Freelton Strabane United Church
To live our discipleship with integrity and grace.
Horseshoe Falls Regional Council
Advent 2
December 10 2023
Minister: Rev. Will Wheeler, B.A. M. Div. 905-659-3380 E-mail: wwwheeler@sympatico.ca
Music Director Joan Simpson
Announcements
Gathering
God rest ye merry gentle folk
Let nothing you dismay
For Jesus Christ our savior will come to us this day
To bring us joy rejoicing and all shall sing again.
O tidings of comfort and joy comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy
Call to Worship
One: In the long night of the winter sky, a star.
All: in the grunts and snorts and the stampings of a stable, a baby’s cry.
One: in the wilderness beside the Jordan, a witness to the light
All: see and hear and sense the signs,
One: the signs of your call to be bearers of God’s justice and peace.
All: We hear your call, O god, and in love we answer.
Advent Candle lighting
One: Image two friends sitting on a park bench and one says “You know when you whisper I can’t really hear you”
All :That means that you have to truly listen.
One: Because what you are saying is important.
All: Yes, Because the joy of knowing that Emmanuel is coming begins as a small whisper a small hum in our hearts. What is whispered in the dark is spoken in the growing light of God’s coming , in that promise of peace which gives us hope and to live in hope is to know the joy of God. Like the lights on a Christmas tree brightens the room like a Christmas Carol makes your heart sing. The joy of God brightens our days and full our world with song.
One: You are whispering a smile and beaming
All: And the joy we know will grow from a smile to full out joyful laugh. The hum in our hearts will grow to a full song.
One: So we will light a candle of Joy a celebration to the promise of God with as the light of Christmas promise pushes back the dark even further.
A candle is lit.
Prayer
All: Joy giving God, let your spirit burn in our hearts, let your light of Joy dance in our world and as we wait through the advent season for the baby Jesus’ birth let your Joy enlighten our lives and lighten our lives so that we may journey to where the Christ would be born Today
Hymn 7
Joy is a song that welcomes the dawn,
telling the world that the Saviour is born.
When God is a child there's joy in our song.
The last shall be first and the weak shall be strong,
and none shall be afraid.
Prayer Confession
We have tried to contain, restrain stifle and suppress, O god yet in spite of ourselves we shall know joy. We are gifted to giggle with glee and wiggle with delight. Together we rejoice as we prepare to greet abundant life. But we are anxious and ashamed for too often we are shaped by our fears not by faith. Our lives are filled with discontent, worry, and self-protective pursuits. Hear our prayers of confession and inspire our caring and doing so we may bear fruit as your forgiven and forgiving children.
Lord have Mercy
Christ have Mercy
Lord have Mercy
One Our God has shown us mercy and granted us salvation. His truth shall reign in our hearts and his love shall pour out upon us.
Tune pg 37
Glory to God
Glory to God
Glory in the highest
Glory to God,
glory to God,
Hallelujah Hallelujah
One: Hear the word of God
All our ears are open
One: A reading from 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
One This is the word of the Lord
All Thanks be to God
One: Hear the word of God
Gospel John 1:6-8,19-28
One: This is the Gospel of our Lord
All Thanks be to God
Prayer
Lord as we ponder your words open our hearts that we may understand and know you. Amen
Sermon
A seasonal favorite although it really has nothing to do with the season is The Sound of Music. All the music is so fun who doesn’t like the idea of
Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens to lift ones spirits.
I do like watching a good rainstorm, but whiskers on kittens? More like soft velvet of a puppies ear.
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens Well polishing those kettles is a bit of a pain, but nothing beats warm mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings I really love getting packages from ebay, Most come with a big smile on the side of the box now a days.
These are a few of my favorite things
Cream-colored ponies and crisp apple strudels Doorbells and sleigh bells, and schnitzel with noodles skip the ponies, and doorbells, but keep the strudels and schnitzel with noodles. Yum.
You all mostly know what my favorite things are that bring me joy.
I was with my trainer and was describing to her my experience in having home made eggnog for the first time last week. She made the observation, that I seem to have a lot of passion when it comes to food. Maybe too much passion.
I am not sure I remember what she meant. It’s not like I remember that venison pot pie with the golden brown crusted potatoes and to die for gravy with a just wonderful warm custard rhubarb crisp I had when I went on my first trip to Scotland in the late 90s, or that risotto we had in Italy is Pistoia, Oh my think garlicky forks of delight.
Truly I am not sure I know what she means.
