2ND SUNDAY OF ADVENT BEFORE your prayers - collect 2 candles and be ready to light them during this time of prayer. If you have no candle just omit the candle lighting. INTRODUCTION: Advent is a season of expectation and preparation as the Church prepares to celebrate the coming of Christ and looks ahead to his return as judge at the end of time. During Advent we are reminded to be alert, watchful and expectant as we pray for our Lord’s second coming. Today on the Second Sunday of Advent, we remember the Prophets. Through them the birth of the Messiah was foretold. Light 1st Candle from last week and then the 2nd candle. PRAYER: Lord Jesus light of the world, the prophets foretold you would bring peace and save your people. Heavenly Father, you call us to repent of our sins: soften our proud and stubborn hearts. Lord Jesus, you declared the forgiveness of God: teach us to forgive one another. Holy Spirit, you search our hearts and show us the truth: direct us in your way of righteousness. Give peace in our hearts and show all the world God’s love. Lord make us one in the love of Christ today and forever. AMEN READING: A voice cries out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord.’ So let us listen, and turn to the Lord in penitence and faith. John 1.23 SEASONAL PRAYER: Almighty God, who in Jesus Christ has given us a kingdom that cannot be destroyed, forgive us our sins, open our eyes to God’s truth, strengthen us to do God’s will and give us the joy of his kingdom, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.Readings: Isaiah 11v1-10; Psalm 72v1-7&18-19; Romans 15v4-13; Matthew 3v1-12.Let us pray: May the words of my mouth and the thoughts and meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer.A Word: As we continue our Advent journey of watching, waiting and getting ready for the day when the Lord returns; we hear in Romans, the scriptures were written to give us hope. For through them we learn what God promised of old. For, as we hear In Isaiah, a descendent of Jesse is promised to the world. A descendent who will bring the spirit of the Lord into the world. A descendent who is to be sent by God to judge the world with righteousness, faithfulness and equity. A descendent with the spirit of wisdom, knowledge, counsel and might. A descendent who delights in and fears the Lord. A descendent who will bring forth peace between all of God’s creatures.Then in the psalm we hear a prayer asking God to send his everlasting prince into the world to us. A prince who will bring the Lord’s righteous and just judgements to the earth. A prince who will defend the poor, deliver the needy and bring peace to the earth.These are wonderful promises that, as we continue our Advent journey, we remember were fulfilled for us in Jesus. For as we hear in Matthew, John the Baptist was teaching the people that they needed to change and put their lives right because he had been sent to prepare the Lord’s way by getting them ready. For John knew that God’s promised descendent of Jesse had been fulfilled and the Lord’s promised one was amongst them. As we give thanks for what God has done for us through Jesus, we call to mind that in Romans we learn that all people are called to come and praise the Lord because of the hope and joy they are filled with because of Jesus. Let us Pray: O Lord and God, our Father in heaven, we thank you for sending your son into the world to save us. Turn us away from our sins and wickedness. Give us the grace we need to follow the example of Jesus and run the race you have set before us. Help us to be ready to meet Him when he returns to judge us. Amen Thanks for joining us today. Blow out the 2 candles and keep them for next week. Thank you for joining us today
ADVENT SUNDAY BEFORE your prayers - collect 1 candle and be ready to light it during this time of prayer. If you have no candle just omit the candle lighting. INTRODUCTION: Advent is a season of expectation and preparation as the Church prepares to celebrate the coming of Christ and looks ahead to his return as judge at the end of time. During Advent we are reminded to be alert, watchful and expectant as we pray for our Lord’s second coming. Today on Advent Sunday, the first Sunday of Advent, we remember the Patriarchs, amongst them Abraham our father in faith and David the ancestor in whose city Jesus was born. Light 1st Candle PRAYER: Lord Jesus, you came to gather the nations into the peace of your kingdom. You come in glory with salvation for your people. Heavenly Father, you have created a universe of light: forgive us when we return to darkness. Lord Jesus, you are the light of the world: cleanse and heal our blinded sight. Holy Spirit, you give us light in our hearts: renew us in faith and love. Lord Jesus, light of the world, be born in our hearts at Christmas, be King of our lives today. AMEN READING: When the Lord comes, he will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness, and will disclose the purposes of the heart. (1 Corinthians 4.5)ADVENT SUNDAY READINGS: Isaiah 2v1-5; Psalm 122; Romans 13v11-end; Matthew 24v36-44. A WORD: On Advent Sunday we begin the season of waiting and watching for Jesus’ return. In Matthew, Jesus tells us that only God knows the day and time when the end of creation as we know it will come. But when it does arrive, we know what kind of things will occur because God has told us about the last day since ancient times. For as we hear in Isaiah, it is the day when the Lord will bring all wars to an end and judge the peoples of the world. The day when the Lord’s house will be set up and all nations will flow towards the Lord’s house in an ever moving stream of people. So, now we know that the end of time is coming and what will happen when it comes, we need to think what this means for us. In Matthew Jesus tells us that we need to be ready because the day of the Lord will come at a time we least expect it; and in Romans, Paul tells us that we must wake up and get ready because the end time is near. So now we know that we need to be ready but what does this look like? For reply, the psalm tells us to go to the Lord’s house to give thanks to the Lord, to pray for God’s people and to pray for peace. Then, Isaiah tells us to be the people of God, a people who turn to God and learn God’s ways. A people who draw close to the Lord because the Lord teaches us how to walk his way. Finally, in Romans, we hear that we are to lay aside our sinful ways and put on the armour of light, which for Paul means living the way that Jesus has shown us, so we live honourable lives. So the meaning of the scriptures and its message for us today is that we are called to get ready for the last day when the Lord comes to judge the world. In being ready, we need to be a people who worship God and pray. A people who learn about and follow God’s ways. A people who give up our sinful ways in order to live honourably following the example of Jesus. A people ready and waiting for the Lord’s return. Let us Pray: O Lord God Almighty, you call us to keep watch and be faithful as we await the return of your Son. Give us grace to change and be transformed into a people of light. A people wide awake, ever active in your service and joyful in your praise. A people who will be invited to rise into immortal life. Amen SEASONAL PRAYER: Almighty God, who in Jesus Christ has given us a kingdom that cannot be destroyed, forgive us our sins, open our eyes to God’s truth, strengthen us to do God’s will and give us the joy of his kingdom, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Blow out the 1st Candle and keep it for next week. Thank you for joining us today
