20151213 Order of
Worship
Prelude
Welcome/Announcements
*Call
to Worship
Give thanks to the Lord
and call upon the holy name of the most
high God.
The
Lord is our strength and our salvation.
Proclaim the mercy of the One who comes as
one of us.
The
Lord is our strength and our salvation.
Trust and do not be afraid.
The Lord is our strength and our
salvation.
With joy you will draw water from the
wells of peace.
The
Lord is our strength and our salvation.
Hallelujah! Amen.
*Call
to Confession
As John the Baptist called
the people to repent, as Jesus calls us now, we turn to the one who is both
judge and savior, trusting that repentance opens the door to new life, and that
peace beyond all measure has been promised to us. Let us confess our sins, for the Lord is
near.
*Confession
Holy
God, in your presence we confess that we need repentance.
We
have broken your commands against idolatry.
We
do not live in peace with your creation or your people.
We
have not trusted your word and we are afraid.
Forgive
us, restore us, and turn our shame into praise,
for
the sake of the One who proclaims the good news
and
for the sake of all the world. Amen.
*Assurance
of Pardon
In the name of the one God
who lives and moves among us, we are forgiven.
The Lord has taken away the judgments against us. Do not worry.
Live in peace.
*Hymn
of Praise – UMH #384 Love Divine, All
Loves Excelling
1. Love divine, all loves excelling,
joy of heaven, to earth come down;
fix in us thy humble dwelling;
all thy faithful mercies crown!
Jesus thou art all compassion,
pure, unbounded love thou art;
visit us with thy salvation;
enter every trembling heart.
joy of heaven, to earth come down;
fix in us thy humble dwelling;
all thy faithful mercies crown!
Jesus thou art all compassion,
pure, unbounded love thou art;
visit us with thy salvation;
enter every trembling heart.
2. Breathe, O breathe thy loving Spirit
into every troubled breast!
Let us all in thee inherit;
let us find that second rest.
Take away our bent to sinning;
Alpha and Omega be;
end of faith, as its beginning,
set our hearts at liberty.
into every troubled breast!
Let us all in thee inherit;
let us find that second rest.
Take away our bent to sinning;
Alpha and Omega be;
end of faith, as its beginning,
set our hearts at liberty.
Please pass the Peace of Christ
3. Come, Almighty to deliver,
let us all thy life receive;
suddenly return and never,
nevermore thy temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessing,
serve thee as thy hosts above,
pray and praise thee without ceasing,
glory in thy perfect love.
let us all thy life receive;
suddenly return and never,
nevermore thy temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessing,
serve thee as thy hosts above,
pray and praise thee without ceasing,
glory in thy perfect love.
A
Time with Young Disciples
First
Reading – Isaiah 12:2-6
Surely God is my salvation;
I will trust, and will not be afraid,
for the Lord God is my strength and my might;
he has become my salvation.
I will trust, and will not be afraid,
for the Lord God is my strength and my might;
he has become my salvation.
With joy you will draw water from the
wells of salvation. And you will say in that day:
Give thanks to the Lord,
call on his name;
make known his deeds among the nations;
proclaim that his name is exalted.
call on his name;
make known his deeds among the nations;
proclaim that his name is exalted.
Sing praises to the Lord,
for he has done gloriously;
let this be known in all the earth.
Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal Zion,
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.
let this be known in all the earth.
Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal Zion,
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.
Response
This is the Word of God for the people of
God, to which God's people respond:
Thanks
be to God.
Choral
Anthem – Beautiful Candle Light (from Images
of Adoration cantata, Pepper Choplin)
Hymn
– Rejoice Give Thanks verses 1&2,
Brian Wren
Refrain:
Rejoice, give thanks for God
is near us,
Loving, true, and kind,
And the peace of God in
Jesus Christ
Will guard our heart and
mind.
1. Turn on the porch light,
Dazzle the dark night.
God is coming soon.
God is coming soon
Through someone, somehow,
Next year, here and now,
Midnight, morning, noon.
So don’t be tempted or distracted
By the daily grind,
And the peace of God in
Jesus Christ
Will guard our heart and
mind.
