Bulletin – Sunday, December 7, 2025 – Second Sunday of Advent
Sunday, December 7, 2025
Second Sunday of Advent
We Gather as People of Faith
Welcome
Lighting the Advent Candle
One: Today is the second Sunday in Advent. Today we embark on a path dreamed of by the prophets.
All: They declared that God called people to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with their God.
One: One prophet spoke of a young woman who would give birth to a son and name him ‘Emmanuel—God with us.’
All: This child would grow to preach good news to the poor and bind up the broken-hearted.
One: This child will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Prince of Peace!
All: Today we light the candles of hope and peace.
The First and Second Candles are lit
Sung Response – “We Light This Candle” (Then Let Us Sing #55)
We light this candle for peace.
Await the new life within.
May our hearts now live each day,
So peace can find a way,
So peace can find a way.
Announcements
Call to Worship
One: This is an Advent time.
All: This is a time of waiting…
One: This is a time of waiting for a moment to arrive.
All: This is a time of waiting for a birth to be announced.
One: We wait with hope for the birth of Jesus.
All: We wait with hope for the birth of God’s embodied love in our world.
Please join in the singing of the hymn – “Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus (Voices United #2)
Come, thou long-expected Jesus, born to set thy people free:
From our fears and sings release us, let us find our rest in thee.
Born thy people to deliver, born a child and yet a king;
Born to reign in us for ever, now thy gracious kingdom bring.
By thine own eternal Spirit rule in all our hearts alone;
By thine all-sufficient merit raise us to they glorious throne.
Prayer of Approach and Confession
God, we gather to worship in the light of the candle of peace, confessing that this world has not found peace; confessing that we have not learned to be peace-makers. God, let this Advent season renew our hope and instill peace in our hearts so that we might be agents of peace in our communities and in the world. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.
Words of Assurance
Sung Response – “Come, Come, Emmanuel” (Move Voices #11)
Come, come Emmanuel, Come, Emmanuel.
Come, come Emmanuel. Come, Emmanuel.
Time for All Ages
We Hear God’s Word
Scripture Reading: Isaiah 11:1-10
A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. The spirit of the LORD shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. His delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see or decide by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge for the poor and decide with equity for the oppressed of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist and faithfulness the belt around his loins. The wolf shall live with the lamb; the leopard shall lie down with the kid; the calf and the lion will feed together, and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den. They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious.
Gospel Reading: Matthew 3:1-12
In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.'” Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region around the Jordan were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the River Jordan, confessing their sins. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Therefore, bear fruit worthy of repentance, and do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. “I baptize you with water for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is more powerful than I, and I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
May God speak to us through these readings of scripture.
Thanks be to God!
Please join in the singing of the hymn – “We Raise a Song of Advent Praise”
We raise a song of Advent praise, expectant hope proclaim,
For God who has in Christ once come, comes to us yet again.
The wilderness shall burst in flower, the streams shall overflow,
When God shall bless the earth with love, when God shall bring us home.
The two-fold call, “Rejoice, repent,” the message for this day,
That we may ready heart and house for God who comes to stay.
For poor and helpless such as we, the saviour Christ is born;
With Mary we both wait and pray and sing, in faith and hope.
What joy in one small baby’s cry, the promise now fulfilled,
When God shall in an infant’s form be in the earth revealed.
Sing alleluia, O my soul, sing praise to God alone,
For in the advent of the Lord, creation is made whole.
Sermon:
Anthem “The Lion and Bear” (The World God Imagines)
The lion and bear, life the cattle will graze,
This is the world God imagines.
When wolf lies with lamb we will all be amazed,
This is the world God imagines.
No hurt or destruction in this holy place
Where justice and peace are flowing free.
The earth will be full of the knowledge of God:
This is the world God imagines.
A garden creation, we’ll tend it with care,
Work for the world God imagines.
Its harvest of plenty with all we will share,
Work for the world God imagines.
No hurt or destruction in this holy place
Where justice and peace are flowing free.
The earth will be full of the knowledge of God:
This is the world God imagines.
The Spirit of God lives among us today
To bring the world God imagines.
While Jesus walks with us to guide all our ways,
To bring the world God imagines.
No hurt or destruction in this holy place
Where justice and peace are flowing free.
The earth will be full of the knowledge of God:
This is the world God imagines.
This is the world God imagines.
This is the world God imagines.
We Respond to God’s Word
Invitation to Share
Offering Sung Response – “In This Advent Time of Waiting”
In this Advent time of waiting may we serve the Prince of Peace.
Share our gifts with those around us, joy and hope in all increase.
Dream the vision, tell the story, healing bring to those in need.
Share the promises once more, Christ is near, who came before.
Offering Prayer
Prayers of the People
Passing of the Peace
The Prayer that Jesus Taught
Our Father and Mother, who art in heaven hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that 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 and ever. Amen.
We Go Into God’s World
Please join in the singing of the hymn – “O Little Town of Bethlehem (Voices United #64)
O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by;
Yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting light;
The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.
For Christ is born of Mary; and gathered all above,
While mortals sleep, the angels keep their watch of wondering love.
O morning stars, together proclaim the holy birth,
And praises sing to God the King, and peace to all on earth.
How silently, how silently the wondrous gift is given!
So God imparts to human hearts the blessed gift of heaven.
No ear may hear his coming; but in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive him, still the dear Christ enters in.
O holy child of Bethlehem, descend to us, we pray;
Cast out our sin, and enter in; be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels the great glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide with us, our lord Emmanuel.
Commissioning
Let us go now to be dreamers of dreams. Let us go to be peace makers in the world.
Benediction
And let us go knowing we go in the amazing grace of God, in the transforming friendship of Jesus the Christ and in the healing power and presence of the Holy Spirit, now and always. Amen.
Sung Response – “A World of Hope”
May we be filled with peace in our hearts, in our lives.
May we be filled with a world of peace.
May we be filled with peace in our hearts, in our lives.
May we be filled with a world of peace.
Peace, now the promise begins.
Peace is the light within.
Peace in the mystery.
Peace holds all that can be.
May we be filled with peace in our hearts, in our lives.
May we be filled with a world of peace.
May we be filled with peace in our hearts, in our lives.
May we be filled with a world of peace.
