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THE PEOPLE EXPERIENCE WORSHIP
Prelude
Welcome and Announcements
Singing Our Faith ~ "O Come O Come Emmanuel"
O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Child of God appear.
Chorus: Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel!
O come, thou Wisdom from on high,
And order all things, far and nigh;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And cause us in her ways to go.
Chorus
O come, Desire of nations bind
All peoples in one heart and mind;
Bid envy, strife and quarrels cease;
Fill the whole world with heaven’s peace.
Chorus
O come, thou Day-spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.
Chorus
Opening Prayer
Advent Scripture - Matthew 27: 45-54
From noon on, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And about three o’clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, ‘This man is calling for Elijah.’ At once one of them ran and got a sponge, filled it with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink. But the others said, ‘Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.’ Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed his last. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. After his resurrection they came out of the tombs and entered the holy city and appeared to many. Now when the centurion and those with him, who were keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were terrified and said, ‘Truly this man was God’s Son!’
Call to Worship
One: I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Giver of hope!”
All: We come today with eager expectation. Our feet are poised on the threshold.
One: Come, let us learn from one another the way of peace.
All: We come today with holy expectation, on the edge of the season of hope.
One: Come, let us walk in the light of hope, finding joy along
the way!
PROCESSING OUR EXPERIENCES AND
RESPONDING IN COMMUNITY
Advent Candlelighting with Reflection
**The printed bulletin this morning includes space for written reflections. If you are worshipping from home, you may want to gather scratch paper and something to write with. **
What word or phrase do you recall from the scripture?
As you consider the theme “Awakening,” what word comes to
mind?
What feeling word describes your emotional state right now?
Is this scripture a see-saw experience or a jumping out of a plane experience? What other emotional metaphors might apply?
If you could offer a theme for today’s worship that sums up
what’s going on for you right now, what would it be?
What heading would you write for this morning’s scripture
passage?
What decisions lie ahead for you?
How will you approach the Advent season this year? What is
awakening for you in the season?
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