Here are worship materials for the first Sunday of Advent. Happy new year, by the way!
Call to Worship Romans 13 Adapted
One: As Paul claimed, we know what time it is;
All: how it is now the moment for us to wake from sleep.
One: For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers;
All: the night is far gone, the day is near.
One: Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light;
All: let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness,
not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy.
One: Instead, let us put on the Lord Jesus Christ,
that it may be for us as we now proclaim in greeting one another,
“The peace of Christ be with you.”
All: And also with you.
Prayer of Invocation (in unison)
Emergent God, we pray your urgent approach upon us in our weary waiting. On this first Sunday of the new church year, we pray in anticipation of what is to come, in hope that it will redeem the time, and in faith that your will, though fierce and forceful, is also gracious and for the sake of peace.
Forgive us the times when we settle back into time, when we accept it as all there is, the most we could wish for though often dispiriting and bereft of lift or life. Forgive us our acceptance of the world as it is, its ways of menace or ugliness, its insistence on conflict and injustice. Forgive us the many times when we’ve sinned against you, in thought, word, and deed, in what we have done and in what we’ve left undone. These we recount now in silence.
Silence.
Persistent God, thank you for not giving up on us. Thank you for not leaving us to ourselves to make our way in the world. Thank you instead for your steadfast faithfulness and relentless love.
Bless the church year ahead, that it might be the adventure as this first season of Advent portends it to be. Surprise us. Delight us. Stay with us. Steady us. In Christ we pray--your begotten and beloved son, our savior on the cross, and the host at your table in glory. Amen.
Lighting of the First Advent Candle
One: Keep awake. Stay alert. The kingdom of God is near.
All: We are God’s partners in hope.
One: The days are surely coming when God will fulfill the promise.
All: We are God’s partners in hope.
One: A righteous branch will spring up and will bring forth justice.
All: We are God’s partners in hope.
One: Stand up. Raise your hands. Your redemption is drawing near.
All: We are God’s partners in hope.
One: As we light this first Advent candle, the candle of hope, may we be partners in hope, witnesses to the promise that is hope in our lives.
Sung Response Tune PH #110
O come, O come, Emmanuel and waken slumbering Israel.
Despair and hopelessness reign here until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.