Worship Resources for
the Center for Faith and Giving
Advent I
Psalm 25:1-10
1 Thessalonians 3:9-13
Luke 21:25-36
This is the first Sunday of the 4 week season of Advent.
If you are lighting an Advent wreath, light the first purple candle today.
Call to Worship
One: Happy New Year!
I’m not kidding. Today begins a new Christian year!
Many: Wow! Time to wake up to what’s coming in this new year.
One: Yes! It’s Jesus who commands his followers: “Wake up!”
Many: We’re here. We’re awake. What do we do?
One: Pay attention! Be alert!
Many: We’re ready to worship God, whose Realm is on the way.
Opening Prayer
Mighty God, we begin this season of Advent with Jesus’ counsel, that we
“Pray for strength to escape the dangers.
Pray for God to stand us up before the Son of Man.”
Strengthen us to see beyond the glitter and glitz of stores and internet
to the wonder of Jesus, born to set us free. AMEN
Moment for Stewardship
For many of us, December is a month of spending.
Some of us spend more on food and drinks as we host parties or welcome our extended family and friends for a meal. Some of us spend money for gifts or for the materials needed to create gifts. Some of us, knowing we’ll soon come to the end of the tax year, are reminded to share additional gifts with charities, schools, and our church.
Today is a day to begin that mindful giving to support the ministries of this congregation. Your gifts make possible _______________________ (name one or two specifics in your congregation).
As we round out our Thanksgiving weekend, let’s begin this month by generously offering our tithes and our gifts.
Prayer of Thanksgiving
Gracious God, in this season of anticipation, we offer our gifts to put our money where our heart is. We pray these gifts help us prepare our lives for the coming fullness of your Realm.
We’re grateful these offerings signal our readiness to wake up!
May they allow us to join in building up a wide-awake community, helping move our congregation, our community and our world a bit closer to justice and joy. Amen.
Invitation to Communion
In some circles one person might encourage another: “take a shot” to fortify them in the face of difficult news.
Here, we invite each person to participate in communion to fortify us in the
face of the “little apocalypse” of Luke 21. Jesus spoke of distress among nations and people fainting from fear in anticipation of the coming day of redemption. However, or in what arena, we imagine God’s possible action, these emblems of bread and cup are signs of “God-with-us”, symbols of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. So come!
Launch into this new year with this feast, shared in remembrance of Jesus.