 We welcome everyone to our services at Yetholm (10am) and Morebattle (11.15) on the First Sunday after Christmas. Please stay for refreshments after the Yetholm service.
Call to Worship As we approach 2024 May the God of hope be with us. In our celebrations of Christmas May the God of joy be with us In our caring for the world May the God of peace be with us In our living of life in all its fullness May we know that God is with us Carol 313 – See in yonder manger low Prayer of Adoration and Confession God of grace and glory, we praise you from the heights and from the depths; from the courts of power and from the pathways of our lives. Your splendour shines from a manger, where the Light of the World was born for us. In fragile flesh, you are revealed to us face to face reaching out to claim our love. And so we gather with those who have glimpsed that love to rejoice that you have claimed us in Christ. We offer you our praise, Creator, Son, and Spirit; Source of life, Glorious light, and Wisdom of the ages. God of our lives, we know you are with us through thick and thin, in times of great joy and at moments of disappointment. As we think of the year past, Lord, we remember the times when we have not shown love through our thoughts, words and actions. We seek forgiveness. Lord, we remember the times when we have been hurt by the words and actions of others. Help us to forgive. Lord, we remember the times when we have been distracted from seeking after you. Lord, make yourself known to us, help us to see you in the midst of the noise and clamour of this world. Hear the good news of the Gospel: Jesus Christ is our light and our salvation. In him we are made new. Let us give thanks to God and be at peace with ourselves and with one another. Lord’s Prayer Readings – Isaiah 61:10-62:3 (Pg 748) Luke 2:22-40 (pg 1028) Carol 331 – Unto us a boy is born Weekly Prayer Lord our God, thank you for letting your light shine every day of every year. Thank you that we may always lift our eyes to you, whose right hand will bring true order to everything, even in difficult times. Give our hearts the strength to be faithful in this coming year and help us all to glorify your precious name. Amen Reflection The whirl of Christmas is over. At least all the waiting and anticipation has been realised, the family and friends have visited and maybe gone away again and maybe there is a sense of anticlimax – that’s it for another year. But it isn’t, as Christmas and the message of Christmas is till with us. I always love this poem: When the song of the angels is stilled, When the star in the sky is gone, When the kings and the princes are home, When the shepherds are back with their flocks, The work of Christmas begins: To find the lost, To heal the broken, To feed the hungry, To release the prisoner, To rebuild the nations, To bring peace among people, To make music in the heart. That is certainly the message from our first reading. In Isaiah’s time, some of the exiles had returned to Jerusalem. The excitement of the return had been tempered by the reality on the ground. There was so much to do; the opposition of those who remained to win over, the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem to begin; the routine work to accomplish, and they just had to get on with it. As we have to get on with clearing up dishes and clearing wrapping paper and making sure we have enough milk in the fridge for the New year. As we have to get on with the work of proclaiming the God who is with us through thick and thin. Christmas is still here, and this is the First Sunday of Christmas. Christmas week sees the feast of Stephen, marking Stephen’s martyrdom; it marks Holy Innocent’s day, remembering the slaughter of the children by Herod’s soldiers. But this year we focus rather appropriately on the dedication of Jesus in the Temple, appropriate on Hogmany, because we have the meeting of the old and the new. The new is represented by Mary and Joseph, bringing their new born child to be dedicated in accordance with Jewish practice. The first born was dedicated to the Lord. They sacrificed a pair of turtle doves, a sign of their poverty, as Leviticus stated that it should be a lamb. The whole of life lay ahead for the newborn, but first the baby was placed before God. And in the Temple they encountered firstly Simeon and then Anna. Anna was 84 and had been widowed most of her adult life, and while we are not told Simeon’s age, we get the impression that he too was an old man. Both would have