Worship

 

Opening Prayer

Loving, faithful God,

As your people of old waited and watched for your coming in Jesus,

So we wait and watch for your coming today.

As we come before you now, waiting and watching,

Fill us with your light and love.

(If you have an Advent wreath at home, you may wish to light one candle)

Hymn: STF 177

Lo, he comes with clouds descending

Sing/ Read /pray /proclaim the words or listen to it here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBw0JMdh57k

Lo, he comes with clouds descending,

once for favoured sinners slain;

thousand thousand saints attending

swell the triumph of his train:

Alleluia!

God appears on earth to reign.

 

Every eye shall now behold him

robed in glorious majesty;

we who set at nought and sold him,

pierced and nailed him to the tree,

deeply wailing,

shall the true Messiah see.

 

Those dear tokens of his passion

still his dazzling body bears;

cause of endless exultation

to his ransomed worshippers:

with what rapture

gaze we on those glorious scars.

 

Sing, amen, let all adore thee,

high on thine eternal throne;

Saviour, take the power and glory,

claim the kingdom for thine own:

come, Lord Jesus!

Everlasting God, come down!

 

Charles Wesley (1707-1788)

 

Let us pray together

Loving, faithful God,

We praise you for your faithfulness to your people down the ages.

They hoped and were not disappointed;

In Jesus they saw you come as one of us, sharing our life so we might share yours.

We have known your coming in our lives,

Whether in blazes of glory,

or quiet moments of knowing we are loved;

and in the power of your Spirit.

We know you will come again in glory,

In light and power that we cannot imagine,

That one day all heaven and earth will praise you.

 

We come to you too, sorry for the times

When we have been too impatient to wait,

When we have lost heart.

God who comes to us in love,

We know that you forgive all who turn to you.

Forgive us, renew our hope, turn our eyes back to you,

So that we may see your coming in our world

And share your joy with others. Amen.

 

Reading from the Old Testament Isaiah 64: 1-9

Gospel Reading: Mark 13: 24-37

Time to Reflect

“Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down!” So says Isaiah in our Old Testament reading.  I wonder how many of us, with what 2020 has thrown at us, would want to say something similar to God, perhaps putting it as “Come on God, get this sorted!” Coronavirus has gone on quite long enough now, many of us are weary, down, fed up.

Isaiah and his people longed to see the coming of God, but were also scared. They feared that the trauma of exile had happened through their own fault- what would God do to them? They go backwards and forwards between hope and fear. In our Gospel reading, we again get a mixed message. “The Son of Man” will return in glory, His followers will share in that glory…but not before some very difficult times. Mark’s readers are also warned to be ready, not to be “caught out” by the coming of the “Son of Man”.

I wonder if today, we also feel a mixture of hope and fear. We want an end to the virus, and the pain, deprivation, sadness and loss it’s brought. We long for a better world, a safer and more peaceful world, for Creation to be healed and restored. Yet we know that living in the way that will build such a world- in God’s way- could be costly. It might mean, for instance, living more simply, or reaching out in love to those whom we don’t like, or don’t like us. We may also struggle to see where God is at work in our world, or in difficult things that are happening to us personally.

Both Isaiah and Mark, in their different ways, say “Wait- and see.” “Wait and see signs of God’s coming, at the end but also every day. Be ready for signs of the Kingdom, for God’s promptings to work for that Kingdom. Know that you are loved, and show that love to others”. This Advent, may we, through whatever we are facing, wait in hope and love. Amen.

Take a time to sit quietly

During this season the Methodist Church is proclaiming “God is with us”. God is with us is more than a statement. It’s a reminder that God is always with us. We are encouraged to share our story (and other people's stories) of walking with God in this extraordinary year. How might you share how God has been with you this week?  Find out more here https://www.methodist.org.uk/christmas/

A time of prayer

Loving God, who comes in Jesus,

We bring to you all who wait for you,

in hope and faith, or in fear and despair.

 

We pray for all who wait for peace, for justice, for their voices to be heard.

 

We pray for all who live in fear, of war, violence, abuse or bullying.

 

We pray that our Churches may wait on your guidance, so we may serve you faithfully.

 

We pray for all who wait for test results, news about their jobs, news of loved ones, or for the coming of a child.

 

We pray for all who are ill, all who are close to death, and all who watch and wait with them.

 

May we watch and wait with them, be people of peace and justice, and bring hope, comfort and healing, light in the darkness.

 

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father ……

Hymn: Listen to STF 173 Into the darkness of this world

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsjHf-IX8qo

or sing a verse of a hymn that comes to mind

 

Into the darkness of this world,

into the shadows of the night;

into this loveless place you came,

lightened our burdens, eased our pain,

and made these hearts your home.

Into the darkness once again --

O come, Lord Jesus, come.

 

      Come with your love

      to make us whole,

      come with your light to lead us on,

      driving the darkness far from our souls:

      O come, Lord Jesus, come.

 

Into the longing of our souls,

into these heavy hearts of stone,

shine on us now your piercing light,

order our lives and souls aright,

by grace and love unknown,

until in you our hearts unite –

O come, Lord Jesus, come.

 

              Come with your love

              to make us whole,

              come with your light to lead us on,

driving the darkness far from our souls:

              O come, Lord Jesus, come.

 

O Holy Child, Emmanuel,

hope of the ages, God with us,

visit again this broken place,

till all the earth declares your praise

and your great mercies own.

Now let your love be born in us,

O come, Lord Jesus, come.

 

      Come in your glory,

      take your place,

      Jesus, the Name above all names,

      we long to see you face to face,

      O come, Lord Jesus, come.

Maggi Dawn (b. 1959)

 

A prayer of blessing

God of hope, the Dawn from on high, break upon us, and fill us with light and hope. Send us out to be light and hope wherever we are. Amen.

Original Materials by Judith Lincoln

All Hymns reproduced under CCLi 1144191. 

Local Churches please insert number here