​ 
​December 31, 2023
1st Sunday of Christmas
Gathering
 
MUSICAL OFFERING
 
ANNOUNCEMENTS
· Please join us in Calvin Hall following worship today for a time of fellowship.
· There will be a reception following worship today for Pastor Joyce's last day with us.  Please join us.
· Taking Down Christmas Decoration  January 9th @ 9am
· Office is closed  December 22nd– January 4th
· The Gathering Place will reconvene Jan. 11.
 
PRAYER REQUESTS
·  JoAnn Grimm and Joan Boyd residents of Fieldstone in DeWitt.
· Joan Pinkston, on hospice.
· Ellen and Keith Miller who struggle with health issues. Ellen is at Eagle Point Care Center
· For our brothers and sisters in Israel and Palestine and Ukraine.
 
PRELUDE
 
 
*CALL TO WORSHIP    (adapted from Ephesians 4: 4-7)
 
When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law.
 
He was sent to redeem those who were under the law so we might receive an adoption as children.
 
And because we are children, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts.
 
We are enabled to cry, “Abba! Father!”
 
 No longer slaves to the law, we are children of God, heirs of God’s goodness.
 
We are Children of God!  Brothers with Christ!   Joyful recipients of God’s grace!  Let us worship and praise, give thanks and rejoice!  Amen.
 
*GATHERING PRAYER
O Lord, we join with Mary and Joseph this day to dedicate the Holy child to you.  May our hearts witness their faith and may our souls expand with your amazing love that is being poured into our world even yet today.  Come, Precious Lord.  Amen
 
*HYMN      Angels, from the Realms of Glory                                                         #22                                                                                          
                                                (You may be seated.)
 
CALL TO CONFESSION
From a stable in Bethlehem a glimmer of hope arises.  It flickers and dances, inviting us to lay our sins beside the manger that we might grab hold of God’s love and share it with all the world.  Please join me in our prayer of confession.
 
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
Lord God.  On this day when the Christmas bells still echo in the silence of our hearts, let us stop to consider your gift to us this season.  You sent your Son who meets us along the byways of our lives.  He is the light that shines in the darkness, the healing that points to your glory.  Forgive us for dimming that light with our apathy and hard heartedness.  Forgive us for turning away from your glory to follow paths of selfishness and disdain.  May your Spirit show us the true hope of the world that rested in a manger.  That tiny babe grew to become our Savior.  Let us join our lives to his that we, too, can sing to your glory.  Amen.
 
WORDS OF ASSURANCE
God has opened our eyes to see his salvation which was prepared in the presence of all people, a light for revelation, and glory to God’s people.  I declare to you, my Friends, in the amazing love that descended to Bethlehem that night so long ago, your sins are forgiven.  Your new life has sprung forth.   Praise to God, our Lord.  Amen.
 
SONG OF PRAISE                Gloria Patri #579
 
PASSING THE PEACE
May the peace of Christ be with you. 
    And also with you.
 
INTERLUDE
 
ORDINATION OF LUCY MELVIN AND INSTALLATION OF ELDERS FOR 2024
Word
 
PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION 
Lord God, With the words spoken this day, may we, too, be nudged to declare, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon us, anointing us to bring good news to the oppressed and to bind up the brokenhearted.”  We open our ears and our hearts to you, Gracious Lord. Amen.
 
 
 
 
 
SCRIPTURE LESSONS: 
 Isaiah 61: 10 – 62:3
10 I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. 11 For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.  62 For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet, till her vindication shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch.
2 The nations will see your vindication, and all kings your glory; you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will bestow. 3 You will be a crown of splendor in the Lord’s hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
 
                                            Luke 2: 22-40
2 When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), 24 and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: 29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss[c] your servant in peace. 30 For my eyes have seen your salvation, 31 which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.”33 The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.” 36 There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then was a widow until she was eighty-four.[d] She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38 Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem. 39 When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. 40 And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.
 
SERMON            Out with the Old; In with the New!
 
