Gathering Music: Karen Holl, organist

Welcome and Announcements

*Opening Response: (based on Psalm 126)

One: If our lives are dry and parched,

All: Lord, send the living waters of your Spirit to revive us, to enliven us, to bring forth new life.

Immanuel, come quickly.

One: If our times are empty and barren,

All: Lord, grant us a rich harvest, send us home with sheaves of blessing, fill us with your abundance, and teach us to share the harvest with others. Immanuel, come quickly.

One: If our bodies are weary and heavy laden,

All: Lord, fill us with laughter; give us shouts of joy; envelop us with your gladness. Immanuel, come quickly.

One: If our lives are small and trivial,

All: Lord, make us see great things; enlarge our vision; widen our borders. Immanuel, come quickly.

I WILL WAIT

Lighting the Advent Candle of LOVE

Scripture Reading:  Isaiah 11:1-3a, 6-10,12

11 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. ² The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
    the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—
³ and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears;
⁴ but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth…

⁶ The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. ⁷ The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
⁸ The infant will play near the cobra’s den, and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest. ⁹ They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. ¹⁰In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious…¹²He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; he will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth.

Prepare the way of the Lord! We light this candle in love, the love that Jesus, our Savior, has for us; and the peace that His love brings. Prepare, then, the way of the Lord!

LO, HOW A ROSE E’ER BLOOMING / HIGH KING OF HEAVEN / HOUSE OF THE LORD

Prayer of Confession

All: God of salvation, in Christ you have done great things—our hearts are filled with joy. By your power you lifted us out of the wasteland of sin and brought us with joy and laughter into your kingdom. Salvation is your gift to us. But we confess that often we try to replace your gift with our own efforts. We try to complete what is already perfect; we try to add to what is already full; we try to earn what we already have. Forgive us for our foolishness. Help us to focus on your grace. Help us to live grateful lives in return. For Jesus’ sake alone, Amen.

 Assurance of Forgiveness: (Zephaniah 3:14-18)

One: Sing aloud, O daughter Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem! The LORD has taken away the judgments against you, he has turned away your enemies. The king of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; you shall fear disaster no more. On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands grow weak.  From Isaiah 40…”Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Your sins are pardoned. The penalty is paid.  Thanks be to God!  We are forgiven!

CHILDREN’S PROGRAM:  O Come, All Ye Faithful / Joy To The World / Go Tell It On The Mountain

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 12

¹ In that day you will say: “I will praise you, LORD.  Although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have comforted me.  ² Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.” ³ With joy you will draw water
   from the wells of salvation. ⁴ In that day you will say: “Give praise to the LORD, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted. ⁵ Sing to the LORD, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world. ⁶ Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion,
   for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.”

HARK THE HERALD ANGELS SING (31)

Anthem: HE SHALL REIGN

Scripture Reading: Colossians 1:15-23

¹⁵ The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.¹⁶ For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. ¹⁷ He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. ¹⁸ And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. ¹⁹ For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, ²⁰ and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. ²¹ Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. ²² But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— ²³ if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven

Anthem: JOY TO THE WORLD

ANGELS WE HAVE HEARD ON HIGH (23) vs. 1,3

Scripture Reading: Micah 5:2-4, Luke 1:68-79

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans[a] of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” 3 Therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor bears a son, and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites. 4 He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth.

⁶⁸ “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to his people and redeemed them. ⁶⁹ He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David ⁷⁰ (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago), ⁷¹ salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us—⁷² to show mercy to our  ancestors and to remember his holy covenant, ⁷³the oath he swore to our father Abraham: ⁷⁴ to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear ⁷⁵  in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. ⁷⁶ And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;  for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, ⁷⁷ to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, ⁷⁸ because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven ⁷⁹ to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

SILENT NIGHT / ADORE HIM / ANGELS FROM THE REALMS OF GLORY

Benediction     

Gathering Music: Karen Holl, organist

Welcome and Announcements

*Opening Response: (based on Psalm 126)

One: If our lives are dry and parched,

All: Lord, send the living waters of your Spirit to revive us, to enliven us, to bring forth new life.

