17th December 2023

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There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning
that light, so that through him all might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness
to the light.

StF 166 Christmas is coming 

Advent Liturgy:
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you I am the Lord your God, who
saves you.
​​The third candle is lit
Jesus, light of the world, prepare us  Come Lord Jesus, come.

Praise – Advent
Loving and gracious God,
Creator and Sustainer of life, Mother and Father of all that is,
Christmas is coming, and we are waiting. Waiting for:
 Your Son, the saviour of the world.
 Your Holy Spirit who brings her life to the whole world,
brings your life to us.
Help us to use this time to prepare, to prepare to meet you.
Meet you on Christmas Day.
Meet you today, and every day.
Meet you in each other.
We praise you for all the wonderful things you have done for us
We praise you for all the wonderful things you are still doing for us.
We praise you for all the wonderful things you will do for us.
You created each one of us, and a universe for us to live in.
What a wonderful creation, full of love.
We praise you for all you have made.
You show your love for us every day and give us so much.
We praise you especially for the gift of your Son.
 For his life, his death, his resurrection and exaltation.
We wait and look.
 To see the baby Jesus.
 To see you at work in the world.
 To see your kingdom come.
We praise you for all you are.
Amen.​

Lords Prayer - Modern
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil
For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours
now and forever.
Amen.

StF 330 Joy to the world.

​Advent. Advent Hope.
To trust in, and act on, the promises of this week’s Scriptures is a radical act of hope and defiant
faithfulness in the face of devastating reality and superficial, saccharine seasonal wishes.
 Good news for the oppressed;
 Comfort for those who mourn;
 The repair of ruined cities;
 That the earth will again bring forth its shoots and that what has been sown will spring up;
 That peace is possible.
These are a radical act of hope and defiant faithfulness despite what the news overwhelms us with
every day.

Our readings this week remind us that preparing for Christmas is not simply preparing for our private
reflections on Jesus come to earth for me,
 Not our personal memories of Christmases past when life was easier or sweeter - although I too
remember with nostalgia when my child was small and so easily excited.
 Advent, our preparing for the coming of God, is holding a sacred space for hope and change even
in the broken and jaundiced parts of our personal and shared life;
 Advent is being awake to all that is and giving ourselves over to the shaking apart of the known
world so what is promised might come; and
 Advent is about courage, hope and desire for peace and restoration even when we are wearied
and worried.

We have 2 readings: From John’s gospel and the prophet Isaiah both followed by a short talk. We start
with John.

​John 1:6-8, 19-28

John 1:6-8
6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning
that light, so that through him all might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness
to the light.
John 1:19-28
19 Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask
him who he was. 20 He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, ‘I am not the Messiah.’
21 They asked him, ‘Then who are you? Are you Elijah?’

He said, ‘I am not.’
‘Are you the Prophet?’
He answered, ‘No.’
22 Finally they said, ‘Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say
about yourself?’
23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, ‘I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, “Make
straight the way for the Lord.”’
24 Now the Pharisees who had been sent 25 questioned him, ‘Why then do you baptise if you are not the
Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?’
26 ‘I baptise with water,’ John replied, ‘but among you stands one you do not know. 27 He is the one
who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.’
28 This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptising.

Talk 1 Who are you?
Who are you?
 How would you answer that question?
 Mother, father? Child? Brother, sister? OR by your job? Or ex job? By your allegiance to a
football team? Maybe by your faith?

23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, ‘I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, “Make
straight the way for the Lord.”’
 So, how did John “Make straight the way for the Lord.”?
 How do we “Make straight the way for the Lord.”?
 John pointed away from himself and towards Jesus, the coming Messiah. With his words and his
actions.
 With his humility.

6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning
that light, so that through him all might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness
to the light.
 Christmas is a wonderful time for children, for families.
 For getting together, having fun. For joy, rejuvenation and relaxation.
 At least is is for some, maybe most.
 But all that misses the deeper point. The coming of Jesus. Not just as a baby in a manger, but his
whole life. And his death, resurrection and ascension.

That is what we must witness to.
 Not just “Mary and Joseph in stable bear watching over the child beloved and fair, sleeping in
heavenly rest.”