 
Out with the Old; In with the New!
Happy New Year!  Ok, I know I’m about 15 hours hear, but today we stand at the edge of a new year.  Many of us, maybe even most of us long for that fresh new start.  A new calendar is so hopeful!
 Let’s be done with a war in Ukraine, and let the Ukrainian people begin to rebuild their nation with self rule.
Let’s welcome home the hostages from Gaza.
Let’s see that region rebuilding and looking toward a new and lasting peace.
Let’s see the hurting people who are streaming over our southern border find what the new life they are looking for—many or even most in their own countries where the violence and poverty is replaced with peace and jobs.
Let’s see the political questions around our elections resolved and people begin to feel confident in our elected officials again.
Let’s see the questions around this congregations future be answered in a way that gives new life!
And I could keep going, couldn’t I?  Climate change, the economy, gun violence, crime, health care costs and even the threat of artificial intelligence.  And we haven’t even begun to touch the personal issues that all of us live with.
So how appropriate it is that both of our scriptures this morning address that hope that God is present and about to do a new thing.
The prophet who speaks to us in Isaiah is addressing a people who have returned to their beloved Jerusalem after being held in captivity for something like 70 years.  That means that almost all of them have been born in Babylon and have only heard the stories of this place where God had settled his people.  They had never seen the beautiful temple that their parents and grandparents described to them.  They had been steeped in the faith and traditions of this faith that had been passed down from Abraham, and now it was their turn to revitalize the land, to rebuild Jerusalem in it’s glory, to reestablish themselves as God’s covenant people.
With such high hopes they had returned.  It was as if God had traveled with them, and they were convinced that God would give them what they needed to accomplish this task.  But then they arrived, and it was a lot tougher than they had imagined. All sorts of barriers stood in their way.  Differing ideas about what and how to do things, differing time tables for when things needed to be done, differing problems, personality conflicts, problems with those who had stayed behind, weather, lack of resources, and more.
Where was God?  Why wasn’t God at work to deal with these issues?
So the prophet lifts up the image of God’s faithful servant from earlier in Isaiah.  This servant is both the prophet who now speaks to them, but also, at another level, all of Israel is that servant who brings good news to the poor and binds up the broken hearted.  In other words, don’t lose sight of the goal, folks.  A first step for that goal is to rebuild the city. It’s important, not just from an infrastructure stand point, but also to rebuild their own confidence and sense of themselves as God’s people, a capable people, a confident people, a servant people.
The prophet paints a picture for them of “You shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will give.  You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God!
Let go of the woe-is-me mentality.  Hold your head high.  Look around and see not only God’s vision for you, but the ways God is at work right now.  Press on. Don’t quit. Don’t lose sight of who God is calling you to be!
In other words, Out with the old baggage; in with the new understanding of who we are  and what we are about.  It’s a course correction, a new path, a new way of taking God’s hand to walk through the difficulties.
We all need that, and as midnight hits and Ald Lan Syn is song we look for that new hope to enter our lives.
Mary and Joseph would have been doing some of that seeking the new hope and new possibility, too. According to our scriptures, both of them had a sense that this baby IS the new hope of God.
Luke wants us to know that Jesus isn’t some radical new implant from beyond d the faith of Abraham.  In fact his parents are deeply faithful to the laws and traditions of Judaism.  Four times in our short reading for today, Luke tells us that they are bringing Jesus to the temple in accordance with the law of the Lord. It must be important because he tells us that four times in 18 verses.
It’s important because Jesus’ activity and call for newness isn’t outside of God’s history with his people.  Jesus will be the very essence of God speaking a new word into the life of the world.  Mary and Joseph keep the law.  Jesus understands and respects the law, even as he will one day call for reform of that very same law!
Mary and Joseph come to the temple because it WAS required in the law.  There were two duties here.  The first was to seek purification for Mary after having delivered a child. The second was to dedicate that child to God.  In Judaism, a first born son was given to God.  That meant the main focus of that boy’s life was to serve the Lord.  (Do you remember Samuel?  It was in that tradition that first sons were to be offered to God.  There was, of course, a mechanism for being released of that requirement.  Five shekels paid to the temple meant that the boy would be free to live a more secular life.  Do you notice that Joseph and Mary didn’t offer that?  Instead they offered 2 turtle doves or two pigeons for Mary’s purification.  First century readers would immediately see that Jesus was, indeed, dedicated as God’s servant.
I’m also fascinated with Simeon and Anna.  These faithful servants of God would have encountered hundreds (perhaps thousands) of families living out this same ritual.  Seeing new parents and baby boys was nothing new for them.  But in this baby boy they saw God’s Messiah. I wonder how that was made known to them?
God had promised this very old man that he would see the Lord’s Messiah before God called him home to heaven.  He would see the new hope of Israel.  They could certainly use some new hope because the Roman occupation was just as difficult as any point in their history.  People were buckling under the boot of Rome.  People were throwing up their hands and abandoning their sense of being God’s own people.  Things were getting worse, not better.
It was the Holy Spirit who nudged Simeon towards Mary and Joseph and that tiny bundle they cradled.  Can you see it?  Can you see this very old man who hung out at the temple?  Can you see him take the baby in his arms and then lifting his face towards God, “Master, you are dismissing your servant in peace according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light to the Gentiles and for the glory of your people, Israel.”   God had kept his promise and that promise allowed Simeon to witness salvation—a dawning new light that would welcome new people to the Lord.
He blessed them and said, “This child is destined for the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed.”  He was telling us that the way people respond to Jesus will either lift them up or sink them even lower.  In their response the world will see how they really are.  It’s a sort of litmus test.  But to Mary and Joseph he warned that it wouldn’t be easy.  “Be prepared, he warned, “It will feel like a sword cutting into your heart, as well, at times.
How must that have felt for Mary and Joseph?  A lot to consider, and then just a few steps away was Anna.  She was perhaps even older than Simeon.  At the age of 84, she would have seemed very, very old in that era.  And when she sees the Baby Jesus she began to offer praise to God.  She then went to tell everyone about this particular baby and God’s plan for him.
Both of these folks were very old.  Both incredibly faithful.  Both waiting to witness God’s Messiah and to be, in their own way a part of this new hope and new healing from God.
It’s as if these two stand on the cusp of a new age.  An old man and an old woman greeting the new as they prepare to exit the stage.  It’s not just a new year, but a whole new era of God’s grace and love pouring into the world.  Out with the old and in with the new!
What Simeon foretold of Jesus would come to pass.  How people respond to him will show the world who they are.  Their acceptance and participation will offer new life and power to do the work of God.  Their rejection will sink them and the world just a bit more into the chaos and devastation that is all around.
And it is still the case today, isn’t it?  How we need the new vibrancy and life that Jesus offers. It is the same, and yet it’s promise if also different.  But God offers us the courage and the strength to walk that walk, to let go of what was, those things we have been clinging to.  God invites us to let go and to walk into the new with him.  It can be scary.  It can feel overwhelming.  It seems foreign and not at all what we want, but if God is calling us, calling you, this congregation, then it will be good and joyful.  Of that we can be assured.
We need to be ready to say goodbye, not just to a year that is passing, but to the ways of yesterday so we can welcome God’s new plan for today.  God stands in the new.  Jesus Christ calls us into the new.  The Holy Spirit will assist us into the new.  Your job is to take the steps and to find the joy.
I have loved being your pastor for these last 18 months, and now I will watch and pray from the sidelines as you walk into the joy of our Lord.
Praise be to God.  Amen.
 
