Fourth Sunday of Advent

Call to Worship

Stop. Listen. Pay attention. Love is coming near.
We wait in the love of the coming Messiah that transforms us.

The Hope Bringer, Peace Maker, Joy Sustainer grows in a womb, preparing to be born among us.
We wait in the love of the coming Messiah that transforms us.

With Mary, we long for the coming of the Child who will transform the world, bringing justice where injustice reigns, fullness where hunger persists, and favor to the ones the world calls lowly.
We wait in the love of the coming Messiah that transforms us.

So let us join our voices and our lives in magnifying God, our Savior!
We come to wait and to declare the coming of the Love that transforms us! Amen.

Written by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, June 2023.

Litany

God’s Name: Holy, Mercy, Redeemer, Fulfiller

Rejoice like Mary! Dance from the depths of your soul!
The Mighty One has done great things! Holy is God’s name.

God showed mercy to our mothers, mercy to our sons.
God dethroned the masters and crowned the slaves.
The Mighty One has done great things! Mercy is God’s name.

God shone light on the tears of the displaced.
God turned their sorrows into rainbows.
The Mighty One has done great things! Redeemer is God’s name.

God filled the mouth of the child in famine.
God fulfilled the promise of saving this world.
The Mighty One has done great things! Fulfiller is God’s name.

Written by Ciona D. Rouse, The Africana Worship Book, Year B (Nashville: Discipleship Resources, 2007), 77.

Prayer of Confession

(inspired by Luke 1:46-55)

Every notion we have about power, success,
wealth, and achievement,
God takes and tosses out the window.
More importantly, God comes to us,
to upset our notion that we have to save ourselves.
In Jesus, God comes to us,
removing our sin, our failures, our expectations,
so we might have new life.
Please join me as we pray, saying,

We confess we are not the people you hope us to be, Advent God.
The very ones you favor, we too often ignore or ridicule.
The ones you knock off their pedestals,
we admire and emulate.
We are so focused on having more and more,
we risk being sent away empty.

Forgive us, Mighty God,
and look with grace upon us.
We would live secure in your love;
we would be the ones of peace for our world,
we would seek to do your will,
as did Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior,
in whose name we pray.

Silence is kept

Even now—yes, even in this very moment,
God comes to us,
bringing hope,
bringing forgiveness,
bringing grace as freely offered gifts to us.
May we open our hearts to the God who is with us,
and receive the gifts which have been offered to us.
Thanks be to God. Amen.

Written by Thom Shuman and posted on Lectionary Liturgies. http://lectionaryliturgies.blogspot.ca/. Reposted on the re:Worship blog at https://re-worship.blogspot.com/2012/12/confession-luke-1-46-55.html.

Benediction

Beloved, the wait for the Messiah is almost over and has only just begun. Go from this space carrying the love that transforms us in your hearts, that your lives may give birth to hope, peace, joy, and love wherever you go. Amen.

Written by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, June 2023.

Christmas Eve

Call to Worship

Come, faithful watchers, and behold, your salvation is here!
We greet the Wondrous Light, our Messiah, Christ the Lord.

We have waited and watched, longing for God to show up and save us from the suffering and pain in our world.
We greet the Wondrous Light, the fulfillment of our shocking hope.

We have waited and watched, longing for peace to reign among us, a peace that removes unjust barriers, frees us from sin, and binds us together as neighbors, family, and friends.
We greet the Wondrous Light, the bringer of our just peace.

We have waited and watched, longing for joy that is persistent in the face of the grief, lament, chaos, and oppression that weigh on us day in and day out.
We greet the Wondrous Light, the source of our fierce joy.

We have waited and watched, longing to encounter the love that transforms us, the Love that is now here among us, first as a babe in a manger, then as a teacher, a friend, and our Savior.
We greet the Wondrous Light, Love Incarnate who has come to save us and transform us. Amen.

Written by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, June 2023.

Invocation

Emmanuel, God-with-us most of all tonight, your light lifts up our hearts, our spirits, and our voices. We give you thanks for your birth long ago and presence with us always. Your hope is more trustworthy than our promises. Your peace is deeper than our prayers. Your joy teaches us to sing even when we want to cry. Your love is wider than the chorus of the galaxies, and yet your Star shines on us now in this church which has become a manger. Amen.

Written by Maren C. Tirabassi, in Touch Holiness: Resources for Worship, Updated, eds. Ruth C. Duck and Maren C. Tirabassi (Cleveland: The Pilgrim Press, 2012), 21.

Prayer of Confession

God of Light,
we confess that we have gone astray and have left Your light.
We follow the dim lights of the world of success and fortune.
We follow the dim lights that call us
to be more religious by following rules.
We follow the fading light of personal salvation.
Forgive us for not seeking the true Light
of Your love for all the world.
Forgive us for not following the ways of Jesus,
who commanded us to love one another.
Call us to be light-bearers of love, compassion, and justice,
in which the Mystery of Your Love is revealed.
In the name of Jesus the Messiah, we pray. Amen.

Written by Rev. Mindi and posted on her Rev-o-lution website, http://rev-o-lution.org/. Reposted on the re:Worship blog at https://re-worship.blogspot.com/2016/12/prayer-of-confession-seeking-light.html.

Benediction

Beloved, just as the shepherds heard the angels’ news and rushed to find the Christ child, go now glorifying and praising God, declaring the good news: our wondrous Light has come! Thanks be to God. Amen.

Written by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, June 2023.