So here we are in Advent. Again.
In the darkness longing for light. Again.
The world can seem like a dark place can’t it?

Opening prayers
This Sunday of waiting, this Sunday of beginnings
I am waiting Lord,
Beginning again my journey with you.
I am seeking you Lord,
Wanting to know more of you.
Come here, today, by your Spirit
Pause.
The advent call is to wait, not rush.
To be prepared for what is coming rather than forget what all the celebrations are for.
Today, then, as you prepare for worship: pause.
Pause in the silence and let it settle on you.
Pause for longer than you think feels usual.
Pause with focus and ask God to reveal God-self in what you are to be a part of.
Pause.
Loving God, I pray that I will meet you this day and everyday.
Amen

Old Testament reading Isaiah 2:1-5  - Swords into ploughshares
Gospel reading Matthew 24:36-44 - Be ready

 REFLECTION
So here we are in Advent. Again.
In the darkness longing for light. Again.
The world can seem like a dark place can’t it?
Perhaps there have been dark times in our own lives or in the lives of our loved ones?
Both of the readings for today remind us that there is hope. Not the hope that buys a
lottery ticket and crosses its fingers but that deep Hebrew hope that holds onto and
lives in line with what it believes will one day be – even if surrounded by so many
signs to the contrary. That is the hope that comes at Advent, isn’t it?
The Christmas story reminds us that we are not alone when we experience darkness.
Jesus suffered. Jesus understands our suffering and the suffering of a world that is
often dark and still longing for light. That is what it means for God to be ‘with us’.
Immanuel.
Where do you see hope at work in today’s readings?
Our hope is bigger than a sort of vague thinking that ‘everything will work out’, it is
more a practice. Not the kind of hope that buys a lottery ticket and crosses its fingers
but that deep Hebrew-hope that holds onto and lives in line with what we believe will
one day be – even if surrounded by many signs to the contrary.
Are you feeling hopeful this Advent? Are you able to commit to hope again?​

Song Come all you vagabonds - Stuart Townend

Prayers of Intersession
On this Advent Sunday, we come to you Lord with many different emotions. We come with awareness that Christmas is approaching. For some that will be a time of great joy, for others a time of stress and busyness. We come to you knowing that the world is full of tinsel, glitter and mindless music played on a loop, but we yearn to see your face in the midst of all the preparations. We want to look to the future because you have gone ahead into it for us. We may not wish it could be Christmas every day, but we do recognise that the real truth of Christmas is with us every day: that God came into the world to redeem us. So, however we feel today, help us to find you, not in the razzmatazz, but in the quietness of the stable.

Be awake, be ready, be prepared:
Christ our light is coming near

Lord, we know how much preparation we need to do before Christmas. There will be cards to write, presents to buy, food to purchase, invitations to be made. We are so aware that all this ‘stuff’ sometimes gets in the way. We are also aware that, for so many this year, their normal Christmas will be affected by the cost of living. Help us all to see that the truth of Christmas is not related to things and wealth but the poverty of God in the manger.

Be awake, be ready, be prepared:
Christ our light is coming 

At this Advent time, in all that we do, help us to keep our eyes and ears open to see You among us. We pray that we will find you in the face of friend and stranger. That we will worship you in among all the fun and family time. We pray that we will be your compassionate hands and feet and lips to those around us who are hurting, afraid, homeless, lonely and overwhelmed. O come, O come Emmanuel and make us fit to serve you.

Be awake, be ready, be prepared:
Christ our light is coming near

Lord, we bring to you all those we know who are making preparations this week: those revising for exams, those preparing for operations or medical procedures, those arranging to travel to new or unfamiliar places, those preparing for a birth… or a death. Lord, please be present, be Emmanuel, to all these people… some known to us, but all known to you. Give diligence in the working, patience in the waiting, courage in the unfamiliar situations, your presence at the ends and the beginnings. Help everyone to be alert to your presence in every situation they face. And help us all to keep our eyes firmly fixed on you, whatever we are experiencing in the weeks to come.

Be awake, be ready, be prepared:
Christ our light is coming near

Lord, Emmanuel, we know we can only be fully prepared for life if we are fully focussed on you. Keep us from distractions, we pray. Help us to find creative ways to learn more about you and deepen our relationship with you even within the old, familiar stories. Help us also to be prepared to step away from the familiar into new things… following where you lead as you challenge us to become closer to you.

Be awake, be ready, be prepared:
Christ our light is coming near

Lord, prepare our hearts. Help our eyes to be open to see you. Teach us to be ready for everything you ask of us this week. Give us eyes and ears to see where your kingdom is coming around us and to join you as you work in our world.

