Worship Leaflet for Sunday, November 29, 2020
Advent 1
Congregational responses are in bold type.
First time visitors and guests are invited to sign our guest book.
Prelude
Welcome
Confession
All may make the sign of the cross, the sign marked at baptism, as the presiding minister begins.
Blessed be God, Father, ☩ Son, and Holy Spirit,
whose forgiveness is sure
and whose steadfast love endures forever.
Amen.
Together let us honestly and humbly confess
that we have not lived as God desires.
Silence is kept for reflection.
Loving and forgiving God,
we confess that we are held captive by sin.
In spite of our best efforts, we have gone astray.
We have not welcomed the stranger;
we have not loved our neighbor;
we have not been Christ to one another.
Restore us, O God.
Wake us up and turn us from our sin.
Renew us each day in the light of Christ. Amen.
People of God, hear this glad news:
by God’s endless grace
your sins are forgiven, and you are free—
free from all that holds you back
and free to live in the peaceable realm of God.
May you be strengthened in God’s love,
☩ comforted by Christ’s peace,
and accompanied with the power of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Opening Hymn | Rejoice, Rejoice, Believers
1 Rejoice, rejoice, believers,
and let your lights appear;
the evening is advancing,
and darker night is near.
The bridegroom is arising
and soon is drawing nigh.
Up, pray and watch and wrestle;
at midnight comes the cry.
2 The watchers on the mountain
proclaim the bridegroom near;
go forth as he approaches
with alleluias clear.
The marriage feast is waiting;
the gates wide open stand.
Arise, O heirs of glory;
the bridegroom is at hand.
3 The saints, who here in patience
their cross and suff'rings bore,
shall live and reign forever
when sorrow is no more.
Around the throne of glory
the Lamb they shall behold;
in triumph cast before him
their diadems of gold.
4 Our hope and expectation,
O Jesus, now appear;
arise, O Sun so longed for,
o'er this benighted sphere.
With hearts and hands uplifted,
we plead, O Lord, to see
the day of earth's redemption
that sets your people free!
Greeting
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing,
By the power of the Holy Spirit may we abound in hope.
The Prayer of the Day - Caitlin & Daniela Boling
God of hope, when Christ your Son appears may he not find us asleep or idle, but active in his service and ready.
Amen.
Lighting of the Advent Wreath - "Oh Come Oh Come Emmanuel"
1 Oh, come, oh, come, Emmanuel,
and ransom captive Israel,
that mourns in lonely exile here
until the Son of God appear.
Refrain
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to you, O Israel.
Wreath Lighting - Cindy, Bria & Jada McCallam
Reader One: If ever there was a year we needed Advent, this is the year. We hardly know how to describe the year we have lived through. We hesitate to reflect on all the mess around us in 2020. All we know is that nothing seems right, nothing seems like it used to be, nothing. We need Advent!
Reader Two: The prophet Isaiah cried out for us, “O that you would tear open the heavens and come down … To make your name known … so that nations might tremble at your presence.” So tear through the mess, O Lord, and come down to us again. We long to be your people, a people of hope.
Reader One: We light this first candle as a sign of our hope. Hope that you can meet us, even in the mess of our world. Hope that you still see us, though we feel we are lost in the rubble. Let this light be the guide that brings us to Emmanuel once more.
Reader Two: O Come, O Come Emmanuel.
Refrain
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to you, O Israel.
Sharing Scripture | Isaiah 64:1-9
O that you would tear open the heavens and come down,
so that the mountains would quake at your presence —
as when fire kindles brushwood
and the fire causes water to boil —
to make your name known to your adversaries,
so that the nations might tremble at your presence!
When you did awesome deeds that we did not expect,
you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence.
From ages past no one has heard,
no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides you,
who works for those who wait for him.
You meet those who gladly do right,
those who remember you in your ways.
But you were angry, and we sinned;
because you hid yourself we transgressed.
We have all become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth.