Immanuel, come quickly.

One: If our times are empty and barren,

All: Lord, grant us a rich harvest, send us home with sheaves of blessing, fill us with your abundance, and teach us to share the harvest with others. Immanuel, come quickly.

One: If our bodies are weary and heavy laden,

All: Lord, fill us with laughter; give us shouts of joy; envelop us with your gladness. Immanuel, come quickly.

One: If our lives are small and trivial,

All: Lord, make us see great things; enlarge our vision; widen our borders. Immanuel, come quickly.

REJOICE, REJOICE BELIEVERS (15) vs. 1,3

Lighting the Advent Candle of LOVE

Scripture Reading:  Isaiah 11:1-3a, 6-10,12

11 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. ² The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
    the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—
³ and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears;
⁴ but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth…

⁶ The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. ⁷ The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
⁸ The infant will play near the cobra’s den, and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest. ⁹ They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. ¹⁰In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious…¹²He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; he will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth.

Prepare the way of the Lord! We light this candle in love, the love that Jesus, our Savior, has for us; and the peace that His love brings. Prepare, then, the way of the Lord!

LO, HOW A ROSE E’ER BLOOMING / HIGH KING OF HEAVEN / ALL MY HEART TODAY REJOICES (21)

Prayer of Confession

All: God of salvation, in Christ you have done great things—our hearts are filled with joy. By your power you lifted us out of the wasteland of sin and brought us with joy and laughter into your kingdom. Salvation is your gift to us. But we confess that often we try to replace your gift with our own efforts. We try to complete what is already perfect; we try to add to what is already full; we try to earn what we already have. Forgive us for our foolishness. Help us to focus on your grace. Help us to live grateful lives in return. For Jesus’ sake alone, Amen.

Assurance of Forgiveness: (Zephaniah 3:14-18)

One: Sing aloud, O daughter Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem! The LORD has taken away the judgments against you, he has turned away your enemies. The king of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; you shall fear disaster no more. On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands grow weak.  From Isaiah 40…”Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Your sins are pardoned. The penalty is paid.  Thanks be to God!  We are forgiven!

CHILDREN’S PROGRAM:  O Come, All Ye Faithful / Joy To The World / Go Tell It On The Mountain

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 12

¹ In that day you will say: “I will praise you, LORD.  Although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have comforted me.  ² Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.” ³ With joy you will draw water
   from the wells of salvation. ⁴ In that day you will say: “Give praise to the LORD, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted. ⁵ Sing to the LORD, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world. ⁶ Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion,
   for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.”

BREAK FORTH, O BEAUTEOUS HEAVENLY LIGHT (26)

Anthem: HE SHALL REIGN

Scripture Reading: Colossians 1:15-23

¹⁵ The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.¹⁶ For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. ¹⁷ He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. ¹⁸ And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. ¹⁹ For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, ²⁰ and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. ²¹ Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. ²² But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— ²³ if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven

Anthem: JOY TO THE WORLD

HARK THE HERALD ANGELS SING (31) / ANGELS WE HAVE HEARD ON HIGH (23) vs. 1,3

Scripture Reading: Micah 5:2-4, Luke 1:68-79

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans[a] of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” 3 Therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor bears a son, and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites. 4 He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth.

 ⁶⁸ “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to his people and redeemed them. ⁶⁹ He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David ⁷⁰ (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago), ⁷¹ salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us—⁷² to show mercy to our  ancestors and to remember his holy covenant, ⁷³the oath he swore to our father Abraham: ⁷⁴ to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear ⁷⁵  in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. ⁷⁶ And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;  for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, ⁷⁷ to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, ⁷⁸ because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven ⁷⁹ to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

Anthem: ADORE HIM

AWAY IN A MANGER (24) vs. 1,3 / ANGELS FROM THE REALMS OF GLORY (22)

Benediction

• What Advent and Christmas carols most prepare you for the season?
• Find an Advent hymn and reflect on its words.
• Find a song and sing it with someone.