seen much in their lives. Perhaps they had even witnessed the coming of the Romans to occupy Palestine. Anna as a widow would have relied on the charity of others, and both seemed to frequent the temple, praying, hoping, trusting. They both were people of faith and believed that the Messiah would come to bring change and usher in the Kingdom of God. Both, in turn, held Jesus in their arms and recognised him as the One, as the Messiah. Simeon utters what we now call the Nunc Dimittis, ‘Now, Lord, let your servant depart in peace…’ Maybe he was just going home happy, though we tend to interpret it as Simeon saying he can die in peace. They just have a tiny cameo in the Gospel story, but Anna and Simeon represent the old and the wisdom and life experiences that the elderly bring. I am always reminded of the group called the ‘Elders’, made up of Desmond Tutu, Jimmy Carter and others, who a decade or so ago tried to bring their wisdom and experience to situations of conflict. Simeon and Anna brought their wisdom and their faithfulness. But they also recognised something new was about to happen, and they were letting go of the old to pass on the baton to the new, to the couple and their baby. We meet here at the last day of 2023. We look back, and for some it has been a good year, with many memories to carry us on; for others we are maybe happy to see the back of it. But we stand at the threshold of 2024, and only God knows what kind of year it will be, but with Anna and with Simeon we can enter it with hope, with faithfulness and hopefully with a little wisdom, ready to face changes and make transitions in the knowledge that God journeys with us, the God who has been faithful in the past and beckons us on to a new tomorrow. And the work of Christmas goes on, ‘finding the lost, healing the broken… making music in the heart’. Hymn 237 – Look forward in faith Prayers of Dedication and Intercession Good and gracious God, your love overflows in goodness. As one year closes and another begins, help us trust your goodness. Bless these gifts so that they may provide others with the hope we know in Christ Jesus and the love you share with the world through him. God of love, as we celebrate the birth of Jesus, our Saviour, we are filled with thanks that he has shared human life and knows well both our joys and heartaches. We bring our prayers for the world you love, grateful that Jesus walks ahead of us into the year ahead. We pray for all children for they embody our future. Protect them from danger, strengthen their characters, and give them joy. Help them look to the future with hope and trust. God of the ages, Hear our prayer. We pray for the most aged among us, those whom Simeon and Anna bring to mind. Protect them in these days of rising costs and rising tensions and reassure them of their value to you and to the whole community. God of the ages, Hear our prayer. We pray for those whose hearts are filled with pain and fear and for those whose Christmas has been touched with loss or grief. (Keep a time of silence) Surround each one with your comforting embrace. God of the ages, Hear our prayer. We pray for those who cannot afford enough to eat, and for those who lack adequate shelter here and in desperate corners of the world. We pray for those who fear violence in their daily lives here and in so many regions of conflict. And we pray for those whose are anxious about the year ahead for whatever reason, (Keep a brief time of silence) Grant each one the courage and strength to face the days ahead. God of the ages, Hear our prayer. As this year draws to a close, we surrender to you, O God, the challenges it has held for us so that they will not remain as burdens. Remind us of the good things that have offered us encouragement and pleasure. (Keep a brief time of silence) Give us wisdom to navigate whatever the coming year brings. God of the ages, Hear our prayer. In the new year, grant our leaders the wisdom and generosity of spirit to collaborate on decisions they face for the wellbeing of society and of the earth itself. Inspire us all with the hope, joy and peace we find through trusting you. Amen Carol – Good King Wenceslas Benediction May the tenderness of God enfold you, the promise of the Christ uphold you, and the strength of the Spirit lead you on, to greet the year ahead, filled with grace and truth, and the blessing….
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 We welcome everyone to our united service at Yetholm (11am) on the Fourth Sunday of Advent.
