The
Third Sunday of Advent
15
December 2013
The
Gathering of the Community
Gathering Music
Announcements
Opening Hymn
‘Comfort, Comfort Ye My People’ Common
Praise #100
Greeting
The Presider greets the Community.
Restore us, O Creator of the stars of night;
show us the light of your
countenance,
and we shall be saved.
Will you not give us life again,
so that your people may
rejoice in your?
Show us your mercy, O God,
and grant us your salvation.
Blessed is the Christ who comes in your name!
Peace in heaven and glory in
the highest.
Kyrie Litany
The Deacon or Assisting Minister begins the Litany.
In the wilderness we find your grace;
you love us with an everlasting love.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
There is no one but you to uphold our cause;
our world cries out and our need is great.
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Heal us, O God of compassion, and we shall be healed;
restore us and we shall know your joy.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy. [i]
Hymn of Praise
‘O Come, O Come, Emmanuel’ Common
Praise #89 vv. 3, 4, 7
Collect of the Day
The Advent wreath is lit during the singing of the Hymn. Once the wreath is lit, then the Presider
leads the Community in the Collect.
Let us pray.
God for whom we watch and wait,
you sent John the Baptist
to prepare the way of your Son:
give us courage to speak the truth,
to hunger for justice,
and to suffer for the cause of right,
with Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. [ii]
The
Proclamation of the Word
The First Reading
The appointed Reader begins the first Reading.
A Reading from the Prophet Isaiah (35.1-10)
The wilderness and the
dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus
it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the
majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall
see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God.
Strengthen the weak
hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say
to those who are of a fearful heart, “Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God. He will come with vengeance, with terrible
recompense. He will come and save you.”
Then the eyes of the
blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame shall
leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy. For waters shall break forth in the
wilderness,
and streams in the desert; the burning sand shall become a pool, and
the thirsty ground springs of water; the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp,
the grass shall become reeds and rushes.
A highway shall be there,
and it shall be called the Holy Way; the unclean shall not travel on it, but it
shall be for God’s people; no traveler, not even fools, shall go astray.
No lion shall be there, nor
shall any ravenous beast come up on it; they shall not be found there, but the
redeemed shall walk there.
And the ransomed of the Lord shall
return, and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their
heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee
away.
Hear what the Spirit is saying to the church.
Thanks be to God.
The Psalm of the
Day
The Presider leads the Community in Psalm 146.5-10 with the refrain
from Songs for the Holy One.
Refrain (sung twice): Our God keeps faith forever! Hallelujah!
5 Happy are they who have the God of Jacob for their help! *
For their hope is in the Lord their
God;
6 who made heaven and earth,
the seas, and all that is in them; *
who
keeps promises for ever;
Refrain: Our God keeps faith forever!
Hallelujah!
7 who gives justice to those who are oppressed, *
food to those who hunger and sets
the prisoners free;
8 the Lord opens the eyes of the blind! *
The
Lord lifts up those who are bowed down and loves the righteous;
Refrain: Our God keeps faith forever!
Hallelujah!
9 the Lord cares for the stranger *
and sustains the orphan and widow, but
frustrates the way of the wicked.
10 The Lord shall reign for ever,
*
your
God, O Zion, throughout all generations.
Hallelujah!
Refrain: Our God keeps faith forever!
Hallelujah!
The Second Reading
The appointed Reader begins the second Reading.
A Reading from Letter of James (5.7-10).
Be patient, therefore,
beloved, until the coming of the Lord. The
farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until
it receives the early and the late rains. You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the
Lord is near. Beloved, do not grumble
against one another, so that you may not be judged. See, the Judge is standing at the doors! As an example of suffering and patience,
beloved, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
Hear what the Spirit is saying to the church.
Thanks be to God.
The Gospel Hymn
‘Prepare the Way of the Lord’ Common
Praise #107 (sung three times)
The Gospel
The appointed Reader begins the Gospel.
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew (11.2-11).
Glory to you, Lord Jesus
Christ.
When John heard in prison
what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are
you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what
you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are
cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news
brought to them. And blessed is anyone
who takes no offense at me.”
As they went away, Jesus
began to speak to the crowds about John:
“What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal
palaces. What then did you go out to
see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written, ‘See,
I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’ Truly I tell you, among those born of women
no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom
of heaven is greater than he.”
