This worship resource is for
use on the fourth Sunday of Advent and is adaptable to any size
congregation and any worship setting. Use all or part of this
suggested service for a family-inclusive service. (If your congregation
will not be receiving the Offering on this Sunday, you may wish
to revise the order of worship.)
Lighting of the Advent Candles
Isaiah 11:6, 9B
(Invite the church “family”—members of the
congregation from each generation, e.g., a person in his or
her eighties, sixties, forties, twenties, and single digits—to
light the candles.)
Child voice: In the days to come, says the
prophet Isaiah,
Senior voice: The wolf shall live with the
lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
Youth voice: the calf and the lion and the
fatling together,
Adult voice: and a little child shall lead
them.
All voices: For the earth will be full of the
knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
Congregation: Let us walk in the light of the
Lord.
The participants light the candles in silence.
Opening Prayer BCW p. 177
God of grace,
your eternal Word took flesh among us
when Mary placed her life
at the service of your will.
Prepare our hearts for his coming again;
keep us steadfast in hope
and faithful in service,
that we may receive the coming of his kingdom,
for the sake of Jesus Christ the ruler of all,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
Hymn People, Look East PH No. 12
Call to Confession
The gift of God’s presence among us in Jesus Christ is
freely given: we have only to open our hearts to accept it. Yet we are so accustomed
to depending on our
own meager resources that our faith is small and stingy and
often we only succeed in prying our hearts open just a crack. In full confidence
that God will lift our sin from us if we confess it and ask God’s help in turning from it, let
us now unburden ourselves by confessing our sin before God
Prayer of Confession
God, Giver of all good gifts, We constantly fail to recognize
your gifts.
Our very being is your creation, yet we spend much of our lives
trying to recreate ourselves as independent beings.
The creative spirit that stirs within us is your breath, but
our greed and lack of trust sour that breath to restlessness,
impatience, and rebellion.
You gave us the world’s rich garden for our nurture
and delight, and we pry open the secrets of its creatures to
recreate them more to our convenience.
You gave us the gift of love and companionship, and we recreated
them as domination and exploitation.
Yes, God, you even gave us your own child to walk with us
and among us in human form, that we might better recognize that
love. And his coming we have recreated as an occasion frantic
with the longing for things, a moment for measuring love by
the objects it brings us.
Forgive us, God. In Jesus’ name we pray, forgive us
and free us. Remove from us this blind compulsion to control,
and let us accept and trust your grace as all-sufficient. Let
us loosen our hold on things that we may share them with one
another as signs of your grace. In the name of the one whose
incarnation of that grace we celebrate this season. Amen.
Silent Reflection
Assurance of Forgiveness BCW p.
56–57
Hear the good news!
Who is in a position to condemn?
Only Christ,
and Christ died for us,
Christ rose for us,
Christ reigns in power for us,
Christ prays for us.
Anyone who is in Christ
is a new creation.
The old life has gone;
a new life has begun.
Know that you are forgiven
and be at peace.
Amen.
Hymn What Child Is This? PH No. 53
Prayer for Illumination
First Reading Isaiah
7:10–16
Second Reading Ps.
80
Gospel Reading Matthew
1:18–25
Sermon
Affirmation of Faith Nicene
Creed
Hymn Joy to the World! PH
No. 40
Prayers of the People
Minute for Mission
(Use this opportunity to provide
information about the Christmas Joy Offering.)
Offering
Offertory
Prayer of Dedication
God,
You fill our lives with your abundant grace. When we hoard what
you have given us, it rots like manna with the morning sun.
When we share your abundance with others, we know the joy for
which you created us. May the gifts we share today bring joy
to others as our witness to your love, the love made human in
your Son, Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.
Hymn Rejoice! Rejoice, Believers
PH No. 15
Charge and Blessing BCW p. 160
Whatever you do, in word or deed,
do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God through him.
May the God of peace
make you holy in every way
and keep your whole being—
spirit, soul, and body—
free from every fault
at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Alleluia! Amen.
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