Service Sunday December 15, 2024
Worship Leader: Rev. Max Ward, B.A., M. Div.
Music Director: Melissa Stephens, B. Mus., B. Ed., A. Mus.
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Third Sunday of Advent - Joy
All are Welcome!
The Gathering
Welcome and Announcements.
(ANNOUNCEMENTS moved to the end of the service today)
Focusing Moment.
Acknowledgement of Land
As we begin today, we acknowledge the history, spirituality, culture, and stewardship of the land of the Indigenous People of this region, most recently the Anishinaabe people. We seek to live in respect, peace, and right relations as we live, work and worship upon Traditional Territory. We are mindful of broken covenants and the need to strive to make right with all our relations.
Written by Cheryl Stenson, Glebe Road U.C., Toronto, Ont.
Gathering, Pentecost 2, 2021, p.25. Used with permission.
THE APPROACH
CALL TO WORSHIP:
One: Joy, in the midst of sadness--is such a thing possible?
ALL: We come weary but full of hope that this is true, full of love for one another and God.
One: Joy even when things are hard, this joy we seek today.
ALL: Let us gather from the four winds seeking God-With-Us.
One: Let us pray for Emmanuel, for joy, for wisdom to find those glimmers of joy like stars in the night sky.
Written by Whitney Bruno, Lettle Current and Sheguiandah U.C., Little Current, Ont.
Gathering, Advent 2024, p.29. Used with permission.
ADVENT CANDLE-LIGHTING LITANY:
FIRST ADVENT HYMN: “Hope Is a Star” VU #7 – verse 3
3 Joy is a song that welcomes the dawn,
telling the world that the Saviour is born
When God is a child there's joy in our song.
The last shall be first and the weak shall be strong,
and none shall be afraid.
One: On this third Sunday of Advent, we come with joy as a community of faith.
ALL: We watch, we wait, we wonder.
One: May we bask in the joyful moments that are ours when we take time to notice joy—in the beauty of nature, in the beauty of a single snowflake with its intricate, always -unique pattern, or in the many snowflakes that comprise the softly falling snow, or in the play and laughter of children.
ALL: We embrace joy as we anticipate the birth of Jesus, Mary’s new boy.
One: As we light the third candle in our wreath, we take a moment to breathe in the Spirit of joy.
(take a breath, then light the candle.)
Let us pray:
God of joy on this third Sunday of Advent, may we bask in the joy of the season, the joy we find in relationships, the joy of gathering in our community of faith and being with those we love, and the joy that awaits us in the coming of Jesus… Amen
SECOND ADVENT HYMN: “A Candle Is Burning” VU #6 – verse 3
3 A candle is burning, a candle of joy,
a candle to welcome brave Mary's new boy.
Our hearts fill with wonder, and eyes light and glow
as joy brightens winter like sunshine on snow.
CANTATA:
“Come & Adore Him”
Arranged by
Dennis Allen, Bruce Greer and David Hamilton
Narrators
Shawn Chevalier, Don Pflug & Thomas Austin-Ward
· Gloria!
· Of the Father’s Love Begotten
· Carol Medley
· Some Children See Him
· In the First Light
· Gesu Bambino
· No Longer a Baby
· I Know Now Who He Was
· Reprise – Hallelujah to the Newborn King
OUR RESPONSE
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE and THE LORD’S PRAYER: (sung VU #960)
HYMN: “Good Christian Friends, Rejoice” VU #35
1 Good Christian friends, rejoice
with heart and soul and voice!
Give ye heed to what we say: News! News!
Jesus Christ is born today.
Ox and ass before him bow,
and he is in the manger now.
Christ is born today! Christ is born today!
2 Good Christian friends, rejoice
with heart and soul and voice!
Now ye hear of endless bliss: Joy! Joy!
Jesus Christ was born for this!
He hath opened heaven's door,
and we are blest forevermore.
Christ was born for this! Christ was born for this!
3 Good Christian friends, rejoice
with heart and soul and voice!
Now ye need not fear the grave: Peace! Peace!
Jesus Christ was born to save!
Calls you one and calls you all
to gain his everlasting hall.
Christ was born to save! Christ was born to save!
YOUR GENEROUSITY MATTERS
PRESENTATION OF OUR OFFERINGS
OFFERTORY PRAYER:
So often, when we present our offerings to you, O God, we do so out of a sense of duty and of responsibility. On this Sunday of joy, however, we want to celebrate how you bless us each day. By sharing our abundance—no matter how insignificant it may seem to us—our spirits dance in celebration of how your purpose, through what we give, changes lives. Bless us by changing our lives too, in Jesus’ name. Amen. Written by Elaine Bidgood Sveet, First Lutheran,; R:ugby and Leeds, North Dakota
Gathering, Advent 2024, page 33. Used with permission.
SUNG BLESSING: (MV #220)
Joy shines as the solitary star.
Faith is the inner light.
You and I together mirror the Light of Lights,
and illumine the pathway home. ©
Sending Forth:
One: We have prayed that God’s kingdom will come.
ALL: May this prayer bring us joy in this week.
One: We have prayed that we will be empowered to act on God’s will as it is enacted in heaven.
ALL: May this prayer carry us in joy in this week.
One: We have held the world in prayer.
ALL: May these prayers encourage us to work for joy throughout this week.
One: We have received words of promise: “I am with you.”
ALL: May these words empower us to live in joy this week, for the sake of God’s kingdom, in the memory of Christ, for the good of the world. Amen!
Written by Heather Sandilands, Cornerstone P.C., Waskada, Man.
Gathering, Advent, 2024, p.34. Used with permission.
A Time of Fellowship
© Music Reproduced with permission under License number A-605748, Valid for: 26/10/2024 - 25/10/2025; One License - Copyright Cleared Music for Churches.
