12-6-2020 --START AT THE BEGINNING

START LIVESTREAM

PRESERVICE LOOP (should continue until music ends, and slide should change automatically — about 14 minutes of music)

DURING THE MUSIC, SWITCH BETWEEN WELCOME SLIDE AND COMMUNION PREPARATION SLIDE

WELCOME AND DATE

COMMUNION PREPARATION Slide

WHEN MUSIC ENDS, SWITCH TO WELCOME AND DATE SLIDE AND LEAVE UP A FEW SECONDS

WELCOME AND DATE CHANGE SLIDE

SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT — PEACE CANDLE LEAVE UP A FEW SECONDS, THEN CHANGE SLIDE

GREETING AND ANNOUNCEMENTS CHANGE SLIDE

ZOOM ADVENT BIBLE STUDY CHANGE SLIDE

We had our second 2020 ZOOM Advent Bible Wednesday. Anyone from Ralls or Lorenzo is welcome to participate as we study “Christmas in the Four Gospel Homes: An Advent Study,” and it’s not too late to get involved. The next Zoom session will be at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 9. Call Donna Campbell at 806-789-1008 for information on the study or the book and to RSVP to get the ZOOM link. CHANGE SLIDE

LET PASTOR KNOW ABOUT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Let pastor know about announcements/prayer requests CHANGE SLIDE

CENTERING OUR HEARTS ON WORSHIP

Let us begin worship this morning with our Gathering Prayer. CHANGE SLIDE

GATHERING PRAYER CHANGE SLIDE

God of Ancient Times, we find Your light in the simplicity of lighting candles. We find Your love in the coziness of familiar stories and songs. We find Your joy in the pleasures of decorating and gift-giving and baking and passing on traditions that were taught to us. We find hope as we are reminded of our roots of long ago, of Old Testament traditions and promises and fulfillment from long before You came into our world as the Christ-child. This Advent, speak to us from out of the old ways, and help us find new meaning here and now, as we wait for You, who once was, who is, and who is to come, and who is our hope: Almighty God our Savior. Amen. CHANGE SLIDE

ADVENT CALL TO WORSHIP CHANGE TO CONTENT SLIDE

You may remember from last week that we’re combining the Advent Candle Lighting Liturgy with our Call to Worship, so we’ll be reading this together in a minute responsively. Last week was the first Sunday of Advent, and we lit the Candle of Hope. Today, on the second Sunday of Advent, we’ll light the Candle of Peace at the end of the Advent Call to Worship. The words will be familiar — originally coming from the prophet Isaiah as a prophecy of what would proceed the coming of the Messiah, and then again in the Gospel of Mark, talking about John the Baptist who had come to prepare the way for the Messiah. Let’s join together in saying the Call to Worship. CHANGE SLIDE

PASTOR: There is the voice of one crying in the wilderness……the voice cries out for peace and justice, for hope and transformation……that voice reaches to all of us who are comfortable. CHANGE SLIDE

PEOPLE: We continue to seek God’s comfort and peace for ourselves. But we seek His comfort and peace for others. We pray that we will allow God to transform our hearts, so that we, too, can reach out to those who need the Lord.CHANGE SLIDE

PASTOR: In the middle of dark times, our Lord cries out, “Comfort, comfort my people.” The Lord is about to do a new thing. He is using us to reach out to those who do not expect it. CHANGE SLIDE

PEOPLE: God is using to share His love and peace to touch the hearts of those who are the voiceless and who need comforting and peace in their lives.CHANGE SLIDE

LIGHT CANDLE OF PEACECHANGE SLIDE

ALL: Yes, there is a voice of one crying in the wilderness and that voice cries: “Prepare the way. Get ready. Something new is happening and you will be included in it! Rejoice!” CHANGE SLIDE

FIRST HYMN — “One Bread, One Body” CHANGE TO CONTENT SLIDE

I had originally planned for us to sing “God Hath Spoken By the Prophets,” since that’s what today’s sermon is all about, but I realized it wasn’t familiar enough to everyone, so I switched it to “One Bread, One Body,” since today is Communion Sunday. We’ll sing two verses. CHANGE SLIDE

One bread, one body,

One Lord of all.

One cup of blessing which we bless.

And we, though many

Throughout the earth,

We are one body in this one Lord. CHANGE SLIDE

Gentile or Jew,

Servant or free,

Woman or man, no more.

One bread, one body,

One Lord of all.

One cup of blessing which we bless.

