Chris Walker

There’s a big difference between the “Christmas spirit” of today and the original Spirit of Christmas. We can see the Holy Spirit’s work throughout the story when we remember and celebrate the Incarnation in this season. It’s the beauty of our Triune God - Father, Son, and Spirit - in collaboration.

"Entering into the upcoming season of Advent and Christmastide, I am full of gratitude for the plethora of unique voices that make up our church family. As a Worship Pastor and planner, I want to elevate “the unknowns,” especially during these significant Sundays of the church year."

"..spiritual” experiences are a result of the Spirit at work. We can sometimes forget this."

Our use of technology should clarify what we’re trying to share together and amplify the good news of the gospel. The microphones, what we project onto our screens, the lighting in the space, the way we incorporate video, all should help us clarify our communication and communion together.

As worship planners and leaders we spend so much effort and time making sure others can dwell in the story of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection, to rediscover his mercy and grace through his passion, we sometimes forget the story we’re telling is also for us.

"As you plan and lead worship during this season, always aimed toward the death and resurrection of Jesus, lean into the privilege you have in asking the questions: When does this service speak? When does it sing? When is it silent?”

Jazz is “a vibrant, honest, gritty music that exults in the transcendent while staying grounded in the abrasive experiences that come with being human. In this sense, jazz music sincerely represents the human experience. Can our worship gatherings do the same?”

Pentecost has to be the most frustrating of the liturgical holidays. Frankly, it’s annoying.Easter is all resurrection celebration. Good Friday holds our wounds and our sins in divine compassion. Christmas, while potentially painful for those hurting, is typically a chance for the weary world to rejoice. Palm Sunday, the ascension, the transfiguration—depending on how deeply you dive into the liturgical calendar, there are countless surprising and meaningful ways the Good News is told throughout our church year.But Pentecost, with the coming of the Holy Spirit, is the birth of the church. It’s the new and constantly ongoing formation of a community—the community of The Way. That means it’s the celebration of the Spirit taking a bunch of people with little common ground, little reason to spend any time together on purpose, and somehow, mysteriously, making them one entity linked together by new life in Jesus.I suppose what I mean when I say “Pentecost is annoying” is actually “Pentecost is mind-blowingly beautiful, but it means we have a lot of meaningful, hard work in front of us as the church, and I don’t always want to do it.” Spiritual TranscendenceAlthough those in the earliest church were easily divided across lines of nationality between those who were Jewish and those who were not, the apostle Paul describes the new identity of those believers—and all believers—through the lens of their baptism. “All of you were baptized into Christ,” he writes in Galatians 3:27 (emphasis mine). Therefore, all of your other identities are transcended. The divide between Jew or Gentile no longer exists! Nor do the dividing lines of slave or free, male or female (Galatians 3:28). These are the dividing lines the first generations of Jesus-followers were forced to wrestle with most, but perhaps you see parallels to today’s talking points in the church. Paul says, “You are all one in Christ Jesus.” If you belong to Christ, then you belong to each other, and together you are heirs to the promises of God’s covenant (Galatians 3:29).The Holy Spirit sweeps in with tongues like a fire, and everything changes: differences are transcended by a divine unity in which the identity we are given as those unified with Christ in his death and resurrection means we now belong to each other. That’s stunning. It’s impossible, really. Thankfully, with our God all things are possible. Every difference—tax bracket, gender, race, culture, location, political perspective, ability, background—is welcomed into the Spirit’s creative act of building a community that shares resurrection life together.Those differences aren’t eliminated, though, which means I now have to learn to be humble and curious about people I don’t understand, don’t get along with, or don’t even like. I suppose I should say that I get to learn this sort of humility. It truly is a beautiful way to live. It’s unity without uniformity. It’s a deference to our difference, but through the lens of the cross.This is what true “spiritual transcendence” looks like. We don’t create unity; that’s the Spirit’s sacred work and is, mysteriously, already a reality. But we’re called to “keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace,” according to Paul (Ephesians 4:3). One body. One Spirit. One Lord. One faith. One baptism. One God and Father of all. If the communal dimensions of our faith are truly the work of God’s Spirit in the church, then our faith is personal but never individual, internal but never private. . . . Healthy communal worship will aim us on a trajectory toward our shared faith, even with (especially with?) those different from us.A Different Type of Pentecostal WorshipSuch a staggering and grandiose work of God is not only possible; it’s a reality. How we worship can play a vital role in forming us within this new reality. But how?If the communal dimensions of our faith are truly the work of God’s Spirit in the church, then our faith is personal but never individual, internal but never private. Our faith will always have and need public, shared