 
 
                      
*HYMN                                What Child is This                                                        #53                               
                                   (you may be seated.)
 
 
PASTORAL PRAYER  AND LORD’S PRAYER
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors;
and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, now and forever. Amen.
 
OFFERING OUR GIFTS AND OUR PLEDGESTO GOD
 
*DOXOLOGY Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow                           #592
 
*PRAYER OF DEDICATION
 
*AFFIRMATION OF FAITH
We trust in Jesus Christ.
           Fully human, fully God.
Jesus proclaimed the reign of God;
           Preaching good news to the poor and release to the captives,
           Teaching by word and deed and blessing the children,
           Healing the sick and binding up the brokenhearted,
           Eating with outcasts, forgiving sinners,
           And calling all to repent and believe the gospel.
           
HYMN                           Go Tell it on the Mountain                                                 #29                            
                                               (You may be seated.)
 
Sending Forth
*CHARGE AND BLESSING
 POSTLUDE
* Sections of the service preceded with * are times to stand if you are able to do so.        
Bold text is to be read together aloud as a congregation.
 

​December 17, 2023
3rd Sunday in Advent
Gathering
 
MUSICAL OFFERING
 
ANNOUNCEMENTS
· Please join us in Calvin Hall following worship today for a time of fellowship.
· All Offerings that you wish to be counted by the end of 2023 must be here by Dec 26th 2023.
· Office is closed  December 22nd– January 4th
· The Gathering Place will reconvene Jan. 11.
 