 But also verse 2 “Christ the Redeemer is here”.
 Our Christmas carols are packed with meaning:
“Hark! The herald angels sing glory to the new-born King, peace on earth and mercy mild, God
and sinners reconciled.”
 Listen as you sing this Christmas, listen for the message we are called to share.
Point to Jesus. Get ready for his coming. And the challenge that brings.

Confession – Christmas & Epiphany
(Based on Methodist Worship Book p 129).
In the silence and stillness
let us open our hearts and lives to God,
and welcome Jesus coming as Light and Word.
Ready for him coming into our lives and the life of the world.
​
​Loving God,
you have searched us and know us.
You know our blindness and our frailties,
our fears and our selfishness.
In sorrow we confess
that we have failed to follow fully your command to love.
Forgive us for the sake of your Son, Jesus the Christ,
who lived like us that we might become like him.

The true light that gives light to everyone
has come into the world, and into our lives.
To all who receive him,
he gives the gift of knowing we are children of God.
This is God;s gracious word:
& We are forgiven, loved and free.
Thanks be to God.
Amen.
​
StF 182 On Jordan’s bank the Baptist’s cry.

​Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11

The year of the LORD’s favour
61 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favour
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion –
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the LORD
for the display of his splendour.

8 ‘For I, the LORD, love justice;
I hate robbery and wrongdoing.
In my faithfulness I will reward my people
and make an everlasting covenant with them.
9 Their descendants will be known among the nations
and their offspring among the peoples.
All who see them will acknowledge
that they are a people the LORD has blessed.’
10 I delight greatly in the LORD;
my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For as the soil makes the young plant come up
and a garden causes seeds to grow,
so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness
and praise spring up before all nations.

​Talk 2 Radical Hope
Note: Much of this talk is based on Companions on the Way
Why are you here? Here today, here in this life? What is your purpose in this broken world?

Advent is a time of Radical Hope
Radical hope is to both deeply acknowledge the reality of our present world – the hunger and the harm,
the devastation and the despair – and to hold in our hearts and imaginations the world that the prophet
Isaiah speaks of.
 It is not one or the other but both truths.
 And maybe even more importantly it is to see the shoots of the promised world in this one even
now.
When we have lamented the way it is.
 When we have raised our clenched fists heavenward and sighed or screamed “Why” then our
radically defiant hope stirs us into action.
 To make our way to the ruins of our time and fall to our knees to search the rubble for life, to
comfort those who mourn, and to do what can be done for the wounded.
 This is our call at every level – physically for some, financially for those of us who can, spiritually
for all who pray, and using our imagination for all who have the courage to do so.
 True hope and faith require that we not look away but hold the image of what is and the vision
of what is meant to be and with the prophet’s gaze see the emergence of the kingdom even
now.

Our readings this week also remind us that we are preparing not simply for survival, for getting by, but
we are making way for justice and joy.
 Not the artificial joy of decorated shop windows and homes (even though these can be
delightful) but for the mercy of God in every part of life and of the world.
 We are called to prepare for justice even as we see new atrocities being added to the horrifying
ledger of human activity
 as children and health workers are bombed;
 as people and creatures starve or drown in the face of our struggling planet; and
 as too many leaders avoid eye contact with the real challenges of our time.
 We are called to prepare for the coming of God’s justice for all even at this time when it seems
to recede from us for it is now that it is most desperately needed.
 We the faithful must hold the hope now when it is most needed and others are weary.
And most radical of all we are called to practice joy in the midst of all that is happening and not
happening.
 We are not to wait until a good time or a convenient time to know joy but, crazy with hope and
love, we are called to experience joy now in whatever measure we can and to assert the right of
all humanity and creatures to know joy.

​​ Joy is not simply the reward of a happy life or some would never get to experience it.
 Joy is a response of wonder, gratitude, pleasure and delight in the moment. It is a response of
faith to allow joy even in the presence of loss and fear and weariness.
 We can and must choose to practice joy so that the world remembers it is possible.
 Joy in the angle of sunlight at certain times of the day.
 Joy in being remembered and remembering.
 Joy in hearing of a neighbour’s good news.
 Joy in an overheard refrain.
 Joy in a shared meal.
 Joy that the image of the universal child in a manger still speaks of hope, peace, and love as
possible.

