for Sunday, 21 December #3

Liturgical Elements:

Please note: There has been a change from my earlier posting--Mary is unable to be our liturgist and Loma Eaves has graciously agreed to take her place. Thank you, Loma.

Call to Worship:
(Liturgist is plain text and congregation is bold text.)
Our time of waiting & expectancy is drawing to a close. But we yet look forward with hope to the dawning of a new day in our faith.
Our song is one of anticipation of deliverance. We dare to sing aloud our dreams for a new order.
Your time of waiting has been well-spent. Your Advent preparations have led you ever closer to finding God’s paradox of sending a ruler to be born in a rough-hewn, straw-filled manger.
With those of old who prayed & kept watch for Messiah, for God’s Anointed One, we shall continue to sing hymns of praise that bring hope to the lowest and challenge to the powerful.
As we ready ourselves to worship truly, let us remember those whose tales have lived through the generations and call us to follow the one whose birth we shall soon celebrate.
Come, Christ Jesus, come!
Enter our world,
our lives,
our hearts this day.
Let us be in worship of our God together.

Advent Story:
At this point, I'll get up and join Loma in interviewing the congregation as we have done the past 3 Sundays of Advent.

Advent Candlelighting:
At the end of the interview, Loma will light all 4 of the Advent candles on the Table.

Unison Prayer:
Please see last week's post #3.

Scripture:
2 Samuel 7:1-11,16--See the link to the right of this web page to the Vanderbilt Divinity School lectionary to go to this reading. (Year B, Advent 4)

Sermon Theme:
With the readings from Luke, I'm going to focus on the Annunciation and the Magnificat. And I think I'll point to how absolutely radical all this was.

for Sunday, 21 December #2

Music for worship:

• First Hymn: Awake! Awake, and Greet the New Morn, CH #138
• Sermon Hymn: For Ages Women Hoped and Prayed, Jane Parker Huber, #20, A Singing Faith
• Communion Hymn: It Came Upon the Midnight Clear, CH #153

Also, we shall do the Magnificat responsively, maybe using the words at #131 in the Chalice Hymnal, but definitely using the responsive line of music.

for Sunday, 21 December #1

4th SUNDAY OF ADVENT

Worship Leaders:
Elder: Loma Eaves
Liturgist: Mary Leopold
Accompanist: Ann Willard
Music Leader: Lisa Haley
Preacher: Gerry Brague

Lectionary Readings:
(Please note: These readings from the Revised Common Lectionary differ from the ones printed in the Disciples planning calendar.)

• 2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16
• Luke 1:46b-55 (This is our "psalm" this week. Instead of a Hebrew Psalm, we have the song which Mary sang after learning she would give birth to Jesus.)
• Romans 16:25-27
• Luke 1:26-38

During worship this week, I shall probably do the readings out of order. Normally we do the Hebrew Bible reading, then a responsive psalm, then the epistle, and finally the gospel reading. But it makes sense to me to move the reading of the Magnificat (the first Luke reading listed) after the gospel reading as they happened in that order. The Magnificat will probably be done responsively. Don't tell your more liturgical and/or high church friends about the change in order; it would make them shudder!

Please use the links on the right side of the page to read the scriptures and to find out more about them.

More information will be posted as it becomes available.