First United Methodist Church First Sunday of Advent Making

First United Methodist Church
Austin, Texas
www.fumcaustin.org
First Sunday of Advent
November 29, 2015
9:00 a.m. Sanctuary
In the birth of the Christ Child at
Bethlehem, there was born something
far greater than a baby—the Ultimate
Birth—God’s Impossible Possibility—a
new heaven and a new earth. (Depicted here
in “Cosmic Birth” or “Sacred Moment in Time,” Mary Southard
CSJ, courtesy of www.MinistryOfThe Arts.org, LaGrange Park,
Illinois, 60526-1721.)
Welcome
Because we believe that every human being is a beloved child of God, on a journey to God,
with God, we welcome ALL persons, without exception, to attend, join, and participate fully in
the life of this church. We belong to the Reconciling Ministries Network, working for the full
participation of persons of all sexual orientations and gender identities within The United Methodist
Church (www.rmnetwork.org). For a description of our worship services at 9:00 and 11:00 a.m.
on Sundays and at 6:30 a.m. on Thursdays, visit our website at www.fumcaustin.org.
Colors of Advent
The traditional color used in Advent is purple. In ancient times, purple cloth was so expensive
that only kings could afford it. As the color of royalty, the church was vested in purple in Advent
to signify that the King was coming into the world. During the Middle Ages, as Lent and Advent
became heavily penitential, purple became associated with penitence. Today Advent is no longer
observed primarily as a season of penitence, but as a period of hopeful preparation; thus, royal blue
as a color of hope may also used in this season. To symbolize the darkness of Advent in which we
wait and watch for the coming of the Light, the pastors wear black albs.
Family Room
Parents with infants and toddlers may want to use our Family Room located in the balcony during
the service of worship. You will find rockers, books, toys, and a comfortable place for diaper changes.
You may also leave your little ones with our well-trained childcare staff in Room 103 and 104 of
the Education Building. Please ask an usher if you need directions or assistance. We want you to be
able to relax and enjoy this service.
Making Disciples...Making a Difference
Gathering as the Church
Asterisks (*) indicate stand as you are able.
Opening Music
Liturgy of Gathering
Welcome
All are invited to greet those around them and to sign in the white folders as a way of offering our
presence to God.
Response: I was glad when they said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the Lord!”
Psalm 122:1
Joys and Concerns
Pray for those listed in the insert. If there are others you would like prayer for, fill out a prayer card
and place it in the offering plate.
Response: Let us cast all our cares on God,
because God cares for us.
I Peter 5:7
Entering the Holy
*Lighting of the Advent Candles
Voice 1:
In Advent
we contemplate the threefold coming of Jesus Christ:
in the past as a baby born in Bethlehem,
in the present as he is born anew in us,
and in the future, when he comes to complete
what he began that first Christmas.
Voice 2:
In Advent we prepare for the Holy Birth
that was, and is, and is to come.
Voice 1:
In Advent we light candles because we long for the coming
of God’s light into our darkness.
--2--
Karen, Ben, and Wally Hattaway
Voice 2 as the candle is lit:
Today we light the first candle of Advent
because we long for the birth of God’s Impossible Possibility—
a new heaven and a new earth conceived in a child!
All:
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
*Hymn
Jesus Comes with Clouds Descending
Text: Stanza 1 and 4 Charles Wesley, alt.; Stanzas 2 and 3 James Montgomery, alt.
Music: REGENT SQUARE - Henry T. Smart
--3--
Prayer of Confession
Let us pray:
Christ in glory,
we sing the old traditional words about your final coming,
but if we’re honest with you and ourselves,
we are not sure we believe in it,
much less understand it.
All this talk of stars falling and seas roaring
is much too fantastical, much too fundamentalistic for us.
We certainly do not live our lives with the keen expectation
that your kingdom is coming.
We acquiesce in the old lie that things will always be the same,
that this world cannot change,
and so we’re deprived of hope and joy.
We need our lives and our world turned upside down,
and so we pray: (singing)
O come, O come, Emmanuel and ransom us, your Israel,
that mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appear.
Silent Personal Confession
Words of Assurance
In spite of all our disbelief and faithlessness, God remains faithful.
So hear this good news: (all sing)
Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!
Hearing and Responding to God’s Word
Introduction to the Scripture
Prayer for Illumination
Let us pray:
Lord Jesus Christ,
by the power of your Holy Spirit as your Word is read,
open our minds and hearts to the deep mystery of your coming Advent.
--4--
Today let us hear your seventh angel blow his trumpet and proclaim:
“The kingdom of this world
has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ,”
so that we may come to put our whole trust
in your love’s ultimate victory. Amen.
*Gospel Reading
Luke 21:25-28
Pew Bible, New Testament, page 81
Response at the conclusion of the reading:
The word of God for the people of God.
Thanks be to God.
Sermon
The Ultimate Birth
John Wright
Invitation to Take Steps in the Faith Journey
Worship leads us to make commitments to God. If your response involves taking a first step
to become a follower of Christ and/or a member of this church, fill out the First Steps card
clipped to the pew back and place it in the offering plate. The next First Steps session will be
Sunday, December 6th, at 12:15 p.m. in Room 104 of the Family Life Center.
