Third
Week of
Advent
CELEBRATE: CHRIST HAS COME!
Opening Candle Meditation
LEADER: If you, O Lord, should count our sins, Who of us, O Lord, could stand?
But with You there is forgiveness, that all might look to you.
I will wait for the Lord. PEOPLE: My soul waits, and in His word do I hope.
My soul waits for the Lord:
More than watchmen for the morning,
More than watchmen for the morning.
[ Spoken while lighting each appropriate candle. ]
By the tender mercy of our God, the sunrise shall visit us from on high:
to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.
[ Spoken after the candle is lit ]
Jesus said: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” To whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God. Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ, King of endless glory.
Liturgy of the already
LEADER: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
PEOPLE: In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.
But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory,
glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God,who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.
Hymn
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
O come, O come Emmanuel and ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice, Rejoice, Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel
O come, Thou, Dayspring from on high And cause Thy light on us to rise
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night And death’s dark shadow put to flight
Rejoice, Rejoice, Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel
O come, O come true prophet of the Lord And turn the key to heaven’s door
Be Thou our comforter and guide and lead us to the Father’s side
Rejoice, Rejoice, Emmanuel
Shall by His Word our darkness dispel
O come, our great High Priest, and intercede Thy sacrifice, our only plea
The judgment we no longer fear Thy precious blood has brought us near
Rejoice, Rejoice, Emmanuel
Has banished every fear of hell
O come, Thou King of nations, bring an end to all our suffering
Bid every pain and sorrow cease, and reign now as our prince of peace
Rejoice, Rejoice, Emmanuel
Shall come again with us to dwell
WAIT: CHRIST WILL COME AGAIN!
A LITURGY OF THE NOT YET
LEADER: If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.
PEOPLE: If in Christ we have hope in this life only,
we are of all people most to be pitied.
But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead,
the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
Each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits,
then at his coming those who belong to Christ.
What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.
And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel.
So it is with the resurrection of the dead.
What is sown is perishable. What is raised is imperishable
It is sown in dishonor; It is raised in glory.
It is sown in weakness; It is raised in power.
This perishable body must put on the imperishable,
and this mortal body must put on immortality.
Hear our cry, O Lord, from the realm of the perishable.
Hear our cry: How long?
Be patient until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient.
All of creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.
Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
And not only creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
Hope that is seen is not hope.
But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
If you have been united with him in a death like his, you shall certainly be united in a resurrection like his.
Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
He will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, but the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.
Amen. Come Lord Jesus!
Hold Fast
How does Christ’s resurrection benefit us?
First, by his resurrection he has overcome death, so that he might make us share in the righteousness he obtained for us by his death. Second, by his power we too are already raised to a new life. Third, Christ’s resurrection is a sure pledge to us of our blessed resurrection. (Heidelberg Catechism Q45)
How does “the resurrection of the body” comfort you?
Not only will my soul be taken immediately after this life to Christ its head, but also my very flesh, raised by the power of Christ, will be reunited with my soul, and made like Christ’s glorious body. (Heidelberg Catechism Q57)
Reading & Prayer
Personal Bible Reading. This week’s sermon text: Revelation 21:1-27
Pray on behalf of family and friends, the church local and global.
O God, whose blessed Son came into the world that he might destroy the works of the devil and make us children of God and heirs of eternal life: Grant that, having this hope, we may purify ourselves as he is pure; that, when he comes again with power and great glory, we may be made like him in his eternal and glorious kingdom; where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer)
Closing Candle Meditation
LEADER: God of the watching ones, the waiting ones, the slow and suffering ones:
PEOPLE: Give us your benediction, your good word for our souls,
that we might rise and rest in the kindness of your company.
They will need no light of lamp or sun
For the Lord will be their light.
[ Spoken while extinguishing each appropriate candle ]
This perishable body must put on the imperishable,
and this mortal body must put on immortality.
[ Spoken after all the candles are extinguished ]
He who testifies to these things says: “Surely I am coming soon.”
Amen. Come Lord Jesus!
The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all.
Amen.