Lighting of Advent Crown - Choir Call to Worship God comes to us in the cry of a child: Let every heart prepare a welcome. God comes to us in the whisper of a loving mother: Let every heart prepare an embrace. God comes to us, if we are ready or not: Let every heart prepare to receive the Christ. So we worship the God who has come, who is here and who will come again. Hymn 294 – Once in royal David’s city Prayer of Adoration and Confession God of mystery and mercy, you stir in our hearts and bring us joy. You stir in our minds and bring us wisdom. You stir in the world and bring hope for the future. You came as a little child, stirring up praise. So we come to adore you with the angels; to bow with the shepherds; to kneel in wonder with the magi; to ponder your mystery with Joseph; to love and cherish you with Mary; We come with humble hearts full of joy because you came to us first In Jesus, whom we hold on our hearts this night (day). God of grace and truth, In Christ you offer us the gift of yourself, but we are attracted to presents under the tree. You came to us in flesh and blood, but we fail to see you in the humans right beside us. You shine in the world, but we dwell on the darkness in the daily news.Forgive us. Renew our hope and our trust in you as you reach out to us from the manger. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light! Walk in the assurance of God’s grace and forgiveness. Be people of light and forgive one another. Lord’s Prayer Mickey Mouse Play Carol 303 – It came upon the midnight clear Readings – 1 Samuel 2:1-10 (Pg 272) Luke 1:26-38 (pg 1026) Hymn 312 – Away in a manger Weekly Prayer Lord Jesus Christ, we come to your cradle with joy and wonder! We adore you for your loving kindness; thank you, Jesus. Accept our hearts as our best loving gift and send us out at the end of our Advent journey filled with love, joy and peace ready to receive that promise afresh into our lives. Amen Reflection There are certain songs, which when we hear them, immediately take us to a certain place to a certain time. We associate them perhaps with certain people. An introduction is played and the memories come flooding in. Maybe to childhood or a holiday. The carol Starry Night takes me to Machanhill primary school in my first parish in the late 80s, which is when I first heard it, while with the events in Gaza, the music that comes to mind is bizarrely Pet Shop Boys, as I played their Greatest Hits at full blast as I drove down the motorway when I made a visit. Just now we are singing a lot of carols, and many of them we know by heart, they have become so much part of us. Mary as a girl would have known the songs of her faith. When women had something to say, they often put it in song. After the crossing of the Red Sea, Mirriam sand about victory against the odds. We read today about Hannah, and after unexpectedly giving birth, she sang of the God who overturned expectations, redressed the balance and gave the world a new perspective. Mary would perhaps have known these songs by heart, describing as they did a God she was still getting to know. But they would not have prepared her for the time an angel came knocking at her door. The beautiful story we read of the annunciation. Mary must have been terrified. Gabriel would have done his best, but he must have been an awesome sight to a teenager, as Mary was. Then Gabriel said such incredible things., about God, about her, about a baby who would save the world. He laid out God’s plan, and asked Mary if she wanted to be part of it. What do you say to an angel? Well, Mary proved mature beyond her years and asked how it was to be. ‘How is this to be?’ Now, you can say that with resignation or with sarcasm, but I think she says it with trust. Or maybe she is just buying time, as she weighs up the cost of what the angel is telling her.
Mary wisely went to visit her cousin Elizabeth, whom Gabriel had mentioned was also going to bear a child and, as she approaches, Elizabeth hugs her and blesses her. No questions, no condemnation, but a blessing that she is truly favoured by God. Mary then takes Hannah’s song and makes it her own. A song testifying to a God who looks with favour on the lowly , who has not forgotten them. And that is all in God’s plan that Mary was part of, for she would bear a baby who would also let this song re-echo even in his hardest moments, a child who would become the saviour of the world. Christmas can be fun with the trees and tinsel and our carols, but here is also the promise God comes to dwell amongst us; the hope of God who will set things right; the joy of God who has not forgotten us, and the love of God born at Christmas, who turns the world upside down. Hymn 316 – Love came down Prayers of Dedication and Intercession Generous and loving God, your gift to us in Christ Jesus still draws us to manger and opens our hearts with wonder. Bless our gifts in his name, so that they may draw others to your love, to find the blessing we have discovered in the One born for us. Amen. God of hope and healing, Because you came to us in love as the Christ Child in Bethlehem, we come to you with love and concern for the world. In this time of quiet and contemplation we remember: people and families living close to the edge of survival, worrying about where their next meal will come from, or where they will find shelter… As Mary and Joseph travelled to Bethlehem, so be with all who travel at this time to meet up with family or friends. May it be an enriching time. We pray for those who will spend Christmas alone, in hospital, or weighed down by grief… those who work tonight and tomorrow today while we celebrate or relax… those who have lost their sense of joy and wonder and turned to cynicism or despair; those who face the year ahead with fear and anxiety, those who celebrate the birth of a new life, a new love, or a new way of being… those whom we have loved and who loved us, who now dwell in the eternal joy of your presence... Amen Hymn 301 – Hark. The herald angels Benediction May the joy of the angels, the eagerness of the shepherds, the perseverance of the wise men, the obedience of Joseph and Mary, and the peace of the Christ-child be yours this Christmas; and the blessing of almighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, be with you now and always, Amen.  We welcome everyone to our services at Yetholm (10am) and Morebattle (11.15am) on the Third Sunday of Advent.