And we, though many

Throughout the earth,

We are one body in this one Lord. CHANGE SLIDE

Many the gifts,

Many the works,

One in the Lord of all.

One bread, one body,

One Lord of all.

One cup of blessing which we bless.

And we, though many

Throughout the earth,

We are one body in this one Lord.

We are one body in this one Lord. CHANGE SLIDE

OLD TESTAMENT READING Isaiah 40:1-11 (CEB) CHANGE TO CONTENT SLIDE

There are three parts to Isaiah, covering three different times in Jewish history, and many scholars see the book as written by three different people. Accordingly, Isaiah 1 is writing about some 30 years or more that the people “did evil in the sight of the Lord;” Isaiah 2 writes about when God virtually “gave up on the people” and allowed Babylon to conquer the nation and take the people into exile for some 70 years. Finally , the punishment is over and Isaiah 3 tells how God is restoring the people to their native land.

But this section is also prophecy, because not only is it about restoring the people and giving them a second chance, it is about God offering a second chance to all people. Not only would God lead His people through that wilderness, He would send another who would prepare the way for the one who would save the world. And in the final part of the passage, we see what that person would look like: a Good Shepherd who would tend the flock, gathering up the lambs and gently guiding the still nursing mother sheep. It is clear, from what we know happens later, that Isaiah is talking about John the Baptist and Jesus.

We’ll talk more about this connection in the sermon.

But let’s listen to what God is saying, through Isaiah in Isaiah 40:1-11. CHANGE SLIDE

Common English Bible Chapter 40

Comfort, comfort my people! says your God.

2 Speak compassionately to Jerusalem,

and proclaim to her that her

compulsory service has ended,

that her penalty has been paid,

that she has received

from the LORD’s hand

double for all her sins!

3 A voice is crying out:

“Clear the LORD’s way in the desert!

Make a level highway in the wilderness

for our God!

4 Every valley will be raised up,

and every mountain and hill

will be flattened.

Uneven ground will become level,

and rough terrain a valley plain.

5 The LORD’s glory will appear,

and all humanity will see it together;

the LORD’s mouth

has commanded it.”

6 A voice was saying:

“Call out!”

And another said,

“What should I call out?”

All flesh is grass;

all its loyalty is

like the flowers of the field.

7 The grass dries up

and the flower withers

when the LORD’s breath blows on it.

Surely the people are grass.

8 The grass dries up;

the flower withers,

but our God’s word

will exist forever.

9 Go up on a high mountain,

messenger Zion!

Raise your voice and shout,

messenger Jerusalem!

Raise it; don’t be afraid;

say to the cities of Judah,

“Here is your God!”

10 Here is the LORD God,

coming with strength,

with a triumphant arm,

bringing his reward with him

and his payment before him.

11 Like a shepherd, God will tend the flock;

he will gather lambs in his arms

and lift them onto his lap.

He will gently guide

the nursing ewes.

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CENTERING OUR HEARTS IN PRAYER CHANGE TO CONTENT SLIDE

Monty Roberts is at rehab and is doing better and is anxious to get home. Continued prayers for Steve Mitchell, Gloria Mason’s cousin’s son-in-law, who is now in chemotherapy and for Emilie Cook, who we will leave on the list a little longer. Dennis Kirk (twin brother to Lorenzo’s former pastor and Susan Kirk’s brother-in-law, whose surgery last week went well and he is now home. Susan said we could take him off the list.

Susan Felty, pastor at Canyon UMC and my lectionary partner and friend who had COVID, is doing better, although she still needs oxygen, but her husband Ron has now tested positive for COVID. Others with COVID who remain on our list are Bobbi Jo Bownds’ daughter and son-in-law Diane and Jim Broome, who both have COVID and the Chuck Cate family. The oldest son of Charles and Gwen Cate, Chuck and his wife Alicia have it, although the kids do not. Prayers for that family, and all those affected by COVID – which is all of us, in one way or another.

Continued prayers for Justin Sproles, the husband of one of Joy’s coworkers, and his wife Danielle. They both had COVID previously, but he is suffering extreme COVID after-effects and she is worried and drained from taking care of him. Continued prayers for Diane O’Leary, who had COVID and Lee Ann Wilmeth’s brother Brian Daniel, who is still on chemotherapy as his body tolerates it. Ronnie Ragland seems to be pretty-much recovered from COVID, so we’re taking him off the list.

