Advent 3
Service Sheet (pdf)
Call to worship:
Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near (Philippians 4.4-5)
Joy to the world! the Lord is come;
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare him room,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven, and heaven, and nature sing.
Joy to the world! the Saviour reigns;
Let all their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.
He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders, of His love.
Song:
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare him room,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven, and heaven, and nature sing.
Joy to the world! the Saviour reigns;
Let all their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.
He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders, of His love.
Isaac Watts
The cold and dismal days of waiting for the spring,
You surprise us into life,
By the joy of your Good News.
You come as the king of the world.
You come as our deliverer.
Forgive us when we are not prepared for you!
Open our eyes, Creator God,
To see your presence within our lives;
To see: The good being done all around us;
The relationships that are loving and supportive;
The challenges to human indifference.
Open our ears, Word of life;
To hear your message of salvation;
To hear: The offer of a new, full life in you;
The call to follow you as your disciples;
Your encouragement as we walk the way of self-giving love.
Opening prayer:
Loving God, In the long, dark days of winter,The cold and dismal days of waiting for the spring,
You surprise us into life,
By the joy of your Good News.
You come as the king of the world.
You come as our deliverer.
Forgive us when we are not prepared for you!
Open our eyes, Creator God,
To see your presence within our lives;
To see: The good being done all around us;
The relationships that are loving and supportive;
The challenges to human indifference.
Open our ears, Word of life;
To hear your message of salvation;
To hear: The offer of a new, full life in you;
The call to follow you as your disciples;
Your encouragement as we walk the way of self-giving love.
Open our hearts, Spirit of God,
To receive your power within us;
To receive: Your gift of hope and joy and peace;
The love that binds us together;
The courage to witness to your Good News.
You are coming Saviour God.
Help us to be ready for you, alert and prepared
To see and hear and receive you
This Christmas and every day of our lives. Amen.
To receive your power within us;
To receive: Your gift of hope and joy and peace;
The love that binds us together;
The courage to witness to your Good News.
You are coming Saviour God.
Help us to be ready for you, alert and prepared
To see and hear and receive you
This Christmas and every day of our lives. Amen.
Introduction to the bible reading:
For the third Sunday of Advent, the focus is on the ministry of John the Baptist, who proclaimed the coming of Jesus. We do not immediately associate the message of John, as one of fiery repentance, with that of joy. A call to repentance is difficult and demanding. Sometimes the search for joy in our lives demands that we face up to some hard truths about ourselves. But through tackling them head on and responding to the challenge, we might find that deep sense of joy which comes from doing the right thing.
Bible reading:
Luke 3.7-18
7 John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our ancestor”; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. 9 Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.’
10 And the crowds asked him, ‘What then should we do?’ 11 In reply he said to them, ‘Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.’ 12 Even tax-collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, ‘Teacher, what should we do?’ 13 He said to them, ‘Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.’ 14 Soldiers also asked him, ‘And we, what should we do?’ He said to them, ‘Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.’
15 As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah,[d] 16 John answered all of them by saying, ‘I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with[e] the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing-fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing-floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’
18 So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people.
The advent candles are a significant part of our advent services and add to the atmosphere of worship. At least until, as happened at a service I was leading one time whilst I was preaching the sermon, the foliage surrounding the candles also caught fire - and a steward had to leap into action to douse the flames. I can also remember a colleague telling me how he and his wife were sharing advent prayers at home around a lighted advent candle; and all was peaceful until the cat walked past, brushing the candle and setting its tail alight. Then there was panic whilst they chased after the cat trying to put the flames out!
On a much more serious level, flames getting out of hand is often a news feature at this time of year – not in this country but in hotter and drier parts of the world. I always take note when bushfires start in Victoria in Australia because we have relations living there. It must be quite terrifying to be living in the path of a fire which is burning out of control. These fires bring the threat of devastation to both lives and possessions.
It is one of the features of Australian bushfires that they bring not only destruction but also new life. It is a characteristic of the Australian environment that the seeds of some of the trees and plants require the heat of the fire to germinate and sprout. The fire clears away the old growth and allows the new growth to spring through. The effects of fire can be transforming, creating as well as destroying. Think of the way in which a heated oven changes a mixture of flour, eggs, sugar and margarine into a cake; or the kiln which turns soft clay into a hardened pot; or the heated furnace in which sand becomes molten glass ready to be blown and shaped into the most wonderful objects.
The kind of fire John the Baptist talks about so strongly is the fire of judgement – and that is a hard message to take, especially just a couple of weeks before Christmas, just as we are getting in the mood for celebration. We need to remember that the gospel does not promise an easy life. Discipleship is not pain-free. We cannot expect the Christian life to be warm and comfortable - yet it can and does bring its own rewards to those who are prepared to follow that way of life. We may have to make big changes to our way of living and accept sacrifices to see it happen. But that is the call of the gospel to which we are challenged to respond.
And yet John’s message is not without hope. For John also speaks of one who will come with a baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire. In the book of Acts, we are given a picture of the fire of Pentecost, that experience of the Spirit which the disciples felt as tongues of living flame. Such experience brings not the fear of destruction but the promise of transformation and new life in Christ. It is a fire within, the fire of God’s love, which gives us the means to respond to the challenge of the gospel.
Such fire within brings us hope, and even joy. So, in this season of advent let us address realistically those things of which we need to repent and turn our backs on; but let us also look ahead with hope and joy to the new life which comes through the Good News of Jesus Christ.
7 John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our ancestor”; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. 9 Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.’
10 And the crowds asked him, ‘What then should we do?’ 11 In reply he said to them, ‘Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.’ 12 Even tax-collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, ‘Teacher, what should we do?’ 13 He said to them, ‘Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.’ 14 Soldiers also asked him, ‘And we, what should we do?’ He said to them, ‘Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.’
