, please stand.
Tolling of the Hour
Welcome and Announcements Terry Bryant
We welcome you to worship this day. If you are in person or watching on your device, know that you are fully present in the sight of God.
Visitors, please fill out the connection card in the pew so we can send you a note.
Opening Prayer Terry Bryant
Christ, the One who was, and is, and is to come, welcomes you to this place. As one body, with one voice, we honor and glorify the giver of wisdom, counsel, knowledge, and joy. Amen. So be it.
Prelude Mr. Christopher Bunch
Lighting of the Advent Wreath – Week Two: Peace (Responsive)
Wait for the Lord, whose day is near. Wait for the Lord; be strong; take heart.
*Hymn Waiting for the Lord #90
Children of God, we come, tired of waiting, burdened by the weight of watching. We surrender to God’s holy “not yet,” embracing the stillness. We come, and God-with-us is present in our longing. As we gather today, we remember the promised gifts of the Messiah. In the lighting of two candles, we set our gaze upon beacons that sustain us through sleepless nights and restless days. We bear this light together.
We call this candle Hope (Light the first candle) We call this candle Peace (Light the second candle)
Eternal Source, amid life’s turmoil, we find our way by turning to you. When courage fades and trust feels fragile, your promises remain steady and true. You are the unfailing light on our path, You, O God, are our hope and our peace, the quiet strength in our deepest longing.
With the Holy Spirit as our guide, we join the John the Baptist’s father, Zechariah, in testifying to your timeless, unending faithfulness in the shadowiest of days.
“Blessed be the Lord God of Isreal, for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them. He has raised up a mighty savior for us in the house of his child David, as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us. Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors and has remembered his holy covenant, the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham, to grant us that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness in his presence all our days. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give his people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins.”
*Call to Worship (Responsive)
I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord!”
Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
that we may learn God’s ways and walk in God’s paths. Our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem.
Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord!
*Hymn Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus #82
Prayer for New Beginnings (Unison)
As I rise, O God, I give you thanks for safety in the night, for rest from my labors, for another day in this creation. Turn my eyes toward what is noble. Teach me to see hope where it is veiled. Give me the wisdom to desire the good. Help me to love not only those I encounter but myself as well, for with you, I know my many frailties and failings. Let peace reign. Amen.
*Passing of the Peace
The Peace of Christ be with you…and also with you.
*Congregational Response In My Life #468 v.1,4
In my life, Lord, be glorified; be glorified.
In my life, Lord, be glorified today,
In your world, Lord, be glorified; be glorified.
In your world, Lord, be glorified today.
THE WORD
Prayer for Illumination Terry Bryant
O God of our people and Lord of every nation, let your Word ring out from the mountains and your Spirit shine forth in the earth, so that all may hear your teaching and all may do your will, through Jesus Christ our peace. Amen.
Old Testament Reading Isaiah 11:1-10 Terry Bryant
Leader: The Word of the Lord. People: Thanks be to God.
Word in Music Mr. Christopher Bunch
Gospel Reading Matthew 3:1-12
Leader: The Word of the Lord. People: Thanks be to God.
Sermon Rev. Jeff Sockwell
RESPONDING
*Hymn On Jordon’s Bank the Baptist’s Cry #96
*Affirmation of Faith) (Unison) Declaration of Faith
Jesus broadened the definition of neighbor to include those ordinarily despised and excluded. His life on behalf of others led to persecution and death. He commanded his disciples to live the same way.
We believe Christ gives us and demands of us lives that recognize all people in all cultures as our neighbors on this planet. Christ teaches us to go beyond legal requirements in serving and helping our neighbor, to treat our neighbor's needs as our own, to care passionately for the other's good, to share what we have.
It is part of our discipline to live in simplicity, avoiding greed and luxury that threaten our neighbor's survival. We are obligated to speak the truth in love, to listen with patience and openness, to love our enemies, to accept the risk and pain which love involves.
Prayers of the People and the Lord’s Prayer
We pray in the name of the One who showed us the way of love, and taught us to pray saying…
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Invitation to the Offering
Today and every day, we see signs of God’s grace and abundance. But we also know that there is suffering and need in the world. Give freely of what you have been given, as a witness to God’s actions in the world.
Offering On Jordan’s Bank the Baptist’s Cry Charles Callahan
*Doxology Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow #606
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
praise Him, all creatures here below;
praise Him above ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen
*Prayer of Dedication
We give you thanks, Holy One, for all good things: for this universe and for Earth itself, for creatures and plants, for water and food, for light and darkness; for Jesus, our brother, who enlarged our vision, setting himself before us as the bread and wine of abundant life; and for the Holy Spirit, who comes to us in baptism and moves in our midst with the power to lead us to you. Turn our offerings to your good will, and turn us always to you in gratitude. Amen.
SENDING
*Hymn O Come, O Come, Emmanuel v. 1, 4, 7
*Blessing
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Postlude Mr. Christopher Bunch