Dear Friends,
Tomorrow is the third Sunday in Advent. Please join with us as we light the candle of Joy and think about the kind of joy Jesus brings us for today and for the future.
In the painting above, by tot Sint Jans Geertgen, John the Baptist isn’t in prison but in a rather idealized wilderness. It’s interesting, though, that the artist has painted a lamb sitting beside John the Baptist. Even as John struggles with his doubts and questions,Jesus, the lamb of God, is there with him. Jesus is not fazed by our doubts and questions. As we hear the story of John’s questions while he’s in a very hard place (prison), we hear Jesus’ response to John and are reminded again of where to look to find our joy.
Order of Service
Prelude
Call to Worship & lighting of the Advent candle
Prayers of Adoration and Confession
Declaration of Grace and the Lord’s Prayer
Children’s time
Hymn 122: “Oh come, oh come, Emmanuel” (vs. 1,3,5,6,7)
Responsive reading: Psalm 146: 5-10
Gloria Patri
Isaiah 35: 1-10
Matthew 11: 2-11
Hymn 507: “Break now the bread of life”
Sermon: “Joy in believing”
Hymn 665: “Lord Jesus, you shall be my song” (vs. 1-2 Fr; 3-4 Eng.)
Offertory
Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession
Hymn 118: “Hark the glad sound”
Benediction
“Go now in peace”
Postlude