Call to Worship

Come! Listen! A voice cries out: “In the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”
We come, and we wait in the just peace of the coming Messiah.

Pay attention! God is removing barriers and leveling the playing field, making a way for all people to witness the glory of the Lord.
We pay attention, and we wait in the just peace of the coming Messiah.

We wait, and we work as God’s landscapers, filling in valleys and making rough places a plain, bringing justice where conflicts and obstacles once reigned.
We wait, and we work in the just peace of the coming Messiah.

As we gather, may we prepare our voices to proclaim and our hands to get messy as our lives declare the coming of our Savior and Comforter.
We come to worship and to grow in the just peace of Jesus Christ, the coming Messiah. Amen.

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

Prayer for the Day

Lord,
we have pulled out the Advent wreath,
the Christmas tree, the poinsettias.
We dusted off the hymns, unsung for a year,
and unearthed the words of your prophets.

Yet, in your eyes,
these efforts are for nothing
without the regular, persistent, deep pursuit
of justice for all people.

Our efforts are hollow without consistent work
toward peace, reconciliation,
and participation in your mission for creation.
In our hearts, we do long to be your people,
to carry out your mission,
to be lights in the darkness—
proof that no darkness can overcome your truth.

Awaken us to action.
Stir us to courage.
Rouse us to prepare a way in the wilderness for your coming,
clearing the brush of oppression, racism,
injustice, and hopelessness—
so that all may see your light and perceive your coming.
Amen.

Written by lutheranjulia and posted on RevGalBlogPals. Re-posted on the re:Worship blog at https://re-worship.blogspot.com/2014/11/advent-prayer-awaken-us-to-action.html.

Prayer of Confession

Merciful God,
in your gracious presence
we confess our sin and the sin of this world.
Although Christ is among us as our peace,
we are a people divided against ourselves
as we cling to the values of a broken world.
The profit and pleasures we pursue
lay waste the land and pollute the seas.
The fears and jealousies that we harbor
set neighbor against neighbor
and nation against nation.
We abuse your good gifts of imagination and freedom,
of intellect and reason,
and have turned them into bonds of oppression.
Lord, have mercy upon us;
heal and forgive us.
Set us free to serve you in the world
as agents of your reconciling love in Jesus Christ. Amen.

Posted on the Pilgrim Uniting Church website, https://pilgrimwr.unitingchurch.org.au/?p=400.

Benediction

Beloved of God, until every unjust barrier to abundant life is toppled and every person has access to the fullness of God’s love, our work is not done. So, may you go from this place blessed with comfort that you may also give comfort, supported by God’s sustaining that you may also provide sustenance, and surrounded by peace that you may also make God’s just peace a reality. Amen.

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