Hymn 284 – Hope is the candle (v3) Call to Worship God has called us To bring good news to the poor, to live with integrity God has called us To heal the broken-hearted, to bring justice to the hungry. The Spirit of God is within us We are the people of God Hymn 472 – Come thou long-expected Jesus Prayer of Adoration and Confession Loving God, we gather at this season of promise to worship you. We praise you for your love and your faithfulness, for you are the source of all hope and from you all joy springs. You are the one we expect, but your coming is always unexpected. You turn everything upside down and make all things new. Advent God of surprises, we worship you and wait for you to awaken our wonder and astound us with your arrival. Lord God, in this season of excitement and weariness, open our hearts to your presence, for we know you meet us and hold us; In and beyond the glitter, in and beyond the busyness and the rush. When we are tired and frayed, when we lose sight of what it is all about, when we put ourselves first and forget that you come to bring love, come close and restore us and forgive us we pray. Smooth down the mountains of our pride, and lift up the valleys of our doubts. Open a path in the wilderness of our lives that we might find our way to you again. Loving God, mend our broken hearts and help us to know ourselves forgiven and loved. In our thankfulness help us to wait and to watch for you, faithfully and truly all our days Lord’s Prayer Readings – Isaiah 61:1-4 (Pg 748) John 1:19-28 (pg 1063) Hymn 291 – When out of poverty is born Weekly Prayer Almighty God, your servant John the Baptist called people to change the way they lived and to prepare themselves for the coming of your son. Help us all to delight greatly in the God of our salvation, as our sovereign Lord makes righteousness and praise to spring up before all nations. Amen Sermon Who is the greatest singer of all time? I am sure we would all have different ideas. Who is the greatest prime minister of all time? Well, to preserve peace and harmony, we won’t go into that. Who is the greatest rugby player? Well, I was in a café recently and overheard two bearded gentlemen of a certain age discuss that very topic. Each made rather grandiose claims about their chosen player, each statement grander than the other. They had their facts to back up their arguments, but it amused me to see how they exaggerated their claims. John the Baptist does the opposite. When asked who he was, whether he was Elijah or even the Messiah, John immediately says no. He isn’t the Messiah; indeed, he wasn’t even worthy to tie the straps of his sandals. How wonderfully refreshing. These days, we are so used to people blowing their own trumpet, of so-called celebrities, who very few people have ever heard of, delighting in the fact that they are celebrities and invited onto every television show going to offer their views. John is zero-interested in that. While celebrities say that it is all about me; John on the other hand is saying that it is NOT about me. It is about the one who will come after him, the one for whom he is preparing the way. There are a number of mediaeval paintings which feature John, including one by Grunewald, who painted an altarpiece of the crucifixion. John was at the side of it (though of course he had died before Jesus) and he is pointing to Jesus. That is what John’s role was – to point to Jesus. He could have received all the adulation for himself – after all, people were flocking from all over Judaea and even Galilee to be baptised in the Jordan River. He could have thought that maybe he was the one. People like Andrew came and stayed and became followers. It could easily have gone to his head, BUT he pointed to Jesus; he pointed to the light. He insisted he was not himself the light, but rather pointed to the light. It is interesting that Andrew followed John, for he too did not glory in the fact that he was the first disciple and make a claim to be special, but stayed in the background, preferring to bring others to Jesus. John pointed to the Light. We need that light in our world today. There is climate change, and the COP conference that has just finished is being branded a Cop-out by many. There is anxiety as we approach