You can watch today’s service here.
If you are watching our live stream this morning, you are invited to find a candle, so that we can all light candles at the same time.
CALL TO WORSHIP (written by Sarah Are for A Sanctified Art)
One: John the Baptist said, “Prepare the way.”
So family of faith, how do we prepare our minds for worship?
All: We silence the inner critic.
We let go of busy thoughts.
We make space for God to speak.
One: How do we prepare our hearts for worship?
All: We bless all emotions.
We feel what we feel.
We open ourselves up to be moved.
One: How do we prepare our bodies for worship?
All: We take in the scent, sight, and feel of this space.
We breathe in God’s mercy.
We exhale God’s love.
One: How do we prepare our souls for worship?
All: We bring our full selves into this space.
We wear our hearts on our sleeves.
We trust that even now, God is here.
One: Family of faith, what we practice in worship, we must live out in our daily lives.
So prepare the way. Let us worship Holy God.
Lighting the Second Advent Candle (written by Sarah Are for A Sanctified Art)
A: I dream of the first pitch of opening season.
B: I dream of a laundry day, where each sock finds its mate.
A: I dream of family, home for the holidays.
B: I dream of good books and homemade meals.
A: I dream of sunset drives with the windows down.
B: These are beautiful dreams, but I also have urgent dreams.
A: I dream of conversations across party lines.
B: I dream of more bridges and fewer walls.
A: I dream of more laughter and less fear.
B: I dream of more listening and less tears.
A: But most of all, I dream of peace like a river.
B: Today we light the candle of peace.
Light candle.
B: May it remind us that there is another way. Amen.
Opening Prayer
Let us pray: Faithful God, your promises stand unshaken through all generations. Renew us in hope, that we may be awake and alert as we watch for the glorious return of Jesus Christ, our judge and dreamer. In the name of God the original dreamer, Jesus the dream come true, and the Holy Spirit who enables us to be those who dream, we pray. Amen.
CALL TO CONFESSION
We know that we have sinned before God and others, yet we also know that if we confess our sin we can be restored to a right and just standing before God and others. Let us therefore confess our sin, trusting God’s promised mercy:
Please join me in the prayer of confession, followed by a silent personal prayer.
PRAYER OF CONFESSION (written by Sarah Are for A Sanctified Art)
One: Holy God, I wish that peace was something I could buy. I wish that peace could be ordered in a subscription service,
found on a map,
downloaded in an app,
or voted for in a ballot.
I wish that peace was as easy as a one-time choice when I was feeling my best. However, what I have found is that peace involves everyday decisions over and over,
whether or not I am feeling my best.
So today I confess, in front of this community of faith,
that I need your help in this Advent season.
Prepare the way for greater peace, and teach me how to be a part of it.
All: May God forgive you. May God’s guiding hand surround you. May you know comfort. May you know peace.
One: Amen.
All: Holy God, We wish that peace was something we could buy. We wish that peace could be ordered in a subscription service,
found on a map,
downloaded in an app,
or voted for in a ballot.
We wish that peace was as easy as a one-time choice when we are feeling our best.
However, what we have found is that peace involves everyday decisions over and over,
whether or not we are feeling our best.
So today I confess, in front of this community of faith,
that I need your help in this Advent season.
Prepare the way for greater peace, and teach me how to be a part of it.
One: May God forgive you. May God’s guiding hand surround you. May you know comfort. May you know peace.
All: Thanks be to God. Amen.
Moment of silent prayer–people of God, what do you confess this week?
Assurance of Pardon
Friends, hear the good news of the gospel: God’s grace is stronger than any anger and fear that may hold us in their grip. God’s grace liberates us, freeing us to live in love and compassion. Thanks be to God who in Christ empowers us to live fully and freely.
PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION (written by Sarah Are for A Sanctified Art)
God of Peace, we must admit, there are a million things on our minds. We would like to be as focused as John the Baptist—preparing the way, gathering the crowd, spreading the word of your arrival. Maybe then we’d know peace. However, more often than not, we are a swirling compilation of grocery lists, text messages, e-mails, and over-referenced to-do lists. So today, we ask for your help in preparing the way. Could you start with our ears, and then maybe move to our hearts? We’d like to hear you more clearly. Maybe then we’ll know peace. Gratefully we pray, amen.
FIRST SCRIPTURE READING
Mark 1:1-8
The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,
‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way;
the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight” ’,
John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, ‘The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’
Consider:
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What are real life examples of preparing the way?
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When has a dream interrupted or re-routed your life?
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John the Baptist had a dream—but it wasn’t his to fulfill. What dreams have you helped to pass along, knowing you couldn’t fulfill them entirely? How can the Church prepare the way for God’s dreams to continue for generations to come?
SECOND SCRIPTURE READING
Isaiah 40:1-11
Comfort, O comfort my people,
says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her
that she has served her term,
that her penalty is paid,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
double for all her sins.
