The Third
Sunday of Advent
13 December
2015
The Gathering
of the Community
Processional Hymn
‘O Come, O
Come, Emmanuel’ Common Praise #89 vv. 1, 6, 7
Introductory Responses
The Presider stands at the Wreath and says,
Blessed are
you, gracious God,
creator of
heaven and earth.
We praise you for Jesus the Christ
who has come among us in the flesh
and opened to us the way of salvation.
We watch
for the day of his coming again.
May we rejoice without shame or fear
to behold the day of his appearing. [i]
Hymn of Praise
‘We Bless
You, God of Israel’ Common Praise #12 (sung to #96)
During the Hymn of Praise the Advent Wreath is lit.
Collect
Let us
pray.
God for
whom we wait and watch,
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
First Reading
A reading
from Zephaniah (3.14-20).
Sing aloud, O daughter Zion; shout, O
Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your
heart, O daughter Jerusalem! The Lord has taken away the judgements
against you, he has turned away your enemies.
The king of Israel, the Lord,
is in your midst; you shall fear disaster no more. On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands
grow weak. The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives
victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing as on a day of festival. I will remove disaster from you, so that you
will not bear reproach for it. I will
deal with all your oppressors at that time.
And I will save the lame and gather
the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the
earth. At that time I will bring you
home, at the time when I gather you; for I will make you renowned and praised among
all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes,
says the Lord.
Hear what
the Spirit is saying to the Church.
Thanks be to God.
The Song of Thanksgiving
‘Surely It
Is God Who Saves Me’ Common Praise #361
The Second Reading
A reading
from the Letter to the Philippians (4.4-7).
Rejoice in
the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything
by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to
God. And the peace of God, which
surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Hear what
the Spirit is saying to the Church.
Thanks be to God.
The Gospel Hymn
‘Lamb of
God, to Thee We Raise’ Common Praise #270 vv. 4, 5, 6
The Gospel
The Lord be
with you.
And also with you.
The Holy
Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke (3.7-18).
Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
John said to the crowds that came out
to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have
Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to
raise up children to Abraham. Even now
the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not
bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
And
the crowds asked him, “What then should we do?” In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two
coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do
likewise.” Even tax collectors came to
be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” He said to them, “Collect no more than the
amount prescribed for you.” Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what should we
do?” He said to them, “Do not extort
money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your
wages.”
As
the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their
hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of
them by saying, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I
is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and
fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand,
to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the
chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
So,
with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people.
The Gospel
of Christ.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
The Homily
The Apostles’ Creed
I
believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator
of heaven and earth.
I
believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,
who
was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born
of the virgin Mary,
suffered
under Pontius Pilate,
was
crucified, died, and was buried;
he
descended to the dead.
On
the third day he rose again;
he
ascended into heaven,
he
is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and
he will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I
believe in the Holy Spirit,
the
holy catholic church,
the
communion of saints,
the
forgiveness of sins,
the
resurrection of the body,
The Prayers of
the Community
Intercessions, Petitions and
Thanksgivings
The Exchange of the Peace
May the
peace of the Lord be always with you.
And also with you.
The Holy
Communion
The Offertory Hymn
‘People
Look East! The Time Is Near!’ Common
Praise #91
Prayer over the Gifts
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,
our Saviour and Lord. Amen.
[iv]
Thanksgiving at the Table
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.
It is indeed right, our duty and our joy, that we should at all times and in all
places give thanks and praise to you, almighty and merciful God, through our
Saviour Jesus Christ. You comforted your people with the promise
of the Redeemer, through whom you will also make all things
new in the day when he comes to judge the world
in righteousness. And so, with all the choirs of angels, with the church on earth and the hosts of
heaven, we praise your name and join their unending
hymn: [v]
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. [vii]
The Lord’s Prayer
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,
The Breaking of the Bread
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
The Hymn after Communion
‘Let All
Mortal Flesh Keep Silence’ Common Praise #48
The Sending
Forth of the Community
Prayer after Communion
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.
[ix]
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.
The Closing Hymn
‘Prepare
the Way, O Zion’ Common Praise #102
Dismissal
Let us go
forth in the name of Christ who is coming.
Thanks be to God.
[i]
Eucharistic Preface for Advent from The
Book of Alternative Services (1985), 219, alt.
[ii]
Liturgy Task Force, ‘Trial Use Collects and Seasonal Prayers over the Gifts and
after Communion for Year C: Advent 1
through Epiphany 6’, 2.
[iii] Evangelical
Lutheran Worship (2006), 105.
[iv] Liturgy Task Force, ‘Trial Use Collects and
Seasonal Prayers over the Gifts and after Communion for Year C: Advent 1 through Epiphany 6’, 12.
[v] Evangelical Lutheran Worship: Leader’s Desk Edition (2006), 269 alt.
[vi] Common Praise #722.
[vii] Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006),
110.
[viii]
Common Praise #744.
[ix]
Liturgy Task Force, ‘Trial Use Collects and Seasonal Prayers over the Gifts and
after Communion for Year C: Advent 1
through Epiphany 6’, 13
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