The Celebration of the Gospel
December 8, 2019 — Second Sunday of Advent
The wolf and the lamb will live together.
—Isaiah 11.6
______We Are Received as Children of God____
GREETING
PRELUDE – Melodie Religieuse – Auguste Wiegand, arr: André van Vliet
[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 SONG – Come, Holy Dawn Steve G-H
Congregation:
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.
Cantor:
Change your hearts, my people! Trust, repent and pray.
With the Spirit’s fire bear fruit: prepare the way.
LIGHTING THE ADVENT CANDLE – Isaiah 11.1-10
[Isaiah imagines a ruler from Jesse’s family tree who shows us how to live: with a spirit of wisdom, judging not by appearances, but by the spirit; providing justice for the poor, until nonviolence prevails over all the world.]
Reader: A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse.
The spirit of God shall rest on them,
the spirit of wisdom and reverence for the Holy One.
All: They will delight in obeying God.
They will not judge by appearances or hearsay,
but will act with respect toward the poor,
and choose for the well-being of the powerless.
The wolf shall live with the lamb,
the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
and a little child shall lead them.
No one will harm or destroy on all my holy mountain;
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Beloved
as the waters cover the sea.
ADVENT SONG – Wild and Lone the Prophet’s Voice – Black hymnal #2089
_____We Are Transformed by the Love of Christ____
(10:30) CHILDREN’S TIME
(10:30) THE WORD IN SONG – In Christ Alone – Keith Getty
PRAYER
Leader: The world is busy! We are in a hurry! Our lives are cluttered and beyond our control!
All: God of peace, break into our chaos. Prepare a way among our desires. Clear a path straight to our hearts. Grant us grace to make room for your coming. Speak, for we are listening. Amen.
NEW TESTAMENT – Philippians 1.6, 9-11; 1 Corinthians 1.7; Romans 15.13
[Paul prays that as we await the coming of Christ our faith may fill us with love, joy, hope, and peace.]
I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. …You are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of the Beloved, Jesus Christ. … And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help you to determine what is best, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God. 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.
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GOSPEL – Matthew 3.1-12
[John the Baptist tells of one who is coming and exhorts us to prepare the way in repentance. He criticizes those who rely on religious trappings without living changed lives. His images of trees cut down and wheat threshed are not warnings of the fires of hell, but images of working with growing plants to produce and harvest abundant crops: images of change and growth in our lives.]
John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, “Repent, for God’s Realm has come near.” This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make a straight path for God.’ ”
Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear the fruit that comes from repentance. Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Sarah and Abraham as our ancestors;’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham and Sarah. Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
“I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. The Coming One will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. God’s Chosen One already holds the winnowing fork, ready to clear the threshing floor. The wheat will be gathered into the granary, and the chaff will be burned with unquenchable fire.”
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SERMON – Making room
SONG – Prepare Your Way In Me – Steve G-H
Prepare your way in me, Lord, prepare your way in me.
1. Make my rough places smooth, the crooked make straight, my Lord.
2. Lay your hand at my root, that I may bear fruit, my Lord.
3. Come and empty my heart of all things but you, my Lord.
4. Guide my feet in your way; fill me with your peace, my Lord.
THE PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
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 PEACE OF CHRIST
(10:30) ________The Sacrament of Baptism________
Pastor: Beloved in Christ:
through the sacrament of baptism
God prepares a way:
God gives us new birth through water and the Spirit,
brings us into Christ’s holy church,
and makes us part of the salvation of the world.
God of light, we long for you to come into the world.
The prophets of old have envisioned
the coming of your justice, the wolf and the lamb together,
“and a little child shall lead them.”
We come to this water in hope,
and see in this child a promise of your coming.
We come to this water to be changed,
to repent and be washed of old ways,
that in us you may prepare a way for your grace.
Sponsor: We come to this water
to baptize August
and to bathe him in your love for him.
All: We come to this water
to renew our love as siblings in Christ,
to prepare room in our hearts for Christ’s coming,
and to renew our baptism
in the death and resurrection of Christ.
The Baptismal Vows
Pastor (to the parents): As we behold the mystery of God’s grace,
I invite you to profess your faith,
and to confirm the baptismal covenant made in your name:
Do you hunger and thirst for righteousness?
Parents: We confess our need for the saving, life-giving grace of God!
Will you turn away from the powers of sin and death?
We renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness,
reject the evil powers of this world,
and repent of our sin!