Christmas with many struggling to buy basics let alone presents for their children. Then there are the wars – in Ukraine, in Israel and Palestine. At this time of Advent churches in the Middle East have wonderful nativity scenes with whole landscapes with a cave in the middle and Mary and Joseph and the baby. But a Lutheran church in Bethlehem has the Holy family in the midst of the rubble. And that is appropriate. For Christ should be in the midst of destroyed buildings in Gaza, Christ should be in the midst of kibbutz ravaged by terrorists. Christ should be born where there is suffering, for there he brings his light to shine and somehow redeems that situation. And that light, like the burning bush, can not be extinguished. As John the Baptist met people in the wilderness and pointed them to Christ, so Christ meets us in the wildernesses of our lives. There he seeks to bind up the broken hearted and bring hope to the prisoner and recovery of sight to the blind. In our reading from Isaiah, we read these words, familiar to us because Jesus quoted them as he preached his sermon in Nazareth. The Messiah would bring good news and would bring a crown rather than ashes, gladness instead of mourning, joy instead of despair. Today is called Gaudete Sunday which means rejoice, and we light the candle for joy. Despite the problems in our world, joy is there. The joy of a young baby brought to church for baptism who is accepted and loved and valued by God, included as part of the family. John the Baptist was an outsider, an oddity with his strange taste in clothing and his faddy cuisine, but he proved to be a model for what life lived in God’s service is all about. He pointed to one greater than himself, he pointed to Christ. He knew who he was and knew who he was not. That is quite smart. Hymn 319 – Of the father’s love begotten Prayers of Dedication and Intercession This Sunday, the Advent theme is Joy. Scripture and song remind us to rejoice in Lord. Let us think of our offering as an opportunity to spread joy in God’s world, even when the world seems uncertain. Rejoice in the Lord and give thankfully for Christ’s sake. God of justice and joy, we bring our gifts to you in gratitude for your unfailing goodness to us. Bless these gifts and use them to create justice and bring joy into the world in Jesus’ name. Come, Christ Jesus, be our guest, and enter our lives today with your blessing. We are lonely for you and the peace you bring. Draw near to us in friendship and faithfulness so that in this season which combines celebration in the face of uncertainty, we may know your presence… and sing with all your people: Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel. Come, Christ Jesus, be our guide, and show us the way to wisdom and gratitude. We are thankful for the kindness we know in friends and good neighbours, in warm houses and warm smiles, which hold off the darkness and fears for the future. Encourage us to reach out to those who need your embrace and ours… so that together we may sing of your presence: Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel. Come, Christ Jesus, be our hope and touch us with your healing and grace. We remember before you all those we know and those known to you alone who are living with loss or illness this season, those who face depression or discouragement, and all who will find it hard to be merry this year. Shine the light of your comfort into their lives… as we sing of the hope that dawns in your love: Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel. Come, Christ Jesus, be our king, and claim your rightful place in our hearts. Our world is struggling to find the justice and mercy you call for. Draw near to our leaders and all citizens working for peace and justice, and those striving to mediate or contain conflicts. Encourage honourable action and co-operation on all sides. Give hope to people under oppression and to those living with fear or hunger day by day. Hasten the day when the world’s peoples will live as neighbours reconciled in your truth and freedom. Hymn 286 – Tell out my soul Benediction  We welcome everyone to our services at Yetholm (10am) and Morebattle (11.15am) on the Second Sunday of Advent. Rev'd Ian Clark will lead our services today.
