Longing in the Silence

1. Gathering & Welcome

Announcements

Call to Worship

Leader: In the silence of waiting, God meets us.

People: In the shadows of longing, God shines His light.

Leader: Lift your hearts, for the Lord draws near.

People: We come with hope, trusting in the God who keeps His promises.

All: Come, Lord Jesus—shine your light on us again.

Opening Praise Song or Hymn | In Christ Alone (Video)

Advent Candle Lighting

As we light our advent candle

We thank you for the hope you give.

As we prepare for Christmas time

Light of the world, shine on us.

In this world of pain and darkness,

Bring hope to our hearts.

To all the people who don’t know you,

Light of the world, shine through us.

Jesus you are coming again,

Help us to live in the hope you bring.

In our service here today,

Light of the world, light the way.

2. Community Connection

Passing of the Peace

(NOW that we’ve worshipped and prayed—perfect time to greet in peace)

Children’s Moment

Good morning, friends!

Today is the first Sunday of Advent — the time when we start getting our hearts ready for Jesus.

Let me ask you something:

Do you enjoy waiting?

(Me neither!) Waiting can feel slow… quiet… maybe even a little lonely.

Hold up an unlit candle or flashlight.

Sometimes life feels like this — silent. We pray or hope for something, and it seems like nothing is happening.

But here’s the good news:

Even when things are quiet, God is still working.

Just like before Christmas, when the world waited a long time for Jesus — God was preparing something wonderful.

Turn on the light.

And when the time was right, the Light came.

Today we light the candle of hope to remind us that God is with us, even in the silence, and His light always comes.

Let’s pray:

Jesus, thank you for being our hope. Help us trust you while we wait, and help your light shine in our hearts. Amen.

3. The Word & Response

First Scripture Reading | Isaiah 9:2–7

Isaiah 9:2–7 NIV

2 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. 3 You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as warriors rejoice when dividing the plunder. 4 For as in the day of Midian’s defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor. 5 Every warrior’s boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire. 6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.

Hymn of Preparation | Come Thou Long Expected & Oh Come All Ye Faithful

Joys & Concerns

Pastoral Prayer with the Lord’s Prayer

4. Preparation for the Word

Presentation of Tithes & Offerings

As we bring our gifts today, let us give with the hope that even in the silence, God is still working and preparing our hearts for Christ’s coming.

Offertory Music

Doxology

Prayer Over the Offering

Gracious God,

we bring these gifts as signs of our hope in You.

Just as You remembered Zechariah and Elizabeth in their long waiting,

remember us as we give,

and use these offerings to shine Your light

into places still touched by silence and longing.

Take what we give,

take what we hold,

and take who we are—

and draw us deeper into Your story of hope.

Prepare our hearts, Lord,

to welcome the One who is coming,

and to trust that You are at work even now.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.

Hymn of Reflection | Faithful Now - (Video) - Reflection Hymn

5. The Word Proclaimed

Second Scripture Reading Luke 1:5–25 (Zechariah and Elizabeth)

Luke 1:5–25 NIV

5 In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. 6 Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. 7 But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old. 8 Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, 9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside. 11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. 13 But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. 14 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. 16 He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” 18 Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.” 19 The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. 20 And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.” 21 Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. 22 When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak. 23 When his time of service was completed, he returned home. 24 After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. 25 “The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.”

Special Music | Jesus Messiah

Sermon | Longing in the Silence

Introduction – Longing in the Silence

We begin Advent not with angels singing or shepherds celebrating…

but with silence.

Not peaceful silence, but the heavy kind—

the kind we feel when prayers go unanswered,

when heaven seems quiet,

when longing stretches on longer than we hoped.

And into that silence, God begins the story of Christmas.

Today we meet two faithful servants—Zechariah and Elizabeth—who lived with decades of unanswered prayers. Their story teaches us how to hope when God feels quiet.

Point 1 — Faithful People Still Face Silence

Luke describes them with some of the highest praise found anywhere in Scripture.

“They were righteous before God.”

Not surface-level righteous, but sincere, consistent, deeply faithful.

And yet…

they had no child.

Their longing had lasted a lifetime.

One commentator beautifully puts it:

“Even though Zechariah’s prayers for a son went years without being answered, he remained blameless before God.”

— Ken Heer, Luke: A Commentary for Bible Students, p. 34

This is the heart of Advent:

Faithfulness does not exempt us from seasons of silence.

But it also teaches us something else—

silence is not the same as abandonment.

