3rd Sunday of Advent (Year C)
/Call to Worship
Surely God is our salvation. Isa. 12:2-6
We will trust in God and not be afraid.
Surely God is our strength and our might.
We will make known God’s deeds among the nations.
We gather in this season of Advent to wait, watch, and wonder.
We gather to share the joy we find in the Christ-child,
and the joy that God finds in us!
Come, let us worship God!
Prayer of the Day
God of Joy, Philippians 4:4-7
we rejoice in your holy name
and eagerly anticipate your incarnation among us.
So we will shout aloud and sing for joy
for you are in our midst! Amen.
Call to Confession
Although God is the source of our joy,
our sin often hinders our joy and the joy of others.
Let us confess our sins before God and one another.
Confession
Gracious God,
it was with joy that you brought us into being.
You created the world and called it good.
And yet we have done so much to quell that goodness:
we have fought with one another and failed to live in peace;
we have shut out the stranger and disparaged the immigrant;
we have ignored the needy and judged the poor;
we have fallen short of your command to be the Beloved Community.
Forgive us, Merciful God, and bring us back to the joy we find in you.
This we pray in your holy name. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon
The prophet Zephaniah reminds us of these truths: Zeph. 3:17
that God rejoices over us with gladness,
that God renews us in love,
and that God will exult over us with loud singing.
Friends, I announce to you, in the name of Jesus Christ:
Our sins are forgiven.
Alleluia! Amen.
Prayer for Illumination
Holy Spirit,
proclaim to us your good news
that we may hear it joyfully
and proclaim it boldly. Amen.
Prayers of the People
Let us pray to God, saying:
God of Joy, draw near to us.
God of Humanity,
this past week was the observation of Human Rights Day,
a day set aside by the United Nations in 1948, 70 years ago this week,
to remind us of the places in the world where human rights are ignored.
Our denomination has a historic commitment to human rights.
Help us, Gracious God, to proclaim your gospel that tells us
“all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.”
God of Joy, draw near to us.
God of Compassion,
your scripture tells us today
that those of us with much have much to give in your name. Luke 3:11
Where those of us have too much,
help us have generous hearts to give to those who have too little.
In this season of expectation,
help us bear the good fruit that you call us to bear. Luke 3:9
God of Joy, draw near to us.
God of Hope,
we pray that you will make joy known in difficult places this season:
in places of warfare,
in places of pain,
in places of despair,
in places of sickness,
in places of hunger,
in places of hopelessness.
Help us share the joy we find in you!
God of Joy, draw near to us.
God of Harmony,
this year has seen so much division.
Help us, in this season of generosity and compassion,
to draw near to one another.
When fear reigns, we tend to circle our wagons and shut others out.
But when hope reigns, we let down our guard
and open ourselves up to the possibility of love and creation.
Help us draw near to one another.
God of Joy, draw near to us.
God of Healing,
we pray that you would lift up those among you that need joy,
those we lift up before you silently…
God of Joy, draw near to us.
Holy and Majestic God,
we lift these prayers to you
in the name of your Child, who taught us to pray, saying: Our Father…
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