PRAYER REQUESTS
·  JoAnn Grimm and Joan Boyd residents of Fieldstone in DeWitt.
· Joan Pinkston, on hospice.
· Ellen and Keith Miller who struggle with health issues. Ellen is at Eagle Point Care Center
· For our brothers and sisters in Israel and Palestine and Ukraine.
 
 
LIGHTING OF THE ADVENT CANDLES
Reader 1: We light the third candle of Advent.
 
Reader 2: We look to John, the one you sent, to point us to your light. The light will come into our world and enlighten everyone.
 
Reader 1: God sent John the Baptizer to prepare the people for the coming of Jesus Christ, the true Light of the World. John called for people to repent of their sins and to live faithfully. He baptized with a cleansing water and proclaimed the new life that Christ, the one who would follow him, would bring. This Advent, we ask for God’s mercy and a joyful new beginning.
 
People : Merciful God, we give thanks that you send messengers like John to call us to greater faith. We ask that in these days we prepare for you in prayer and acts of holy compassion. Be with us and  lead us to your light. Amen.
 
PRELUDE
*CALL TO WORSHIP                                           
One:   John the Baptist calls to us,
All:  “Prepare the way of the Lord!”
One:  We call out to the world,
All:  “Prepare the way of the Lord!”
One:  This Advent, may we turn to the light of Christ.
All:  The light shines in the darkness and
  the darkness did not overcome it.
All:  Arise and rejoice, the light is come!’
 
*GATHERING PRAYER
Lord, in this season of waiting, of longing, of looking for you to come into our world, we are seeking light.   We are seeking light in our own lives, in our church, in our communities and in our world.   We know you are the light of the world.   May we have eyes to see you and ears to hear you come into our world today.   Amen.
 
*HYMN     Arise, Your Light is Come!                                                                     #411
 
CALL TO CONFESSION
 
PRAYER OF CONFESSION                                 
Eternal God, John the Baptist prepares the way by calling upon us
to repent. We come humbly before you knowing that we have failed to share the Good News as we should. We have failed to honor the poor and the oppressed and to help those in need as we should.  We have failed, by our actions or inactions, to share your love and light with the world as you have commanded us to do.   Have mercy upon us, God. Heal and forgive us so we can welcome Christ with pure and genuine hearts. Amen
 
WORDS OF ASSURANCE                                                       
 
SONG OF PRAISE  Gloria Patri  #579
 
 
 
PASSING THE PEACE  & INTERLUDE
May the peace of Christ be with you.
And also with you.
 
INTERLUDE
PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION
Open us, Holy One, to your Word and your way. Clear our minds of
holiday distractions and busy tasks. Fill our hearts with the humility we
need to hear and receive the message you intend for us today. Amen.
 
SCRIPTURE LESSONS  
Old Testament Reading   Isaiah 61: 1-3; 10-11
The spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord has anointed me;
he 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.
They will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, to display his glory.
I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my whole being shall exult in my God,
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth brings forth its shoots and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise  to spring up before all the nations.
The Gospel           John 1: 6-8; 19-28
There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. 9 The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”   He confessed and did not deny it, but he confessed, “I am not the Messiah.”    And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the prophet?” He answered, “No.” 
Then they said to him, “Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”  He said,
“I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness,
‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ ” as the prophet Isaiah said.
Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. They asked him, “Why, then, are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?”  John answered them, “I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know,  the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandal.”   This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.
 
MESSAGE     Arise the Light Has Come
 
*HYMN        O Word of God, Incarnate                                                                     #327
 
PASTORAL PRAYER
 
THE LORD’S PRAYER
 
OFFERING OUR GIFTS TO GOD
 
*DOXOLOGY  Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow  #592
 
 
 
 
 
 
*PRAYER OF DEDICATION
Gracious God, we joyfully give you our time, our talents and our treasures in grateful response to all you have so generously provided. May our gifts be used to bring joy to those most in need in our church, our community and our world.  May our gifts help us to share your love and light with others and bring glory to you and your kingdom here on earth.    Amen
 
*AFFIRMATION OF FAITH                                The Apostle’s Creed
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth,
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
 
He descended into hell. The third day He arose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, from whence He shall come 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,
and life everlasting.    Amen
 
*HYMN                           Rejoice!  Rejoice, Believers                                           #15
 
                                 
*CHARGE & BLESSING                                                        1 Thessalonians 5: 16-24
 
