Bulletin – Sunday, December 19, 2021

Sunday, December 19, 2021
Advent 4
Our Deepest Gifts—Joy

Approach

Advent Candle Lighting

As the days get shorter and darkness gets longer we enter into this Advent time of waiting, as we wait for the coming of Light and Love Incarnate. Advent is often called a time of preparation when we are “preparing the way,” preparing our hearts for the coming of Emmanuel “God with us.” As we enter tis time we open our hearts to the presence of God with us and the gifts that God gives us and in turn the gifts we are called to share with the world. This day we light the candle of Joy, joy in our lives, and joy for the world. As we light his candle we remember the joy brought to the world by the birth of a baby in a stable, the birth of God’s love with us, the birth of new life brought to a world of darkness. May the light of this candle instill in us a joy that comes with the birth of Emmanuel, “God with us.”

Response – “Light a Candle”

Light a candle for you in the darkness,
In each trail, we know you are near;
Advent watching and waiting for Jesus,
God with us, in wiping our tears,
Emmanuel, joy is here:
Joy is here!

Call to Worship

One:   Seasons come and seasons go,
All:      but our God endures forever.

One:   Our faith can seem to come and go,
All:      but our God endures forever.

One:   Our lives may freeze up or may grow,
All:      but our God endures forever. So let our souls magnify the Lord our God this day, let our souls jump with joy, for God is with us always.

One:   So let us worship our Enduring God.
All:      Let us worship in joy.

(adapted from Harry Dasher)

Hymn – “O Come, All Ye Faithful”

O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem;
Come and behold him, born the King of angels;

O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord.

Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation,
Sing, all ye citizens of heaven above;
Glory to God in the highest;

O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord.

Yea, Lord, we greet thee, born this happy morning;
Jesus, to thee be glory given;
Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing:

O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord.

Prayer of Approach and Confession

We come together today with joy, the joy that comes with the impending birth of Emmanuel, God with us. We pray that in this time we might come to see what your presence, born among us means in our lives every day.

But there are so many times that we struggle. O Holy God of Promise, we so often place our trust in the things we can see, and touch, and easily believe. But you did not ask us to believe what is easy, you have asked us to believe what is true!

Forgive us, Holy One, when we doubt the ways you work. Forgive us when we find it hard to believe an ancient story. Forgive us when we question how you chose to enter the world, born as one of us. Forgive our lack of faith and belief in ways which seem so impossible to believe. Help us to look in faith, open our belief, and set aside our doubts that you sent your Son, born of a virgin—the one who has come to set us all free. We offer these prayers in the name of your Son, Emmanuel, God with us. Amen.

(adapted from Rev. Jan Brooks)

Words of Assurance

Time for All Ages

Response

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.

The Word

Scripture Reading:           Micah 5:2-5a

² But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, who are one of the little clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days. ³ Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has brought forth; then the rest of his kindred shall return to the people of Israel. ⁴ And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they shall live secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth; ⁵ and he shall be the one of peace.

Scripture Reading:           Luke 1:39-55

³⁹ In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, ⁴⁰ where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹ When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit ⁴² and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. ⁴³ And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? ⁴⁴ For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵ And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”

Anthem – “She Walked in the Summer”

⁴⁶ And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, ⁴⁷ and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, ⁴⁸ for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; ⁴⁹ for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. ⁵⁰ His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. ⁵¹ He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. ⁵² He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; ⁵³ he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. ⁵⁴ He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, ⁵⁵ according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

Hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church.
Thanks be to God!

Hymn – “My Soul Cries Out”

My soul cries out with a joyful shout that the God of my heart is great,
And my spirit sings of the wondrous things that you bring to the ones who wait.
You fixed your sight on your servant’s plight, and my weakness you did not spurn,
So from east to west shall my name be blest.
Could the world be about to turn?

My heart shall sing of the day you bring.
Let the first of your justice burn.
Wipe away all tears, for the dawn draws near,
And the world is about to turn!

Though I am small, my God, my all, you work great things in me,
And your mercy will last from the depths of the past to the end of the age to be.
Your very name puts the proud to shame, and to those who would for you year,
You will show your might, put the strong to flight,
For the world is about to turn.

My heart shall sing of the day you bring.
Let the first of your justice burn.
Wipe away all tears, for the dawn draws near,
And the world is about to turn!

From the halls of power to the fortress tower, not a stone will be left on stone.
Let the king beware for your justice tears every tyrant from his throne.
The hungry poor shall weep no more for the food they can never earn;
There are tables spread, every mouth be fed,

For the world is about to turn.
My heart shall sing of the day you bring.
Let the first of your justice burn.
Wipe away all tears, for the dawn draws near,
And the world is about to turn!

Though the nations rage from age to age, we remember who holds us fast;
God’s mercy must deliver us from the conqueror’s crushing grasp.
This saving word that our forebears heard is the promise which holds us bound,
‘Till the spear and rod can be crushed by God.,
Who is turning the world around.

My heart shall sing of the day you bring.
Let the first of your justice burn.
Wipe away all tears, for the dawn draws near,
And the world is about to turn!

