Prelude  Wake, Awake, for Night is Flying  Johann Sebastian Bach🎼

Welcome & Announcements 👋

Prayer for Peace

Gathering  Lord, Listen to Your Children Praying 🎼

Lord, listen to your children praying,

Lord, send your Spirit in this place;

Lord, listen to your children praying,

Send us love, send us pow'r, send us grace.

Call to Worship

We gather in worship to praise our living Lord and sit at our Lord’s feet seeking wisdom and guidance.

Let us worship God

We gather, setting aside our worries, plans and judgements so that God’s Word may be heard.

Open our ears, Lord.

We gather, seeking stories from our past that tell us how to live together in community.

Open our hearts, Lord.

We gather, needing nourishment of fellow believers and strength to leave refreshed telling the Good News to all we meet.

Open our eyes, Lord.

Let us join our hearts, songs, prayers, words and deeds in order to glorify our God – King of Kings, Alpha and Omega, Emmanuel.

Opening Hymn #9 O Come, O Come Emmanuel🎼

Advent Wreath Lighting 🕯️🕯️

Advent Wreath Response 🎼

Light two candles to watch for Messiah:

let the light banish darkness.

He shall feed the flock like a shepherd,

gently leading them homeward.

Prayer of Confession

We confess that we fail to listen to the stories from generations past and in so doing, we continue embodying mistruths and false realities. We hide from our past and use our own half truths to tell our story. We neglect the teachings of our ancestors and fail to live into the path God has put before us.

Forgive us Lord, for our short sightedness and pride in thinking we can do it alone.

Forgive us Lord, for not acknowledging that we are all brothers and sisters in Christ, adopted as heirs in the family.

Forgive us for believing we are more right than wrong, good than bad and more saint than sinner.

Lord, have mercy, remind us again that our family consists of all people and God alone is the judge.

Amen.

Assurance of Pardon

Time with Young Believers

Children are invited to go to Children’s Worship with our Children’s Worship Leader. Children will return to their parents during the final hymn.

4 Cents a Meal Offering

Call for Prayer of Intercession and Offering

Prayer of Dedication and Intercession

Offertory O Come, O Come, Emmanuel         Paul Manz 🎼

Doxology

Anthem Carol for Advent              Nancy Price/Don Besig 🎼

Amid the winter's cold embrace, clothed in a shroud fo white,

an anxious world in silence waits, through the dark of night.

As the lonely song of the dove echoes across the sky above,

we can feel the moment is near; soon the Child of Peace will appear.

What child is this the world awaits with quiet expectation?

When will He come, the promised one, to bring us peace and salvation?

Raise, raise your prayers on high. Prepare His way, the time is nigh,

Come, come Emmanuel, O Child of Love and Peace.

The air grows colder, the light grows dim, dark'ning the sky above us.

But soon the chill of the winter wind will warm with God's gift of love.

And a star will brighten the sky; and songs of joy will echo in heav'n on high!

We will know the moment is here; the Child of Love, and Peace will appear.

Scripture Reading: Matthew 3:1-12

Pastoral Prayer

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 11:1-10

Message

Closing Hymn #20 Watchmen, Tell Us of the Night 🎼

Benediction

Postlude Wake, Awake, for Night is Flying            Paul Manz🎼