 
 
POSTLUDE
 

 
 
​December 10, 2023
2nd Sunday in Advent
Gathering
 
MUSICAL OFFERING
 
ANNOUNCEMENTS
· Please join us in Calvin Hall following worship today for a time of fellowship.
· Our Annual meeting will be following worship today.  On the agenda is the election of elders, reports for this last year, and hopes for moving forward.
· The Gathering Place will meet on Thurs. Dec. 14.  This will be the last meeting until we reconvene Jan. 11.
· Pulse Articles are Due December 15th
· Office is closed  December 22nd– January 4th
 
PRAYER REQUESTS
·  JoAnn Grimm and Joan Boyd residents of Fieldstone in DeWitt.
· Joan Pinkston, on hospice.
· Ellen and Keith Miller who struggle with health issues.
· For our brothers and sisters in Israel and Palestine and Ukraine.
 
 
PRELUDE
 
Advent Candle Lighting
 
Reader 1: O God, we light the second candle of Advent.
 
Reader 2: We seek your comfort. You come both mighty and tender. Prepare our hearts to be transformed by you.
 
Reader 1: Isaiah announced God’s coming to a people exiled in a broken and parched wilderness. He declared that God’s redemption would make a highway in the desert and change the rough places into a plain. God would come as a shepherd—feeding, leading, and cradling the weary flock. This Advent, we seek such a God.
Saving God, look upon your world and heal your land and your people. Prepare us to be changed. This Advent, teach us to be tender and just, as you are. Amen.
 
*CALL TO WORSHIP
In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord.
 
In our town, on our street, at our door, open the way for God’s truth to enter.
 
Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill  made low.
 
Barriers shall be removed and potholes filled so God’s word can arrive here.
 
Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed.
 
Then our joy in Christ will shine forth in love.
 
Come builders of hope.  Come proclaimers of God’s goodness,
 
Let us worship and prepare for the coming of our Lord.  Amen.
 
 
*GATHERING PRAYER
Lord God, there are all kinds of messengers in our world today.  Sometimes the barrage of these “messages” make our head spin and our hearts falter.  Help us this day to hear your words of love and truth that strengthen our steps along your path of goodness, love and grace. Amen.
 
*HYMN                      O Come, O Come Emmanuel                                               #9
                                              (You may be seated.)
 
CALL TO CONFESSION
John the Baptist called the people of Jerusalem to hear a word of truth that was new and revolutionary.  It remains radical in our lives even yet, and we are newly called to hear it and live it into our everyday world. Let us come before our Father in Heaven to confess our reluctance and our failings, as well as our desire to do better.  Please pray with me.
 
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
Loving God, we wonder; would we have gone out to the Jordan River to hear the madman who ate locusts and wild honey?  Would we have heard his words and taken them into our hearts?  Would we have accepted his truth and gone into the waters of baptism?  Would we have watched for that one who would baptize with the Holy Spirit?  There are so many voices today calling for us to come and hear their version of truth. We often feel confused about John’s call to us.  Forgive us for those moments when we have dusted aside your call, when we have ignored opportunities to be messengers of your love.  Help us to grow in our ability to feel your hand leading us along the way. Amen.
 
ASSURANCE OF PARDON
“Comfort, Comfort my people, says your God.”  As we open ourselves to acknowledge our failings, we are welcomed and received; we are comforted and assured; we are forgiven and redeemed.  This is the good news of Christ our Lord.  Praise be to God, Almighty.
 
Song of Praise:     Gloria Patri                                                                             #579
 
 
 
PASSING THE PEACE
May the peace of Christ be with you.
And also with you.
 
INTERLUDE
Word
 
PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION
Eternal Source of Life, be with us this morning as we seek to hear the words that were cried out in the wilderness.  May our hearts prepare the way of the Lord and make straight his paths.  Enable us to sing with joy the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Amen.
 
 
SCRIPTURE LESSONS
Isaiah 40: 1 – 11
40 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. 2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins. 3 A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord[]; make straight in the desert  a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. 5 And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” 6 A voice says, “Cry out.” And I said, “What shall I cry?” “All people are like grass, and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field. 7 The grass withers and the flowers fall because the breath of the Lord blows on them. Surely the people are grass. 8 The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.” 9 You who bring good news to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good news to Jerusalem,[ lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah,  “Here is your God!” 10 See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power, and he rules with a mighty arm. See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him. 11 He tends his flock like a shepherd:   He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.
 