expression, which is more difficult in many of our cultural contexts shaped by on-demand consumerism and hyperindividualism. Healthy communal worship will aim us on a trajectory toward our shared faith, even with (especially with?) those different from us.If we’re willing to do a little self-interrogation about our worship planning, we can check on how we’re reinforcing individual desires, needs, and priorities and how we’re encouraging our shared unity. What are our habits and tendencies? What language are we choosing to guide worship? Are we encouraging the work of the Holy Spirit, or avoiding it? This is, perhaps, a different type of Pentecostal worship. Visualizing Our TendenciesI’ve discovered the value of the 2 x 2 grid for quickly visualizing relationships between two unique ideas. Simply, there’s an x-axis and a y-axis, like a giant plus sign, creating four spaces in a grid. Plotting points within the grid lets us see how concepts or actions might be related to each other. Perhaps this tool can help us here.As a quick example, I recently had a chance to talk about technology and faith with a college class at my alma mater. Specifically, we wanted to discuss how healthy our relationship with technology is, especially if God is moving us from isolation to community and from consuming to creativity. We created a 2 x 2 grid where the x-axis represented the movement from “solo” to “shared” and the y-axis represented the movement from “consuming” to “creating.” Then we could plot all sorts of tech-related activities to see where they land. There are healthy and unhealthy aspects in each corner of the grid in this instance, but if God is generally moving us from isolation to community and from consuming to creating, then we don’t want the majority of our time to be spent in the Solo/Consuming quadrant. It’s unhealthy.What about worshiping as a unified body full of differences?Perhaps we could keep that Solo–Shared x-axis. Our liturgical expressions certainly should have some spaces for our personal, individual faith to be expressed. But I believe God moves us from self-focus to shared community, particularly in public worship.For the y-axis, we can try a few different ranges. Let’s begin with a Listening–Speaking y-axis.We now have a grid with four areas: Solo/Listening, Solo/Speaking, Shared/Listening, and Shared/Speaking. Now, recall your most recent worship service. Think through how the service unfolded, and plot each liturgical movement somewhere on the grid. We can do this with our liturgical actions (call to worship, prayers of the people, baptism, etc.). But perhaps it’s more clarifying to drill down a level to investigate a few different aspects of each liturgical action. Let’s start with language. What words were used in our call to worship, in our prayers, in celebrating baptism? How would you plot the language shared over the course of the worship gathering? By placing these plot points, we can see a quick visual representation of how much time is spent focused on individuals and how much is spent focused on being a community. Particularly in light of the Spirit’s pentecostal work, what do we bring to God in worship as individuals, and what do we bring to God as a community? How do we listen for God’s voice individually, and how do we listen communally? How is the diversity of our experiences represented in our expressions of worship? Again, there are healthy and unhealthy expressions in all four quadrants. But to do this for a season of worship gatherings can reveal trends and patterns, some of which might be encouraging and others of which might reveal places to consider new practices. Try this same exercise to look at who is leading worship in your context or to plot the lyrics of the songs and hymns you sing. This exercise isn’t overly time consuming, and it can give you a glimpse into tendencies over the course of a worship service or a season of worship services. Are we confessing sin constantly as individuals, but never as a community? Does the shared leadership in our worship represent the diversity of Christ’s body? Isn’t it encouraging to see how frequently we’re sharing testimony of God’s work in our broader community when we’re gathered in worship?What’s more, we can use this tool to quickly gauge our relationship with the global church across denominational lines or other dividers. I may not be able to lead the same songs as my friends in a local immigrant church, but perhaps they’d be willing to share one of their common prayers to be prayed together in solidarity. Those living and working missionally in other countries or cultures can help guide our hearts toward the global church, and our faithful imagination for what God’s church actually looks like can expand because of it. Remembering the Good News—TogetherWorship is narrative. At its best, our shared worship is a beautiful expression that is both artistically free and meaningfully planned. If you decide to try using this tool to evaluate a season of past worship plans with your leadership team, then, I’d encourage you to be careful. If you want to dissect something, you have to kill it first. You don’t want to do that with the life-giving dialogue of worshiping together in God’s presence. But perhaps the 2 x 2 tool can help us notice trends, both helpful and unhelpful, and allow for a deeper sense of the Spirit’s call into our shared unity within our diversity.With Christ as our example, not considering equality with God something to be used to his own advantage, but pouring himself out and taking on humanity, we follow him in humility and self-giving love. How beautifully frustrating and frustratingly beautiful that following Christ’s humility includes the Spirit’s sacred work of forming us into one body of belonging and one body at worship.