Refrain
2. Just like a snowplow,
Scraping a road now,
Prophets clear the way.
Prophets clear away
Our shame and sadness,
Blame and business,
Calling us to pray.
In love’s great furnace
we’ll be burnished,
Rescued and refined,
And the peace of God in
Jesus Christ
Will guard our heart and
mind.
Refrain
Lighting
the Advent Candle
(Begin with the first two candles
lit.)
In
the Gospel of Luke, John the Baptizer points to Jesus:
As the people were filled with expectation,
…
questioning whether John might be the
Messiah,
John answered them by saying,
"I baptize you with water,
but one who is more powerful than I is
coming...
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit
and fire."
If
we follow Jesus Christ,
we
will get everything we hope for,
and
more than we bargained for.
We
light our third candle to praise God,
whose
Spirit comes to us with disturbing and wonderful blessings.
(Light the third candle)
Living
Christ, give us faith to trust you, hope to follow you, and love to live for
you.
We trust you, we love you,
we praise you. Amen.
Hymn
– Rejoice, Give Thanks, verse 3
Refrain
3. Here is a newsbreak
Healing our heartache:
Christ will bring us home!
Christ will bring us home,
Where no one’s outcast,
And we’ll have at last
Freedom and shalom.
In hope we’re living, let thanksgiving
All our fears unwind,
And the peace of God in Jesus Christ
Will guard our heart and mind.
Refrain
Sharing
Joys and Concerns
Pastoral
Prayer
Lord’s
Prayer
Hymn
– UMH #196 Come Thou Long Expected Jesus
1. Come, thou long expected Jesus,
born to set thy people free;
from our fears and sins release us,
let us find our rest in thee.
Israel's strength and consolation,
hope of all the earth thou art;
dear desire of every nation,
joy of every longing heart.
born to set thy people free;
from our fears and sins release us,
let us find our rest in thee.
Israel's strength and consolation,
hope of all the earth thou art;
dear desire of every nation,
joy of every longing heart.
2. Born thy people to deliver,
born a child and yet a King,
born to reign in us forever,
now thy gracious kingdom bring.
By thine own eternal spirit
rule in all our hearts alone;
by thine all sufficient merit,
raise us to thy glorious throne.
born a child and yet a King,
born to reign in us forever,
now thy gracious kingdom bring.
By thine own eternal spirit
rule in all our hearts alone;
by thine all sufficient merit,
raise us to thy glorious throne.
Second
Reading – Luke 3:7-18
John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him,
“You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear
fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have
Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to
raise up children to Abraham. Even now the ax is lying at the root of the
trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and
thrown into the fire.”
And the crowds asked him, “What then should we do?” In reply
he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none;
and whoever has food must do likewise.” Even tax collectors came to be
baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” He said to them,
“Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.” Soldiers also asked him,
“And we, what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone
by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”
As the people were filled with expectation, and all were
questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah,
John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water; but one who is
more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his
sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork
is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his
granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good
news to the people.
Response
This is the Word of God for the people of
God, to which God's people respond:
Thanks
be to God.
Sermon
This
week we continue to follow Luke through Advent.
I think these last two weeks of readings are particularly closely
related. Last week we talked about
wildernesses—and how important it is to face our wildernesses and to let the
lessons we learn in them to change our lives and bring us to vistas of praise
we’d not yet encountered. Last week we
met Zechariah and his son John.
This
week we get into the content of John’s actual messages. And they aren’t messages that are easy to
hear. Where we want to hear tidings of
great joy that shall be for all people, we aren’t there yet. We must remember that our waiting is not for
the birth of the babe, but for the coming of his kingdom—the true kingdom of
peace, love, joy, and hope. The birth of
the babe is only the beginning of the advent of that kingdom.
This
week’s reading gets into the heart of what we as followers of John Wesley call
the relationship between personal piety (things we do to develop our
relationship with God—prayer, Bible study, “holy conversation” friendships with
people who hold us accountable for our spiritual growth, etc.) with our social
holiness (our responsibility to our neighbors, to those who have less than we
do, our work to make the world a more just and peaceful and loving place,
etc.), and so, though it’s hard to hear we must take John’s words seriously.