15 As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah,[d] 16 John answered all of them by saying, ‘I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with[e] the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing-fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing-floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’
18 So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people.
To consider:
Christmas time means candle time! Advent candles, Christingle services, carol by candlelight and all the rest of it. There is something fascinating about candles - certainly my children are attracted by the Christmas candles on our dining room table - the whole business of lighting them, blowing them out and taking the dead matchstick to poke in the soft wax or put back in the flame. Which is all very well until someone gets their fingers burnt.The advent candles are a significant part of our advent services and add to the atmosphere of worship. At least until, as happened at a service I was leading one time whilst I was preaching the sermon, the foliage surrounding the candles also caught fire - and a steward had to leap into action to douse the flames. I can also remember a colleague telling me how he and his wife were sharing advent prayers at home around a lighted advent candle; and all was peaceful until the cat walked past, brushing the candle and setting its tail alight. Then there was panic whilst they chased after the cat trying to put the flames out!
On a much more serious level, flames getting out of hand is often a news feature at this time of year – not in this country but in hotter and drier parts of the world. I always take note when bushfires start in Victoria in Australia because we have relations living there. It must be quite terrifying to be living in the path of a fire which is burning out of control. These fires bring the threat of devastation to both lives and possessions.
It is one of the features of Australian bushfires that they bring not only destruction but also new life. It is a characteristic of the Australian environment that the seeds of some of the trees and plants require the heat of the fire to germinate and sprout. The fire clears away the old growth and allows the new growth to spring through. The effects of fire can be transforming, creating as well as destroying. Think of the way in which a heated oven changes a mixture of flour, eggs, sugar and margarine into a cake; or the kiln which turns soft clay into a hardened pot; or the heated furnace in which sand becomes molten glass ready to be blown and shaped into the most wonderful objects.
The kind of fire John the Baptist talks about so strongly is the fire of judgement – and that is a hard message to take, especially just a couple of weeks before Christmas, just as we are getting in the mood for celebration. We need to remember that the gospel does not promise an easy life. Discipleship is not pain-free. We cannot expect the Christian life to be warm and comfortable - yet it can and does bring its own rewards to those who are prepared to follow that way of life. We may have to make big changes to our way of living and accept sacrifices to see it happen. But that is the call of the gospel to which we are challenged to respond.
And yet John’s message is not without hope. For John also speaks of one who will come with a baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire. In the book of Acts, we are given a picture of the fire of Pentecost, that experience of the Spirit which the disciples felt as tongues of living flame. Such experience brings not the fear of destruction but the promise of transformation and new life in Christ. It is a fire within, the fire of God’s love, which gives us the means to respond to the challenge of the gospel.
Such fire within brings us hope, and even joy. So, in this season of advent let us address realistically those things of which we need to repent and turn our backs on; but let us also look ahead with hope and joy to the new life which comes through the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Make a response:
John the Baptist told those who came to be baptised that their faith needs to make a difference to their everyday living. John’s response to the question, ‘What then should we do?’ was to point to actions of generosity towards others even at the expense of managing with less for ourselves. As we approach Christmas, we might want to challenge ourselves by asking how we might be content with what we have rather than expecting all that we might want.Exercise:
Look at the picture below and think about the questions:
• How might what these young people are doing be ‘good news’ for someone?
• What then should we do, to be a sign of the good news to others?
• How is your community a sign of the good news?
We give thanks for the witness of John the Baptist and his message to the people and its relevance for us today.
In his story and his teaching, we see the heart of your being, fairness and justice and equality for your people.
We give you thanks for the ordinary everyday life that witnesses to your power and glory.
We give thanks that you are always surprising us and meeting us right where we are.
We give thanks for your light in our times of darkness, for your hand in times of aloneness, for your leading in times of uncertainty.
To you, our triune God, we offer our praise and thanksgiving. Amen.
Love came down at Christmas,
Love all lovely, Love Divine,
Love was born at Christmas,
Star and Angels gave the sign.
Worship we the Godhead,
Love Incarnate, Love Divine,
Worship we our Jesus,
But wherewith for sacred sign?
Love shall be our token,
Love be yours and love be mine,
Love to God and all men,
Love for plea and gift and sign.
• What then should we do, to be a sign of the good news to others?
• How is your community a sign of the good news?
Prayer of thanksgiving
We praise you for the gift of witnesses to your love.We give thanks for the witness of John the Baptist and his message to the people and its relevance for us today.
In his story and his teaching, we see the heart of your being, fairness and justice and equality for your people.
We give you thanks for the ordinary everyday life that witnesses to your power and glory.
We give thanks that you are always surprising us and meeting us right where we are.
We give thanks for your light in our times of darkness, for your hand in times of aloneness, for your leading in times of uncertainty.
To you, our triune God, we offer our praise and thanksgiving. Amen.
Song:
Love all lovely, Love Divine,
Love was born at Christmas,
Star and Angels gave the sign.
Worship we the Godhead,
Love Incarnate, Love Divine,
Worship we our Jesus,
But wherewith for sacred sign?
Love shall be our token,
Love be yours and love be mine,
Love to God and all men,
Love for plea and gift and sign.
Christina Rossetti
to be of good courage; to hold fast to that which is good;
to strengthen the fainthearted; to support the weak;
to honour everyone; and to love and serve the Lord.
Be within us and among us, and remain with us always. Amen.
Sending out prayer.
Lord, help us to go into the world in peace;to be of good courage; to hold fast to that which is good;
to strengthen the fainthearted; to support the weak;
to honour everyone; and to love and serve the Lord.
Be within us and among us, and remain with us always. Amen.
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