The Gospel of Christ.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus
Christ.
The Sermon
An Affirmation of
Faith
The Deacon leads the Community in the Affirmation.
Let us declare our faith in God.
We believe in God the Father,
from whom every family
in heaven and on earth is
named.
We believe in God the Son,
who lives in our hearts
through faith,
and fills us with his love.
We believe in God the Holy
Spirit,
who strengthens us
with power from on high.
We believe in one God:
the Author of all that is,
eternal Word of redemption
and
The
Prayers of the Community
Intercessions,
Petitions and Thanksgivings
The Exchange of
the Peace
Christ is our peace in whose name we meet.
May that peace be with you all.
And also with you. [iv]
The
Holy Communion
The Offertory Hymn
‘For All Your Blessings’ Common
Praise #440 (sung to #445)
The Prayer over
the Gifts
The Deacon or Assisting Minister leads the Community in the Prayer over
the Gifts.
Let us pray.
God of abundance,
we bring before you the
precious fruits of your creation
and with them our very lives.
Teach us patience and hope
as we care for all those in
need
until the coming of your Son,
The Thanksgiving at
the Table
The Presider leads the Community in the Thanksgiving.
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our
thanks and praise.
Blessed are you, gracious God,
creator of heaven and earth;
we give you thanks and praise
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who in the fullness of time came among us in our flesh,
and opened to us the way of salvation.
Now we watch for the day when he will come again
in power and great triumph to judge this world,
so that we, without shame or fear,
may rejoice to behold his appearing.
Therefore we praise you,
joining our voices with angels and archangels,
and with all the company of heaven,
who for ever sing this hymn
to proclaim the glory of your name.
Holy, holy, holy Lord,
God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of
your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in
the name of the Lord.
Holy One, the beginning and the end, the giver of life:
Blessed are you for the birth of creation.
Blessed are you in the darkness and in the light.
Blessed are you for your promise to your people.
Blessed are you for the prophets’ hopes and dreams.
Blessed are you for Mary’s openness to your will.
Blessed are you for your Son, Jesus, the Word made flesh.
In the night in which he was betrayed,
our Lord Jesus took bread, and gave thanks;
broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying:
Take and eat; this is my body given for you.
Do this for the remembrance of me.
Again, after supper, he took the cup, gave thanks,
and gave it for all to drink, saying:
This cup is the new covenant in my blood,
shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin.
Do this for the remembrance of me.
Let us proclaim the mystery of faith:
Christ has died.
Christ is risen.
Christ will come again.
With this bread and cup we remember
your Word dwelling among us, full of grace and truth.
We remember our new birth in his death and resurrection.
We look with hope for his coming.
Come, Lord Jesus.
Holy God, we long for your Spirit.
Come among us. Bless this meal.
May your Word take flesh in us.
Awaken your people. Fill us with
your light.
Bring the gift of peace on earth.
Come, Holy Spirit.
All praise and glory are yours, Holy One of Israel,
Word of God incarnate, Power of the Most High,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
At the conclusion of the Thanksgiving the Presider says or sings,
As our Saviour taught us, let us pray,
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily
bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin
against us.
Save us from the time of
trial,
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours,
now and for ever. Amen. [vii]
The Breaking of
the Bread
The Presider breaks the Bread and says,
God of promise,
you prepare a banquet for us in your kingdom.
Happy are those who are
called
to the supper of the Lamb.
The gifts of God for the people of God.
Thanks be to God.
The Communion
Communion is distributed to the Community.
Communion Hymn
‘Wait for the Lord’ Common Praise #94 (sung three times)
The
Commissioning of the Community
The Prayer after
Communion
The Presider
leads the Community in the following Prayer and Doxology.
Let us pray.
God for whom we
wait,
in this meal you give us a foretaste of that day
when the hungry will be fed with good things.
Send us forth to make known your deeds
and to proclaim the greatness of your name,
through Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord. Amen. [viii]
Glory to God,
whose power, working in us,
can do infinitely more
than we can ask or imagine.
Glory to God from generation
to generation,
in the Church and in Christ
Jesus,
for ever and ever. Amen.
Closing Hymn
‘Joy Shall Come’ Common Praise
#104 (sung twice)
The Dismissal
The Deacon or Assisting Minister says,
Let us go forth to prepare the way of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
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