Will you let the Spirit use you as prophets to the powers that be?
We accept the freedom and power God gives us
to resist evil, injustice, and oppression
in whatever forms they present themselves!
Will you receive God’s grace, give yourselves wholly to God,
and live as disciples of Jesus, Christ’s body on earth?
We confess Jesus Christ as our Savior,
put our whole trust in his grace,
and promise to serve him as our Lord,
in union with the church which Christ has opened
to people of all ages, nations, and races!
Will you nurture August in Christ’s holy church?
Parents: By teaching and example we will guide him
to accept God’s grace, to grow in faith, and to lead a Christian life.
Do you, as Christ’s Body, the church, reaffirm your rejection of sin
and your commitment to Christ?
Congregation: We do.
Will you be living witnesses to the gospel,
individually and together, wherever you are, and in all that you do?
We will live as faithful members of the Body of Christ
and serve as Christ’s representatives in the world.
Will you nurture one another in living the faith through the church
and include August and his family in your care?
With God’s help we will embody the gospel of Jesus Christ.
We will surround August with faith, hope and love
that he may grow in grace and faith
and learn to trust God and live in loving service in the world.
We will pray for him and walk with him
on his journey of discipleship among us.
Thanksgiving over the Water
Benedictus – Luke 1.68-79 – Blue hymnal # 208
As you did with Mary long ago, pour out your Holy Spirit
in this water and bless him who receives it,
that claimed by your Word, nourished in your grace,
washed from all sin and borne by your Spirit,
he may live in freedom, trust and courage,
sharing in the eternal life of Christ;
that he may be, in his love,
a light in our darkness, and a sign of your coming.
August, you are God’s Beloved,
in whom God is well pleased.
All reverence and delight is yours,
infinite and loving God, now and forever.
All praise to you, Eternal Father and Mother,
Son and Holy Spirit,
in the present moment and in eternity. Amen!
… Baptism with Laying on of Hands …
Let us welcome our new brother in Christ.
August, Child of God, claimed by water and the Spirit,
you are joined to God’s new creation.
We are one in Christ Jesus,
sharing in Christ’s royal priesthood.
With joy and thanksgiving
we welcome you as a member of Christ’s church.
God bless you now and in eternal life. Amen.
RECEPTION OF NEW MEMBERS
Members of the household of God, I commend these persons to your love and care.
Do all in your power to increase their faith, confirm their hope and perfect them in love.
We give thanks for all God has already given you
and we welcome you in Christian love.
As members together with you in the Body of Christ
and in this congregation of the United Methodist Church,
we renew our covenant faithfully to participate in the ministries of the church
by our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service and our witness,
that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.
The God of all grace, who has called us to eternal glory in Christ,
establish you and strengthen you by the power of the Holy Spirit,
that you may live in grace and peace.
SONG – Child of Blessing, Child of Promise – Blue hymnal #611
Reception of New Members
Members of the household of God, I commend these persons to your love and care.
Do all in your power to increase their faith, confirm their hope and perfect them in love.
We give thanks for all God has already given you
and we welcome you in Christian love.
As members together with you in the Body of Christ
and in this congregation of the United Methodist Church,
we renew our covenant faithfully to participate in the ministries of the church
by our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service, and our witness,
that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.
___We Are Sent in the Power of the Holy Spirit___
OFFERING OUR GIFTS – What Is This Lovely Fragrance? – Eugene Butler
* OFFERING SONG
Christ, begotten of the love of God, here before the world’s first day,
Christ is Alpha and Omega, Christ the source, the end, the way.
Christ, the promised One, still coming: now we rise and greet the day,
evermore and evermore.
Here we bring our gifts to honor you, and we come on bended knee,
offering our hearts and living, that to you the glory be.
May your light adorn and guide us, now and in eternity,
evermore and evermore. Amen.
* PRAYER
Gracious God, we give you our lives, symbolized in these gifts. Receive them with love, bless them with grace and use them according to your will. Baptized in your light, made new by your grace, send us into the world to prepare a way for you, for the sake of the wholeness of all Creation, in the name of Christ. Amen.
THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH IN THE WORLD
* SONG – O Little Town of Bethlehem – Blue hymnal #230, v. 3-4
* THE BLESSING AND SENDING FORTH – Philippians 4.4-7
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.
RESPONSE We stand and sing to our 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 – Joseph Est Bien Marie – Claude Balbastre