We sing:
You alone are holy, and you alone are Lord,
and you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Let us pray together:
Loving God, as we begin the season of Advent,
open our hearts to prepare the way for Christ.
Help us to understand
That while we may look to you for healing and strength
You have already called us
And our lives are in your hand.
We ask this in the name of Jesus,
the Eternal Word,
who lives with you and the Holy Spirit forever.
Amen.
We sit
A reading from the Prophet Isaiah: 55: 6-11 (sung)
Seek the Lord while he is still to be found;
Call to him while he is still near.
Let the wicked man abandon his way,
the evil man his thoughts,
Let him turn back to the Lord who
will take pity on him,
To our God who is rich in forgiving.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, my ways not your ways –
it is the Lord who speaks.
Yes, the heavens are as far above earth
as my ways are above your ways,
my thoughts above your thoughts.
Yes as rain and snow come down from the heavens
and do not return without watering the earth,
giving it yield and growth, seed for sowing, bread for eating,
so the word that comes from my mouth does not return to me empty
without carrying out my will
and succeeding in what it was sent to do.
Scripture tells us that God spoke to Moses from the burning bush
and gave the people of Israel a pillar of fire as they made their way through the desert.
The psalmists said: ‘the Lord is my light, the Lord is my help’.
St John wrote that ‘the light shines in the darkness…’
Christ called himself the ‘Light of the World’
and the early church saw the lights they used at their evening prayers
as symbols of the presence of God.
So, lighting our candles from the Advent Candle which represents the hopes of the prophets,
we stand again to bless God and sing as people like us sang at Ephesus in the first century:
Canticle from the Letter to the Ephesians ( tune: Bunessan)
We bless the God and Father of Jesus
for he has blessed us freely in Christ.
He chose to lavish spiritual blessings
from highest heaven.
All this through Christ.
Long before founding all of creation,
God made his plan and chose us in Christ,
that we be holy, blameless and loving,
children adopted.
All this through Christ.
God’s will is always that we might love him,
source of all graces, witnessed in Christ;
love manifested, gift of redemption,
pardon for sinners.
All this through Christ.
The Gospel: John 14
reflection
The Intercessions
The Lord’s Prayer
Blest be the Lord: Canticle of Zechariah: Tune: Finlandia.
Blest be the Lord the God of Israel,who came to us; and brought us back from sin.
God raised for us a Saviour who is mighty; his Saviour-Son from David’s house and line.
God promised this through holy men and women who spoke for him down through the mists of time.
The Saviour comes to free us from our foes from evil hands, from those who wish us ill.
So God’s great love for all his chosen people is thus fulfilled in these our present times.
God’s sacred oath his covenant most holy, is called to mind, his promises made true.
God swore his oath to Abraham and Sarah, to give us all our freedom from all fear;
to save each one from those who seek to harm them, that we might serve in holiness of life,
that we might serve in justice and in truth, our ev’ry day in presence of the Lord.
For all our sins will freely be forgiven, the heart of God pours loving- kindness forth,
God comes to us like dawn comes to the sky bringing true light, where darkness once prevailed.
So all who live in fear of death’s dark shadow, God will now guide into the way of peace.
Copyrights: Words of Canticle of Zechariah: The Benedictus. from Luke 1 : 67-79. and from Ephesians
© Stephen E Smyth. Graphic ©Netta Ewing. Sound file (c) St Mungo Music
