New Is Difficult – Do It Anyway

Good Morning and Welcome to Worship! Worship is often the first place that new people come into contact with this growing community of faith. And so, if you are joining us for the first time, I say to you what is said every Sunday: You are welcome here. Here is a place where all are welcome. For such is the love of God for God’s Very Good Creation. ADVENT 5 — Jeanette Williams As our nights grow longer and our days grow short, we look on these earthly signs — light and green branches — and remember God’s promise to our world: ALL: Christ, our Light and our Hope, will come.

Listen to the words of Isaiah, the prophet: “I will commit your authority to his hand, and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and no one shall shut; he shall shut, and no one shall open.” — Isaiah 22:21b-23

Candle Lighters: Fred & Wilma Wind

Liturgist — Jeanette Williams Let us pray …

ALL: Gracious God, your Son Jesus Christ opened wide the gate of heaven, making plain the way that leads to eternal joy: Grant that we who have been buried with Christ in baptism and raised to new life may strive courageously for the freedom and peace of the world; through your Son, Jesus Christ, to whom with you and the Holy Spirit be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Loving God, through the gift of prayer you teach us to hold one another in our hearts. Hear now our prayers:

for the leaders and people of every nation: for the church and all who serve the Lord:

for those who suffer in sorrow and affliction:

for refugees and travelers far from home:

for all who are in prison or facing trial:

for those who sit in darkness, or in the shadow of death:

Gracious God, this is our prayer: that your love will overflow more and more, in our lives, in your church, and in all the world, until all may know the compassion of Christ Jesus, our Savior and Lord, in whose name we pray.

Amen.

Holy One, through your Holy Spirit instruct us by the light of your prophets. Illumine our hearts, that we may hear your call to become your path into the world. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.

¹See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight—indeed, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. ²But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap; ³he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the Lord in righteousness. ⁴Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.

¹In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, ²during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. ³He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, ⁴as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. ⁵Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth; ⁶and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’”

The prophet Malachi says that God is “like a refiner’s fire and like fuller’s soap” (Mal. 3:2). Reflect on events of the past year. How has God been working to refine and perfect your life? Paul writes to the church at Philippi: “I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now” (Phil.1:3–5). Think about people in your life for whom you give thanks, who have been in your prayers, and who have brought good news and joy to you this year. Consider writing them a letter or card to express your gratitude.

We are called by God to present a harvest of righteousness — not by virtue of our own works, but by the grace of the one who began a good work in us, and is even now bringing it to completion. Let us bring the offerings of our lives to the Lord. Amen.

God of all loving kindness, receive these gifts of gratitude, the offerings of our lives. Purify them with your refining fire so that they may serve your purposes and shine with your glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

I am confident of this: the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ is with us this day and the God isn’t finished with us yet. Let us continue to prepare the way of the Lord! Amen.