Keep all of those in your prayers, and let me know if there’s somebody I need to know about. Let’s take all these joys and concerns to the Lord….. CHANGE SLIDE

PASTORAL PRAYER (Leave up until after prayer — no Lord’s Prayer because of communion)

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TITHES AND OFFERINGS CHANGE SLIDE

Announcement slide about offering LEAVE UP A FEW SECONDS, THEN CHANGE SLIDE

DOXOLOGY CHANGE SLIDE

EPISTLE READING 2 Peter 3:8-15 CHANGE TO CONTENT SLIDE

We’re now in 2nd Peter, and the writer is encouraging the readers and listeners who are waiting for Christ’s return. There is some question about the writer of 2nd Peter. That is, it says it is from Peter, but most scholars believe it was written after A.D. 68, when Peter was beheaded. If t hat was the case, it was likely written by a follower of Peter who wanted to continue Peter’s encouragement of the early Christians, who were disco raged because Jesus h ad not come back as quickly as had been originally expected.

The writer reminds the people that God’s time is not our time. Echoing to the images Jesus used in Mark 13 (part of last week’s Revised Common Lectionary reading), Jesus will come like a thief in the night. The faithful wait for a new heaven and earth, living godly lives. While we wait, the writer encourages the faithful to be at peace, to remember the teachings of Paul and others before them, with the wisdom of God.

Here’s what Paul says in 2 Peter 3:8-15a:​ CHANGE SLIDE

Common English Bible Chapter 3

My dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both letters to stir up your sincere understanding with a reminder. 2 I want you to recall what the holy prophets foretold as well as what the Lord and savior commanded through your apostles. 3 Most important, know this: in the last days scoffers will come, jeering, living by their own cravings, 4 and saying, “Where is the promise of his coming? After all, nothing has changed—not since the beginning of creation, nor even since the ancestors died.”

5 But they fail to notice that, by God’s word, heaven and earth were formed long ago out of water and by means of water. 6 And it was through these that the world of that time was flooded and destroyed. 7 But by the same word, heaven and earth are now held in reserve for fire, kept for the Judgment Day and destruction of ungodly people.

8 Don’t let it escape your notice, dear friends, that with the Lord a single day is like a thousand years and a thousand years are like a single day. 9 The Lord isn’t slow to keep his promise, as some think of slowness, but he is patient toward you, not wanting anyone to perish but all to change their hearts and lives. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. On that day the heavens will pass away with a dreadful noise, the elements will be consumed by fire, and the earth and all the works done on it will be exposed.

11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be? You must live holy and godly lives, 12 waiting for and hastening the coming day of God. Because of that day, the heavens will be destroyed by fire and the elements will melt away in the flames. 13 But according to his promise we are waiting for a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness is at home.

Preparing for Christ’s coming in judgment

14 Therefore, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found by him in peace—pure and faultless. 15 Consider the patience of our Lord to be salvation

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CENTERING OUR HEARTS IN THE WORD CHANGE SLIDE

START AT THE BEGINNING

CHANGE TO CONTENT SLIDE

A kindergarten teacher prepares for “Story Time” with her students. She smiles at the 5-6-year-old kids and begins her story: “Once upon a time a little girl named Goldilocks was fast asleep in a lovely little bed — a bed that she thought was just right for her. But one morning as she opened her eyes and prepared to stretch out her arms to help herself wake up, she was scared half to death to see three bears staring at her! So even though she was still in her pajamas, Goldilocks jumped out of bed, ran out of the house, and then went on to start having a real adventure as she tried to find her way back home through a thick and dreadful forest.”

You can imagine that the faces of those innocent little kindergarteners would quickly darken, a scowl coming on their lips and their little brows furrowing. They’d quickly jump up and say, “That’s now where the story begins. You have to start at the beginning, with Goldilocks walking in the forest and entering a strange house and tasting porridge that’s too hot or too cold but finally finding a bowl that was just right. You have to tell about the chairs that didn’t fit and the beds that were too soft or too hard. Start over, teacher! Start at the real beginning!”

Kids can be pretty unforgiving when you change a well-loved story. Even slight changes earn a child’s ire! You’d know that if you ever read a familiar story to a kid and missed a word – they’d quickly pop up and set you straight.

And if the truth were told, all that beginning stuff IS the story of Goldilocks. After she jumps out of the bed and runs into the forest, the real story ends – she never goes back to the bears’ house and there are no more adventures or journeys.