 We welcome everyone to our services at Yetholm (10am) and Linton (11.15am) on the First Sunday of Advent.
Hymn 284 – Hope is the candle (v1) - Lighting of Advent Crown A candle burns, the sign of our hope. In the darkness of our world we dare to hope. God of hope, come to us again this Advent. May your hope live within us, burning as a light in our lives. Call to Worship The nights are long and the days are short, And so we wait for Jesus. The heavens are trembling with anticipation, And so we wait for Jesus. Our redemption is drawing near, And so we wait for Jesus. Let us put our hope in God as we prepare to welcome the birth of new life once more. Hymn 273 – O come, o come Emmanuel Prayer of Adoration and Confession Creator God, You made the heavens and the earth. You set the planets in their courses, lit the sun with fire, caused the stars to shine and the world to turn. Life springs up wherever your breath moves. In Jesus Christ, you brought hope into a world full of fear and despair. You sent your Spirit to enliven our hope and guide us on the way. Now we wait in anxious times for the world to be made new. Move in us and in all your creation to bring forth new life, while we wait with hope in your grace and goodness. Redeeming God, We confess that waiting is difficult when the world around us is on edge. We are impatient with each other, waiting for someone to make a difference. We are impatient with you, O God, waiting for a sign that things will improve. Forgive us, O God. Turn our hearts to you again and again, and show us how to act in hope for Jesus’ sake. Hear the Good News! There is nothing we have done, nothing we will ever do, that can separate us from the love of God made known in Jesus Christ. Take hope in this love, and live as forgiven and forgiving people. Lord’s Prayer Readings – Isaiah 64:1-9 (Pg 750) Mark 13:24-37 (pg 1019) Hymn 543 – Longing for light (1,2,5) Weekly Prayer Almighty God, as we come before you at the start of the Season of Advent, we ask you to prepare us for the coming of your son Jesus Christ. We thank You for your word which will never pass away, and as your people, we pray in faith for the needs of the Church and the world. Amen Sermon The newspapers can make a depressing read. In fact, when the news comes on the television, I sometimes switch it off. The war in Ukraine goes on, and lives are lost. Snow has come to that area, and the soldiers, and indeed everyone else, must be miserable. But somehow the world’s attention has now switched to the Middle East and what has been happening in Gaza. There has been joy this week at hostages and prisoners being released, but still the future still seems gloomy. Bombing, disease, more suffering seems to be just on hold, and no-one seems to have a clue at what will happen afterwards. Meanwhile those of us who zoomed in to the Christian Aid event on Monday saw horrific treatment of Palestinians on the West Bank by Israeli settlers. The world leaders seem powerless. If only God could just come down and solve Gaza and the whole Middle East problem. If only God could come and bring Ukraine and Russia to peace and end the suffering. In Isaiah the prophet addressed God, ‘O that you would rend the heavens and come down’. We look at the wars of our world, the climate crisis with COP meeting now, the mass movements of people, the rising prices and want something to be done and, not surprisingly, we don’t have much confidence in our political leaders and so, as people of faith, we want God to intervene. Even in our personal lives, we see people struggling to get by; others who have received knocks regarding their health. It can be a depressing world. O that you would rend the heavens and come down, O Lord. Solve our problems! This part of Isaiah was written when some of the Jews living in exile in Babylon were allowed to return to Palestine and rebuild Jerusalem. Their dreams had been answered, but the reality was very different from their dreams. There seemed to be so many problems. The area was still devastated, and other people had moved in. Those who had remained in Jerusalem resented those who came back from Babylon. They cried out, Lord, tear open the heavens and come down, solve our problems, wave your magic wand. But of course, God doesn’t act like that. The people of Isaiah’s time even cited how God had acted before, had heard the cries of oppressed in Egypt and sent Moses to lead them to the Promised land. Why not now? It is a common cry. Mark was writing his Gospel to the early Christians, and they were going through all sorts of horrors of persecution, who were crying out for the Lord to come and bring judgement and better times. This part of Mark is called the Little Apocalypse, which used imagery of a cosmic