THE PROPHETIC LESSON Isaiah 2:1-5
THE GOSPEL LESSON Matthew 24:36-44
SERMON "The Transformation of Hope: Being Awake"
Worship Notes
Welcome to worship at Westminster on this the First Sunday of Advent, which is also celebrated as the start of a new church year. The liturgical color for Advent is blue and that color appears not only on the paraments on the communion table and lectern, but also in the choir stoles and in three of the four candles in the Advent wreath.
The season of Advent is a time of anticipation, expectation, and preparation. By observing a season of Advent, we have the opportunity to reflect on just how much our world waits with eager longing for the coming of the Messiah. During Advent, our worship cultivates a sense of mystery as we "wait for the Lord" with anticipation of the coming Light. The season of Advent is always measured by the four Sundays preceding Christmas Day. Each week represents the passage of 1,000 years to total the 4,000 years believed to have elapsed between the time of Adam and Eve and the birth of Jesus Christ. We use an Advent wreath as a symbol of our progression through this season as we prepare to move from a world immersed in darkness into a world of light filled with the hope, peace, joy, and love found in Christ.
In worship today, we focus on the hope with which we wait for the Lord. The hymns and service music through which we worship today reflect this spirit of hope amidst the darkness. As a sign of our hope, we will respond to God's Word today by decorating our sanctuary with symbols of our hope in Christ: evergreens, angels, Chrismons and lights. The congregation is invited to come forward and assist as together we "green the church" and begin our Advent journey. While we do so, we will sing the familiar Advent Carol, "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel." The prophetic text of this carol is based on the "O Antiphons," which have been used by Christians to prepare for the Christmas observance since the first century.