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THE WAY MARK BEGINS THE STORY

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I began with this story because it’s a lot like the Gospel of Mark, which is what we’ll be studying in this new Church Year. In the weeks before Advent, we traditionally look at the chapters and verses about the Second Coming in whichever Gospel we’re studying. As we began studying the Gospel of Mark last week, we did that again, reading from near the end of his short book about Christ’s final warning to the disciples to “stay alert” — just before His crucifixion.

Now we’re going full-fledged into Mark, beginning with the first chapter — and it doesn’t begin with Jesus, as the other Gospels do. No, Mark begins with the period just before the grown-up Jesus appeared on the scene. Mark begins with John the Baptist. But here’s the interesting thing — John the Baptist, or a person like him, is foretold by the prophet Isaiah in the Old Testament. Isaiah also foretold the birth and death of the Messiah, who we know now is and was Jesus. We’ll come back to Isaiah, but his prophecy that would be fulfilled in John the Baptist is where Mark starts – not with Jesus, but with the one who would prepare the way for the Messiah, as Isaiah had put it.

So where DOES the Gospel of Mark begin, and why does he start that way? Mark’s first words are “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” But as noted previously, Mark has no birth story, nothing about Jesus being baptized or going to the Temple when He was 12. In fact, when Mark starts his Gospel, Jesus hasn’t even appeared – and won’t until the last verse of today’s passage. Why is that?

Well, for one thing, Mark is writing to a different audience than Matthew or Luke. Matthew was writing to Jews, and a major theme was convincing them that the man they knew of as Jesus was, in fact, the Messiah. He uses lots of Scripture from the Old Testament to call attention to that fact. Matthew gives a genealogy that traces Jesus’ lineage from Joseph, back to Abraham. Luke is writing to Jews and Gentiles, and the latter group could care less about Old Testament Scriptures and traditions. Luke traces Jesus’ lineage all the way to the first man, Adam, God’s son. Although it appears to be tracing the lineage of Joseph, scholars say that Luke is using Mary’s family tree because he is writing primarily for Gentiles (or non-Jews), who were more interested in the biological genealogy. Mark is writing for the Early Church, which by that time was made up almost entirely of Gentiles, and he wants to impress on them the life and teachings of Jesus so they can follow in that path. He spends a few verses on Christ’s death, and few on His resurrection. For Mark, details about Jesus birth – who was there, when and where and how did it happen – are not important. What is important to him is the grown-up Jesus and what He did and what He taught.

But all that said, Mark doesn’t begin with Jesus – he begins with John the Baptist (also known as John the Baptizer). John arrive first son the scene -- before Jesus appears on the scene. John looked like a wild man. Actually, he was looking like an old timey-prophet, wearing camel’s hair clothing with a leather belt and eating locusts and wild honey. And he’s out there in the wilderness, preaching about the evil in the lives of the people he was preaching to and calling for repentance, and people were repenting of their sins, at which point, John the Baptist would, as his name says, baptize them.

Let’s read how Mark tells the story in Mark 1:1-8, reading from the Common English Bible. CHANGE SLIDE

The Gospel Lesson

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Mark 1:1–8 CEB

1 The beginning of the good news about Jesus Christ, God’s Son, 2 happened just as it was written about in the prophecy of Isaiah: Look, I am sending my messenger before you. He will prepare your way, 3 a voice shouting in the wilderness: “Prepare the way for the Lord; make his paths straight.” 4 John the Baptist was in the wilderness calling for people to be baptized to show that they were changing their hearts and lives and wanted God to forgive their sins. 5 Everyone in Judea and all the people of Jerusalem went out to the Jordan River and were being baptized by John as they confessed their sins. 6 John wore clothes made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. He ate locusts and wild honey. 7 He announced, “One stronger than I am is coming after me. I’m not even worthy to bend over and loosen the strap of his sandals. 8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

CONNECTING MARK AND ISAIAH

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But all of that was foretold in Isaiah 40:1-11, which was our Old Testament lesson -- so I’ll just recap a couple of high points, rather than read the whole passage again. After years in exile – their punishment now finished, their sins now forgiven -- God is ready to restore the people to their homeland and this is His way of telling the people that it is He who is preparing the way for them. But the words, “Clear the Lord’s way in the desert! Make a level highway in the wilderness for our God! Every valley will be raised up, and every mountain and hill will be flattened. Uneven ground will become level, and rough terrain a valley plain,” are both a prophecy of what God is about to do AND a prophecy of the one who will come preparing the way for the Messiah. That prophecy is fulfilled in the person of John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus.