Christ the King Readings: Jeremiah 23v1-6; Psalm 46; Colossians 1v11-20; Luke 23v33-43. Let us pray: May the words of my mouth and the thoughts and meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer. A Word: Jeremiah warns that God is displeased with bad shepherds and will deal with them. This is a warning to every shepherd of God’s people who destroys, scatters or drives away God’s people. For God has a plan. A plan to gather his people back into his field with shepherds who will take good care of them. For with good care, God’s people will become a body where no-one is missing and everyone will become fruitful and multiply. A people who are no longer wounded by their shepherds and able to shed their worries. For God was promising to send a wise King into the world to save his people and then reign over them with justice and righteousness. In the psalm we hear that God is there for his people in all times of trouble. For God is steadfast and sure, helping his people as they face terrible things. For God is doing incredible things and will be praised, even as the people of the earth defy God. In Colossians, God’s people are told to be strong and patient in the face of adversity because they will share in the inheritance of the saints. For God has rescued his people from the evil powers at work in the world and transformed them. A people who are forgiven because they are saved by God’s son. A people saved by the son who is the image of God. The son who is God’s first born, the son who helped God at the time of creation. The son who brought peace and reconciliation between heaven and earth. The son who is the head of the Church, the head of God’s people, the one we know as Jesus the Christ. The same son who we hear about in Luke. The son who asked his father to forgive the people who crucified him, who forgave all those who were tortured, mocked, scoffed at and killed him. The son who promised not just to remember the criminal who knew he was a sinner, but promised that this repentant sinner would join him in Paradise. Let us Pray: Eternal Father, we give you thanks for Jesus your son. We pray that Jesus will rule here in this Church as Lord and King. We pray that this Church will work in unity and peace so that others will be gathered into this body as a people of worship and faith. We pray that this church will continue to be welcoming and do good works in this Parish of St Matthew with St Chad. We pray for faithful lay and ordained leaders who will fulfil your will in this community. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. Amen Thanks for joining us today.
2nd Sunday before Advent Readings: Malachi 4v1-2a; Psalm 98; 2 Thessalonians 3v6-13; Luke 21v5-19. Let us pray: May the words of my mouth and the thoughts and meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer. A Word: The readings remind us that a time is coming when Christ will return to the earth and all things as we know them will change. In the psalm, we are told that at the end of time God is coming to judge the world. This is the one true God who, from the beginning, has always been merciful and faithful to the whole of humankind. The one true God who has shown the people of the world how they can be saved and delivered from evil. The one true God who is wonderful, and marvellous, and worthy of our praise. In Malachi, we are warned that on this day, at the end of time, on the day of judgement: everyone who is arrogant and everyone who continues to do evil things will be done away with; but everyone who reveres God’s name, by keeping God’s instructions, will rise in exuberant joy. In Luke, Jesus tells us about this day of judgement, for it will come when he returns. This will be after a time of wars, natural disasters, famines and plagues. Then on Jesus’ return, we shall all be judged. In preparation for this, Jesus warns us not to be led astray from the good news nor to be afraid of judgement. For everyone who has been treated harshly by others because of their faith will not perish. However, whilst all those who persevered in times of persecution or were martyred for their faith, all these are safe; in Thessalonians the rest of us receive a warning. This is to be careful whose example of living we copy because not everyone who claims to be one of God’s people are living in line with God’s guidance. This is an important warning for all of us because it reminds us that we need to keep checking out how we are living our lives. Then if we find we are in error, we need to say sorry to God and do our best to comply with God’s guidance. In Paul’s time, he was concerned about people living the way they should by earning their living, by getting on quietly with their mission work and never being weary of doing what is right. These things continue to be important alongside anything else God is calling us to do in our time too. The Church’s teaching about the return of Jesus is an important part of the Christian faith, because we are forewarned that a day is coming when this earth will be drawn to its close and we will all be judged by our maker, the Lord God of All. I hope and pray that we will all keep on listening to the word of God and then put it into practice as we live out our lives. For we know that when the earth and all that we know comes to its end, we shall face God and be judged. However, we must also remember that because Jesus died to save us from our sins, that we must not be afraid of judgement. For as the scripture tells us, everyone who truly reveres God’s name by living in line with God’s calling, will be invited to rise up in exuberant joy. Let us Pray: Heavenly Father, gracious Lord, thank you for your Son Jesus, who came to earth to destroy the works of the devil, make us into the children of God and offer us eternal life. Purify our lives here on earth and fill us with hope. Make us into a people more like Jesus and bring us home to your glorious kingdom. Amen Thanks for joining us today.
