Watchword for the Week
Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord!
(Isaiah 2:5)
(Moravian Daily Texts 2016)
ORGAN PRELUDE
WELCOME and CALL to WORSHIP
(Verses from Psalm 122)
I was glad when they said to me,
“Let us go to the Lord’s house.”
And now we are here,
standing inside the gates of Jerusalem!
Jerusalem is a city restored
in beautiful order and harmony.
This is where the tribes of Israel come, to
give thanks to the LORD as he commanded.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May those who love you prosper.
May there be peace inside your walls
and safety in your palaces.”
For the sake of my relatives and friends
I say to Jerusalem, “Peace be with you!”
For the sake of the house of the LORD our
God, I pray for your prosperity.
Hymn 83 * v. 1-4 I rejoiced when I heard…
People’s Choice Hymns are marked with an asterisk (*)
(The first Advent candle is carried into church lit)
PRAYERS of LIGHT and CONFESSION
We are all on this Advent journey together.
Travel with us God, during this time of waiting.
Awaken our hearts to your peace.
We light a new candle each Sunday in Advent,
reminding us that you, God, are the light along
our paths leading us to a more just world.
Awaken our hearts to your peace.
Holy One, as we wait, help us to stay awake and
present to your love. Help us unlearn ways of
harm, and practice ways of kindness.
Awaken our hearts to your peace.
God of peace, we ask for your guidance during
this time of waiting. We wait for the birth of
Jesus, our great teacher of love. Sometimes
when we have to wait, we lose patience, and
wish time would pass quickly. Other times, we
are preoccupied with worries and distractions,
and it seems we are sleeping through life.
Sometimes we ignore ourselves or hurt those
around us; we become numb to the suffering of
others…
(Silence)
We have learned ways of violence, sometimes
revealed to us in our judgmental thoughts,
prejudices, hurtful words, and careless actions.
Help us to unlearn ways that harm, and lead us
toward your ways of peace and life…
(Silence)
Help us to wake up to your love and presence.
Forgive us for the times when we hurt
ourselves and others. Amen.
WORDS of ASSURANCE
Holy God, you always give of yourself to us. You
never leave us; you forgive and cherish us, time
and again. This knowledge brings your peace to
our hearts. May that peace flow out through our
words and actions. Thanks be to God. Amen.
CHILDREN’S TIME
Hymn 83 * v. 5 For the love of my friends…
SHARING GOD’S PEACE
(Children may join the Kids’ Church programme)
SCRIPTURE READINGS
Isaiah 2:1-5 OT p. 672 (671)
St. Matthew 24:36-44 NT p. 36
People may stand for the Gospel reading.
The word of God: Thanks be to God!
Hymn 241 * Isaiah the prophet has written
(Hymn of the Month, November 2016)
SERMON Rev. James Brown
Hymn 528 * Make me a channel of your peace
(Offerings are gathered and brought forward)
DEDICATION PRAYER
We dedicate ourselves:
to be a people of faith,
believing in one God – Father, Son and Spirit;
to be a people of sacrifice,
giving of ourselves so that others might live;
to be a people of trust,
rejecting cynicism and refusing despair;
to be a people of prophecy,
holding out Good News to a weary world;
to be a people of hope,
waiting expectantly for the coming of a
Saviour; until we see Jesus face to face. Amen.
NOTICES and PRAYERS for OTHERS
O come: let us walk in the light of the Lord.
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy
name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on
earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our
daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as
we forgive those who trespass against us. And
lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from
evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power,
and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
Hymn 286 * Tell out, my soul, the greatness
BLESSING and Threefold Amen (No. 819)
ORGAN POSTLUDE
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