The final portion of our Scripture in Isaiah paints a picture of the future Messiah, a one who will be like a shepherd, tending the flock, cuddling the lambs and guiding the nursing mothers. That picture is also painted in the 23rd Psalm, and then you meet Jesus and you see Him live out these prophecies.

The picture Isaiah paints of a forerunner was commonly understood in Biblical times. If the king was going to make a trip, he would send someone ahead to make sure all preparations were made. This included making sure the roads were passable, so no bumps in the road or detours that would make the king’s trip uncomfortable or delay this trip. It was also the forerunner’s job to let the people know that the king was coming, and this included shouting it in the village squares and posting notice.

John the Baptist may not have posted any notices or made sure roadways were smooth, but he certainly let the people know The KING was coming. He was, indeed, preparing the way for the Messiah. He did this by speaking directly to the common people – folks that the religious leaders had long ignored. So John preached to the people, calling on them to repent of their sins because the Lord – the KING, the Messiah – was about to appear to deliver His people.

And in opposing the rigid legalism of the Jewish religion that had so bound the people and by appealing to Gentiles who had “given up on religion and who viewed most religious beliefs as superstition and foolish tales,”[1] John brought a spiritual revival. He spoke unvarnished truth to these people, confronting them about their sin and calling for them to repent. That word means “a change of mind that results in a change of action.” It’s not just saying “I’m sorry” and then going your merry way in the same old ways and habits.

John also told them repentance resulted in a “remission of sins” – which means that their sins would be forgiven or pardoned – as though they had never happened. And when John preached, the people listened, and they repented, and they were baptized to show that they had repented and had been forgiven.

Now, baptism was not a foreign thing. Jews did it to a Gentile when he converted to Judaism, and it was a symbol of a changed life – this person was now going to be circumcised, and he would live, dress, eat and worship as a Jew. And pagans in ancient time had practiced baptism, apparently based on a belief in the purifying properties of water.

But it is important to note that, though baptism wasn’t new, it WAS new the way John did it. As Alan Carr put it, “John did not baptize people to make them right with God. The phrase “preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins” does not mean that people were being baptized to have their sins forgiven. They were being baptized because their sins had been forgiven. In other words, this baptism was about a change of life!” CHANGE SLIDE

[1] Alan Carr, in “The Beginning of the Gospel” from his “Jesus, The Suffering Servant” series

CONNECTING MARK AND ISAIAH TO 2020

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There are several says to connect our Old Testament and New Testament lessons, and one has to do, in fact, with baptism. That’s STILL a part of baptism in the Christian faith. Baptism is a picture of a person dying to the old life of sin and rising again to a new life of holiness.

In 2 Corinthians 5:16-19, Paul says: So then, if anyone is in Christ, that person is part of the new creation. The old things have gone away, and look, new things have arrived! All of these new things are from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and who gave us the ministry of reconciliation. In other words, God was reconciling the world to himself through Christ, by not counting people’s sins against them. He has trusted us with this message of reconciliation.”

So we, too, are called to repentance, and when do truly repent, we become reconciled to God – forgiven, new creatures, living a new kind of life with new desires. And people can SEE that we are new creatures – we’re not like other people. Not in a high and mighty –"I’m a better Christian than you” kind of way but a humble, “Let me show you the love that God has shown me.”

And THEN, Paul says, we have been trusted with that message of reconciliation. We’re supposed to TELL people they can be reconciled with God, forgiven by God, and become new creatures in Christ Jesus.

But, back to John the Baptist, he was humble. He knew his job was to point the way to Jesus, not to call attention to himself. In that day, it was slaves that got down on the floor and tied up or loosened the strap of the master’s sandals. John says he’s not worthy to do even the job of a slave. “But the one who is coming, HE’S something, HE’s somebody – because I baptize with water, and this One coming will baptize with the Holy Spirit. THIS ONE IS FROM GOD! CHANGE SLIDE

Our Hearts Respond to God’s Word

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That’s what Isaiah was saying seven or eight centuries before Christ, that’s what John the Baptist was saying 2,000 years ago, and that’s what we’re supposed to be saying today with our lives – telling people about Jesus, showing people about Jesus, BEING Jesus to each one we meet. That’s one way we respond is to what God is saying to us today.