Mark 1: 1 – 8
1 The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, 2 as it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way”— 3 “a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’” 4 And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 6 John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
SERMON   Prepare the Way  
 
Tammy went through about 12 years of swirling down to the bottom of the pit.  During that time, she went from being a wife and mother with a good job to losing it all and sleeping on the couch of a drinking pal.  Later she would tell people that one drink was never enough and too much all at the same time.  When people suggested that she needed to get some help with her drinking, she scoffed at them.  She didn’t have a problem, she would proclaim.  She could stop anytime she wanted.  The issue was that she didn’t want to stop. She finally hit bottom when her friend was killed in a drunk driving accident.  Then even the couch where she had been sleeping was gone.  The trauma of that loss, the recognition that she could just as easily been the one behind the wheel that night, plus her own homelessness drove her into treatment.  It was there that she was finally able to admit that she had no control over her addiction.  It was there that the concept of God (She didn’t like the Higher Power vagueness) was a first step towards sobriety.
Tammy didn’t want to admit her weakness.  She bought into the Hollywood lie that being strong and capable and in control was the very definition of good.  Weak, she believed, was to be pitied and even despised.
Think about it.  Who do we revere and celebrate in our society?  Isn’t it those who have faced adversity and loss but who rose victorious in the end.  Martin Luther King, a victim of Jim Crow who rose up to lead a movement for civil rights.  Nelson Mandela who was imprisoned for his stance on apartheid and then became president of South Africa.  Abraham Lincoln who lost elections and had personal tragedies, and even after becoming president was vilified by so many, but he held the nation together and abolished slavery.
We love the story of the kid who gets bullied, but who then does amazing things that benefit our world.  Isn’t that Clark Kent and Super Man rolled up in one?
The Israelites who now sat in exile in Babylon had used everything at their disposal to resist the Babylonian army. They plotted, tried to make alliances with neighboring countries.  They used all their military muscle.  They tried to appease the aggressors.  They resisted at every turn, all to no avail.  The enemy toyed with them for many years, and then steam rolled into town, crushing the city, their beloved temple, and the people’s way of life.  Any who had the capacity to lead a resistance was marched off to Babylon where they were no longer a threat.
So what’s a son and daughter of Abraham to think?  Hadn’t God promised to always be with them?  Where was God when they needed him?  How could the Lord have allowed this to happen?  Of course the prophets had been telling them that this was God’s punishment for the way they had abused the poor and turned their back on God’s call for justice.  But this?  This was too much—sort of like swatting the mosquito on your forehead with a sledge hammer!
They logically made the assumption that their God had abandoned them, and by golly, they would just abandon God, too!
That was the scene when 2nd Isaiah began his prophesy in this chapter. He speaks in God’s voice.  God who is engaged in a heavenly council meeting.  God tells his subordinates that it is time to comfort the people who are suffering so much. They’ve served their time.  They’ve paid the penalty for their sins.  “So now heavenly beings, prepare the way of the Lord.  Construct a smooth and rapid highway so God’s glory can once more be revealed, so the people will see it and be comforted.”
The prophet asks, what he should cry out.  Are not people fragile and short lived?  They wither when God merely blows on them.  And then God responds that while the grass might wither, God’s word lasts forever, and that word is life.  That word is good news.  That word is hope for God’s people.  Cry that.  Cry, Here is your God.  God who will shepherd his flock, feed and care for his people.
So here’s the thing.  God is finally able to comfort the people because they have finally relinquished the illusion that they have a power on their own.  Just like Tammy who admits she is powerless to change her situation, the Israelites admit that they, too, are completely powerless.  They have sinned.  They have attempted to strong arm their situation without God’s help.  Their pride and arrogance was what held God back, just as much as their sinfulness and injustice.
Isn’t that what gets us in trouble so often?  We don’t want to admit our own powerlessness.
And I think there’s a lot of that in John the Baptist’s story, as well.  The people of Judea, the followers of God, had fallen into a rut.  They went to temple to make their sacrifices.   They followed the feast days and the fasting traditions.  They observed the Sabbath and dietary laws, and in all of that they assumed themselves good.
Society had a form and structure around how to treat the poor.  Hand them a coin or two when they begged at the temple gate.  That was all that was needed.  Don’t worry about why they were so poor.  Don’t question the rules that created their poverty.  Don’t hand their hearts and souls over to a God who might demand more of them.
Weren’t they holding tight to their perceived power?  Weren’t they attempting to manage things on their own?  They came out to the Jordon in the same way our grandparents went to the travelling revival shows.  It looked like good entertainment, a curiosity.  They wanted to see what everyone was talking about.  After all, John held all the symbols of a prophet.  He was located out in the wilderness.  That was the historic birth place of faith.  His dress and diet put him on track with Elijah and Elisha.  Was he a prophet!  Let’s go see!
John called them on their mixed up motive for coming.  In Matthew and Luke he calls them a brood of vipers.  Mark is more polite.  He doesn’t engage in name calling.  But he does work to disabuse his listeners from assuming that he is the main act.  He’s the one who prepares the way, Mark tells us, using text from our Isaiah reading.  John himself issues his call which is to ask the people to repent and to rededicate themselves to God in baptism.  The one who comes after him will baptize them with the Holy Spirit.  John tells them that he is not worthy to remove the sandals from this more powerful one.  That’s the task of the lowliest servant, but John tells them that even this is above his pay grade.
There’s another aspect of what Joh the Baptist is doing that bears mentioning.  Baptism was not a common ritual in Judaism. Sure there are lots of places in the Old Testament where God instructs people to be cleansed of their sins by washing ritually. But the ritual as John is practicing it was reserved for gentiles who wanted to be a part of the faith of Yahweh but who weren’t excited about undergoing circumcision.  This type of ritual was a means for stepping into the outer fringes of the Jewish faith.
In essence John is asking his listeners to let go of their privileged position as sons and daughters of Abraham in order to admit their need of God , to repent of their sins.  They enter the water in a very vulnerable state and because they acknowledge and admit that, they are enabled to take on a new relationship with God. They are dependent.  They are beholden.  They are listening and following because they know they don’t have the power on their own.
And I think that is the essence of Advent.  To admit to ourselves and to God that we are like grass (to use the words of 2nd Isaiah.)  Our power, our strength, our ability to discern right from wrong is missing.  We need God.  We need a Savior.  We need a moral compass that is beyond us.  We need a strength that is above our own.
So we wait, trusting that God who is eternal and all-powerful, all-wise is not only present with us, but also at the same time, coming once more into our world.  If we can acknowledge our need, then the highway through the wilderness is paved, and God’s arrival is eminent.
Tammy was able to conquer her compulsions and the demons that kept her turning to the bottle, and then emptying it.  She did it by admitting that she wasn’t in control.  She wasn’t strong enough.  She wasn’t on top of her life.  She needed help.
Don’t we all have our own areas where we just can’t manage?  Be it an addiction like Tammy or just a self-doubt, a problem with anger, a difficult personal relationship, an issue with anxiety or depression or a loneliness that just won’t go away.  We need God, and the more we can recognize and admit that need, the more we will be able to sing and rejoice when God sends his Christ into our hearts this Christmas.
Here we are, Lord.  We can’t do it on our own.  We need you.  Thank you, Lord. Amen.
 