Richard Watson reminds us that the righteousness of Zechariah and Elizabeth wasn’t outward show but real obedience:

“Not as the Pharisees before men, but in the sight of God… sincerely so.”

— Watson, Exposition of the Gospels, p. 379

In other words:

They walked faithfully even when their prayers echoed back unanswered.

And then, when they least expected it…

God moved.

Point 2 — God Meets Us in Our Longing

Zechariah is chosen to burn incense in the temple—

not just an everyday task, but a once-in-a-lifetime moment.

As Ken Heer notes:

“This was an honor for which many priests would wait a lifetime.”

— Heer, p. 34

He’s not praying for a miracle.

He’s not expecting a breakthrough.

He’s simply performing his priestly duty.

And then heaven breaks the silence.

Beside the altar of incense, an angel appears.

This is no coincidence.

Incense symbolizes prayer rising to God…

and God chooses that exact moment to answer a prayer Zechariah had likely stopped praying.

As Heer emphasizes:

“It was while he was faithfully carrying out his spiritual responsibilities… that God spoke to him and answered his prayer.”

— Heer, p. 34

Do you hear the hope in that?

Sometimes God answers in the ordinary routines of faithfulness.

And Watson gives us one of the richest insights of all:

“Thy prayer is heard… though not till now answered. It does not follow he continued to pray for children.”

— Watson, p. 381

In other words:

Even the prayers you stop praying haven’t been forgotten by God.

That’s Advent.

God remembers prayers long after we’ve quit whispering them.

Point 3 — God’s Answers May Surprise Us

Zechariah and Elizabeth prayed for a child.

God sent them a prophet.

They wanted a son.

God sent them the forerunner of the Messiah.

Heer notes it powerfully:

“Israel needed to be called back to God, and He chose John as the instrument to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

— Heer, p. 35

God’s answers were part of a story much bigger than theirs.

But when Zechariah hears this, instead of shouting for joy, he hesitates.

He asks Gabriel for a sign—a little proof that this isn’t a cruel joke.

Ken Heer puts it this way:

“We could imagine that Zechariah was ready to shout for joy… but when he asked for a sign… the angel said, ‘You will be silent.’”

— Heer, p. 35

Silence again—

but this time a purposeful silence.

Watson draws out the beauty of it:

“It was a mild reproof for not believing… and at the same time calculated to prepare the people to expect something extraordinary.”

— Watson, p. 383

Zechariah’s silence wasn’t a punishment.

It was preparation.

Preparation for praise.

Preparation for prophecy.

Preparation for the coming Messiah.

Conclusion — The Light That Breaks the Silence

Zechariah’s story is our story.

We know what it is to wait.

We know what it is to long.

We know what it is to pray and hear nothing for a while.

But Advent teaches us that God is always working in the silence.

He stores prayers we’ve stopped praying.

He moves quietly in ordinary faithfulness.

He answers in ways larger than we ever imagined.

He breaks the silence at just the right moment.

The first candle of Advent is small—just a flicker.

But that’s how hope begins.

Not with a blaze…

but with a whisper.

Because the God who seemed silent

was never absent.

And the God we long for

is already on His way.

Amen.

God of hope,

as we leave this time of worship,

remind us that You are the One who speaks into our silence

and shines light into every waiting heart.

We thank You for meeting us in Your Word,

for reminding us through Zechariah and Elizabeth

that no prayer is forgotten,

no longing is overlooked,

and no season of silence is wasted in Your hands.

Strengthen us as we go,

to trust Your timing,

to rest in Your faithfulness,

and to hold onto the hope that You are always working—

even when we cannot see it.

And now, Lord, as we sing of Your promises,

help us remember that every word You speak is sure,

every promise You make is true,

and every step You lead us through is held in Your unfailing love.

Make our hearts steady,

our hope confident,

and our lives a testimony that Your promises still stand.

In the name of Jesus,

our coming Light and everlasting Hope.

Amen.

6. Sending Forth

Sending Hymn | Promises - MCM (Video)

Benediction

People of God,

as you go from this place,

may the Lord who meets us in the silence

fill your waiting with hope,

your longing with comfort,

and your days with the steady light of His presence.

May you trust that the God who keeps every promise

is still at work in the quiet places of your life—

remembering your prayers,

holding your heart,

and guiding your steps.

And as we leave singing of His faithfulness,

may His faithfulness follow you,

strengthen you,

and shine through you

in the week to come.

Go in hope,

go in peace,

and go knowing that the Light of Christ

is already on the way.

Amen.

Postlude or Instrumental Recessional