Fourth
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. ]
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.
[ 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
Galatians 4:4-5
LEADER: When the fullness of time had come,
PEOPLE: God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.
Titus 3:4-7
When the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Luke 2:29-32
29 “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,
according to your word;
30 for my eyes have seen your salvation
31 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory to your people Israel.”
Hymn
Come Thou Long Expected Jesus
Come thou long expected Jesus, Born to set thy people free
From our fears and sins release us; Let us find our rest in thee.
Israel’s strength and consolation; Hope of all the earth thou art,
Dear desire of every nation, joy of every longing heart.
Joy to those who long to see thee, Dayspring from on high appear
Come, thou promised Rod of Jesse, of thy birth we long to hear!
O’er the hills the angels singing; News, glad tidings of a birth
“Go to him your praises bringing, Christ the Lord has come to earth”
Come to earth to taste our sadness, He whose glories knew no end
By His life He brings us gladness, Our redeemer, Shepherd, Friend.
Leaving riches without number, born within a cattle stall;
This the everlasting wonder, Christ was born the Lord of all!
Born thy people to deliver, Born a child and yet a king
Born to reign in us forever, Now thy gracious kingdom bring.
By thine own eternal spirit; rule in all our hearts alone
By thine all sufficient merit, Raise us to thy glorious throne
WAIT: CHRIST WILL COME AGAIN!
A LITURGY OF THE NOT YET
LEADER: One thing have I asked of the Lord,
that will I seek after:
PEOPLE: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
and to seek the Lord in his temple.
And I saw no temple in that city,
for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.
And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it,
for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.
Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud;
be gracious to me and answer me!
You have said, “Seek my face.”
My heart says to you,
“Your face, Lord, do I seek.”
Now we see in a mirror dimly,
but then face to face.
Now I know in part;
then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face.
Hear our cry, O Lord, from the realm of the dim mirror.
Hear our cry, how long?
Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!
I believe I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!
Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared;
But we know that when he appears we shall be like him,
because we shall see him as he is.
Behold, he is coming with the clouds,
and every eye will see him.
Amen. Come Lord Jesus!
Hold Fast
The State of Humanity After Death and the Resurrection of the Dead
The bodies of those who have died return to dust and undergo destruction. But their souls neither die nor sleep, because they have an immortal character, and immediately return to God who gave them. The souls of the righteous are then made perfect in holiness and are received into paradise. There they are with Christ and behold the face of God in light and glory while they wait for the full redemption of their bodies. (From the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith 31:3)
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 King whom all the peoples desire, You are the cornerstone which makes all one. O come and save us whom You made from clay.
O Immanuel, You are our King and judge, the One whom the peoples await, and their Savior. O come and save us, Lord, our God.
(Advent Antiphons 6 & 7)
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 ]
Now we see in a mirror dimly,
But then we shall see face to face.
[ 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.