PRELUDE/ENTRANCE
GREETING/ANNOUNCEMENTS
*OPENING SONG
“Prepare the Way of the Lord” UMH 207
*CALL TO WORSHIP
Liturgist: 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.” People: We come, and we wait in the just peace of the coming Messiah.
Liturgist: Pay attention! God is removing barriers and leveling the playing field, making a way for all people to witness the glory of the Lord. People: We pay attention, and we wait in the just peace of the coming Messiah.
Liturgist: 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. People: We wait, and we work in the just peace of the coming Messiah.
Liturgist: 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. People: 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.
LIGHTING OF THE ADVENT CANDLE
OPENING PRAYER (Together)
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.
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
WORDS OF ASSURANCE
SHARING GOD’S PEACE
JOYS AND CONCERNS
PROCLAMATION AND RESPONSE
A TIME FOR CHILDREN
SPECIAL MUSIC Richie McCabe
*FIRST SCRIPTURE Mark 1:1-8
SECOND SCRIPTURE Isaiah 40:1-11
MESSAGE “Prepare the Way”
RESPONSE TO THE WORD
*SONG OF RESPONSE
"In the Bleak Midwinter" UMH 221
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
THE LORD’S PRAYER
*OFFERING OF OURSELVES
*DOXOLOGY UMH 95
*PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
SENDING FORTH
*SONG OF DISMISSAL
“Go, Tell It on the Mountain” UMH 251
*BENEDICTION
*PEACE “Shalom to You” UMH 666