Be awake, be ready, be prepared:
Christ our light is coming near

Lord, come to our hearts, our homes, our world
Amen

Blessing
God of Advent, in this waiting season,
Whatever comes to me this week,
May it draw me to your love, draw me to your light, draw me to yourself;
and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, be among
me, and remain with me always.
Amen

We are sorry that the YouTube live stream had technical issues so below is a video recording of the service.

This is the Lord’s Day, and on this day of remembrance, I come to you in worship, in
gratitude, and in prayers for peace.
As I remember wars past, grieve for wars current, and pray for future peace, show me
how to follow you as I pray, listen, sing, share and reflect today.
Come here, into this sacred space, this ordinary space, this space of love and healing
and peace, by your Spirit, Lord

​[Pause]

Opening Prayers
Compassionate and steadfast Lord of all,
As I come today to worship you,
To remember what has been,
and commemorate the lives lost in the pursuit of peace,
I bring all that I have and am into your presence.
I come to say sorry, knowing that you forgive and accept me, just as I am.
I come to praise you and give thanks.
I ask that the songs of praise may be like honey to your ears,
that my words of confession and forgiveness will be a balm to me, and to everyone
around me,
and, that I will grow closer to you and to those in my community, my family, my
neighbourhood,
as I remember, listen, learn, and pray.
Amen.
Opening prayers written by Sheila 1 Matthews and Tim Baker

The Lords Prayer
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

Readings: Isaiah 65:17-25 
Luke 21:5-19 

Response to the reading
Isaiah 65 is a promise. “See I will create a new heavens and a new earth!” - the broken world we live in is not the end; darkness will not have the final word. One way to read God’s promises throughout the Bible is that they are something we have no part in, something beyond us, that if we passively hang around we might get to see these promises completed. Or otherwise it might be something we are rewarded with when we die for a life faithfully lived - nothing to do with this life or this world.

Today, however, I’d like to suggest that we are called, as Christ-followers, to be active participants in bringing about God’s promise for a new heaven and a new earth in the here and now. We are called to get stuck in bringing them about.

Luke 21 is another kind of prophesy; Jesus speaking of the trials and tribulations to come for his followers. Some theologians think that these times that Jesus speak of are end times; the birthing pains for the new heavens and the new earth. Others believe that these times came not long after Jesus’s death, perhaps even in the disciples’ own life times - they did, after all, experience their fair share of persecution.  When do you think these times of war, betrayal, earthquakes, famines and pestilences refers to?

I look around at the world and I see signs of great hope. Hope that a new heaven and a new earth is being born into existence now. Walking through the countryside as the shadows grow long and the swallows swoop and dive, I think I see a glimpse of God’s creation that is full of joy and celebration. Meeting a friend’s brand-new baby recently, I
was caught with a lump in my throat at the reminder that God is constantly making new things.

But I also look around and see that the world is caught up in the crises that Jesus predicts in Luke 21. This winter we know that the cost of living crisis is exacerbating poverty and increasing inequality. 2022 has been a year in which we’ve been reminded that war in Europe is not a thing of the past, and that mindless violence at the hands of cruel dictators is still a reality of this world and for too many people’s lives.

What do we do with this? With daily struggle we see between joy and hope and rejoicing, and pain and suffering and strife?

In all of this, remember: God is God. God is creating a new heaven and a new earth. Even if sometimes it feels like the darkness is winning, God continues to whisper hope into being.

Some questions for reflection, perhaps you might like to think about one or more of these with a friend or neighbour this week:
- What signs of hope are you seeing?
- And what signs of end times?
- What do you think you might be called to do to bring God’s promises about?
Reflection written by Lucy Zwolinska

Blessing
On this day of remembrance, may you go out into the world and remember, be present to those around you, may you appreciate the big story that you are apart, And may the prince of peace rule in your heart.
Amen.
Additional prayers by Tim Baker

Monday 14th November
- You might like to use this prayer as a blessing or grace before one of your meals today.
- Gracious God, thank you for the many ways you have blessed me, and for the nutrition in the meals I am eating this day. Thank you for the strength that comes from my food to keep me going. Thank you for the tastes I can enjoy and the refreshment I can feel.
- Gracious God, today, as I eat, I remember that all I have is gift – and I look out
on the world around me, knowing that many people are not as blessed as I am,
and many will go hungry today.
- God, help me to seek justice in your world.
Amen.