So let us be radical claimers of hope, of peace, and of joy so that we are ready for the season of love.
Even so, come Lord Jesus Christ, come awaken us to the joy that is now.

I Thessalonians 5:16-24
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in
Christ Jesus.
19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not treat prophecies with contempt 21 but test them all; hold on to what
is good, 22 reject every kind of evil.
23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and
body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 The one who calls you is faithful, and he
will do it.

StF 404 God’s spirit is in my heart.

​Prayers for people and situations.
Year B 3rd in Advent David Adam, Radiance of his glory.
Holy Lord, you come to us, you inspire us, you enable us;
grant that we may proclaim your loving presence
and show your saving power.
Let your church be seen to be working for justice and
righteousness, for liberty and peace;
Lord, that we may live at peace and oppress no one.
Make us instruments of peace within our communities and within our homes.
Lord of freedom,
hear us.
We remember before you all who are seeking freedom:
we pray for nations burdened with great debt,
for families who have lost their homes, peoples denied justice.

We pray for all who are suffering from violence or tyranny.
We pay for the work of Amnesty International, we remember
all who care for prisoners
We pray for any who are hostages at this time.
Lord of freedom,
hear us.
Lord teach us to appreciate what we have and to be aware of
all that is done for us.
Let us not take each other for granted.
Let us hold fast to all that is good and abstain from every form of evil.
May our homes be homes of holiness and hospitality, of grace and goodness.
Lord of freedom,
hear us.
We remember in your holy presence, God of liberty,
all whose lives have been diminished by poverty or neglect,
all whose confidence has been lost through harsh treatment or scorn.
We pray for those who have been betrayed,
especially those betrayed by loved ones.
We remember all who have suffered through robbery or slander
We pray for all who have lost their dignity through illness.
We remember friends and loved ones in their troubles, especially ……
We pray that all who are bereaved at this time may be strengthened.
Lord of freedom,
hear us.
Lord, you have done great things for us already, and yet, greater things are to come.
We ask you to guide and strengthen all who make major decisions that affect others. Give them wisdom
to make the right choices fo rus and future generations on such issues as:
 Climate change;
 Economic fairness/fair trade; poverty – lack of food, water, shelter;
 Struggle with cost of living;
 War/civil war/unrest;
 Refugees;
 Disadvantaged – ethnicity, gender, sexuality/LGBTQ+, class/upbringing.
We pray for all who have departed from us, especially …...
May they be numbered with your saints and know the glorious
liberty of the children of God.
Lord of freedom,
hear us.

Come, Holy Spirit of God, come upon us,
that you may send us out in your power,

Fill us with your grace and goodness,
that we may be able to bring the good news to the oppressed,
to comfort the broken-hearted,
and to bring liberty and freedom to your people;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
Amen.

Out of the Father;s glorious riches may he strengthen us with power through his Spirit in our inner
being, so that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith.
And I pray that, being rooted and established in love, we may have power to grasp how wide and long
and high and deep is the love of Christ. And to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that we may
be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power
that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for
ever and ever!
Amen.

Stf 169 Come, thou long expected Jesus.

Prayer of Offering, Dedication & Thanks
Loving God, Father & Mother of all that is.
Thank you for the many good gifts you grant us, esp. your love shown in Jesus.
Thank you for the gift of your Holy Spirit to guide and strengthen us day by day.
Thank you that we are called to be your children - to grow more like you every day.
We bring our offerings to you and ask that you bless them.
We bring our gifts and talents to you and ask that you bless them.
We bring our lives to you and ask that you bless them.
Thank you for your grace today and every day.
Amen.

Blessing
The God of peace sanctify you entirely;
may your body, soul and spirit be kept sound and blameless.
Rejoice in the Lord: pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances.
Do not quench the Spirit. Hold fast to what is good, abstain from all evil.
And the blessing of the Holy One be with you today and forever. 

Christmas message from President and Vice President of the Methodist Church