“Come with me and you’ll be in a world of pure imagination,” croons Willy Wonka in the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. The enigmatic Wonka continues to sing as he welcomes five children and their various guardians into the Chocolate Room of his candy factory, a room where everything—flowers, grass, balloons, even the river—is actually some sort of sweet treat. “We’ll begin with a spin traveling in the world of my creation. What we’ll see will defy explanation.”There is no doubt that Wonka, as played by Gene Wilder, is odd and at times even unsettling. But there is also no doubt that his Chocolate Room is mesmerizing and awe-inspiring. He has imagined something into existence that everyone, young or old, wants to visit and enjoy. It truly defies explanation, and Wonka’s imagination fires up our own imaginations. What else seems impossible but could become reality? What sort of creative endeavors await, calling a more beautiful world into existence? “Worship and mission have always stood as two pillars in the church. Although we mistake them for two different activities, they share a dynamic relationship in shaping our hearts and imaginations for the new kingdom.”As followers of Jesus, we too have encountered the impossible. All of creation was groaning for restoration, trapped in slavery to sin and death, when God stepped into our world to bring life and salvation. Life in relationship with the Creator became possible because of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. The good news of the gospel is that the kingdom of God has come near in Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit, and thus we can participate in this kingdom of life. Ultimately we will inhabit an eternal life where there is no more death or mourning or crying or pain, where God’s dwelling place is with God’s people in a new creation. As followers of Jesus, a new reality that was previously beyond our imaginations is completely ours. Thanks be to God! Representing the Reign of GodFollowing Jesus isn’t only about eternal life. Those of us who have encountered the risen Christ are being formed into a community. The writers of the New Testament often referred to this community as “the church.” Being welcomed into the church is profound because the church is called to represent the reign of God in the world. Our identity as a community is rooted in the truth that Jesus is Lord, and when those who don’t yet know Christ look into our midst they should see what God is like. They should see the beauty of his kingdom.It’s worth repeating: Jesus is forming us as a community to represent the reign of God in the world. This formation doesn’t happen in isolation (the importance of personal time with God for our discipleship notwithstanding). Our shared experiences and shared practices are vital pieces of the puzzle, and sometimes these are connected to each other in surprising ways.Worship and mission have always stood as two pillars in the church. Although we mistake them for two different activities, they share a dynamic relationship in shaping our hearts and imaginations for the new kingdom. That relationship is seen in the steady, graceful rhythm of the church’s life: together we are gathered and sent, gathered and sent, gathered and sent. Through each week, each season, and each year, we experience the constant ebb and flow of being gathered in Christ and sent in his name.Theologian Ruth A. Meyers refers to these two dynamics in relationship as “missional worship” and “worshipful mission”(Meyers, 2). Worship and mission both proclaim and celebrate the good news of God’s love, offered for the sake of the world. We Become Like What We WorshipMissional worship is worship that connects us to the mission of God by constantly forming and reforming us in our identity as followers of Jesus.It’s lost on many people, but the reality is that you become like what you worship. N. T. Wright, in his book Surprised by Hope, eloquently tells us, “One of the primary laws of human life is that you become like what you worship; what’s more, you reflect what you worship not only to the object itself but also outward to the world around” (Wright, 182).We need only look to the psalms to see this truth revealed in Scripture. In Psalm 135:15–18, the psalmist sings of the surrounding pagan nations: The idols of the nations are silver and gold,      made by human hands.They have mouths, but cannot speak,      eyes, but cannot see.They have ears, but cannot hear,      nor is there breath in their mouths.Those who make them will be like them,      and so will all who trust in them. Carve an idol, give it your reverence and awe, and you will become like it. In the Western world that we call home, carved idols are a rarity, but the principle remains. N. T. Wright continues:Those who worship money increasingly define themselves in terms of it and increasingly treat other people as creditors, debtors, partners, or customers rather than as human beings. Those who worship sex define themselves in terms of it (their preferences, their practices, their past histories) and increasingly treat other people as actual or potential sex objects. Those who worship power define themselves in terms of it and treat other people as either collaborators, competitors, or pawns. These and many other forms of idolatry combine in a thousand ways, all of them damaging to the image-bearing quality of the people concerned and of those whose lives they touch (Wright, 182).The community of Jesus followers, though, gathers in the name of Christ to worship the living God, who has made himself known through self-giving love. Our worship forms our hearts in Christlikeness, and we discover that life is found in the practice of self-giving love. The very act of worship becomes a foundation for living in mission throughout our