Call to Worship
Leader:
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Now is the time of watching and waiting
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People:
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The time of pregnant expectation of new life.
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Leader:
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Now is the season of unfolding.
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People:
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The dark winter season when hope is waiting to be born.
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Leader:
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Let us come before God with receptive and willing spirits.
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People:
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May our souls magnify the name of God and may our spirits
Rejoice in God our Savior!
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All:
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Rejoice! God comes to bring the birthday of life and hope.
Amen.
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Psalm 46 [to be recited alternating sides]
God is for us a refuge and strength
a helper close at hand in time of distress,
so we shall not fear though the earth should rock,
though the mountains fall into the depths of the sea;
even though its waters rage and foam,
even though the mountains be shaken by
its waves.
The waters of a river give joy to God's city,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
God is within, it cannot be shaken;
God will help it at the dawning of the day.
Nations are in tumult, kingdoms are shaken;
he lifts his voice, the earth shrinks away.
Come consider the works of the Lord,
the redoubtable deeds he has done on the earth.
He puts an end to wars over all the earth,
the bow he breaks, the spear he snaps.
"Be still and know that I am God,
supreme among the nations, supreme on the earth!"
All:Give praise to the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit
both now and for ages unending. Amen.
Reading:
(Is. 40) The Lord our God comes in strength and will fill his servants with joy.
Resp: Come Lord Jesus.
Prayer
0 God, in times past we looked for you in heavenly heights. We listened for you in howling
winds. We learned of you in quaking mountains.
But now we know that you will be found among us. And you will be seen not in the glitter
of a mall but in a shelter for the homeless. You will be heard not in the pitch of a commercial
but in the whimper of a child. You will come not clothed in the comforts of the privileged but
swaddled in the needs of the neglected.
0 Come, 0 Come Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here, until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! O Israel, To you shall come Emmanuel.
Eternal God, who in Jesus Christ awakens our hope for a new heaven and a new earth,
we approach you with troubled but expectant hearts. We are troubled by conflicts within, yet
reassured by your promise of salvation for those who trust you. We are troubled by conflicts
without, yet encouraged by your pledge of peace for those who follow you.
Take from us, 0 God, the fear that we are not your people, and make us messengers of
the hope for peace on earth.
0 Come, 0 Wisdom from on high, who order all things mightly;
To us the path of knowledge show, and teach us in her ways to go.
Rejoice! Rejoice! O Israel, To you shall come Emmanuel.
We read, 0 Lord, of the people's surprise when you were born in Bethlehem. They had expected a display of power, but were confronted by a picture of humility. They had looked for a mighty ruler, but were greeted by a lowly baby.
Chasten our expectation of this Christmas with the realism of that first Christmas, so that when you come to us, surprise shall give way, now, as then to recognition, and we shall hail you as "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."
0 Come, 0 Day spring from on high, and cheer us by your drawing nigh;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, and death's dark shadow put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! O Israel, To you shall come Emmanuel.
Closing Prayer
Let us Pray.
Eternal Source of hope and of human destiny, we await patiently your fuller revelation in
time and in history. Through the coming of Christ, and through the commitment of our lives,
reign among us on earth. We ask this through Christ our Lord who lives forever and ever.
All: Amen.
0 Come, Desire of nations, bind in one the hearts of all humankind;
Make all our sad divisions cease, and be for us the King of Peace.
Rejoice! Rejoice! O Israel, To you shall come Emmanuel