A voice cries out:
‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all people shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.’
A voice says, ‘Cry out!’
And I said, ‘What shall I cry?’
All people are grass,
their constancy is like the flower of the field.
The grass withers, the flower fades,
when the breath of the Lord blows upon it;
surely the people are grass.
The grass withers, the flower fades;
but the word of our God will stand for ever.
Get you up to a high mountain,
O Zion, herald of good tidings;
lift up your voice with strength,
O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings,
lift it up, do not fear;
say to the cities of Judah,
‘Here is your God!’
See, the Lord God comes with might.
God will feed the flock like a shepherd;
and will gather the lambs in God’s arms,
and carry them in God’s bosom,
and gently lead the mother sheep.
You can listen to Pastor Leia’s sermon, “Those Who Dream Prepare the Way,” here.
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE (Roger Gench)
O God on this second Sunday of Advent, we ponder our human predicament, recognizing how often we find ourselves overwhelmed by circumstances — stuck in ditches of various sorts, or given to aimless meandering on paths that lead nowhere, or buried under by seemingly insurmountable challenges and obstacles. And yet you have promised to lift every valley, straighten the crooked path and level the mountains in order to come to us and lead us home.
We hear your promises, O God. Empower us by your Spirit to see the way you have set before us. Empower us as a community of faith to accompany one another on the journey. Help us to listen to each other with compassion when we feel fearful or angry or lost. And help us to recognize your tender love that is ever before us. Help us to believe the good news of the gospel that we are not left to our own devices. You have not left us in the ditch or aimlessly wandering in exile. You have come close in the incarnate Christ, one with a human face, who has left a footprint for us to follow.
We pray for the world of nations, including our own as we continue to grapple with a relentless pandemic. We pray especially for the vulnerable among us: for medical professionals and staff, for essential workers, for parents with school-age children, for the elderly and for those with preexisting health conditions. O God, help us to live responsibly, in ways that protect the wellbeing of others. We pray for all who are grieving the loss of loved ones during these difficult days.
We pray that you would grant wisdom to the leadership of our local communities, our cities, our states and our country that they might discern a path forward in these perilous times. Indeed, grant all of us wisdom and courage for the living of these days.
We pray these things in the name of the one who taught us to pray…
THE LORD’S PRAYER
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
HYMN Dona Nobis Pacem
Dona nobis pacem. Dona nobis pacem. (repeat)
(grant us peace)
INVITATION TO OFFERING
When we bring our full selves to God, we allow ourself to wear our hearts on our sleeves, and trust that God is with us, Emmanuel.
What we practice in worship, we must live out in our daily lives. Every part of our being belongs to God. Let us be as generous with the work of our faith community as God is with us.
MORNING OFFERING
If you are able to, please consider mailing your offerings to the church (210 Smith Street) or dropping them in the mail slot of the church office in person. Alternatively, there is a link at the top of this page that will take you directly to a secure page where you can make a one-time donation. If you received your pledge card for 2021 but haven’t filled it out, we would be very grateful to receive it as we plan for the year ahead. We appreciate your generosity as we seek to continue our mission and ministry throughout the community during this difficult time.
PRAYER OF DEDICATION
O God, we offer our gifts to you that may they be used to further the promise of hope, peace, love and justice in our community and in our world. Empower us, O God, to follow these gifts into our community and world so that they, and we, may become bearers of peace, love and justice on the earth. Amen.
AFFIRMATION OF FAITH (written by Sarah Are for A Sanctified Art)
We believe that a voice cried out in the wilderness,
Saying, “Prepare the way of the Lord.”
And so, we show up for worship, even from home.
We march toward justice.
We roll up our sleeves.
We plant trees for our children.
We make art.
We choose hope.
We gather at the Table.
We set an extra plate.
We sing loudly, with joy.
We share stories and wisdom.
We celebrate children.
We fall together.
We rise together.
We love together.
We do all these things because we believe that God loves us so much that God shows up here.
So we prepare and prepare for that next beautiful day.
May it be so. Amen.
CHARGE AND BENEDICTION (adapted from a blessing by Sarah Are)
May you have the strength to dream
wild dreams of justice, peace, and joy that overflows.
May you have the humanity to listen to the dreams of others.
May you have the confidence to trust
that the God who heard the cries of the Israelites in Egypt
hears your dreams as well.
And may you have the conviction to hold fast to your community,
for our best dreams are those we dream together.
God has been with us in every season of waiting
and God will be with us in this season, as we wait for Christ to come again.
From wherever you are, serve the Lord: Creator, Son, and Holy Spirit.
VIRTUAL COFFEE HOUR
If you are using this page to follow along with today’s worship service while it is being live streamed, please join us for virtual coffee hour! Turn on your video camera and join us after the benediction with this link. You could also join over the telephone by dialing (312) 626-6799 and entering the meeting code 146 874 134, followed by the password 075003.