week. Every act of true worship is, by its very nature, missional worship. We become like our Lord Jesus, who gave himself up fully, even unto death, even for his enemies. Missional WorshipWorship forms us for mission, and each of the particular acts we take part in together as we worship can be understood in light of what will happen when we leave the gathering.Call to Worship: We are called together by God not to leave the world behind and forget about it all, but to bring all of our experiences with us into the house of God. The muck and mire of a weary week, the burden of difficult conversations, the failures of faith, and the very real struggles facing our community need to be brought before the Holy God, laid bare at the cross. We’re called together as we are, not as we should be. Thank the Lord!Adoration: We adore God because God is holy, perfect, and wholly “other” from this world. We adore God as Creator, but that reminds us that God dearly loves his creation. The New Testament writers remind us that the work of Christ is cosmic in scope—even creation is being set free and restored through the cross and resurrection of Jesus.Confession: When we confess before God, we confess our inability to love our neighbor as ourselves. In Luke 10:27, Jesus calls loving our neighbor the second greatest commandment and ties it in a knot with the first great commandment so that the two cannot be separated:  “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” You want to adore the Almighty God? Lay down your life for your neighbor who votes differently than you. It’s brutally difficult, which is exactly why we are honest before God in confession.Assurance of Forgiveness: We never wallow in guilt. Our forgiveness has already been won for us and promised to us. When we admit our lack of strength to follow through in the previous week, we are reminded that we are forgiven, restored, and renewed to try again with the help of the Spirit.The Word: When the Word is proclaimed in our midst, it is never simply a self-help lecture or an emotional pep rally. Any sermon at its healthiest will point us to the presence of the living God, the good news of the gospel of Jesus, and the movement of the Spirit. And that will always include a call to partner with God in the work of his kingdom, because our neighbors need to know the presence of this living God as well.Sacraments: Baptism initiates us into the family of God, sealing an identity that is missional at its core. We are swept into a story that includes bearing witness to the risen Christ, and we’re reminded of that every time we make baptismal promises to each other. Communion, or the Lord’s Supper, is the meal that sustains us for the good work of the gospel. All we need is a taste to remember, (or to be “re-membered” as the body), that we participate in Christ’s death and resurrection so that we can also participate in his restoration in the world.Blessing and Sending: Every service ends with the twin movement of blessing and sending. We are blessed, so we go to be a blessing. We are changed to bring change. We are gathered in the name of Jesus and sent in the name of Jesus. Gathered and sent, gathered and sent, gathered and sent. The rhythm carries us out to our homes, neighborhoods, and vocations with a song of praise on our lips and hands ready to reach out.Worship proclaims and celebrates the good news of God’s love, which has been offered in Jesus for the sake of the world. Of course, that’s exactly what missional living does as well. Worshipful MissionWorshipful mission is the way we’re called to live once we are sent out from our gatherings. It’s missional living that proclaims God’s glory as our words and actions point toward the new reality of God’s kingdom for the sake of our world.The apostle Paul is excited to remind us that, if we are in Christ, the new creation has already come (2 Corinthians 5:17). It’s here—present tense. If we have already tasted of the new creation that is to come, when the restoration of all things arrives with Christ’s second coming, then we have the privilege and honor of living in such a way that the new creation is revealed in us. That’s true for each of us as individuals, of course, but remember that we are sent out as a community of believers. Even when we’re sent, we collectively represent the reign of God in the world.Jesus-followers are invited to leverage a faithful imagination, to reimagine our world made new as we participate in Christ’s mission. It’s not hard to see worshipful mission already surrounding us, coming to life through vibrant imaginations at work. Just look at some of your mission initiatives and partners. What follows are some stories from my own congregation. Steve and Sarah Caton had a vision that the church could begin to grow in England again if Christians lived missionally within their neighborhoods, helping the communities flourish. Their journey has had amazing twists and turns, leading to the founding of a coffee shop, a neighborhood church, and an international retreat program for those living abroad on mission.The fact that some families might not have proper beds for their kids is heartbreaking, but a faithful creativity led some of our Covenant Life Church craftsmen to imagine a new world where we could provide beds to those who need them. This is communal flourishing, caring for those with a need by offering our skills and resources.Kids Hope was born out of the idea that we can serve our community by serving students in need in our neighborhood schools. At Covenant Life, Jill Pyle faithfully steers this amazing program, building on the foundation laid by Trisha Wolvolek and Ann Sluis. These women have helped us spark hope through relationships with hurting students, and they’ve even sent students to summer camp—an adventure they would otherwise never know