Long Green Valley Church of the Brethren
Long Green & Kanes Rds., near Glen Arm, Md.
December 8, 2013
Worship 10:00 am          Sunday School 11:10am

Second Sunday of Advent

  Beginning with Praise (9:50 am)       "On Jordan's banks the Baptist's cry"       183
  Announcements
  Prelude                       "My soul proclaims with wonder"

   Call to Worship                         Isaiah 11:1-10

  Lighting the Second Candle

*Hymn                            "O come, O come, Immanuel"                              172

*Opening Prayer

  For younger eyes & ears          "A Child’s Garden: A Story of Hope"

  Scripture                                 Romans 15:4-13

  Sharing a joy, a concern, a word of testimony or praise
                                 (please be brief, and aware of God's listening presence)

  Advent Prayer Song                "Kindle a flame"                                     (insert)
                                                  (text/info   listen)

  Pastoral Prayer

  Scripture                              Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19    (Laughing Bird version)

  Invitation to Giving

  Offertory                                  "Cradle Song"                                        Heller
                              (Please sign the attendance pad and pass it on)

*Response                   (vs. 3) "O little town of Bethlehem"     191

*Offertory Prayer

  Scripture                                 Matthew 3:1-12

*Preparing                          (vs.2) "The Lord is coming"                             (insert)

  Message               "a ‘Call to Worship’ in the flesh" (mp3)

*Hymn                            "Bless'd be the God of Israel"                                174

*Benediction

*Postlude                        "Oh, how shall I receive thee"

*Rise in body or in spirit

#'s are from Hymnal: A Worship Book

Worship leaders - see basic guidelines

Call to Worship
Isaiah 11:1-10

1 - A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.

2 - The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him,

1 - the spirit of wisdom and understanding,

2 - the spirit of counsel and might,

1 - the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.

2 - His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.

1 - He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear;
        but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;

2 - he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.

1 - Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins.

2 - The wolf shall live with the lamb,

1 - the leopard shall lie down with the kid,

2 - the calf and the lion and the fatling together,

1 - and a little child shall lead them.

2 - The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together;

1 - and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

2 - The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp,

1 - and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den.

2 - They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain;

1 - for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

2 - On that day…

1 - On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples;

2 - the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious.

scripture text from The New Revised Standard Version,
copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the
National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.
Used by permission. All rights reserved
      

Lighting the Second Candle

1 - Today - the second Sunday in Advent - we have heard Isaiah’s vision of a new and transformed world.

2 - A world where all creatures live together in harmony and peace.

1 - We wait with hope for this vision to become reality.

2 - The God of hope fills us with joy and peace in believing. We re-light the candle of hope.

(The first purple candle is relit, the one in front)

1 - We proclaim our belief in God's faithfulness in keeping promises, as we light the candle of peace.

(A second purple candle is lit, the one to the left)

2 - Arise, O people of God, and sing to our Immanuel, “God with us.”

adapted from liturgy written by and belonging to Rev. Moira B. Laidlaw.
  

Opening Prayer

             O God, who sent Jesus to us as the Shoot of Jesse, open us to a new vision of what it means to be grasped by the spirit of such a one. With complete openness to your Spirit and reverence to your way, may we seek insight by undertaking serious discussion with both our friends and our enemies. Help us to be sensitive and courageous as we seek to guide with judgments so righteous and just that the lamb will not fear to lie down with the lion. Amen.

by Bob W. Dell, retired pastor residing in McPherson, KS
presently serving on the Transformation Vision Team
of the Western Plains District of the Church of the Brethren
this prayer was originally written (12/5/2004) for
the Church of the Brethren Living Word Bulletin
Anchor/Wallace, Sleepy Eye MN 56085, "The Living Word Series"
   

For younger eyes & ears
"A Child’s Garden: A Story of Hope"

         
  
            This picture book by Michael Foreman “is one of those stories that can be heard on many levels.  Children will simply connect the grape vine that grows over the barbed wire fence with the shoots that grow out of the Jesse tree stump.  Adults will see that connection but also realize the connection to all the refugee camps in the war-torn Middle East at the time.  The story would be well worth sharing with the entire congregation as a summary of hope.” So suggests Carolyn Brown in very insightful blog, “Worshiping with Children” (a great resource!)

Pastoral Prayer

written closer to the time (if not at the moment)

Invitation to Giving

In the folded recesses of a forgotten continent,
a forgotten man walks alone.
Penniless. Leprous. Isolated.
Hopeless.

In the recesses of a young man's baggage,
a twice-worn shirt lies folded and forgotten.
Dirty. Old. Superfluous.
Useless.

"Stop right here!" his voice blurts out
to the group's surprise.
Luggage jostled, arm digging deep,
he pulls out not one but two shirts.

Powdered dust of road clings
to tear-streaked cheeks—
in what is feared a pitiful offering.
Far too little, far too late?

Yet a now less-forgotten man
raises prayerful palms skyward—
offering held within.
God's kingdom is here.

by Greg Davidson Laszakovits, pastor
Elizabethtown, PA Church of the Brethren
Church of the Brethren Living Word Bulletin
Anchor/Wallace, Sleepy Eye MN 56085, "The Living Word Series
Illustration by Kate Cosgrove; © 2012 Gather 'Round curriculum
  

Dedication

             God, keep us alive to your reign among us. Even when we think the situation is hopeless or that our gift will be useless. When we forget to take part in what you are doing around us, have mercy on us. May we learn to give as extravagantly as you do.  Amen.

by Greg Davidson Laszakovits, pastor
Elizabethtown, PA Church of the Brethren
Church of the Brethren Living Word Bulletin
Anchor/Wallace, Sleepy Eye MN 56085, "The Living Word Series
  

Benediction

Go now and prepare the way of the Lord.
Welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you,
and bear fruits worthy of repentance. 

And may God grant you harmony with one another;
May Christ Jesus fill you with joy and peace in believing;
And may the Holy Spirit empower you and fill you with hope. 

©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net