Meditation – “Mary’s Joy and the Coming of Christ”

Hymn – “The Virgin Mary Had a Baby Boy”

The virgin Mary had a baby boy, the virgin Mary had a baby boy,
The virgin Mary had a baby boy, and they say that his name is Jesus.

He come from the glory, he come from the glorious kingdom.
He come from the glory, he come from the glorious kingdom.
Oh, yes! Believer! Oh, yes! Believer!
He come from the glory, he come from the glorious kingdom.

The angels sang when the baby was born, the angels sang when the baby was born,
The angels sang when the baby was born, and they say that his name is Jesus.

He come from the glory, he come from the glorious kingdom.
He come from the glory, he come from the glorious kingdom.
Oh, yes! Believer! Oh, yes! Believer!
He come from the glory, he come from the glorious kingdom.

The shepherds came where the baby was born, the shepherds came where the baby was born,
The shepherds came where the baby was born, and they say that his name is Jesus.

He come from the glory, he come from the glorious kingdom.
He come from the glory, he come from the glorious kingdom.
Oh, yes! Believer! Oh, yes! Believer!
He come from the glory, he come from the glorious kingdom.

The Response

Prayers of the People

One:   Great God of the prophets and truth-tellers, Great Voice of Truth who speaks through unexpected voices, Great Power of the Universe who works mighty deeds from fragile possibilities, we gather here to know Your presence and to listen for Your truth. We listen in Your presence. We listen for You. Let our listening reach to hear the voice of young Mary. Let us listen for her voice, the voice of an adolescent girl in an insignificant village in a marginal province, far from the centers of power. Extend our listening to hear her where she may be speaking today: an adolescent girl in a village in Latin American leading the singing in a small church; a 14-year-old working for a tiny wage in a crowded factory somewhere making our high-priced running shoes; a 15-year-old helping her village in West Africa recover from civil war; a high school student in an urban centre resisting a culture of violence daily to attend school. Hear our prayers, Great God of All,
All:      and extend our listening today.

One:   Extend our listening, God, to hear the song of truth and hope You are putting in their mouths. Extend our listening, God, to sense the motion of a future You are moving in their midst, a future world put right. Extend our listening, God, that we may receive and affirm and listen with the eager ears of elderly Elizabeth, wise with years of waiting. Help us hear all those who are willing to share their wisdom with us today and every day. Hear our prayers, Great God of All,
All:      and extend our listening today.

One:   Let us listen fully and deeply for the hope You are preparing. Let us greet Your hope with the Elizabeth’s joy greeting Mary. Let us feel the future moving in us as well. Let us listen fully and deeply for the hope You are preparing in us. Let us listen deeply to the truth speaking in us. Let us listen fully to the hope You place in us. Extend our listening that we might be people of hope and joy in a world that lives in so much darkness; the darkness of greed, profiteering, ecological destruction, global warming, war, conflict, and strife. Hear our prayers, Great God of All,
All:      and extend our listening today.

One:   Extend our listening to the deepest reaches of our own souls, God of Truth. Extend our listening through the cares that each of us brings on our hearts this morning. Extend our listening through the financial worries and the preoccupations with our health, our concern for loved ones whose lives are straying out of control, our angers and aggravations, our inundation with activity. Extend our listening into all that we bring today to hear there the transforming truth about our lives. Extend our listening so that we might hear the needs of those whom we lift up to you today…Hear our prayers, Great God of All,
All:      and extend our listening today.

One:   Extend our listening until we listen with all that we are, our whole beings. Extend our listening until we hear with Your whole voice. Extend our listening until we become the voice that speaks as Mary to say, “My soul magnifies God and my spirit rejoices.” May the listening of our souls enlarge Your listening until we truly hear You from unexpected places in the farthest reaches of the earth and the most remote territories of our own souls. Extend our listening that we may magnify You. Amen

(adapted from Dr. Susan M. Elliott)

Hymn – “Joy to the World”

Joy to the world! The Lord is come: let earth receive her King!
Let every heart prepare him room, and heaven and nature sing,
And heaven and nature sing, and heaven, and heaven and nature sing.

Joy to the earth! The Saviour reigns: let all their songs employ,
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy, repeat, repeat the sounding joy.

He rules the earth with truth grace, and makes the nations prove
The glories of his righteousness and wonders of his love,
And wonders of his love, and wonders, wonders of his love.

Benediction

God of Possibilities you choose a young girl from the dusty back woods of ancient Israel to bring Love Incarnate into the world, now as we leave this place we hear your call for us to bring love into our world today. Let us go from our time together being like Mary, holding hope in hearts, peace in our soul, love in all that we do, and joy that we are beloved and blessed by God and as we do let us bring these same gifts to all we meet and our world will be changed. As we go, let us hold fast to the knowledge that Emmanuel, God with us, goes out with us this day and everyday. Amen.

Response

There’s a song of joy in my heart;
Joy is a gift from Jesus.
There’s a song of joy in my heart;
Joy is the gift from God.
Alleluia! Joy in my heart is singing praises.
Alleluia! Joy is a gift from God.