Another response is observing the Lord’s Supper, which we on the first Sunday of every month. So let us join together in the traditional Lord’s Supper ritual. CHANGE SLIDE AND STOP RECORDING

COME TO THE TABLE

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INVITATION TO THE TABLECHANGE SLIDE

-- PASTOR: Christ our Lord invites to his table all who love him, who earnestly repent of their sin and seek to live in peace with one another.CHANGE SLIDE

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Therefore, let us confess our sin before God and one another,first silently and then as the church, the Body of Christ.*(Pause/Silence)CHANGE SLIDE

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CONFESSION AND PARDONCHANGE SLIDE

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PEOPLE: Merciful God, we confess that we have not loved you with our whole heart .We have failed to be an obedient church. We have not done your will, we have broken your law,we have rebelled against your love...CHANGE SLIDE

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we have not loved our neighbors,and we have not heard the cry of the needy. Forgive us, we pray,free us for joyful obedience,through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.CHANGE SLIDE

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PASTOR: Hear the good news:Christ died for us while we were yet sinners;that proves God’s love toward us. In the name of Jesus Christ,you are forgiven! CHANGE SLIDE

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PEOPLE (to the pastor): In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven.

ALL: Glory to God. Amen.CHANGE SLIDE

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THE GREAT THANKSGIVINGCHANGE SLIDE

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PASTOR: The Lord be with you.

PEOPLE: And also with you.CHANGE SLIDE

-- PASTOR: Lift up your hearts.

PEOPLE: We lift them up to the Lord.CHANGE SLIDE

-- PASTOR: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

PEOPLE: It is right to give our thanks and praise.CHANGE SLIDE

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PASTOR: It is right and a good and joyful thing, always and everywhere to give thanks to you,Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth.*

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And so, with your people on earth and all the company of heaven, we praise your name and join their unending hymn:CHANGE SLIDE

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PEOPLE: Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.CHANGE SLIDE

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PASTOR: Holy are you, and blessed is your Son Jesus Christ.*By the baptism of his suffering,death and resurrection,you gave birth to your church,delivered us from slavery to sin and death,and made with us a new covenant, by water and the Spirit.*CHANGE SLIDE

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On the night in which he gave himself up for us, he took bread, gave thanks to you, broke the bread,gave it to his disciples, and said, “Take eat; this is my body which is given for you.Do this in remembrance of me.”CHANGE SLIDE

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When the supper was over,he took the cup, gave thanks to you, gave it to his disciples, and said, “This is my blood of the new covenant, poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sin. Do this, as often as you drink it,in remembrance of me.”CHANGE SLIDE

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And so, in remembrance of these your mighty acts in Jesus Christ,we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving as a holy and living sacrifice,in union with Christ’s offering for us, as we proclaim the mystery of faith.CHANGE SLIDE

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PEOPLE: Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.CHANGE SLIDE

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PASTOR: Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here out of love for you and on these gifts of bread and the fruit of the vine. Make them be for the world the body of Christ redeemed by his blood.*CHANGE SLIDE

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By your Spirit, make us one with Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world, until Christ comes in final victory, and we feast at his heavenly banquet. CHANGE SLIDE

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Through your Son Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit in your Holy Church, all glory and honor is yours,almighty Father, now and forever. Amen.And now, with the confidence of children of God, let us pray:CHANGE SLIDE

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THE LORD’S PRAYER CHANGE SLIDE

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ALL: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed by thy name; --thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. CHANGE SLIDE

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Forgive us of our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen. CHANGE SLIDE

PRAYER AFTER HOLY COMMUNION

Eternal God, we give you thanks for this holy mystery in which you have given yourself to us. Grant that we may go into the world in the strength of your Spirit, to give ourselves for others, in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. CHANGE SLIDE

INVITATION HYMN — “Let There Be Peace on Earth” CHANGE TO CONTENT SLIDE

Our invitation hymn goes back to the Advent Candle we lit – the PEACE candle. But it also reflects the one we await in Advent, the Prince of Peace, come to earth to bring peace to the human heart and ultimately, peace to the earth. As we sing this song together, we are reminded that – as Christians – we share Christ’s love and peace, but that we can only do so when we have experienced that love and peace ourselves. Truly, peace on earth does begin in us. CHANGE SLIDE

Let there be peace on earth

And let it begin with me

Let there be peace on earth

The peace that was meant to be

With God as our Father

Brothers all are we

Let me walk with my brother

In perfect harmony CHANGE SLIDE

Let peace begin with me

Let this be the moment now

With ev'ry step I take

Let this be my solemn vow

To take each moment

And live each moment

In peace eternally

Let there be peace on earth

And let it begin with me.CHANGE SLIDE

BENEDICTION CHANGE SLIDE

FINAL SLIDE LEAVE SLIDE UP

POSTLUDE