Tuesday 15th November
- Take a moment to look at your hands. Reflect on the things you have used them for already this week: to do housework, to write emails, to make phone calls, perhaps some digging in the garden or some manual labour tasks.
- Thank you God, for these hands. Help me to use them as your hands in the world – to use my body, my mind, my whole life, for the building of your Kingdom here on earth.
​Amen

Wednesday 16th November
- When you have chance today, head outside and look at the sky (ideally not when it’s pouring with rain!). Take note of the clouds, of the speed they are moving, of the light the sun is casting, perhaps you can see the moon or some
stars if it is after sunset.
- Under the vastness of the open sky, reflect on how far away the clouds are, and how much further the sun and the stars are…
- As you look at the huge expanse of the horizon, think about how much bigger our Creator is, how the God we worship knows each one of us and yet is also holding the whole universe together.
- You may wish to give thanks for the amazing universe you get to be a part of.

Thursday 17th November
- On this day in 1558, the Elizabethan era began – with the ascension of Queen Elizabeth I to the throne. Our own recent times have seen much tumult and change in leadership here in the UK, between the death of our longest-standing monarch and the multiple changes in leadership of the ruling party, and therefore new Prime Ministers.
- Today you are invited to pray for all who find change difficult, and who are wrestling with the anxiety and uncertainty of these tumultuous times. If that’s you, take some time out today to pray for yourself, to ground yourself in God’s unchanging, infallible, unconditional love for you.

Friday 18th November
- As we head into the winter months, and the evenings get darker, and colder, and wetter, we pray for all who feel isolated by this time. All who are forced to withdraw indoors when they don’t find that comfortable or know it brings with it a loneliness and isolation.
- If that’s you, spend some time praying for yourself today, and reflecting on ways you can seek connection, maintain relationship, stay grounded in the natural world and God’s beautiful creation.

Saturday 19th November
- Holy God, you have called me here, in this moment, this day, this weekend.
Lord of life, I see you at work in the world around me.
Open my eyes, and open my heart,
That I may be ready to receive your Spirit into my life.
Amen.

Welcome to worship.
We come to worship.
We come - as we are - with all our concerns, our regrets, our joys
We come - as we are. to worship God who is here, who hears us, who loves us.
Come, now is the time to worship.

The Psalms are poems and songs that capture the range of our human experience.
Those times when we feel downcast, despairing or desolate.
Those times when we feel angry,
Those times when we are happy,
Those times of celebration.
This psalm is a psalm of thanksgiving.
It resonates with assurance and praise:
Give thanks to the Lord for he is good.
His steadfast love endures for ever.
And the psalmist recalls different situations to be thankful for.
Remember those desert times: remember how God was good
and brought us to a place of safety. Give thanks.
Remember those difficult distressing times, when our bad decisions landed us in
trouble, and God was good and brought us out of that dark place. Give thanks.
In other psalms the writer gives thanks for the beauty of nature,
for good things in our lives.
For so many things.
Give thanks.

So I invite you to to think about the things that you would like to give thanks for.

Give thanks to the Lord for he is good:
His love endures for ever.

Prayer of confession.
If we are honest, we know that we have all done wrong - in our attitudes, in our words
and our actions. Maybe we have been too hasty, maybe we have not done something we
should have done.
In a moment of quiet we bring those things to God.
Loving Lord, forgive us.
In Psalm 32 we read “Blessed is the one whose sins are forgiven”.
Loving Lord. We thank you for your amazing grace, for forgiveness, and for your invitation
to follow you. Amen.​

StF 82: O Lord my God  150 voice Mass Choir sing the hymn " O Lord My God"  . Recorded live at the Outdoor set at St Andrew Kirk Chennai, India in 2008.

Reflection  on 'We will look and listen for God in Scripture and the world' with Morag Walder.

StF 481:     The Lord’s my shepherd  Recorded remotely by members of Victoria Methodist Church, Bristol, UK during Lockdown 2020/21.​

Prayer. 
Let us pray for all people everywhere according to their need.
Silence
We pray for your church; that we may work together to show our love of God and neighbour.
Silence
We pray for your world and all in power; that all may work together for peace and justice.
Silence
We pray for the communities in which we live;
that all people may find comfort in their need.
Silence
We pray for all those who suffer and bring before you those on our minds today; that they may find comfort and peace in their troubles.
Silence
We remember those who have died, giving special thanks for that great cloud of witnesses who have lived lives of faith. May we be reunited with them in your eternal kingdom. In the name of Christ we pray.
Amen.​

StF 469: I watch the sunrise. Performance by Joy and Ruth Everingham​

The dismissal.
May we know the presence and the peace of God today and in the days ahead,
And may our lives reflect His love and his values that others may know his presence and his
peace. Amen, thanks be to God.