Feasting at the Table of Grace
Invitation to the Table
In The United Methodist Church, all who desire to experience Christ’s presence and intend
to lead a new life are welcome at the Lord’s Table. You do not have to be a member of this
church to come.
Offering Our Tithes and Gifts to God
--5--
Offertory
When Emmanuel Has Come
All the world is waiting for a savior.
All the world is waiting for a king.
Soon we will behold what the prophets have foretold.
Soon we will receive the gift He brings.
All the world is waiting for Messiah.
All the world is waiting for God’s Son.
Soon He will appear for the time is drawing near.
Soon we all will greet the Promised One.
There will be joy, joy, joy when Emmanuel has come.
Heaven will rejoice and praise His name.
There will be joy, joy, joy when Emmanuel has come
And the world will never be the same.
All the world is waiting for an answer.
All the world is waiting for a light.
Soon it will be dawn and the darkness will be gone.
Soon a king will come to make things right.
There will be joy, joy, joy when Emmanuel has come.
Heaven will rejoice and praise His name.
There will be joy, joy, joy when Emmanuel has come
And the world will never be the same.
We will never be the same.
Music: Don Besig © 2002 GlorySound, a Division of Shawnee Press, Inc.
(All rights reserved. Used by permission OneLicense.net #A705700.)
--6--
Don Besig and Nancy Price
*Presentation of Offering Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow
Words: Thomas Ken; alt.
Music: VENI, VENI, EMMANUEL - plainsong, Mode I, Processionale, 15th century
*The Great Thanksgiving
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
It is right always and everywhere to give you thanks and praise,
Creator and Redeemer of all that is.
You are always coming into our lives and into our world
with blessing and grace.
You came as a helpless baby who would grow up to die on a cross
to show us that love, not force, is the ultimate power of the universe.
You hold out to us the prospect of Christ coming again in glory
to reveal the goal toward which your love is luring the entire cosmos.
--7--
And now,
confident that what looks like catastrophe and the end of the world
is actually the birth pangs of your love
bringing forth a new heaven and a new earth,
we lift up our heads in hope,
joining with the whole creation yearning to be free,
in the unending hymn of praise to your glory:
The people may be seated. The pastor recalls the institution of the Lord’s Supper, and we
proclaim the mystery of faith:
The pastor invokes the Holy Spirit on this meal that we may experience communion with
Christ, concluding:
And now, Lord God, may this meal strengthen us,
together with your entire church,
to work and wait for that Day
when the wolf shall lie down with the lamb;
--8--
when the crooked shall be made straight,
and the rough places plain;
when swords shall be beaten into plows
and spears into pruning hooks;
when justice shall roll down like waters
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream;
when your kingdom shall come in all its fullness;
and all your children
shall have their daily bread to eat;
when Christ shall come in final victory,
and we shall feast forever with all the saints in your new creation.
All this we pray in Christ’s name,
through whom, with whom, in whom,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
all honor and glory be yours, Almighty God,
now and forever.
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art 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 trespasses,
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.
--9--
Breaking the Bread 626
Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence
Sung during the giving of the bread and cup to the servers.
Giving the Bread and Cup
We commune by intinction, i.e., by dipping the bread lightly in the cup. After you have communed,
you may return directly to your seat or kneel at the rail for prayer and then return.
If you would like to be served in your seat, please let an usher know that, or ask someone sitting
near you to communicate that to the servers.
Gluten-free wafers and cups are available at the left (north) side station. As you approach the
servers, please indicate that you would like to receive a wafer.
Communion Rail Offering
It is a United Methodist custom to receive a freewill love offering, over and above our regular
giving, at the communion rail. Today, all gifts left on the rail will go to the FUMC Emergency
Assistance Fund.
Communion Hymn
What Feast of Love Is Offered Here
We sing while coming to and returning from the table of grace.
Words: Delores Dufner © 1993 Delores Dufner, OSB; admin. by OCP Puclications
(All rights reserved. Used by permission LicenSing Online.org #609082.)
Music: GREENSLEEVES - 16th century English melody
--10--
Prayer for Those with Birthdays
Those with birthdays in December are invited to come forward for a prayer of blessing.
Let us pray:
God, our gracious Creator,
we give you thanks for the gift of life
to these who celebrate their birthdays in December.
Grant that they may make of this new year in their lives
a fitting gift that will enrich your world
and redound to your glory.
Cause them to grow in wisdom and grace
and strengthen their trust in your goodness
all the days of their lives; through Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Book of Common Prayer, 1979, alt.
With hands extended over them, the pastor blesses them:
The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make God’s face to shine upon you,
and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up God’s countenance upon you,
and give you peace.
Amen.
*Benediction
Going Out to Serve
--11--
*Hymn
Sing a New World into Being
Words: Mary Louise Bringle © 2006 GIA Publications, Inc.
(All rights reserved. Used by permission OneLicense.net #A705700.)
Music: HYMN TO JOY - Ludwig van Beethoven; arr. by Edward Hodges
Closing Music
+
+
--12--
+