anything about.One of our global partners working with Muslim refugees in Spain was captured by a vision of Muslims, and especially Muslim refugees, being introduced to Jesus. Her deep love for Muslim brothers and sisters overseas has led to a life of caring for them in the name of Jesus. The good news of the gospel is shared alongside groceries, healthcare, and friendship.This is new-creation work. This is God’s people cultivating a faithful imagination for what flourishing could look like here and now. We refer to this work as “mission.” But it’s also worshipful mission. These efforts, led by the Holy Spirit, represent a way of life that proclaims God’s glory and shouts the good news of the gospel. Dreams & VisionsThere are gaps in education, health, poverty, and church development that we can stand in. How beautiful would it be to imagine a new world that bridges the life of Christ and the flourishing of our community and world? How beautiful would it be to partner with the Spirit in bringing that imagined world into existence?The glory of the next age exists in this age because the Spirit inspires God’s people to imagine and dream beyond what we see. If we can envision a world with no tears, no pain, and no death—a world we’re already tasting in part—then we can also envision new ways to step toward that goal while we are awaiting Christ’s return. Just as we can dream about a world where each kid has a great bed to sleep in, Muslim refugees fleeing warzones are welcomed and cared for, struggling students can find encouragement for school and life, and a neighborhood coffee shop can be a home for significant spiritual conversations, there are countless other opportunities in front of us to dream about.As Christ’s disciples, we should be first to serve. We should be first to give. We should be first to worship. We also have a chance to be first in line to dream, to imagine, and then to cultivate beauty in our world as a way to proclaim Jesus’ resurrection. Viewing ParadiseWilly Wonka continues to sing as the children explore his Chocolate Room, declaring in song that paradise is all around them and that they have the ability to change whatever they want to in this world. It’s a beautiful and poignant moment. It’s not totally truthful, of course. This isn’t paradise. We have too many battle wounds while we wait for Christ’s return. And we can’t change the whole world. Only God can do that. But if chocolate and sweets can inspire such visions of a new reality, then you can bet that the gospel has claims that are even greater for us.Christ taught us to pray, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). Our missional worship forms us in Christlikeness and sends us out into the world to proclaim the gospel. Our worshipful mission is participation in Christ’s mission and propels us back into the gathering to adore God for the work done by his Spirit in our community. We can’t fully view paradise yet, but we can taste it. And each taste is a reminder that we want to share the feast with our neighbor. What joy that we’re called into such a rich imagination, to see visions and to dream dreams (Acts 2:17)! We worship and live missionally in a way that proclaims and celebrates the good news of God’s love, given for the sake of the world.  Resources-Meyers, Ruth A. Missional Worship, Worshipful Mission: Gathering as God’s People, Going Out in God’s Name. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2014.-Wright, N. T. Surprised by Hope. New York: Harper Collins, 2008.

The following series was a collaboration of the Revs. Bruce Ballast, Bob DeVries, and Chris Walker of Covenant Life Church in Grand Haven, Michigan. Covenant’s worship could be described as contemporary and modern yet creatively rooted in the ancient liturgy of the church. This Advent series on waiting was particularly well received as a foil to the busyness of the church’s cultural context.Waiting is one of those spiritual disciplines that we as Christians exercise as we await Christ’s second coming, but also as we wait for answers to our prayers and as we show patience toward individuals or circumstances that we wish would change but haven’t yet. As the world around us rushes toward Christmas and demands instant gratification, the church pauses to experience the waiting of Advent.Each of the calls to worship originally appeared as a simple video with Advent-related music accompanying the projected text. The calls could also be read with the whole congregation, or each Scripture could be assigned to a different member to read or recite. You may want to invite a child to ask the questions. We have added a script for lighting the Advent candles, but if you do a spoken call to worship you may want to light the Advent candles directly after the call instead.Included in the original series were a number of dramas that are included in the resource section following the article. We are grateful to Ruth Saukas for her willingness to share them with our subscribers.As is our normal practice, we list both the congregational songs used and some alternative suggestions.A series of Advent and Christmas illustrations from artist, Vaughan Duck, whose work can be found on Lightstockphoto.com works well with this series for projection or as a banner template. May you and your congregation be blessed in your Advent waiting.—RWWeek 1Active WaitingGATHERINGCall to Worship: Waiting in HopeWhat are you waiting for?We wait in HOPE for the Lord;he is our help and our shield.But if we HOPE for what we do not yet have,we wait for it patiently.Where is your HOPE?For the grace of God has appeared that offerssalvation to all people.It teaches us to live in this present agewhile we wait for the blessed HOPE—the appearing of the gloryof our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.But as for me, I watch in HOPE for the LORD,I wait for God my Savior.