PRELUDE/ENTRANCE
*OPENING HYMN “Emmanuel, Emmanuel” UMH 204
GREETING/ANNOUNCEMENTS
* SONG
“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” UMH 211
*CALL TO WORSHIP
Liturgist: Beloved, God calls to us—like Joseph—through angels and messengers, inviting us to listen for the Spirit’s guidance in the midst of half-truths and distractions.
People: We listen faithfully for the day that all the earth awaits.
Liturgist: Sometimes, angels surprise us (as they did Mary) with good news too fantastical to believe and yet too real—realer than real—to ignore.
People: We listen faithfully for the day that all the earth awaits.
Liturgist: For generations, God has sent signs of God’s coming kingdom in unexpected places—the birth of a child, the wisdom of the lowly, the faithfulness of a carpenter.
People: We listen faithfully for the day that all the earth awaits.
Liturgist: Come! Let us worship God who calls out to us, inviting us to faithfulness as we watch, wait, and work for the day when the whole world knows the abundant love and grace of Emmanuel, God-with-us.
ALL: Come! Let us worship as we listen faithfully for the day that all the earth awaits.
Written by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, May 2025.
LIGHTING OF THE ADVENT CANDLE
“Light the Advent Candle” TFWS 2090
Verse 4
OPENING PRAYER (Together)
O God, you so loved the world as to give your only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Grant to us the precious gift of faith, that we may know that the Son of God is come, and may have power to overcome the world and gain a blessed immortality; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (THE BOOK OF WORSHIP 1965, ALT.)
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
WORDS OF ASSURANCE
SHARING GOD’S PEACE
GOD SIGHTINGS AND SUPPLICATIONS
THE LORD’S PRAYER
PROCLAMATION AND RESPONSE
A TIME FOR CHILDREN
SPECIAL MUSIC
FIRST SCRIPTURE Isaiah 7:10-16
*SECOND SCRIPTURE Matthew 1:18-25
MESSAGE
RESPONSE TO THE WORD
*SONG OF RESPONSE
“O Little Town of Bethlehem” UMH 230
*OFFERING OF OURSELVES
“The Apostles’ Creed” UMH 881
*DOXOLOGY UMH 95
*PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
SENDING FORTH
*SONG OF DISMISSAL
“Jesus, Name above All Names" TFWS 2071
*BENEDICTION
*PEACE “Shalom to You” UMH 666