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Worship Order for
Sunday
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Long Green Valley Church of the Brethren
Long Green & Kanes Rds., near Glen Arm, Md.
December 5, 2010
Worship 10:00 am
Sunday School 11:10am
Second Sunday of Advent
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“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
“Bear fruit worthy of repentance.”
(Matthew 3:2 and 8) |
Beginning with Praise
(9:50 am)
"On Jordan's banks the Baptist's cry"
183
Announcements
Prelude
"A Rose Tree Hath Risen"
Brahms
Preparation
Call to Worship
(back of bulletin)
Lighting the Second Advent Candle
*Hymn
(vs.
1-3)
"O come, all ye
faithful"
212
*Opening Prayer
Scripture
Isaiah 11:1-10
For Children
"A
Halo of Light"
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)
Hymn
"Lo,
how a rose e’er blooming"
211
Pastoral Prayer
Returning our Tithes
and Offerings
Offertory
"Hail, Star of Heaven"
Grieg
(Please sign the attendance pad and pass it on)
Scripture
Matthew 3:1-12
Message
"Ready,
aim, bear fruit"
(mp3)
*Hymn
"Bless'd be the God of Israel"
174
*Benediction
*Postlude
"Postlude"
Rinck
*Rise in body or in spirit #'s are from Hymnal:
A Worship Book
Worship leaders - see basic
guidelines |
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Preparation
Leading up to our celebration
of Christmas, each week we light a candle in our advent wreath.
Last Sunday, (candlelighter
re-lights the first candle) that candle represented
our need to awaken, and to remain awake to God’s empowering
presence in our lives and alert to what is as yet unfinished in
God’s work in this world. As we watch and wait, we prepare the
way of the Lord into our lives. That’s what today’s candle in
the Advent wreath represents – “preparation.”
Our Call to Worship this
morning highlights various persons who prepared the way of the
Lord in the past of our denomination, from those first eight who
illegally stepped into the waters of baptism long ago in
Germany, to a peacemaking doctor and church leader during the
civil war; from our first woman preacher in the 1800’s to the
visionary who started Heifer Project; from our “peace church”
work with Mennonites and Quakers, providing relief in the midst
of wars and natural disasters, to National Youth Conference and
young people jumping into the tasks set before us by the Lord
today. We come full circle to the one who cried out in the
wilderness long before our own Brethren story, paving the way
for Jesus. The voice of John the Baptist still calls us all to
“prepare the way of the Lord.”
Just so you are aware, wherever
you see three periods after a phrase in the Call to Worship,
make space for our candlelighter to say: "Prepare the way of the
Lord!" Please rise in body or spirit.
Organist plays refrain to “O come, all ye faithful”
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Call to
Worship
Leader: A voice cries out in the wilderness, "Prepare the way
of the Lord!"
People: Stepping down into the clear Eder Brook,
the first Brethren whisper ...
[Candlelighter:
"Prepare the way of the Lord!"]
Leader: Crossing battle lines on a horse named Nell, John Kline
invites ...
[Candlelighter:
"Prepare the way of the Lord!"]
People: Sounding salvation and outpreaching
others, Sister Sarah insists ...
[Candlelighter:
"Prepare the way of the Lord!"]
Leader: Dreaming of heifers for starving children, Dan West
calls out ...
[Candlelighter:
"Prepare the way of the Lord!"]
People: Building relationships with "enemies,"
the peace churches pray ...
[Candlelighter:
"Prepare the way of the Lord!"]
Leader: Offering relief for the suffering, together we cry ...
[Candlelighter:
"Prepare the way of the Lord!"]
People: Knowing there's more than meets the eye,
our youth raise their voices ...
[Candlelighter:
"Prepare the way of the Lord!"]
Leader: Jumping and serving, seeking and growing, listening and
loving, we sing ...
[Candlelighter:
"Prepare the way of the Lord!"]
People: And taking Jesus seriously, we proclaim
with the prophet ...
[Candlelighter:
"Prepare the way of the Lord!"]
Leader: "Prepare the way of the Lord!"
All:
"Prepare the way of the Lord!"
(Candlelighter then lights the second Advent candle)
Leader: Because Christmas is still 20 days away, let us only
sing the first 3 verses of “O come, all ye faithful,” #212 in
your hymnal.
by Paula
Ziegler Ulrich, adapted
pastor, Nettle
Creek Church of the Brethren Hagerstown, Indiana
Church of the Brethren Living Word Bulletin
Anchor/Wallace, Sleepy Eye MN 56085, "The Living Word Series"
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Opening
Prayer
We come as we are, O Lord, not as those who are already prepared.
The words “all ye faithful” do not mean that only the qualified need
applied, for we confess, O Lord, that we are far from perfect. There
are days when “faith” is a distant moaning, the cry of our heart
which is not yet a reality. We have lived unfaithfully, not trusting
in you. Forgive us, and move us beyond where we are to where you
dream us to be, guided by your transforming power and your promise
of a new day. Live within us through your Holy Spirit, shifting us
from a spirit of timidity and fear to true power and love and
self-control. Begin, as if for the first time, this very moment. We
praise you, Lord God. Amen.
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For
Children
"A
Halo of Light"
I will tell one of the legends attributed to
St. Lucia, a 3rd century AD martyr of the church from
Syracuse, Italy, noting that in Scandinavia, Dec.
13th is celebrated as
St. Lucia Day. I'm adapting a resource written by Ruth
Gilmore, found in Barefoot
in the Snow, ©2001, Augsburg Fortress, Minneapolis, pp. 48-49.
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Pastoral Prayer
written closer to the time (if not at the
moment)
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Returning
our Tithes and Offerings
Psalm 72 came into being before the time of exile. It probably was
then used when a king was enthroned, or his reign celebrated.
Gradually, this psalm started to function in Jewish circles as a cry
of anticipation for the coming of God’s Messiah. This is how the
early church heard these words, which are very fitting to read
during this season of preparation for the coming of the anointed
One. I will be reading verses 1-7 and 18-19 of this psalm from the
Australian paraphrase, “Laughing Bird,” because it makes this
messianic anticipation more evident. It ends, by the way, with the
‘down under’ phrase, “Too right!”
(“2
royt”),
which means “absolutely, certainly,” an expression of emphatic
agreement. In Hebrew, this is “Amen!” said twice. Listen:
Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19
As the offering plates are passed, ponder if and how you this
week have yielded “a bumper crop of honesty,” as an
outgrowth in your life of this Messiah we have named “Jesus.”
Are you bearing such fruit? … Ushers?
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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
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(para traducir a español, presione la bandera de España)
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