“A Room with a View (Love)”
Fourth Sunday of Advent
PRELUDE Andrea Shakespeare (8:30am), Erin Wolf (11:00am)
GREETINGS FROM THE PULPIT
PRAYER
Laura Dinges (Liturgist): This has been an Advent season of prophets: Jeremiah, Baruch, Isaiah, Micah. And now the prophet is Mary–the woman who was the original house for the holy. She was “the inn,” her womb gestating love for the world. With all her heart, she proclaims that the lowly are lifted, the hungry are fed, mercy reigns. Like Mary, we must envision, must see, must prophesy and act on that vision for the world that God continues to call us to co-create. What is the view from the room that God has prepared?
[choir]
Love waits for us at Advent Love waits for us to care. Love waits for our compassion freely offered, fully shared. In this time of preparation for the work of co-creation, for the birthing of a world where faith shapes all we do. Love is born in us anew!
Martha and Haley Shuemake: Today we offer the Light of Love to illumine the Door of Welcome. (Advent Candle lit) May this light shine in our hearts, in our lives, and in our church. May Love awaken us to possibilities and lead us to greater hospitality. There IS room in this Inn, a House for the Holy.
[All Sing]
Love waits for us at Advent Love waits for us to care. Love waits for our compassion freely offered, fully shared. In this time of preparation for the work of co-creation, for the birthing of a world where faith shapes all we do. Love is born in us anew!
SHARING THE PEACE
(We ask you share the peace with a friendly wave to those seated around you and the people worshipping from home)
Pastor Mark: The Peace of Christ be with you!
People: And also with you!
OPENING HYMN/SONG My Soul Gives Glory to My God #UMH 198
My soul gives glory to my God. My heart pours out its praise. God lifted up my lowliness in many marvelous ways.
My God has done great things for me; yes, holy is his name. All people will declare me blessed, and blessings they shall claim.
From age to age, to all who fear, such mercy love imparts, dispensing justice far and near, dismissing selfish hearts.
Love casts the mighty from their thrones, promotes the insecure, leaves hungry spirits satisfied, the rich seem suddenly poor.
Praise God, whose loving covenant supports those in distress, remembering past promises with present faithfulness.
CHILDREN’S TIME (11:00am)
LESSONS AND CAROLS
FIRST LESSON Isaiah 40:1-8 Laura Dinges
To God’s people in exile in a faraway land, the prophet Isaiah announces good news: God is coming back, and bringing the exiles home!
CAROL Toda la Tierra (All Earth Is Waiting) UMH #210
All earth is waiting to see the Promised One, and the open furrows, the sowing of the Lord. All the world, bound and struggling, seeks true liberty; it cries out for justice and searches for the truth.
Thus says the prophet to those of Israel: ‘A virgin mother will bear Emmanuel,’ for his name is ‘God with us,’ our brother shall be, with him hope will blossom once more within our hearts. Mountains and valleys will have to be made plain; open new highways, new highways for the Lord. He is now coming closer, so come all and see, and open the doorways as wide as wide can be.
In lowly stable the Promised One appeared; yet feel his presence throughout the earth today, for he lives in all Christians and is with us now; again, with his coming he brings us liberty.
SECOND LESSON Jeremiah 23:5-6 Laura Dinges
The prophet Jeremiah offers hope for a righteous branch, a just king who is yet to come.
CAROL O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (stanzas 4-7) UMH #211
O come, thou Root of Jesse’s tree, and ensign of thy people be; before thee rulers silent fall; all people’s on thy mercy call.
[Refrain] Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, thou Key of David, come, and open wide our heavenly home. The captives from their prison free, and conquer death’s deep misery. [Refrain]
O come, thou Dayspring, come and cheer our spirits by thy justice here; disperse the gloomy clouds of night, and death’s dark shadows put to flight. [Refrain]
O come, Desire of nations bind all peoples in one heart and mind. From dust thou brought us forth to life; deliver us from earthly strife. [Refrain]
THIRD LESSON Zechariah 9:9-10 Laura Dinges
To a nation grown weary of war and weapons, God promises a king who will establish a reign of peace.
CAROL Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus UMH #196
Come, thou long expected Jesus, born to set thy people free; from our fears and sins release us, let us find our rest in thee. Israel’s strength and consolation, hope of all the earth thou art; dear desire of every nation, joy of every longing heart.
Born thy people to deliver, born a child and yet a King, born to reign in us forever, now thy gracious kingdom bring. By thine own eternal spirit rule in all our hearts alone; by thine all sufficient merit, raise us to thy glorious throne.
FOURTH LESSON Haggai 2:6-9 Laura Dinges
The prophet Haggai promises to God’s people a temple even more glorious than the temple of old.
CAROL Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates UMH #213
Lift up your heads, ye mighty gates; behold, the King of glory waits; the King of kings is drawing near; the Savior of the world is here!
Fling wide the portals of your heart; make it a temple, set apart from earthly use for heaven’s employ, adorned with prayer and love and joy.
Redeemer, come, with us abide; our hearts to thee we open wide; let us thy inner presence feel; thy grace and love in us reveal.
Thy Holy Spirit lead us on until our glorious goal is won; eternal praise, eternal fame be offered, Savior, to thy name!
