Advent 1B
Scripture (from the Revised Common Lectionary, with links provided by TextWeek.com – a source for thoughtful worship and preaching throughout the year):
Isaiah 64:1-9 Roman Catholic reading: Isaiah 63:16-17, 19; 64:2-7
Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19 Roman Catholic reading: Psalm 80:2-19 Episcopal reading (RCL): Psalm 80:1-7, 16-18
Mark 13:24-37 Roman Catholic reading: Mark 13:33-37
Suggested Hymns from Chalice Hymnal
The Oremus Hymnal offers many good choices for the lectionary (although this 2010 version will have incorrect calendar dates). Not all are available in Chalice Hymnal, but some may be helpful in congregations where there is not a Chalice Hymnal available. Visit the Oremus Hymnal.
119 (variant: use Antiphons on 120) – O come, O come, Emmanuel
125 – Come, O Long-expected Jesus
135 – Blessed be the God of Israel
411 – For the bread which you have broken
More hymn suggestions, as well as helpful references for use of the arts in worship, are available from the United Church of Christ website.
Dealing with the Psalm of the Day:
Since Chalice Hymnal does not provide a complete Psalter, there will be occasions when suggestions may be made for alternate Psalm use (or hymn equivalent). A metrical version of the Psalter, for those Psalms not provided in Chalice Hymnal, is being prepared by Rev. David Chafin. Where practical, these may be offered here as well. You may also want to visit http://www.modernpsalter.com/ or
This week: Psalm 80 is not in the hymnal. See Greeting
Hymn of the Day from Rev. William Flewelling (© 2013, William Flewelling; All rights reserved)
On 1 Corinthians 1:3-9
God is faithful who has called you
into full community.
All the grace our God can offer
fills with bounty all our souls.
All the gifts imagined – and more –
overflow with ecstasy.
Certainly this richness brings forth
all the echoes of desire.
Now delighting, now fulfilling,
now astounding every eye,
here we come awaiting ever
Christ’s revealing, come to fill.
In this bounty echoes God’s peace,
all the grace our Lord provides.
This is bliss, sublime in wonder,
luring evermore our hope.
8.7.8.7. Suggested tune: Halton Holgate
Note: Except where otherwise noted, items are created or adapted by the editor. If you are aware of source notations which are missing, please bring them to his attention. No copyright infringement is intended, but is sure to happen.
Words of Greeting/Call to Prayer (from Psalm 80)
L: Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock!
P: Restore us, O God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.
L: Let your hand be upon the one at your right hand, the one whom you made strong for yourself.
P: Then we will never turn back from you; give us life, and we will call on your name.
L: Restore us, O LORD God of hosts;
P: Let your face shine, that we may be saved.
Prayer of Approach
L: The Lord be with you.
P: And also with you.
L: Let us pray. We come, O God, with adoration and praise, as well as thanksgiving, to you. Our anticipation grows as we begin the journey to the day of great celebration of the birth of your Christ. Open our hearts that we may truly receive the gift of your Son, and know that the joy of life with you. This we pray through our Lord Jesus Christ (who taught us to pray, “Our Father…”)
Intercessions
How strong your voice, O God. How it thunders across the lands, calling forth blossoms from parched earth and turning back waters from flooded ground. You stand at the world’s door and knock; who can withstand the sound of your voice?
How soft your voice, O God. How it murmurs in the morning, calling life forth from its bed and hastening the night to its own. You come to us, walking in the garden in the cool of the day; who can hide from the sound of your voice?
Tarry with us, O God. Let your word love our eyes into seeing all those around us. Let it love our ears into hearing the voices calling to us. Let it love our hands into healing with the gifts you have granted your children. Let our words be words of love as we pray for those who are in greatest need…
In these days of Advent, may our voices ring with joy, with peace and with hope. Wherever you send us, may we be diligent in following. For we are ever in search of your salvation, even as we continue to search for the child, the Christ, our Savior in whose name we sing for joy and offer our prayers.