struggle between good and evil and the coming of the Lord. This is the first Sunday of Advent, and Advent is a time to prepare for the coming of Christ at Christmas, but also, not so cosily, to look to Christ’s coming in glory at the end of time, when all will be resolved. We light our Advent candles, and the first of the candles is Hope, and hope is a precious thing. And in our passages, we are given two pictures of hope. The first, in the Isaiah reading, is of God as the potter, making us of his clay, and we are precious in his sight. You could say we were God’s masterpiece, but… pottery can be broken. It is so easy to drop a cherished dish or mug. AS the Cop representatives in Dubai are very aware, the earth is fragile, and can often be broken – treat with care. But as human beings we are also broken; sin has broken us. We need the Advent message; we need the Advent hope, and so God comes to be born among us to redeem us and redeem our world. There is a hymn: ‘We lay our broken world in sorrow at your feet.. we bring our broken selves, confused and closed and tired – but to unite us all in you, you lived and loved and died. We are broken, but the potter can remake us. The other image of hope is in the Gospel – that of the fig tree. Jesus says to look to the fig tree for signs of blossoming. The leaves are a sign that good things are coming. Just as our gardens in winter look pretty bleak, but underground the plants prepare themselves for Spring. Hope is there, if we but look. 1st December is World AIDS day. AIDS was a death sentence in Zambia when I was there and decimated the population, but once the stigma was broken by people like the former president Kenneth Kaunda, people were very supportive. Now drugs give a life line. Life and Work tells the story of a pastor’s daughter in Bolivia, who was raped and later discovered that she was HIV+. She told her family who were supportive. She told the church with trepidation, but they were supportive. She has been the figurehead of the AIDS movement in Bolivia and a symbol for hope. We are surrounded by Bad news, but Advent is a time of hope. Let us wait and watch, for hope is ever at hand. Hymn 339 – Sing of Andrew Prayers of Dedication and Intercession The first Sunday in Advent celebrates God’s gift of hope. It is not easy to be hopeful in stressful times. But God’s steadfast presence gives us the courage to hope. So we offer whatever we have to share, knowing our gifts can spread hope in the world God loves by touching lives in Jesus’ name. God of hope, we offer you our gifts, knowing you can do with them more than we can ask or imagine. Bless what we offer as tangible signs of your love at work in a world on edge, and as symbols of the hope we share in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Friend. Amen. Merciful God, We thank you for the light you shine into our lives as we wait on the coming of the Christ Child this year. The signs of our times are worrisome. The earth itself groans in pain, and people have grown suspicious of each other. As the days grow shorter and the nights, longer, comfort those who dread the short days and direct any who have lost their way. Wherever people feel overwhelmed by the demands of this season, let them catch a glimpse of your brilliance. Generous God, we remember that the days leading up to Christmas are difficult for many, year by year. We pray for those who are hungry and cold, stressed by rising costs all around. Alert us to ways to help those in our community and beyond whose cupboards are bare. Warm them with your love. We pray for those who are grieving. Make us patient, compassionate companions to those in mourning, even when we’re not sure what to say. Fill sorrowing hearts with your comforting presence. We give thanks for all the folks who quietly go about their daily work as they support and care for those living with HIV and AIDS. We rejoice with the voices raised in communities around the world who seek a fair and just life for all. On this World AIDS Sunday we we continue to pray for all who are infected and affected and those who lead their community response from the grass roots. We pray for those who feel like the world is ending; for whose lives have been uprooted by fire, flood, or storm, and for those who worry about the future of the earth itself. Steady us amid the upheavals around us and remind us that your steadfast love will see us through. Help us trust in you, no matter what is happening. Amen Hymn 477 – Lo he comes with clouds descending Benediction Go in hope this day and keep awake! Watch for signs of God at work around you and within you. Look for opportunities to serve others in Jesus’ name. The blessing…. |
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