Second Sunday of Advent
Grace Presbyterian Church
Seeking to equip people to live as Christian disciples wherever God has placed them.
Welcome And Opening Prayer
Prelude Comfort, comfort now, my people Gerald Near
Lighting of the Advent Candle
One: Last Sunday, we lit the first Advent candle–the candle of hope.
Today we light the candle of peace. In the Gospel of John, we read that Jesus said to his disciples, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. You heard me say to you, “I am going away, and I am coming to you.” We remember, during Advent, that Christ promises to come again.
All: Lord, we pray for the peace that passes all understanding. Even during these anxious times, when we long to see you, we trust that you are in the world, and we seek you.
One: We light this candle as a symbol of God’s presence in the world. It is also a call for peace.
All: May it be so! In our hearts, in our minds, in our homes, on our streets, and in our world!
Hymn Red 133* “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”
O come, O come, Emmanuel,
and ransom captive Israel,
that mourns in lonely exile here
until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to thee, O Israel!
O come, thou Rod of Jesse, free
thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
from depths of hell thy people save
and give them victory o’er the grave.
O come, thou Dayspring, come and cheer
our spirits by thine advent here;
and drive away the shades of night,
and pierce the clouds and bring us light!
O come, thou Key of David, come,
and open wide our heavenly home;
make safe the way that leads on high,
and close the path to misery.
O come, Desire of nations,
bind all peoples in one heart and mind;
bid envy, strife and quarrels cease;
fill all the world with heaven’s peace.
Call to Confession
Confession of Sin
God who speaks, God who whispers, God who wakes us in the middle of the night, God whose handiwork is written in the stars, and God whose presence is felt through the ground beneath our feet, we confess that we do always look for you or listen for your voice. We are attracted to voices that comfort us and confirm our biases, and we can also look to your word to support our stances. We use Scripture to stubbornly stand firm when you are asking us to bend or move or change direction. Forgive us our fear, our stubbornness, our hard-heartedness, and the harm we cause to others. May our repentance include seeking reconciliation and changed behavior. May our repentance bring peace—in us and in the hearts of all your children. Open our ears. Open our eyes. Open our hearts. Open our minds to you, now and always. (Let us continue, personalizing this prayer for ourselves, in silent prayer.)
Assurance of Pardon
Gloria Patri
Passing of the Peace
Prayer for Illumination in Unison
O Lord, your Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. Give us grace to receive your truth in faith and love, and strength to follow on the path you set before us; through Jesus Christ. Amen.
First Scripture Reading (In Unison) Isaiah 7:14-16
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. He shall eat curds and honey by the time he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land before whose two kings you are in dread will be deserted.
Second Scripture Reading Matthew 1:18-24
Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’ All this took place to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: ‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel’, which means, ‘God is with us.’ When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife.
Sermon Rev. Robin Miller Currás
The Journey: Walking the Road to Bethlehem
Introducing Joseph of Bethlehem
Hymn Green 90* “View the Present through the Promise”
View the present through the promise,
Christ will come again.
Trust despite the deepening darkness,
Christ will come again.
Lift the world above its grieving through your watching and believing
in the hope past hope’s conceiving:
Christ will come again.
Probe the present with the promise,
Christ will come again.
Let your daily actions witness,
Christ will come again.
Let your loving and your giving
and your justice and forgiving
be a sign to all the living:
Christ will come again.
Match the present to the promise,
Christ will come again.
Make this hope your guiding premise,
Christ will come again.
Pattern all your calculating and the world you are creating
to the advent you are waiting:
Christ will come again.
Affirmation of Faith from the Confession of 1967
Life is a gift to be received with gratitude and a task to be pursued with courage. [Humanity] is free to seek…life within the purpose of God: to develop and protect the resources of nature for the common welfare, to work for justice and peace in society, and in other ways to use [our] creative powers for the fulfillment of human life.
Offertory King of Glory Mark Hatten
Mark Hatten, vocals and guitar
Doxology
Celebration of the Lord’s Supper
Pastoral Prayer/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 Red 132* “Comfort, Comfort, Now, My People”
“Comfort, comfort now my people;
tell of peace!” so says our God.
Comfort those who sit in darkness
mourning under sorrow’s load.
To God’s people now proclaim
that God’s pardon waits for them!
Tell them that their war is over;
God will reign in peace forever!
For the herald’s voice is crying
in the desert far and near,
calling all to true repentance,
since the Kingdom now is here.
Oh, that warning cry obey!
Now prepare for God a way!
Let the valleys rise to meet him,
and the hills bow down to greet him!
Straight shall be what long was crooked,
and the rougher places plain!
Let your hearts be true and humble,
as befits his holy reign!
For the glory of the Lord
now on earth is shed abroad,
and all flesh shall see the token
that God’s word is never broken.
Benediction
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