Service of Word and Sacrament
Second Sunday in Advent
CCLI license #1913561
Sunday, December 6, 2020
This worship service includes a celebration of Holy Communion. If you wish to partake of elements when appropriate in the service we invite you prepare your juice and your bread (or alternative) ahead of time.
Prelude Comfort, Comfort You My People” Ps 42 Johannes Olearius, 1671 words by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette © 2015 * sung by Keisha Prime
Comfort, comfort you my people,
Tell of peace, thus says our God;
Comfort those who sit in darkness
Bowed beneath oppression's load.
Speak ye to Jerusalem
Of the peace that waits for them;
Tell them that their sins I cover,
And their warfare now is over.
For the herald's voice is crying
In the desert far and near,
Bidding us to make repentance
Since the kingdom now is here.
O that warning cry obey!
Now prepare for God a way;
Let the valleys rise in meeting
And the hills bow down in greeting.
Make you straight what long was crooked,
Make the rougher places plain:
Let your hearts be true and humble,
As befits God's holy reign,
For the glory of the Lord
Now o'er earth is shed abroad;
And all flesh shall see the token
That God's word is never broken
Call to Worship
A voice cries in the wilderness, “Prepare the way of the Lord; make God’s way clear. Lift up every valley; lower every mountain. For the glory of the Lord shall be revealed.”
Opening Prayer
Loving God, you sent your prophet John to prepare your way among us, to call us to repentance and make our pathways straight. Strengthen us to live lives of steadfast love and faithfulness as we await the Messiah’s return, that all may see your reign of peace through your just and gracious rule. Amen
Advent Candle Lighting “From Lament to Hope”
Introduction
Watch and wait for Christ’s coming! We light candles of hope, peace, joy and love, remembering the promises of God with prayer.
Watch and wait for Christ’s coming! We light candles of hope, peace, joy and love,
remembering the promises of God with prayer.
We light this candle in hope.
We light this candle for peace.
Prayer: God of hope, God of peace, you speak peace into the world through the way of the Christ-child. Help us to live as peacemakers, that we may be called children of God. God of promise, God of peace, into our darkness come.
Music “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling” Charles Wesley, 1747 sung by Keisha Prime
Love divine, all loves excelling, Joy of heaven to earth come down,
Fix in us Thy humble dwelling, All Thy faithful mercies crown!
Jesus, Thou art all compassion, Pure, unbounded love Thou art;
Visit us with Thy salvation, Enter every trembling heart.
Breathe, O breathe Thy loving Spirit Into every troubled breast!
Let us all in Thee inherit, Let us find the promised rest;
Take away the love of sinning; Alpha and Omega be;
End of faith, as its beginning, Set our hearts at liberty.
Come, Almighty to deliver, Let us all Thy life receive;
Suddenly return, and never, Nevermore Thy temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessing, Serve Thee as Thy hosts above;
Pray, and praise The without ceasing, Glory in Thy perfect love.
Finish, then, Thy new creation; Pure and spotless let us be;
Let us see Thy great salvation Perfectly restored in Thee;
Changed from glory into glory, Till in heaven we take our place,
Till we cast our crowns before Thee, Lost in wonder, love and praise.
Call to Confession
God does not want anyone to perish, but rather for all to come to repentance. Therefore, let us confess our sins, for God’s salvation is at hand.
Prayer of Confession
Faithful God, we confess that we have not led lives of holiness. We suffer from impatience, apathy, and greed; we have not been at peace. We repent of these offenses and turn to you in love. Forgive our iniquity and pardon our sins, that we may walk in righteousness to the glory of your name. Amen.
Declaration of Forgiveness
Brothers and sisters, by the mercy of Christ, your sins are forgiven, for salvation is at hand for all who turn to God.
Prayer for Illumination
Mighty God, send your Holy Spirit to speak peace, that the good news of this age may be proclaimed through your word, which stands forever. Amen.
A Reading from the Hebrew Scriptures Malachi 3:1-4 NRS
See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight-- indeed, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap; he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the LORD in righteousness. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD as in the days of old and as in former years.
A Reading from the Gospels Mark 1:1-8NRS
The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, "See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,'" John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, "The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."
Sermon "Peace= A Refiner’s Fire?" Rev. Lois R Lehman
Music “It is Well With My Soul” by Bliss and Spafford sung by Keisha Prime
When peace like a river attendeth my way
When sorrows like sea billows roll
Whatever my lot thou has taught me to say
"It is well, it is well with my soul"
It is well (it is well)
With my soul (With my soul)
It is well, it is well with my soul
~Instrumental~
And Lord haste the day when my faith shall be sight
The clouds be roll back as a scroll
The trump shall resound and the Lord shall descend
Even so, it is well with my soul
It is well (It is well)
With my soul (With my soul)
It is well, it is well with my soul
It is well, it is well with my soul
Sharing of Joys and Concerns
A Statement about Offering our Gifts
The Lord has provided what is needed, with the expectation that resources will be shared as needed. May your righteousness go before God and prepare a pathway for the Lord. Let us offer our lives and labor to God and fulfill our vows to the Most High.
Donations can be mailed to Lakeview Presbyterian Church at 1310 22nd Av S, St Petersburg, FL, 33705 or given online through our website @lakeviewpresbyterianchurch.org
The Sacrament of Holy Communion
The Invitation
God in Christ breaks down the walls that make us strangers to ourselves and divide us from one another.
We are the body of Christ. Around this table, we enact our faith. The body broken is restored to wholeness; lifeblood poured out brings healing to our world.
At this table we receive God’s peace made flesh.
The Words of Institution
When Jesus was at table with his disciples he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them, saying: Take, eat. Whenever you do this, remember me.
In the same way he took and poured the cup, saying: Take and drink. Whenever you do this remember me.
Now, whenever we eat and drink at this table, we celebrate Christ’s death and resurrection until he comes again.
The Great Thanksgiving
The Lord be with you. And also with you.
Lift up your hearts. We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise
Holy God, you made this world to live in harmony; you listened and you called it good.
In time we broke off from singing the song and went our own way, but you called us back and when the time was right you came in flesh and blood to live as one of us.
In Christ, dividing walls are broken down—no Jew or Greek, male and female, slave or free. You are there on every spectrum, in every color, at every table.
By your Spirit, make us one. By your Spirit, make us whole. By your Spirit, make this bread and wine your body and blood, that we know communion with you and with each other.
Take our hearts, our lives, our hands; mold us, change us, and send us out that we may be your body in the world you so love, for the sake of Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen
The Distribution of the Elements
Prayer after Communion
God of grace, we thank you for this feast of grace and life. As we have been served, help us to serve our neighbors. As we have been fed, help us to feed all who are hungry. As we have been loved, help us to love the world—because in Christ Jesus you have loved us. Amen
Charge and Blessing
The day of the Lord is coming; therefore strive to live in peace, for God’s salvation is near. May faithfulness spring up from the ground and righteousness look down from heaven as you walk in the way of peace, and may the blessing of God, Eternal Majesty, Living Word, and Holy Comforter, be with you now and always.
Postlude "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” Latin c 12th century sung by Keisha Prime
O come, O come, Immanuel,
and ransom captive Israel
that mourns in lonely exile here
until the Son of God appear.
Refrain:
Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel
shall come to you, O Israel.
O come, Thou Dayspring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death's dark shadows put to flight, refrain
Refrain:
O come, O King of nations, bind
in one the hearts of all mankind.
Bid all our sad divisions cease
and be yourself our King of Peace. Refrain