The Celebration of the Gospel
December 11, 2016 —Third Sunday of Advent
“I am sending my messenger.”
— Matthew 11.10
________ We Gather as the Body of Christ______
CALL TO WORSHIP
Cantor: Alleluia. Alleluia. Make ready your hearts for the Coming One. Alleluia. Alleluia.
Response: In our deepest long night, dawn upon us, God of light.
- One now comes to prepare the way. Deserts will bloom and the blind shall see. R.
2. God overthrows the mighty with love, spurns the rich and lifts the poor. R.
GREETING
CENTERING MUSIC Lo, How A Rose Johannes Brahms
[As we listen to the music we quiet our minds and bodies,
listen for our hearts’ deepest desires,
and become present to the Holy One who is lovingly present for us.]
* SONG All Earth Is Waiting Blue hymnal # 210
(10:30) CHILDREN’S TIME
_____________We Attend to the Word_________
THE WORD IN SONG
8:15: Sing a Song of Bethlehem Sandra Eithun (Ringtones)
10:30: Mary Amy Tate Williams
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Our hearts in solitude cry out,
O God, show us a sign of hope.
May we listen with the ears of our hearts;
may we see with eyes of mercy. Amen.
+ We wait for the coming of Christ not with anxiety, but with joyful patience,
because we see evidence of God’s powerful grace.+
OLD TESTAMENT Isaiah 35.1-10
[The prophet foresees God’s redemption in the form of healing of nations, of societies, of individuals, and even of Creation. Deserts will blossom, the blind will see and the disabled dance, and people who have been outcast will find joy and belonging. ]
The arid land shall be glad,
the desert shall rejoice and blossom.
They shall see the glory of the Lord,
the majesty of our God.
Strengthen the weak hands,
and make firm the feeble knees.
Say to those who are of a fearful heart,
“Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God.
The Holy One is coming in triumph,
with unassailable justice.
God will come and save you.”
Then our blind eyes shall be opened,
and the ears of our hearts unstopped;
then the unmoving shall leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the silenced sing for joy.
For waters shall break forth in the wilderness,
and streams in the desert.
A highway shall be there,
and it shall be called the Holy Way;
and the redeemed shall walk there.
Those whom God has liberated will return,
and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
+
* CANTICLE Luke 1.46-58
[Mary’s song of rejoicing, the “Magnificat.” She sees evidence of God’s grace both within herself (“the Mighty One has done great things for me”) and also the world around her: God has lifted up the lowly and also brought down the powerful—a vision of radical social re-ordering. ]
Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior….
for she has looked with favor
on the lowliness of her servant.
Surely, from now on
all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is her name.
Her mercy is for those who fear her
from generation to generation.
She has shown strength with her arm;
she has scattered the proud in their illusions.
She has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
she has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
She has helped her servant Israel,
in remembrance of her mercy,
according to the promise she made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and Sarah and their descendants forever.”
+
NEW TESTAMENT James 5.7-10
[Wait with patience, like a farmer waiting for the growing season in trust and confidence. ]
Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Beloved. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Promised One is near. Beloved, do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be judged. See, the Judge is standing at the doors! As an example of suffering and patience, beloved, take the prophets who spoke in the name of God.
+
GOSPEL Matthew 11.2-11
[John the Baptist asks if Jesus is the “one who is coming,” that is, the messiah. Jesus simply points to the evidence: as Isaiah promised, the blind see, the immobilized walk, and the poor receive good news.]
When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the disabled walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”
As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written, ‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’ Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
+
SERMON
SONG Star-Child Black hymnal # 2095
ADVENT SILENCE
THE PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
[Anyone who wishes may share a prayer concern at the microphone.]
SHARING THE PEACE OF CHRIST
___________We Share at Christ’s Table _________
OFFERING OUR GIFTS It Came Upon A Midnight Clear – R. S. Willis, arr: Fred Bock
COMMUNION SONG (Tune: What Child Is This)
Pastor: We thank you, God, for your living Word, for by your loving grace we live;
our sin’s release, and eternal peace in your Covenant you give.
People: Praise, praise, Creation sings to God, who shines in all good things.
Peace, peace on earth to all, for blessed is One who is coming.
[… The Blessing and Covenant…]
Our voice we raise in grateful praise with the song the angels have sung us
of Jesus born that blessed morn, the Word made flesh among us.
Christ, Christ has set us free from sin and death eternally!
Christ, dead and raised, you give new life as we wait for your coming.
Pour out your Spirit on these, your gifts, and on us: give us good news to tell.
Your love impart to every heart, O God, Emmanuel.
Love, love will give us birth, your church, the Body of Christ on earth.
Christ, Christ be born in us, that we may be signs of your coming.
THE PRAYER OF JESUS
Our Mother, 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 trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen
SHARING THE HOLY MEAL [Everyone is welcome at the table of Christ’s self-giving love.
The bread is wheat-, soy- and dairy free. We dip the bread in the juice.]
PRAYER OF BLESSING
Gracious God, we thank you for this mystery in which you have given yourself to us. Blessed by these gifts, may we see with love, practice mercy, and do justice, as signs of your coming to all who sit in darkness and shadow, in the name and Spirit of Christ. Amen.
______ We Are Sent in Ministry to the World_____
THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH IN THE WORLD
* SONG Hail to the Lord’s Anointed Blue hymnal #203
* THE BLESSING AND SENDING FORTH Luke 1.78-79
By the tender mercy of our God,
the dawn from on high will break upon us,
to give light to those who sit in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.
RESPONSE Please stand and sing to your neighbors:
Go in peace, Beloved, God be with you all.
Wait for grace with patience, as for rains that fall.
Christ is coming soon now! Be a sign of hope:
bear the light of Jesus, love to one and all.
POSTLUDE The Holly And The Ivy Old English Carol, arr: Richard Ellsasser
[During the postlude there are people ready to pray with you at the candles in the corners.
Following worship please join us for fellowship and refreshments.]