The Celebration of the Gospel
December 1, 2019 — First Sunday in Advent
Be awake, for you do not know
the moment when your Love is coming.
—Mathew 24.42
_____We Are Received as Children of God____
GREETING
PRELUDE – The Father’s Rose – arr: Mark Hayes
[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.]
ADVENT INTROIT – Come, Holy Dawn – Steve G-H
Come, morning star, light our way in our darkest night.
Come, light of God, grant us peace, gently shining bright.
Come, holy dawn, sun of love, fill us with your light.
Waken now, my people! Morning soon will rise.
Love is working quietly. Open up your eyes.
LIGHTING THE ADVENT CANDLE – (Isaiah 5.2-5)
[In a time of violence and despair the prophet envisions a radical transformation of the nation and the world into a community of peace, and invites us to walk in God’s light.]
Leader: In days to come peoples shall come and say:
All: Come, let us go up to the mountain of God;
that God may teach us God’s ways and that we may walk in God’s paths.
For God shall judge between many peoples.
They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war any more.
O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord!
* SONG – O Come, O Come, Emmanuel – Blue hymnal # 211, v. 1, 2, 6
_____ We Are Transformed by the Love of Christ____
(10:30) CHILDREN’S TIME
PRAYER
God of light, in the darkness of this world your dawn is rising. Your love is at work. Waken our hearts. Keep us ready to see you. Open the ears of our hearts, ready to hear you. Speak, for in the dark, we are watching. We are listening. Amen.
NEW TESTAMENT – Romans 13.11-14
[Paul urges us to awaken from sleep, for our salvation is like the morning that is about to dawn. Like Isaiah, Paul invites us to live in God’s light. ]
You know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep.
For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers;
the night is far gone, the day is near.
Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light;
let us live honorably as in the day,
not in obliviousness and self-absorption,
not in excess and greed,
not in quarreling and bitterness.
Instead, let go of all your self-centered desires
and clothe yourselves with our Savior Jesus Christ.
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GOSPEL – Matthew 26.36-44
[Jesus tells us to be awake and alert all the time, for we do not know when God will appear in our lives. ]
About the day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Only Begotten, but only Abba God. The coming of the Promised One will be as in the days of Noah: in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away. So too will be the coming of the Promised One. Two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Savior is coming.
But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, the owner would have stayed awake and would not have let the house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Promised One is coming at an unexpected hour.
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SERMON – Hope
SONG – Child of Promise – Steve G-H
Child of promise, oh, child of hope, prophets spoke of you:
visions treasured but unfulfilled. Shall our dreams come true?
Help us wait for you.
Child of woman, oh, child of God, birthing us anew,
make a room, oh, make a womb, in our hearts for you.
Help us wait for you.
Child of patience, oh, child of pain, suffering ills we do,
heal, forgive and help us be gentle child, like you.
Help us wait for you.
Child of wonder, oh, child of joy, you make all things new.
Re-create us, come again like the morning dew.
Help us wait for you.
THE PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
SHARING THE PEACE OF CHRIST
__________We Share at Christ’s Table __________
OFFERING OUR GIFTS – Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silent – Tune: PICARDY, arr: Mark Hayes
(10:30) * COMMUNION SONG
The promise of your coming, God, is dawning in the east!
Your praise we sing, our gifts we bring, preparing for your feast.
God, as we set this table, prepare our hearts as well.
O Come to us, abide with us, our Lord Emmanuel.
THE GREAT THANKSGIVING
The grace of God be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to God.
Let us give thanks to the Holy One, our God.
It is good and beautiful to give God thanks and praise.
Loving God, light in our darkness,
we thank you. We thank you.
You who whispered “Let there be light,”
who claim us and save us,
who offer from the depths of your love
the One who is coming,
who set stars in the sky to guide our way
and to guard our joy,
who by the hand of Jesus
set a table for those who hope,
that we may gather in love
and feast in light:
you invite us and we come,
with all Creation singing your praise:
Sanctus
Holy, Holy, Holy One, God, source of love and God of light,
all Creation shows your glory, shining with your presence bright.
Blessed is the one who comes, God, in your mercy, in your love.
Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna on high!
Blessed are all who come in your name,
and blessed is Jesus, your Beloved,
born among the homeless, the poor, the refugee,
who taught and fed us, who healed and freed us,
whose grace brings down the mighty
and raises up the lowly.
For his witness to justice he was killed,
but you raised him from the dead,
and still he comes, the light in our darkness,
still he comes, still.
[…The Blessing and Covenant ...]
Grateful for these your mighty acts
in Jesus the Beloved,
we offer ourselves as a gift of joy
as we sing of the mystery we trust.
Memorial
Christ has died and Christ is risen. Christ will come again in love.
As you did with Mary long ago,
pour out your Spirit on these gifts of bread and cup,
that they may be for us the body and blood of Christ;
pour out your Holy Spirit upon us
that we may be for the world the Body of Christ.
In this meal of love and justice
may your Christ be born in us.
May we be awake to your promise,
humbly bear the fruit of your love,
and shine with your light in the darkness,
signs, in our love, of your coming.
Amen
Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen. Amen.
THE PRAYER OF JESUS
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. Beholding your presence, we trust your promise. Send us into the world, awake to your grace, shining with your light in the darkness, as signs of your coming, alive with hope, in the name of Christ, who is coming. Amen.
_____We Are Sent in the Power of the Spirit_____
THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH IN THE WORLD
* SONG – Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus – Blue hymnal #196
* THE BLESSING AND SENDING FORTH
RESPONSE Please stand and sing to your neighbors:
May the grace and peace of Christ be with you my friends.
Go and share the love of God, love that never ends.
POSTLUDE – Prepare Thyself, Zion – J. S. Bach, arr: H. Robert James