St Albans and Welwyn Methodist Circuit Service for Advent Sunday November 27, 2022
Prepared by Revd David Jebb
Call to Worship (inspired by Isaiah 2: 1-5)
May the joy of the advent season
with its message of mighty hope be with you all!
And also with you!
We begin Advent by celebrating the expectation that the Christ who came,
who comes again to be with us in every age and every place,
and who will come again in a glorious finality
to consummate the healing work which he began at Bethlehem.
Advent Liturgy – 1 ( for Advent 2022)
UP TO RESTORATION (Isaiah 2:1-5, Psalm 122)
Reader One: “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord!’” (Psalm 122:1)
Reader Two: We are glad. Whether we drove in or climbed up, whether we logged on or tuned in. We are glad to be here in this community, with this family. It is a place of joyful hope, of radical welcome. It is a place where, together, we can wait in wondrous anticipation of the kingdom to come.
Reader One: “Many peoples shall come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that God may teach us God’s ways and that we may walk in Gods paths’” (Isaiah 2:3)).
Reader Two: We light this candle as a sign of our hope, our joyous hope that we can be restored – our faith restored, our strength restored, our confidence restored, our joy restored as we watch and wait with all God’s people for the promise to be fulfilled.
Reader one: Today we light the candle of Hope
(the first candle is lit)
Advent Song STF 176 ‘Like a candle flame, flickering small in our darkness’
Advent Prayers
Almighty God, we thank you for the holy scriptures, in which you have revealed to us your Son Jesus Christ as the fulfilment of the law and prophets, the promised Messiah of Israel, and the Redeemer of humankind.
Grant that we, who gratefully celebrate his advent and acknowledge him as your living Word, may walk in the light of his truth and make known the good news of his kingdom in all the world, to the glory of your name. Amen.
Living God, forgive the words, thoughts and actions which are hasty and painful to others. Forgive the unwillingness to hear and obey your call. Forgive the indifference that stops us from seeing how we have hurt you and each other. Forgive the apathy that prevents us from doing from your will.
Cleanse u, we pray and recreate us in your name. Restore our confidence and hope in you that we might walk in your ways of love, through your Son, Jesus Christ our Redeemer. Amen. Amen.
The Ministry of the Word: Mark 13: 32 – 37 (NIV) The Day and Hour Unknown
32 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father 33 Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. 34 It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.
35 “Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. 36 If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. 37 What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’ ”
Hymn STF 180 ‘ O come, O come, Immanuel and ransom captive Israel. ( v1 – v4 only)
Sermon Reflection Points: ‘KEEP AWAKE!”
Christ calls to his disciples and the whole Church to “keep awake,” to keep alert. This idea of keeping awake is at the heart of Advent, a time of waiting and watching, but it also calls to mind a very human thing: to stay awake when you would normally be sleeping.
New parents certainly know what it means to keep awake — to be up in the middle of the night caring for a child.
There are also many professions that require keeping awake through the night: paramedics, firefighters, police, and other first responders, military personnel, and hospital night staff must keep awake during the wee hours of the night. Some cleaning, restaurant, retail, and factory staff must keep vigil, working through the night to complete their work.
At some point, every person has cause to be awake through the night, whether for work, for play, for a child or ailing loved one, for an emergency, or for a long night out. Depending on the circumstances, it can be either exhausting or exhilarating, or some combination of both.
As Christmas approaches, many of us begin (or continue) our fervent preparations to celebrate Jesus’ birth. Clergy, preachers, worship groups, musicians and choirs prepare for services, as many of us prepare for travel or the arrival of loved ones or family dinners or community parties or frantically wondering what we will do or where we will go this year.
The coming of Christmas creates, in most of us, a sense of both longing and urgency. We call ourselves to keep alert, keep awake, to work hard to get ready for this holiday that’s coming whether we like it or not.
And for many years, it doesn’t happen the way we plan it. We have to adapt and adjust and keep awake — we have to stay on our toes. As we stress over the coming holiday, Advent calls us to prepare for something much bigger than the yearly arrival of Christmas. Advent calls us to pay attention to the world around us, even as it is wracked with suffering, violence, and hunger. The first Sunday of Advent begins a story of cosmic proportions, with the sun being darkened and the stars falling from heaven.
Advent, in the reading today, reminds us that our ancestors once called out for a Saviour and that we in the Church wait for the return of one. We wait, and we hope, knowing nothing other than to keep working, keep watching, and keep awake.
In our world torn by pain and division, we look at the pain all around us and we wonder, “how long?” How long will people in our own country and around the world have to live in fear in their communities, in their schools, and in their own homes? How long will we live at odds with our neighbours and endure division in our families? How long will people have to endure violence and hunger and pain, right up to our own doorstep?
In our lowest points, we are tempted to wonder if things will be this way forever. But this season that we begin today — Advent — has a presence that calls us to look deeper. It whispers to us, urgently, in the dead of winter: “Keep awake!” It is a call of urgency and longing, but also a call of promise: there is hope. Things will not always be as they are. Something is coming that is even bigger than Christmas. The world still waits for justice. The world still waits for peace. The world still waits for God.
Like the disciples, we wait in darkness, knowing that we cannot know the specifics. We can only stay ready for what we know is coming — opportunity. Victory. Hope. Salvation.
Peace on earth.
Advent whispers to us: the night is long and difficult, but the dawn is coming.
“And what I say to you I say to all — keep awake!” (Mark 13:37)
PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION
For those who can find no peace in their heart through grief, anxiety, or fear, we pray….
For those who can find no repentance in their heart through bitterness, guilt or anger we pray..
For those who can find no peace in their lives through hunger, homelessness, or loneliness, we pray…
For those who can find no repentance in their lives through abuse, neglect, or cruelty, we pray..
We pray also for any uncertainty in our own lives, and we take a moment to bring our
personal prayers to God……
Silence
All these things we pray in the name of Jesus, Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer; Our Father…
STF 483 ‘We are marching in the light of God’
South African traditional v1 and v2 Andres Nyberg (b1955) and Andrew Maries (b.1949)
Blessing
God, whoever comes to you, draw you to his love, draw you to his light, draw you to
himself; and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, be
among you, and remain with you always. Amen
Copyright Notices
Hymns
Hymn words where displayed are in the Public Domain.
Hymn organ recordings where used are from Small Church Music. Copyright notice: Rev. Clyde McLennan, performer in this collection, has assigned his performer rights in this collection to Hymnary.org. Non-commercial use of these recordings is permitted.
Other hymns are from YouTube and covered by YouTube copyright processes.
Bible Readings
Bible readings are from the New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Images
Images where used are from pixabay.com and free for commercial use no attribution required.