FIFTH LESSON Isaiah 35:1-6 Laura Dinges
The prophet Isaiah announces the renewal both of the land and of God’s people on the coming day of redemption.
CAROL Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming UMH #216
Lo, how a Rose e’er blooming from tender stem hath sprung! Of Jesse’s lineage coming, as those of old have sung. It came, a floweret bright, amid the cold of winter, when half spent was the night.
Isaiah ’twas foretold it, the Rose I have in mind; with Mary we behold it, the Virgin Mother kind. To show God’s love aright, she bore to us a Savior, when half spent was the night.
O Flower, whose fragrance tender with sweetness fills the air, dispel in glorious splendor the darkness everywhere. True man yet very God, from sin and death now save us, and share our every load.
SIX LESSON Luke
Pastor Mark: God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
Laura: “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
Pastor Mark: The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.
Laura: “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her. And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me—holy is his name.His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he promised our ancestors.”
MEDITATION Pastor Mark
CAROL O God, Whose Steadfast Love TNCH #426
PRAYERS [Sung]
Make of my heart a stable, a house for the holy, a warm and sturdy place for [love] to live and grow.
In this moment we open the doors of our hearts to honesty before God about what we’ve done and left undone that created less love in a hurting world. Let us breathe out this regret… [pause to breathe out] and breathe in the life-giving, for-giving Spirit of God… [pause to breathe in] and out again with the Peace of Christ…[another breath out].
[Sung]
Make of my life a stable, a house for the holy, a warm and sturdy place for [love] to live and grow.
In this moment we open the doors of our lives to the call of the Spirit, inviting us to become more than we can ask or imagine. Let us breathe out our fear… [pause to breathe out] and breathe in the courage of the Spirit of God… [pause to breathe in] and out again, with the Peace of Christ…[another breath out].
[Sung]
Make of our church a stable, a house for the holy, a warm and sturdy place for [love] to live and grow.
In this moment we open the doors of this church…
We pray this in the name of Jesus, who taught us to pray:
Our God in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trepasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory forever…Amen.
A STORY OF INNKEEPING: OFFERING
Pastor Mark: Imagine living in Bethlehem at the time of Jesus’ birth. Little town with a big expectation! As we heard, the prophet Micah, hundreds of years earlier, had predicted that a baby would be born in this “least significant” place, one that would “surely become great.” This was part of the sacred texts of the people and surely something that everyone, including the Innkeeper, in Bethlehem knew about. But did they believe it? Did they believe that something great, a peaceful ruler, would come from their town? Perhaps not enough to realize the possibilities of a pregnant woman on their doorstep that night. Do we believe that we are capable of birthing something life-changing for the people in our community? As the Body of Christ, could we live with more expectation of what is possible? Could we look more closely at what is right in front of us?
OFFERTORY Andrea Shakespeare (8:30am)
Sweet Little Jesus Boy [by Robert Mac Gimsey] Rachelle Mimms, Vocals, Erin Wolf (11:00am)
CLOSING CAROL
Pastor Mark: Today’s closing carol is “O Come, All Ye Faithful,” an 18th century hymn by John Francis Wade. This carol invites us to come “joyful and triumphant.” It moves between exhortation and doctrine from the Nicene Creed in the second verse. But each verse moves from boisterous to almost a hushed tone at the beginning of the refrain as we tiptoe into the stable with “O come, let us adore him.” A little-known verse focuses on love and places us in the manger with Jesus:
Child, for us sinners poor and in the manger, Fain we embrace thee, with awe and love: Who would not love thee, loving us so dearly? O come, let us adore him…
Each one of us has known the need to love and be loved, to forgive and be forgiven, to embrace and be embraced. May we approach each person we meet with the adoration of Jesus Christ, tender and merciful, loving and kind, and make this a house of adoration for all.
O Come, All Ye Faithful UMH #234
O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant, O come ye, O come ye, to Bethlehem. Come and behold him, born the King of angels;
Refrain: O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord.
True God of true God, Light from Light Eternal, lo, he shuns not the Virgin’s womb; Son of the Father, begotten, not created. (Refrain)
Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation; O sing, all ye citizens of heaven above! Glory to God, all glory in the highest. (Refrain)
See how the shepherds, summoned to his cradle, leaving their flocks, draw nigh to gaze; we too will thither bend our joyful footsteps. (Refrain)
Child, for us sinners poor and in the manger, we would embrace thee with love and awe. Who would not love thee, loving us so dearly? (Refrain)
Yea, Lord, we greet thee, born this happy morning, Jesus, to thee be all glory given. Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing. (Refrain)
BENEDICTION
May God’s Door of Welcome swing open in your heart and in your life. May Christ’s humble first dwelling remind you of the plenty you already know. And may the Spirit lead you into more possibility and hospitality than you can imagine, making room in The Inn for all. May it be so for you. May it be so for us. May it be so for this church. Amen.
POSTLUDE Andrea Shakespeare (8:30am), Erin Wolf (11:00am)
SERVING YOU TODAY
Andrea Shakespeare & Erin Wolf, Piano
Keagan Low, Trumpet
Rachelle Mimms, Vocals