—adapted from Psalm 33:20; Romans 8:25; Titus 2:11–13; Micah 7:7Advent Candle LightingAdvent is a time of waiting.We wait in anticipation of Christmas,the celebration of Christ’s birth.We wait in expectation and hope for the day when Christ comes again.Today, we light the candle of hope.As we wait, let us be people of hope.[The first candle is lit.]Song“Hallow Your Name” Pierce  or “Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus” (vs. 1, 2) Wesley Scripture ReadingPsalm 63:1Song and Prayer“Hear Us from Heaven” Anderson[Allow time in the middle of the song for spoken prayer about waiting for Christ’s return.]Or:“Hear My Cry, O God, and Save Me (Psalm 77)” Morgan[Follow with a spoken prayer.]Song“Lord, I Need You” Stanfill and Maheror “I Need Thee Every Hour” OrtegaPrayers of the PeopleOfferingInstrumental music: “Hope of the Nations” DoerksenDrama“Football” by Ruth Saukas[This drama is available at tinyurl.com/RW-141-Football but will need to be adapted for your context.] WORDScripture ReadingLuke 12:35–40Sermon“Active Waiting”Sermon NotesWaiting for Godot is the classic play by Samuel Beckett in which two characters are told to wait for Godot, who never shows. Its message is that waiting for God is futile and foolish. Jesus describes it another way in Luke 12:35–40. This passage is the parable of the servants who are waiting for their master to return. Waiting is part of the Christian life. In light of this parable, we are called to wait patiently for Jesus’ return—his second Advent—expectantly (not a passive waiting, but watching for God’s activity) and faithfully (doing what God has called us to do in service while we wait).This first message is intended to set the stage for Advent: the people were waiting for something to happen.RESPONSECommunionSongs“My Soul in Stillness Waits” Haugen“Hope of the Nations” DoerksenSending and BlessingAs you wait for Christ to return,live as people of hope, and go with God’s blessing.May hope in Christ’s return sustain you,God’s peace saturate the world around you,the joy of the Holy Spirit strengthen you,and the love of the triune God encircle you,in this moment and in all the moments to come. Amen.—Rev. Joyce Borger © 2021 ReformedWorship.org, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Week 2Waiting for LightGATHERINGCall to Worship: Waiting in PeaceWhat are you waiting for?Let the PEACE of Christ rule in your hearts,since as members of one body,you were called to PEACE.And be thankful.LORD, you establish PEACE for us;all that we have accomplishedyou have done for us.Where is your PEACE?Submit to God and be at PEACE with him;in this way prosperity will come to you.PEACE comes with Christ.Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel,praising God and saying,“Glory to God in the highest heaven,and on earth PEACE to those on whom his favor rests!”From the God of PEACE.The God of PEACE will soon crush Satanunder your feet.The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.PEACE is near: God with us!Surely his salvation is near those who fear him,that his glory may dwell in our land.Love and faithfulness meet together;righteousness and PEACE kiss each other.The birth of Christ is the birth of PEACE.Therefore, since we have been justified through faith,we have PEACE with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.What are you waiting for?—Adapted from Colossians 3:15; Isaiah 26:12; Job 22:21;, Luke 2:13–14; Romans 16:20; Psalm 85:9–10; Romans 5:1Advent Candle LightingAdvent is a time of waiting.We wait in hope.[The first candle is lit.]As we wait, we join the Spirit’s workin spreading peace wherever our lives take us.And as peace spreads, so does Christ’s light.Today, we light the candle of peace.As we wait, let us be people of peace.[The second candle is lit.]Songs“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” Latin“God Who Comes to Save” Parsley or “LORD, You Have Lavished on Your Land (Psalm 85)” Post[At the end of the song, Psalm 85:9–10 is projected. The song fades into a time of silence, allowing time for the congregation to meditate on the verses.]“Lord, Most High” Harris and Sadleror “My Soul Cries Out with a Joyful Shout” CooneyOfferingInstrumental music: “Instrument of Peace” The Porter’s GatePrayers of the People WORDScripture ReadingJohn 1:1–18, 9:5Sermon“Waiting for Light”Sermon NotesThe prophecy addresses the fact that people look on the earth and see only distress and fearful gloom, and they know they will be thrust into utter darkness. But a time is coming when the people walking in darkness will see a great light, and on those living in the land of deep darkness a light will dawn. Light does several things: it shows reality (and therefore guides); it energizes (gives energy in place of lethargy); and it dispels darkness (light and darkness cannot coexist). We’ll also look at what Jesus says in John 9:5: “I am the light of the world.”What were people waiting for in the Old Testament? They were waiting for someone to speak into the darkness and gloom and replace it with light. RESPONSESongs“Shine on Us” Smith“Come Light Our Hearts” McCracken SENDINGSending and BlessingAs you wait for Christ to return,live as people of peace, and go with God’s blessing.May hope in Christ’s return sustain you,God’s peace saturate the world around you,the joy of the Holy Spirit strengthen you,and the love of the triune God encircle you,in this moment and in all the moments to come. Amen.