As our
reading opens, John’s first comment to those gathered is a warning not to
assume that their lineage, their communal promise and identity, is a substitute
for their individual faithfulness. This
must have been shocking to those gathered, for whom their identity as
descendants of Abraham and inheritors of that promise were the core of what it
meant to be Jewish. Nevertheless, John
insists (and we do actually know that) communal identity is a poor and empty
substitute for an individual knowledge of and relationship with God. John points out that God’s promise to Abraham
was made because of his faithfulness, and God is capable of dwelling—“raising
stones”—with anyone who is faithful. Instead
of depending on our belonging to a tribe (or a church) we are to realize that
our preparation for the coming Messiah, is a matter of individual concern. And so, hearing John’s message, that they
can’t rely on other people’s faith to secure their own, the people gathered ask
John what they should do. And he directs
them to repent.
The Greek word translated here as repentance
is metanoia, literally meaning “to
change one’s mind, action and whole inner nature, intellectual, affectional,
and moral” or more simply, conversion and contrition. It’s a total and complete U-turn of the way
we live life. Verse 8 tells us that for
John, this repentance is identified by its fruits, by actions born out of
faithful, contrite, and loving hearts.
John’s directions to people are all about ethical behaviors. It’s easy to say that we have repented, asked
for and been forgiven, purified, and have turned new leaves, but do our lives
testify to our turn-around? I’m sure
you’ve all heard the adage that says, “Actions speak louder than words,” and
this seems to be what John is getting at.
In
Luke’s telling, there are three groups in particular present during this
particular sermon, there’s a crowd of ordinary folks, some tax collectors, and
a few soldiers. John’s preaching is so
powerful and so moving that the people are shocked, so concerned, and they
immediately want to know what they need to do in order to be prepared for what
is to come. John has specific and
practical advice for each group’s repentance based on their own
lifestyles. To average folks he
recommends sharing what they have with those who have less. To the tax collectors he prescribes honesty
and to refrain from greed. To the
soldiers he says not to use their position to extort people.
And as I look at these three divisions of
people, I find interesting is that each of these represent a source of power—a
source of power that still operate in societies worldwide. In the crowd we see the power of groups. There is power in groups—we know that group
mentality, peer pressure, drives people to do things they would never do on
their own. Groups provide a sense of
security in numbers, and providing anonymity against personal attack. There is no greater example of this than
watching middle schoolers try to figure out social behaviors. It’s a hard age. Who is in and who is out, what is in and what
is out, can change in the blink of an eye.
Even in our most nostalgic moments, nobody says, “Gosh, I’d really like
to go back and be 13 again.”
In the tax collectors we see the power of
money and influence. In the US the rich
continue to get richer and the poor poorer.
We see this in our own community—increasing need with fewer
resources. According to the Pew Research
Center this year, for the first time since they began tracking it in 1971, the
“middle class” is less than half of the population, and not only that, the
middle class is falling farther behind with median incomes dropping by 4% since
2000.[1]
Markets rise and fall, and yet some people
make money during both. Predatory
lending institutions keep people enslaved to debts they’ll never be able to
repay. City planning and zoning favors
those with deep pockets and powerful friends.
The rich get trivial sentences while the poor spend lifetimes behind
bars. Networking becomes nepotism. Students go into debt, borrowing against a
future they must abandon if they are to avoid default. Special interest groups, lobbies, and
corporations wield incredible legislative influence based on their financial
power.
In the soldiers I think we see the power of
oppression and abuse of status.
Oppression comes to us in many forms—in taking what we want, what
rightfully belongs to others; in, knowingly or unknowingly, using our wealth,
status, racial, religious, or gender identity to harm another; in breeding the
fear of difference; in not taking into account the wellbeing of others of
lesser power. A prime example of this is
happening right now in the Marshall Islands, which sit just 6 feet above sea
level. We as part of the industrialized
world seem to believe we have the right to burn all the fossil fuels we can to
maintain our industry and lifestyle. As
a side note, the United Methodist Church’s official teaching on individual
carbon footprints is that each of ours should be under one tonne (2,000 lbs)
each year. To give you a frame of
reference, mine when I was using public transit or walking, recycling, and
without air conditioning was four times that.