 
PASTORAL PRAYER
 
*HYMN                   On Jordan’s Bank the Baptist’s Cry                                       #10
                                   (You may be seated)
 
LORD’S PRAYER
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors;
and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, now and
forever. Amen.
 
OFFERING OUR GIFTS TO GOD
 
*DOXOLOGY  Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow                                    #592
 
PRAYER OF DEDICATION
 
*HYMN                   Be Known to Us in Breaking Bread                                          #505
                                   (You may be seated)
 
INVITATION TO THE LORD’S TABLE
 
GREAT PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
 
 Prepare the Way of the Lord.
 
We come to your table Lord, to receive your many gifts that we might, indeed, have the tools to prepare your way.
 
Repent, turn from your sins and walk in the paths of righteousness.
 
In the gift of bread, your body broken, and in the cup, your blood poured out, give us the courage and the power to follow you, Loving Lord.  Amen
 
 
RECEIVING THE BREAD AND THE CUP
 
COMMUNION PRAYER.
 
*HYMN                                Joy to the World                                                             #40    
                                           (You may be seated.)
 
 
 
 
Sending Forth
 
*CHARGE & BLESSING
 POSTLUDE
* Sections of the service preceded with * are times to stand if you are able to do so.
Bold text is to be read together aloud as a congregation