Oh Crème Brulé in that fabulous little café in Jerusalem. They were four beautifully stacked square of rich creamy custard with separated by the beautiful caramelized sugar crust. Each bight worthy of a prayer and I have no idea how they did it. The café was actually right across the road from the Church of Visitation. The traditional place where Elizabeth lived and Mary came to visit which brings us to today’s gospel
Today’s Gospel is known as the Magnificat. Which in no way is a reference to a magnificent cat
Mary goes to visit her Cousin Elizabeth which was not just around the corner but really a bit of distance. Mary comes in yells a hello and When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child (who is John who will be known as the Baptist. Jesus Second cousin. leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.” And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.” Tea? Mary said, yes. And remained with Elizabeth about three months and then returned to her home.
It is a gospel of Joy, both for Elizabeth but for Mary as well. Both own that in there way they have been blessed by God and in that they know Joy.
Here on the cusp of the pending mid bleak winter when snow shall lie on snow and all is frosted in our darkest moments we can still see the joy of God’s presence in our lives for it is that strength of God that leads us forward moving us towards the light of God.
Mary would know the joy of motherhood, Joy of seeing what her son would do, and even in her great pain of the crucifixion she held to her believe that Joy would come again as it did in an empty tomb.
If the Lord is for us then who can be against us. The promise of God cannot but help to bring Joy
Joy of laughter
Joy of little children of mid size children or big children.
Joy of fresh baked cookies Still warm and a tall glass of milk. Joy of time with friends
Joy of success Joy when something goes really well
Name your joy And not quietly.
The joy of knowing dog bite of life, the bee sting of disappointment, cannot prevent the love of God from guiding you through the at times confusing paths of life. The life changes you have been faced with.
The joy of knowing the promise of God in the Christ child will happen again and nothing on the earth change that joy of light of the promise of God’s love made real amongst us. Christmas is coming the joy of Christmas is coming.
You know what my prayer is for you. Stay here in the advent journey, stop breath be here in the moment and just be in the joy of God.
May we take from this place today the Joy of Christmas coming. The gift of Emmanuel God with us. The joy of knowing we are not alone. Thanks be to God
Prayers of the people
Slow me Down Slow me Down
Still my restless mind Still my restless mind
Quell my fears Quell my Fears
Quench my Thirsty soul Quench my thirsty Soul
Fill me with your love Fill me with your love
God of Truth God of Truth
God of love God of love
Holy God, you are the God that can take the darkness of life and with your loving embrace allow the light to break through. It is far to easy for us to lose the light in all of the pain and suffering in the world. It is far too easy to lose the light when angry raised voices become so loud with causes that they fail to see the incremental movement towards justice and wholeness. Your People need hope to be able to find peace within in themselves so that may now joy. To know the simplest of joys that can be found in life.
We hold that life is not always joyful. That hope can be lost and that peace of the body and soul can be lost. We pray for all those who know the darkness of the world. We pray for those what walk the valley of the shadow of death. We pray for those that long for the joy of wellness lost in disease. We pray for those who we do not know and those whom we are called to walk with. We name those in our lives.
Lord may your healing hope be with them.
We thank you God for the joys you bring into our lives. We thank you for those small things that will make us smile. May we in our everyday seek out ways to share a little joy to perhaps bring a smile to someone else. Each moment of joy is the light of your love shared. Lord hear our prayers spoken in the silence of our hearts knowing that in your time and in your way they shall be answered. We say together the great prayer that binds us as one. Our Father….
Offering
We give thee but thy own. The work of the Church continues and there are three ways you can continue to support that work. Consider using PAR, use the donate button on our Web Site or drop your gift at the Manse. Let us make our offering and give thanks.
We praise you with our offerings, gracious God, and honour you with our gifts. Take control of our lives in ways that will draw us nearer to you, yet increase our sense of responsibility toward your other children. Amen.
Commissioning and Blessing
One: With a gentle touch
All: with an angry word
One with a clear conscience
All with a burning love
One Christ is coming
All Christ is coming to make all things new.
One With us
All without us
One among us
All before us
One in this place
All in every place
One for this time
All for all time
One Christ is coming
All Christ is coming to make all things new.
Blessing
Know the Blessing of God whose love is coming into the world
Know the Blessings of our Lord Jesus Christ whose story we are called to tell
Know the Blessings of the Holy Spirit who will inspire our each new day
The Hope of God be with you.
Yesterdaywe honour our heritage.
Todaywe know that we are not alone,that we live in God's world.
Tomorrowwith God,we will discoverthe undiscovered country.
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