If you’re interested in calculating yours I would be happy to show you
where you can do that online.
The CO2 we create increases the planetary
temperature, melting the polar icecaps (which, incidentally are Earth’s ice
cubes), and raising sea levels. The people
of the Marshall Islands, in the Asian Pacific, who have for years lived happily
in their ancestral homes, now face the possibility of becoming environmental
refugees.[2] More refugees? We don’t even know how to help, or if we’re
even going to help, those who are already fleeing war-torn areas.
Though it may not always seem like it, just
like the people John was preaching to, we have incredible power and
wealth. There is nothing inherently
wrong with wealth, however wealth that is used to build an empire at the
expense of others is wrong, is abuse, is oppression. And these things are so ingrained into us,
learned from such a young age simply by living in society, that it takes real
work to repent—to make a U-turn and choose to use our power in another, better
way.
And that
better way takes generosity and unselfishness, the fruits of our repentance,
not only to help others, but to remind us of our conversion. Every time we give away something we want to
hold on to we are reminded that we belong to God. Every time we share what we want to hold back
we are reminded that we belong to God.
Every time we speak up against a harmful group mentality, every time we
take flack for being the weird person who refuses to run air-conditioning when
it’s 90 degrees outside, every time we choose forgiveness when anger and
distance would be easier, every time we say or do something that puts us on the
outer edges of normal we are reminded that we belong to God. It is hard to be different. It’s hard to be the one who stands out. But if we take this God business seriously,
that’s exactly the choice we must make.
So, how
do we, in the hearing of this message, in the words of Isaiah, "draw waters
joyfully the well of salvation"? I think
it is in the word “enough”. One of the
most insidious lies that our society tells us is that we live in a world of
scarcity. Scarcity tells us that we can
never have enough. Scarcity tells us
that we have to fight to take what we’re owed because otherwise we won’t get
it. Scarcity tells us that if we don’t
have as much or more than someone else we won’t be worth as much, or
anything.
But both this week and last week’s scriptures
are messages of enough, and enough is our good news. The good news that God is enough to lead us
through our wildernesses. The good news
that we are enough—even with our wildernesses—to be of use to God. The good news that there is enough for
everyone to thrive if we who have abundance will share.
Just as the birth of the babe is only the
Advent—the beginning sign—of the coming kingdom. The good news—the reason we can draw water
joyfully—is that our efforts, the fruits of our repentance, are only the first
fruits of God’s coming harvest. The
harvest of the Lord who will come to show the world enough mercy and grace to
somehow right all the brokenness we see.
And that is good news indeed.
Hymn
– If I Have Two Coats (Tune: LYONS,
UMH #181)
If I have two coats, God calls me to share;
There's someone nearby with no coat to wear.
And if I don't know who that person might be,
It's to a new friendship that God's calling me.
There's someone nearby with no coat to wear.
And if I don't know who that person might be,
It's to a new friendship that God's calling me.
If I have some bread — and soup, all the more —
I'm called to reach out to someone who's poor.
And if I don't know who that person might be,
It's to a new table that God's calling me.
I'm called to reach out to someone who's poor.
And if I don't know who that person might be,
It's to a new table that God's calling me.
If money is mine, God calls me to live
As someone who loves to generously give;
And if I don't know someone suffering near me,
It's to a new neighbor that God's calling me.
As someone who loves to generously give;
And if I don't know someone suffering near me,
It's to a new neighbor that God's calling me.
O God of great truth, John's call to obey
Prepared us for Christ, who shows us your Way.
May we have the courage to try something new,
To reach to new neighbors and so welcome you.
Prepared us for Christ, who shows us your Way.
May we have the courage to try something new,
To reach to new neighbors and so welcome you.
We
Bring Our Gifts
*Offering
Response – UMH #94 Doxology
*Prayer
of Dedication
Gracious
God,
in
gratitude for all that you have given us,
we
bring our tithes, offerings, and labor
to
help feed a world hungry for healing and hope;
bless
them for the sake of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Holy
Communion -- Christ's table of "enough"
Great
Thanksgiving
The Lord be with you.
