Advent begins with a call to get ready, and it is a reminder to get out of our sense of complacency. However, it is hard to be complacent when things are difficult. When all is going well, then we need the two-by-four of Advent to wake us up. But when things are difficult, we use Advent as a prayer, as a reminder to hope. The following are some hymn suggestions that pair with the selected readings for this worship series.

Abbreviations:

UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
TFWS: The Faith We Sing
W&S: Worship and Song

Third Sunday of Advent

In Advent, we anticipate the arrival of the Christ child who we know is coming to remember how to wait for the fulfillment of God’s kin-dom on earth as it is in heaven. A fulfillment we are still waiting for. Let this Sunday, Gaudete Sunday, be a practice session, a rehearsal for living with fierce joy in the midst of the tension of the now and the not yet.