This is the lesson and sermon from Sunday, December 28th, 2008,
Luke 2: 22 - 38
December 2008 Archives
This is the lesson and sermon from the 11pm Christmas Eve worship, December 24th, 2008,
Luke 2: 1 - 20, John 1: 1 - 5
This is the lesson and sermon from Sunday, December 14th, 2008,
Luke 1:46-55
This is the lesson and sermon from Sunday, December 7th, 2008,
Mark 1: 1 - 8
THE PROPHETIC LESSON Isaiah 40:1-11
THE GOSPEL LESSON Mark 1:1-8
SERMON "Advent Peace: Announcing the Kingdom"
Worship Notes
"The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God." Mark 1:1
Our four-week journey continues on this the Second Sunday of Advent. During this liturgical season, we prepare to receive God's great gift of his son, Jesus Christ. Throughout these weeks, our sanctuary will undergo a purposeful and progressive transformation. Today, we note the use of blue cloths, stoles, and paraments to mark the change of liturgical season. The baptismal font has been placed out among the congregation as a symbol of Christ's incarnation among and for us. We continue to light Advent wreath candles, which represent the Advent themes of hope, peace, joy, and love.
In terms of our theology, Advent is remarkably similar to the liturgical season of Lent. We liken both seasons to a journey. However, there is a sense in which the promises of God are experienced in a cumulative way during Advent. For example, the promise of hope is remembered this week and in each of the successive weeks of Advent as that particular candle remains lit throughout the season. In this way, we anticipate the coming of Christ as the light he will bring into a darkened world. In contrast, during Lent we see that light dimmed as we prepare ourselves to understand both the depths of Christ's sacrifice on Good Friday for a world that "received him not" and the heights of his resurrection on Easter Sunday.
The spirit of worship on this Second Sunday of Advent expresses the peace we find in our relationship with God as we wait expectantly for Christ to come. Creating a sense of approach or gathering is an important aspect of our Advent worship. In this sense, the procession that begins our worship will use the chant tune "O Come, O Come Emmanuel," which begins in a subdued way before concluding with the line that ends each Advent service "Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!"
Each of the hymns we sing in worship today are filled with the promises of God's peace. The gathering hymn, "Comfort, Comfort You My People" is set to a tune from the Genevan Psalter. A psalter is a collection of tunes used to sing the Psalms. The Genevan Psalter is a setting of metrical (not chant-style) tunes that were compiled under the supervision of John Calvin. Later in life, Calvin became fearful that the energy and high-spiritedness of these tunes would diminish their focus on God and were too secular in nature.
Today we will also recognize those young Christians among us who will begin another journey as they start their confirmation studies
