Advent Week One – Sunday Sermon

Isaiah 63:15-64:12

15 Look down from heaven and see,
from your lofty throne, holy and glorious.
Where are your zeal and your might?
Your tenderness and compassion are withheld from us.

16 But you are our Father,
though Abraham does not know us
or Israel acknowledge us;
you, LORD, are our Father,
our Redeemer from of old is your name.

17 Why, LORD, do you make us wander from your ways
and harden our hearts so we do not revere you?
Return for the sake of your servants,
the tribes that are your inheritance.

18 For a little while your people possessed your holy place,
but now our enemies have trampled down your sanctuary.

19 We are yours from of old;
but you have not ruled over them,
they have not been called by your name.

1 Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down,
that the mountains would tremble before you!
2 As when fire sets twigs ablaze
and causes water to boil,
come down to make your name known to your enemies
and cause the nations to quake before you!

3 For when you did awesome things that we did not expect,
you came down, and the mountains trembled before you.

4 Since ancient times no one has heard,
no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides you,
who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.

5 You come to the help of those who gladly do right,
who remember your ways.
But when we continued to sin against them,
you were angry.
How then can we be saved?

6 All of us have become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
we all shrivel up like a leaf,
and like the wind our sins sweep us away.

7 No one calls on your name
or strives to lay hold of you;
for you have hidden your face from us
and have given us over to [d] our sins.

8 Yet you, LORD, are our Father.
We are the clay, you are the potter;
we are all the work of your hand.

9 Do not be angry beyond measure, LORD;
do not remember our sins forever.
Oh, look on us, we pray,
for we are all your people.

10 Your sacred cities have become a wasteland;
even Zion is a wasteland, Jerusalem a desolation.

11 Our holy and glorious temple, where our ancestors praised you,
has been burned with fire,
and all that we treasured lies in ruins.

12 After all this, LORD, will you hold yourself back?
Will you keep silent and punish us beyond measure?

Hymn and Carol Sing Tonight

Be sure to join us at 7pm for an evening of hymns and carols as we prepare ourselves as a family for the Advent and Christmas season. The choir will be singing tonight as well.

Daily Readings During Advent

The following resources come from the blog of Christine Sine from Mustard Seed House in Seattle, Washington. My hope is that we as a church family will be enriched by the wealth and breadth of our great Christian traditions. If this is your first time considering using lectionary readings as times of prayer I ask that you approach with an open heart. It is a tremendous experience to read and pray in chorus with others following the lectionary all over the globe. These readings are intended to prepare us for the coming of Christ.

Many of the following are available as email subscriptions that will appear in your inbox daily. There are a great variety of readings presented here, but remember that this is but a small taste of what is available. If you know of any other helpful prayer and devotional resources for Advent please post them in the comments.

Readings from the Book of Common Prayer

Readings from United Church of Christ based on revised Common Lectionary

Presbyterian USA daily readings

Readings from the New Zealand Prayer book

Northumbria Community Daily Offices

Daily Prayer with the Irish Jesuits

Daily Prayer from the Catholic Church in Australia

Give Presence

Advent Sunday is this weekend. Consider this location to be Advent Central during the weeks leading up to Christmas. The Advent messages that Pastor Shawn gives will be presented here in some form and I will interject many, many a thought, video, etc. along the way as well. If you have any thoughts, comments, prayers, or whatever please feel free to post them in the comments.

Here is a short presentation by the wonderful folks from the Advent Conspiracy on how we can give better this Christmas. Please prayerfully consider the message from the film.

Preparing for Advent

Advent Sunday is historically the beginning of the church’s worshipping year. I hope this short video will inspire you to slow down and take the time to live the patience of Israel as we prepare to enter this incredible season. Prepare yourselves for the coming of our Messiah Christ – the Liberating King. Jesus.