—Rev. Joyce Borger © 2021 ReformedWorship.org, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Week 3Waiting for StrengthGATHERINGCall to Worship: Waiting in JoyWhat are you waiting for?Light shines on the righteous,and JOY on the upright in heart.REJOICE in the LORD, you who are righteous,and praise his holy name.Where is your JOY?Sing for JOY to God our strength;shout aloud to the God of Jacob!You make known to me the paths of life;you will fill me with JOY in your presence.Joy? Even in pain or questions?In the midst of a very severe trial,their overflowing JOY and their extreme povertywelled up in rich generosity.Let me hear JOY and gladness;let the bones you have crushed REJOICE.Restore to me the JOY of your salvation,and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.What brings JOY to God?I have no greater JOY than to hear that my childrenare walking in the truth.If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love,just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.I have told you this so that my JOY may be in youand that your JOY may be complete.JOY comes with our salvation!All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.Shout for JOY to the LORD, all the earth,burst into jubilant song.With JOY you will draw waterfrom the wells of salvation.Splendor and majesty are before him;strength and JOY are in his dwelling place.What are you waiting for?—adapted from Psalm 97:11–12; Psalm 81:1; Psalm 16:11; 2 Corinthians 8:2; Psalm 51:8, 12; 3 John 4; John 15:10–11; Psalm 98:3–4; Isaiah 12:3; 1 Chronicles 16:27Advent Candle LightingAdvent is a time of waiting.We wait in hope.[The first candle is lit.]We wait in peace.[The second candle is lit.]As we wait, we are filled with joy—not because our lives are perfect, not because we don’t have any struggles, but because we find our strength in God, the God of our salvation. We are joyful because God sent God’s Son, Jesus Christ, into this world so we may be saved.Today, we light the candle of joy. As we wait, let us be people of joy.[The third candle is lit.]Song“Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee / Angels We Have Heard on High” Maverick CityDrama“December Giving” by Ruth Saukas[This drama is available at tinyurl.com/RW-141-December-Giving but will need to be adapted for your context.]Song“Come Light Our Hearts” McCrackenor “With Joy I Heard My Friends Exclaim (Psalm 122)” Hopson, LUYH 66, PfAS 122F, PH 235PrayerPrayers of worship, confession, and intercession for those needing comfort or lacking joy. WORDScripture ReadingIsaiah 40:1–11Sung Word“Comfort, Comfort Now My People” Winkworth“Everlasting God” BrewsterSermon“Waiting for Strength”Sermon NotesChapter 40 is a transition chapter in Isaiah. The first 39 chapters deal mostly with judgment and punishment. Now the attention turns to the servant songs and the promise of blessing. So the first call is for comfort. The people are facing exile in Babylon. Now is the time to give hope, and hope is seen in the promise that Judah’s hard service (exile) is completed, and her sin has been paid for. The time is coming when the Lord will show up.In this sermon we talked about comfort in the Heidelberg Catechism’s sense of “strength.” The comfort that God gives is not just an encouraging pat on the back or kind words, but strength to move forward. We need to get ready, in a way. The picture of every valley exalted and every hill made low reflects a coming king and a people preparing the way by leveling things so the king’s glory could be seen as he arrived.The other part of comfort in Isaiah is that their enemies, the Babylonians, are going to be destroyed just as grass withers and flowers fade. Then God will come to his people and give strength. We jumped to the end of the chapter to focus on the idea of “those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.” The overall idea of waiting for comfort means we’re waiting for strength to make a difference, to become part of God’s new reality. RESPONSESongs“Soon and Very Soon” Crouch“Go, Tell It on the Mountain” Spiritual  SENDINGSending and BlessingAs you wait for Christ to return,live as people of joy, and go with God’s blessing.May hope in Christ’s return sustain you,God’s peace saturate the world around you,the joy of the Holy Spirit strengthen you,and the love of the triune God encircle you,in this moment and in all the moments to come. Amen.—Rev. Joyce Borger © 2021 ReformedWorship.org, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Week 4Waiting to Be SatisfiedGATHERINGCall to Worship: Waiting in LoveWhat are you waiting for?May your unfailing LOVE come to me, LORD,your salvation, according to your promise.“My unfailing LOVE for you will not be shaken,nor my covenant of peace be removed,”says the LORD, who has compassion on you.God first LOVED us.This is how God showed his LOVE among us:He sent his one and only Son into the worldthat we might live through him.We LOVE because he first LOVED us.You, Lord, are forgiving and good,abounding in LOVE to all who call to you.We respond with LOVE.A new command I give you: LOVE one another.As I have LOVED you, so you must LOVE one another.LOVE is patient, LOVE is kind.It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.LOVE does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth.Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly LOVED,clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness,humility, gentleness, and patience.We are saved because of LOVE.The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying,“I have LOVED you with an everlasting LOVE;I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.Put your hope in the LORD,for with the LORD is unfailing LOVEand with him is full redemption.He has remembered his LOVEand his faithfulness to Israel;all the ends of the earth have seenthe salvation of our God.LOVE comes with Jesus’ birth.The Father LOVES the Son and has placed everything in his hands.“The reason my Father LOVES me is that I lay down my life,” Jesus said.For God so LOVED the world that he gave his one and only Son.What are you waiting for? —adapted from Psalm 119:41; Isaiah 54:10; 1 John 4:9, 19; Psalm 86:5; John 13:34; 1 Corinthians 13:4, 6; Colossians 3:12; Jeremiah 31:3; Psalm 130:7; Psalm 98:3; John 3:35; John 10:17; John 3:16Advent Candle LightingAdvent is a time of waiting.We wait in hope.