Prayers from Common Worship*
Almighty God,
give us grace to cast away the works of darkness
and to put on the armour of light,
now in the time of this mortal life,
in which your Son Jesus Christ came to us in great humility;
that on the last day,
when he shall come again in his glorious majesty
to judge the living and the dead,
we may rise to the life immortal;
through him who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Post Communion
O Lord our God,
make us watchful and keep us faithful
as we await the coming of your Son our Lord;
that, when he shall appear,
he may not find us sleeping in sin
but active in his service
and joyful in his praise;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Additional Collect
Almighty God,
as your kingdom dawns,
turn us from the darkness of sin
to the light of holiness,
that we may be ready to meet you
in our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Collect of the Day (from Book of Common Prayer, 1979**)
Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of
darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of
this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit
us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come
again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the
dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives
and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and
for ever. Amen.
Collect of the Day from Rev. William Flewelling (© 2013, William Flewelling; All rights reserved)
Mark 13:24-37
Anticipating the coming of our Christ, O God,
we calculate and postulate and try
to sort it all into place.
We dread the tribulation, seek the peace,
consider your gathering our hope.
Yet in our moments, Lord, we catch ourselves
and miss the obvious,
dismiss the earnest, forget to watch.
O Give us patience to watch.
Service of Table
Preparation (Invitation)
God is at work in the world, renewing, remaking, resurrecting, bringing hope through the faith, the gifts, and the work of the church. We trust in God, and together we work for peace and justice through God’s Spirit as we offer our tithes and gifts. Let us rejoice in our God-given opportunity to share in God’s work.
[If the offering has not yet been received, add: “Let us prepare the Table of the Lord with the fruits of our lives and our labors”]
Offertory Prayer
Thank you, God of Love, for the promise of this season. We are grateful for the generosity aroused in us by Christ’s coming into the world. May these gifts represent a new spirit of joyous sharing among us, for the sake of all your children everywhere. Amen.
Prayer of Thanksgiving
(The following may be offered as one prayer, or broken between two Elders, if that is the tradition to be followed)
With hope and expectation, O God, we draw near to the Table which you have set with the fruits of righteousness and promise of life. Bless now this bread which we break that it may be for us Christ’s body, and this cup which we lift, that it may be his blood. Send now the power of your Holy Spirit upon these gifts and upon us as we receive them. Make your presence known among your people, we pray, and in all the world, as we look to the coming of Christ whose reign shall know no end.
Conclusion: Through him, with him, and in him, in the power of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor be to you, O God, now and forever. Amen.
[if not previously offered: “And now with the confidence of your children, we offer the prayer our Savior taught us, ‘Our Father…’”]
MORE…
Resources from the Jubilee Fund: This stewardship ministry serving the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) offers weekly emails for each Sunday’s service. Visit http://www.thejubileefund.com/ to learn more.
You may also want to visit Worship Connection at MinistryMatters.com, which offers numerous helps, including electronic versions of print resources for worship and preaching planning.
Intercessions and other helpful planning materials geared to the Lectionary (using Roman Catholic version, but normally quite useful for all traditions) for preaching and worship are supplied for several weeks in advance at The Sunday Website of St. Louis University.
Liturgies created by Moira Laidlaw (Uniting Church in Australia) as a part of her doctoral dissertation are often helpful. Read more here.
Common Worship Almanac and Lectionary for the year beginning Advent Sunday 2014. Compiled by Simon Kershaw October 2014 from the Common Worship Calendar and Lectionaries using Almanac Maker; compilation © Simon Kershaw 2012; Almanac Maker © Simon Kershaw 2010. The Revised Common Lectionary is copyright © the Consultation on Common Texts 1992. The Daily Eucharistic Lectionary is adapted from the Ordo Lectionum Missae of the Roman Catholic Church reproduced by permission of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy. Adaptations and additions to the RCL and the DEL, together with Second and Third Service lectionaries and the Weekday Lectionary for Morning and Evening Prayer are copyright © the Archbishops’ Council 1997-2010. http://almanac.oremus.org/lectionary
Book of Common Prayer (1979), Public domain.
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