Sermon Tone Analysis

CALL TO WORSHIP

Come, let us prepare to meet with God.

Let us prepare ourselves to help bring in God’s kingdom.

Let us prepare to worship.

Hymn 175: Light of the World you stepped down into darkness

PRAYERS

Lord, we do not know how or when you will call us to

serve you.

We do not know when we may have to face difficult times,

or when the difficult times we face now may end.

We do not know how and when you will come to us.

Help us to pray and learn so that, when you call us,

we may be ready.

Help us to find courage to change,

to trust you and to listen for your call.

Amen.

We praise you, living God, for these days of Advent,

for the opportunity they offer to reflect on Scripture,

and to prepare our hearts and minds for the coming

of your Son.

As we set out on our journey,

may we find a stillness that is your presence with us,

leading us on to Bethlehem

where our spirits can soar

towards the light of your eternal love,

revealed in the Christ Child.

Amen.

A Prayer of confession and Assurance

Advent God, forgive us, we pray,

when our preparations for the coming of your Son

are superficial and we don’t invest our whole selves into them

prayerfully, practically or purposefully.

May we not be left with regrets and ‘if onlys’,

but adapt to the challenges of our lives and our world

with the grace and agility of your Holy Spirit –

in whose power we pray.

Amen.

God of all creation,

though the nights are long, the sun still rises;

though the mornings are dark, the birds still sing;

though the world isn’t ready, your Son still comes;

though we don’t listen or prepare or deserve,

you still love and forgive and renew us –

in Jesus’ name.

Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Hymn 169: Come thou long expected Jesus

READING

Isaiah 2: 1-5

2 This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:

2 In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established

as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills,

and all nations will stream to it.

3 Many peoples will come and say,

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,

to the temple of the God of Jacob.

He will teach us his ways,

so that we may walk in his paths.”

The law will go out from Zion,

the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

4 He will judge between the nations

and will settle disputes for many peoples.

They will beat their swords into plowshares

and their spears into pruning hooks.

Nation will not take up sword against nation,

nor will they train for war anymore.

5 Come, descendants of Jacob,

let us walk in the light of the Lord.

Matthew 24: 36-44

36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,[a] but only the Father.

37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.

38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark;

39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away.

That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.

40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left.

41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.

42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.

43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into.

44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

Hymn 732: Day of Judgement Day of wonder

SERMON

Well, the advent season is upon us, we will soon hear Noddy Holden reminding us that ITS CHRISTMAS” last Sunday used to be called stir up Sunday, a time to stir people up but also the time to stir the Christmas pudding in preparation for Christmas day.

The name has now been changed to Christ the King!

TV will have advert after advert showing us the most desirable gifts of the year, children will be writing letters to Santa to claim the must have toy.

Preparation must be considered we have to ensure we have enough food to last us for all the one day when most shops are closed!

Unlike in the past that after Christmas Eve everything was closed, for the Christmas period and some shops would open the couple of days between Christmas and New Year.

If you were given a toy on Christmas morning that needed batteries, then you were stuck unless someone had kindly provided them.

I can remember looking down on my new electric car in those days it was connected by a wire, but all I could do was look at it as it said on the box “batteries not included”.

Now things have changed society no longer looks at this time of year as a time of celebration of God coming to earth a time of good will and joy for all.

Karon and I watched a program about Christmas toys over the years and how sometimes the demand outstripped availability it showed people physically fighting over the toy of the year, so their child could play with it for a few hours then it would be consigned to the toy box with all the other toys.

As I was typing up this sermon adverts were springing up with offers and discounts for Black Friday which now seem to extend for at least a week.

We are inundated with offers that are the last chance to buy!

It seems that today business takes priority I’m not sure this is a good thing, we live in a world of profit over everything else, some corner shops are even open on Christmas day, and all the majority shops are open on boxing day.

But for all the issues this creates there is a lesson we can take from it, most if not all, businesses know the importance of being prepared.

Some shops need to order Christmas stock nearly a year in advance.

The ‘just in time’ stock control system used in many industries today requires precision planning to make sure that what is needed arrives at the moment it is needed.

And we to have all had to learnt something about being prepared and being adaptable, thanks to periods of lockdown we experienced through during Covid.

Today’s readings ask us to consider whether we are just as prepared personally, in our spiritual and inner life.

It’s not that we don’t know about today’s message – it is not new!

Every Advent we are reminded of it.