And
also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift
them up to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is
right to give our thanks and praise.
It is right, and a good and joyful thing,
always
and everywhere to give thanks to you,
Almighty
God, creator of heaven and earth.
You formed us in your image and breathed into
us the breath of life.
When we turned away, and our love failed, your
love remained steadfast.
You delivered us from captivity, made
covenant to be our sovereign God,
and
spoke to us through your prophets, who looked for that day
when
justice shall roll down like waters
and
righteousness like an ever-flowing stream,
when
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither
shall they learn war anymore.
And so, with your people on earth and all the
company of heaven,
we
praise your name and join their unending hymn:
Holy,
holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
heaven
and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed
is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.
Holy are you, and blessed is your Son Jesus
Christ,
whom
you sent in the fullness of time to be a light to the nations.
You scatter the proud in the imagination of
their hearts
and
have mercy on those who fear you from generation to generation.
You put down the mighty from their thrones
and exalt those of low degree.
You fill the hungry with good things, and the
rich you send empty away.
Your own Son came among us as a servant,
to
be Emmanuel, your presence with us.
He humbled himself in obedience to your will
and
freely accepted death on a cross.
By the baptism of his suffering, death, and
resurrection
you
gave birth to your Church,
delivered
us from slavery to sin and death,
and
made with us a new covenant by water and the Spirit.
On the night in which he gave himself up for
us, he took bread,
gave
thanks to you, broke the bread, gave it to his disciples, and said:
"Take, eat; this is my body which is
given for you.
Do this in remembrance of me."
When the supper was over he took the cup,
gave
thanks to you, gave it to his disciples, and said:
"Drink from this, all of you; this is my
blood of the new covenant,
poured
out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.
Do this, as often as you drink it, in
remembrance of me."
And so, in remembrance of these your mighty
acts in Jesus Christ,
we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving
as
a holy and living sacrifice, in union with Christ's offering for us,
as we proclaim the mystery of faith.
Christ
has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.
Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered
here,
and
on these gifts of bread and wine.
Make them be for us the body and blood of
Christ,
that
we may be for the world the body of Christ, redeemed by his blood.
By your Spirit make us one with Christ,
one
with each other, and one in ministry to all the world,
until Christ comes in final victory, and we
feast at his heavenly banquet.
Through your Son Jesus Christ, with the Holy
Spirit in your holy Church,
all
honor and glory is yours, almighty Father (God), now and for ever.
Amen.
Receiving
the Bread and Cup
*Prayer
of Response
Eternal
God, we give you thanks for this holy mystery
In
which you have given yourself to us.
By
your Spirit, give us patience and perseverance as we wait,
And prepare ourselves and your world for
Christ’s return.
That
all may shine with the light of your love.
Amen.
*Hymn
of Sending – Sing Out, All God’s People
(Tune: ADESTE FIDELES, UMH #234)
Sing out, all God's people! Shout what God is doing!
We need not fear the things that hurt or destroy;
God is here with us, healing and renewing.
O Lord, we know your presence,
We trust that you are with us,
We thank you that you bless us,
Giving us joy.
We need not fear the things that hurt or destroy;
God is here with us, healing and renewing.
O Lord, we know your presence,
We trust that you are with us,
We thank you that you bless us,
Giving us joy.
Our God loves the outcast, saves the weak and suffering,
Deals with oppressors, turns our shame into praise.
God, in great love, lifts up the poor and struggling.
O Lord, we know your presence,
We trust that you are with us,
We thank you that you bless us
All of our days.
Deals with oppressors, turns our shame into praise.
God, in great love, lifts up the poor and struggling.
O Lord, we know your presence,
We trust that you are with us,
We thank you that you bless us
All of our days.
O Lord, we're reminded in this holy season:
Though we may struggle we are never alone.
Christ is our joy, our hope and peace unending:
In Christ, we know your presence;
You heal us and restore us,
You give us joy and bless us,
Bringing us home.
Though we may struggle we are never alone.
Christ is our joy, our hope and peace unending:
In Christ, we know your presence;
You heal us and restore us,
You give us joy and bless us,
Bringing us home.
Benediction
Postlude
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