We all fade like a leaf,
and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
There is no one who calls on your name,
or attempts to take hold of you;
for you have hidden your face from us,
and have delivered us into the hand of our iniquity.
Yet, O LORD, you are our Father;
we are the clay, and you are our potter;
we are all the work of your hand.
Do not be exceedingly angry, O LORD,
and do not remember iniquity forever.
Now consider, we are all your people.
Sermon | Pastor Shannon K. Anderson
The Apostles' Creed
Together with the whole Christian church, we confess our faith by the words of the Apostles' Creed.
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again:
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
Prayers of the People
On this first Sunday of the church year, let us pray that God comes quickly to this weary world; we respond to each petition with Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
V. Lord in your mercy,
R. Hear our prayer.
The Peace
The peace of the Lord be always with you.
And also with you.
Special Music/Offering
Everything we have is a gift of our generous God. Our offering is a way to respond to that generosity. You can safely and securely make a gift to the church online by clicking the button below. You can also leave your offering in the offering plate by the baptismal font.
Thanksgiving at the Table
God of Hope,
Beginning and end
Creator of all that is
In you we trust.
You promised Abraham and Sarah they would be parents of many nations, and they were.
You promised to deliver your people from Egypt, and you did.
Through Christ, you promise salvation.
Blessed are your promises.
You were with Israel in the Desert.
You were with Christ at his death.
You are with us even now.
Blessed is your presence.
From the beauty of darkness, you created all that is.
You breathed life into dust, parted seas and ripped open the heavens.
You cast the mighty down from their thrones and lift up the lowly.
Blessed is your power
You came to bring good news to the poor and to let the oppressed go free,
You became incarnate so we would have abundant life
You were murdered so that we would be free
Blessed is your love
In you lies our hope
In you lies our salvation
In you we trust
In the night in which Jesus was betrayed, he gathered with his friends – those who loved him, those who would betray him, those who saw hope for a new future in his life. As they ate, Our Lord Jesus took bread and gave thanks; broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying: Take and eat, this is my body, given for you. Do this. Remember me.
Again, after supper, he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it for all to drink saying: This cup is the new covenant in my blood, shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin. Do this. Remember me.
For as often as we eat of this bread and drink of this cup we place our hope in this promise
Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.
Immannuel, send your spirit upon this bread and wine. Strengthen us for the journey. Transform us with your love.
Blessing, praise and thanks to you Holy One, creator of all that is, beginning and end. Grant us hope for the creation of the new world, and faith in your kingdom come, through Jesus Christ and the power of your Holy Spirit, Amen.
The Lord's Prayer
Gathered into one by the Holy Spirit, let us pray as Jesus taught us:
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power
and the glory are yours,
now and forever. Amen.
Distribution of Holy Communion
You are invited to take communion in your home. If you are in a group, after the pastor has blessed the elements, you can take turns offering bread and then wine/juice to one another saying ‘this is the body of Christ’ and ‘this is the blood of Christ.’ If you are watching on your own, the pastor will lift the wafer saying ‘this is the body of Christ’ and then the cup saying ‘this is the blood of Christ’. These words are for you, take the bread and wine/juice that you have knowing that they are blessed and Christ is truly present in them.
Post Communion Prayer
God in whom we place our hope, in this meal you have given us a taste of life with you; a future in which the mighty have been cast down from their thrones and the lowly have been lifted up, a future you ask us to co-create with you here and now. Send us forth into the world to do as Christ taught us, revealing your love through our words and deeds, showing others the greatness of your love, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord,
Amen.
The Blessing
May you find time for rest this season
May you create space to prepare
May the Lord our God fill you with hope
May Jesus Christ be ever present in your heart
May the Holy Spirit illuminate your way
Amen
Announcements
Postlude
Eucharist Prayer, Post Communion Prayer and Blessing by Elizabeth Rawlings, c. DWP, used by permission
Scripture reading is from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) Bible. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Prayers of the People: (c) Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). All music reprinted and streamed under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies license SAS005184 and ONE License A-728127.