Third Sunday of Advent - C

Texts: Zephaniah 3:14-20; Isaiah 12:2-6; Philippians 4:4-7; Luke 3:7-18

Call to Worship
Sing for joy; shout out loud!  God, who is our love, is among us.
May God's presence fill us with hope and joy!
Sing aloud; rejoice in your hearts!  Christ, who is our salvation, has come.
May the celebration of Christ's birth renew our hearts with love and grace!
Sing praises; laugh out loud!  The Spirit, who is our peace, dwells in us.
May the Spirit bring us blessings to share with everyone we meet.


Prayer of the Day
You would gather us together
as your beloved children,
shouting in joy over us,
as you sing your love
for us on this feast day,
bringing us home to your heart.
So come, Amazing God, come!

You would surround us with the gifts
of your faith and hope,
that we might share
from the abundance of grace,
even as shared yourself from
the poverty of your brokenness,
baptizing us with joy.
So come, Wellspring of Salvation, come!

You would guide us in your wisdom,
so we might truly know
the deep needs of those around us,
that we might bless them.
You would quiet us in your hope,
that we might hear the carols of peace
sung by the choirs of heaven.
So come, Spirit of Joy, come!

Come, God in Community, Holy in One,
come, as we pray as we have been taught,
Our Father . . .

Call to Reconciliation
Come, tell your story to God. Tell of the good you have done, of the mistakes you have made, of the gentleness you have shared, of the hurt you have caused. Let God know of your longing for forgiveness, for healing, as you join me as we pray together, saying,

Unison Prayer of Forgiveness
We don't fret over just any thing, God of Wonder, we worry about everything that comes our way.  Our faithful companion, stress, guides us further and further from your gentle presence. Instead of waiting for you, we rush pell-mell through these days. We keep the hopes we could offer to you stuffed deep in our pockets, rather than lifting them to you.

Forgive us, Holy One of Advent. Let your grace be known to all who come to you. May your peace fill our spirits, may your hope be our strength, may your joy encompass our hearts as we celebrate the Advent of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who is our Hope forever!

Silence is observed

Assurance of Pardon
This is the good news, dear friends: God does wonders for us - forgiving us, refreshing us with love, singing glad songs of salvation for us.
We will lift up God's name, praising the One who is our strength, our salvation, our hope, our joy.  Thanks be to God! We are forgiven. Amen.


Great Prayer of Thanksgiving
Like a young woman giving birth,
you brought forth creation,
Wondrous God.
Like a mother lullabying a baby,
you sang over the waters and earth,
beauty springing up on each note,
life bursting forth at each word.
Everything was shaped for us,
humanity made in your image,
so we might proclaim your works.
When we could have fed on grace,
we nibbled away at the chaff
from sin's threshing floor,
filling ourselves with shame and despair.
You continued to draw near to us,
calling through the prophets,
longing to be our strength and hope,
but we rejoiced in temptation's gifts.
You sent Jesus to us
so that in everything he did and said,
we might hear the mystery of your grace.

With those you have already gathered home,
with those who cry out to you in our time,
we sing praises to you, giving thanks:

Holy, holy, holy, God who comes toward us.
All creation exults in your joy and love.
Hosanna in the highest!


Blessed is the One who comes to baptize with
your Spirit of grace.
Hosanna in the highest!

Holy indeed are you, God our trust,
and blessed is Jesus Christ, our salvation.
Knowing the rich blessings of your heart,
he came to fill our impoverished spirits
with the abundance of your grace.
He came with buckets filled
from salvation's bottomless wells
to pour over our parched souls.
Worthy to walk beside you,
he carried our sinful lives to the cross,
so that in dying and rising,
death's power over us was removed,
and we would be gathered
into the kingdom of peace.

As we prepare to celebrate his birth,
as we remember his life, death, and rising,
we tell that mystery we know as faith:

Christ died, but is alive;
Christ is risen, that we might live;
Christ will come again, to bring us home.

As you place your gifts
upon your Table of life and hope,
may the gentleness of your Spirit
be known in the eating of the bread
and in the sharing of the cup.
We come, not to get what we want,
but to receive what we need,
the mending of our brokenness
so we might embrace the pain,
the suffering of the world,
touching it with your healing.
We feast on the bread of life,
we drink deeply of salvation's cup,
so we might tell everyone,
'do not be afraid, trust in God.'

And when you have taken away your judgment,
turning our tears into shouts of joy,
our shame into songs of praise,
we will lift our voices with those
of every age, of every place,
forever giving thanks to you,
God in Community, Holy in One. Amen.

(c) 2009 Thom M. Shuman