Here are worship materials for the 3rd Sunday of Advent, Year C, December 12, 2021.
Call to Worship Philippians 4 Adapted
One: Rejoice in the Lord always!
All: Again we say, Rejoice.
One: We’ll let our gentleness be known to everyone; the Lord is near.
All: We will not worry about anything.
One: But in everything by prayer and supplication
with thanksgiving we’ll let our requests be made known to God.
All: And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,
will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
One: Finally, whatever is true,
All: whatever is honorable,
One: whatever is just,
All: whatever is pure,
One: whatever is pleasing,
All: whatever is commendable,
One: if there is any excellence and is anything worthy of praise,
All: we will think about these things.
One: And the God of peace will be with you.
All: And also with you.
Prayer of Invocation (in unison)
Gracious God, whose love is for all and whose way in the world is slow and sustaining: we join with John again this week, and we pray that we might hear him rightly. His barbed words betray the gentle spirit whose way he’s to prepare; his caustic manner contrasts with his call to repentance, that we’re to bear fruits worthy of being transformed in your forgiveness and love.
But his advice is good: help us to be generous in sharing; help us to be just and fair in all our doings; help us to use what power we have not to dominate but to liberate. Help us, for we often cannot help ourselves.
We pray this that Advent joy might abound, and that the one whose advent among us we await will have arrived in our every encounter being an expression of love, Jesus Christ, your Son and our Savior. Amen.
Lighting the Advent Candles Joy!
One: The Advent of our Lord is near; let’s make God’s love known in our world.
All: As we light the third candle, we’re to proclaim the good news of God’s gift of salvation.
One: This is as Isaiah spoke: “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.
All: So goes the promise: “With joy we’ll draw water from the wells of salvation, and we’ll say on that day: ‘Give thanks to the Lord, 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.’”
Sung Response Tune NCH #116
O Come, Desire of Nations, come and make your joy be as our home.
Dispel the long night’s lingering gloom, that all the world, your garden in bloom.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.