This is part of the worship series,
"In the Beginning Was the Word”
Series Introduction
Advent 1 | Advent 2 | Advent 3 | Advent 4
FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT
Incarnate Savior of the World Who Is Coming Again: John 1:14
The word became flesh and lived among us,
and we have seen his glory,
the glory as of a father's only son,
full of grace and truth.
Prayer of Invocation
Our request is as old as time and as fresh as this new moment in your creation of time;
Come today, O Lord, come today, we pray! Let us see your face and then may our faces shine with your glory.
With the line of your faithful servants, Abraham, Moses, Rahab, Ruth, David, Elijah, John the Baptizer, Paul, and now we ourselves ask,
Come today, O Lord, come today, we pray! Let us see your face and then may our faces shine with your glory.
As we bring our sacrifices of praise and worship into your holy place, hear our voices.
Come today, O Lord, come today, we pray! Let us see your face and then may our faces shine with your glory. Amen and Amen.
Call to Confession
Christ himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, having died to sins, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. (1 Peter 2:24 NRSVUE)
Prayer of Confession
O Lord, there are wars and rumors of war; we are frightened and fearful.
In this time of our deep need, help us again, as you did in years gone by. Show us your power to save us. And in your anger, remember your mercy.
We anxiously seek your coming again, but in that we are also hesitant, for we are uncertain.
In this time of our deep need, begin again to help us, as you did in years gone by. Show us your power to save us. And in your anger, remember your mercy.
We cling to who and what and where we are because it is known to us.
In this time of our deep need, begin again to help us, as you did in years gone by. Show us your power to save us. And in your anger, remember your mercy.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us. Amen.
—based on Habakkuk 3:2 NLT
Words of Assurance
You will say on that day:
“I will give thanks to you, O Lord,
for though you were angry with me,
your anger turned away,
and you comforted me.
Surely God is my salvation;
I will trust and will not be afraid,
for the Lord is my strength and my might;
he has become my salvation.”
—Isaiah 12:1–2 NRSVUE
Prayer for Illumination
Almighty God, who poured upon us the light of your incarnate Word; grant that the same light enkindled in our hearts may shine forth in our lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—From the Mass of Christmas at dawn, Sarum Rite
Scripture Lessons
Old Testament: Exodus 34:6–7
Epistle: Revelation 21:1–7
Gospel: John 1:14–16
Sermon Notes
“The Word became flesh . . .”
(Jesus the incarnate Word who is coming again)
In an article published in the December 8, 1997, edition of Christianity Today, Mary Ellen Ashcroft writes:
To get ready for Advent, God undressed.
God stripped off his finery and appeared—how embarrassing—naked on the day he was born. God rips off medals of rank, puts aside titles, honors, and talents, and appears in his birthday suit. Veiled in flesh the Godhead see; hail the incarnate deity. In the Incarnation, things heavenly and earthly are gathered into one: one in the naked flesh and folds of God.
God chose flesh! God became one of us! God himself made a planned and necessary entrance into our world. To prepare for the first Advent God undressed and put on flesh. Now he is preparing for yet another Advent by putting on robes of Glory.
To celebrate Advent properly we must make this a season of remembering those times when Jesus has come and be prepared for the final time when he will come again. To celebrate it properly we focus our attention on this promise: “To all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become the children of God.” Proper celebration is found in the joy that is ours because we have received grace and salvation from his first coming and will have even greater joy because he is coming again “to receive us unto himself, that where he is we may be also.”
Statement of Faith: Apostles’ Creed.
Revised Common Lectionary
Years A, B, C: Christmas—Nativity of the Lord - Proper III
Years A, B, C: Christmas—Second Sunday after Christmas Day
