Worship Guide - Third Sunday in Advent, Year B

Worship with One Click

You can choose to watch all of this Sunday's worship service in a series of linked videos, one after the other, by clicking this link. Just press the button that says "PLAY ALL" and sit back and relax. You can also just click on the graphic to the left.​ Otherwise, proceed as normal through the sections.

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​[The Lord] has sent me 
to bring good news to the oppressed,
to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and release to the prisoners;
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn;
to provide for those who mourn in Zion--
to give them a garland instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the mantle of praise 
instead of a faint spirit.
~ Isaiah 61:1-3

The hope of Advent is not a mystery, nor is it particularly complicated. John the Baptist, is its spokesperson, deploying bulldozers and gathering a movement to relocate heaven and earth, to “make straight the way of the Lord.”
 
Isaiah gives us a Christmas recipe—liberty and release for those locked up, real change that is good news for those who are robbed of their right to abundant life by their neighbor and their government. Real politics for real people, comfort food for those who have lost their children. All spiced with shouts of praise.
 
Notice, though, that all this is spoken in the midst of a not-yet-ness. Broken hearts are scattered through the hillsides. Bars, as yet, still locked. Justice delayed…but coming. John comes as a witness to the coming light.
 
Advent is no vague, disembodied sense of warmth. It is poetry, from the Greek poesis, the act of making or doing—production, creation, creativity, culture: lighting a candle in the darkness, then another, an active waiting, noticing what's wrong and what could be made right, the preservation of hope, a 500-year plan new every morning.

​Enter into worship.

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Connections with Andrea

If you have prayers you would like to share, please do so here. These will be shared by email to our St Andrew prayer list so that we pray for what you hold by name. This information is not shared online in a searchable form.

Prelude

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Gathering Song

We thank you, O God,
 for all those in Scripture who have lit the way toward Christ:
 for your prophets Elijah and Isaiah, for John, and all the others.
We thank you, too, for those bright lights in our lives
 who have pointed us to Christ:
 pastors and teachers, strangers and friends.
Give us eyes to see your salvation today
 among those who are oppressed, imprisoned,
 brokenhearted, or beaten down,
and we will give our testimony, too:
 how Christ releases and sets free;
 how he turns ashes into garlands;
 how he repairs and builds up what was ruined.
We, too, will point others to Jesus,
 the Light of the world.
Amen.

Bidding Song

Confession and Assurance

S​end a text to a couple of people. Make a call. Who comes to mind for you? Wish them well. More than that, wish them the peace that comes with justice. Then click below.

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The Word

Healing, sovereign God,
Overmatch our resistant ears
with your transforming speech.
Penetrate our jadedness and fatigue.
Touch our yearnings by your words.
Through your out-loudness, draw us closer to you.
We are ready to listen.
Amen.

Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 † Psalm 126 † 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 † John 1:6-8, 19-28

Psalm Response

Meditation

A printed version of this meditation is available here.

Song of Response

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The Eucharist

If you haven’t already, set the elements—some bread, some juice or wine—in the room or space where you worship in these days with our faith community. Set a table with things that draw out of you creativity and imagination and hope for a better world. What signifies your longing? What signs or symbols draw you from despair?

​If a joy or a concern has come to mind, please share it with the assembly here so you do not carry it alone. These will be shared by email to our St Andrew prayer list so that we pray for what you hold by name. This information is emailed to a curated group, not shared or posted online in a searchable form.

As we respond to God's grace and new life, consider those ways you can express gratitude, thanksgiving and blessing. And remember that we continue to keep our financial commitments to our mission partners and staff. Thank you for remembering to send in your financial pledges and offerings.

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Sending Song

Charge and Blessing