[The first candle is lit.]We wait in peace.[The second candle is lit.]We wait in joy.[The third candle is lit.]As we wait, we are filled with love: love for God, love for others, and, yes, love for ourselves. We love because God first loved us. God loved you so much that God sent his Son, Jesus Christ, into this world to save you. Nothing can satisfy our longings except God’s love.Today, we light the candle of love. As we wait, let us be people of love.[The fourth candle is lit.]Songs“Here Is Love” Rees, arr. Redman“O Come Let Us Adore Him” Hillsong[Conclude with the quiet singing of the refrains:O come, let us adore him . . .For he alone is worthy . . .We’ll praise his name forever . . .]Option“O Come Let Us Adore Him” Maverick CityScripture ReadingJoel 3:7–16Songs“Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus” (with tune HYFRYDOL) Wesley“My Jesus, I Love Thee” FeatherstoneOfferingScripture ReadingJoel 3:17–21 WORDSermon“Waiting to be Satisfied”Sermon NotesAnother thing people wait for is a sense of purpose or satisfaction in life. That’s the image of water. We need it for life, but we spend our money on things that don’t satisfy.We’ll explore the various things people put in the place of God and explore how God brings meaning into life and death. You need to come and recognize (and confess) that you have no resources (“You who have no money, come, buy and eat!” (Isaiah 55:1)) and acknowledge that Jesus is the only way to life. You can’t have one foot in the kingdom and one foot in the world. It’s all or nothing.RESPONSESongs“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” Latin“God With Us” Torwalt or “Lord, You Were Rich Beyond All Splendor” HoughtonSENDINGSending and BlessingAs you wait for Christ to return,live as people of love, and go with God’s blessing.May hope in Christ’s return sustain you,God’s peace saturate the world around you,the joy of the Holy Spirit strengthen you,and the love of the triune God encircle you,in this moment and in all the moments to come. Amen.—Rev. Joyce Borger © 2021 ReformedWorship.org, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Christmas Eve / Christmas DayLove’s ArrivalGATHERINGPrelude“Waiting Here for You” Tomlin, Reeves, SmithWelcomeWAITING & LONGINGScripture ReadingTherefore the Lord himself will give you a sign:The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son,and will call him Immanuel.Sung refrain: “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” Latin A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,the Spirit of counsel and of might,the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the LORD—and he will delight in the fear of the LORD.Sung refrain: “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” Latin“I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David;what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.”—Isaiah 7:14; 11:1–3; 22:22Song“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” LatinPrayerAdvent Prayers of Waiting[A culmination of all of our waiting during this Advent series, acknowledging Christ’s arrival as the one in whom we find hope, joy, peace, and love. This prayer can be split among four people, each taking one of those themes. Between each of the short prayers, the appropriate Advent candle can be lit.]Poem“Waiting” by Brett VanTol  LOVE IS HERESongs“See, Your Savior Comes” Kendrick“It Came Upon the Midnight Clear” SearsScripture ReadingReader 1: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.Reader 2: He was with God in the beginning. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.Reader 3: The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.All Readers: The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.Reader 2: We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.Reader 1: In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.Reader 3: This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.  And everyone went to their own town to register.Reader 1: So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.Reader 2: All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).Reader 3: Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.Reader 1: While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.—adapted from John 1:1, 4–5, 9, 14; Luke 2:1–7; Matthew 1:22–23; 1 Timothy 1:15[The Christ candle is lit.]Songs“What Child Is This?” Dix“O Little Town of Bethlehem” Brooks with chorus from “Here I Am to Worship” Hughes“O Come, All Ye Faithful” WadeScripture Reading Reader 1: And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them,Reader 2: “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”Reader 1: Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,All Readers: “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”Reader 3: When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another,Reader 1: “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”Reader 3: So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.Reader 2: But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.—Luke 2:8–20Songs“Joy to the World” Watts“Angels We Have Heard on High” FrenchCandle Lighting with Songs“O Holy Night” Cappeau“Silent Night! Holy Night” Mohr[As the singing transitions to “Silent Night,” light from the Christ candle is passed among the congregation.] SENDINGSending and BlessingAs you wait for Christ to return,live as people of love, and go with God’s blessing.May hope in Christ’s return sustain you,God’s peace saturate the world around you,the joy of the Holy Spirit strengthen you,and the love of the triune God encircle you,in this moment and in all the moments to come. Amen.—Rev. Joyce Borger © 2021 ReformedWorship.org, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.