Advent 3 Full of God’s Word Narrative Lectionary Year 4

John 1:1-18

Psalm 130:5-8

Call to Worship

I wait for the Lord

My soul waits, for with God is the power to redeem!

I wait for God, more than those who are waiting for the morning

Come, let us wait for the joy that comes with God!

Confession: God, I confess that sometimes I confuse abiding joy with the fleeting feeling of happiness. Sometimes I forget the you are working for joy to the entire world. You want every single person to be able to experience security–food, shelter, companionship. I confess that I am not always working towards that goal. Help me to build a kingdom where everyone can experience deep and abiding joy. Amen.

Assurance of Pardon: God loves us and forgives us. Let proclaim the joy with truth: In Jesus Christ we are forgive.

Prayer of the Day/Dedication: God, let us remember that our God is a God of Joy. Our God does not dictate unnecessary suffering, but instead wants love and peace. Help us to hold onto that we pray. Amen.

Hymns: See Advent Candle Suggestions

Children: Talk about the difference between Joy and Happiness. Talk about who might be good examples of people who have joy.

If you find these resources useful please consider contributing to my Doctorate in Ministry in Creative Writing!

Author: katyandtheword

Pastor Katy has enjoyed ministry at New Covenant since 2010, where the church has solidified its community focus. Prior to that she studied both Theology and Christian Formation at Princeton Theological Seminary. She also served as an Assistant Chaplain at Trenton Psychiatric Hospital and as the Christian Educational Coordinator at Bethany Presbyterian at Bloomfield, NJ. She is an writer and is published in Enfleshed, Sermonsuite, Presbyterian's today and Outlook. She writes prayers, liturgy, poems and public theology and is pursuing her doctorate in ministry in Creative Write and Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. She enjoys working within and connecting to the community, is known to laugh a lot during service, and tells as many stories as possible. Pastor Katy loves reading Science Fiction and Fantasy, theater, arts and crafts, music, playing with children and sunshine, and continues to try to be as (w)holistically Christian as possible. "Publisher after publisher turned down A Wrinkle in Time," L'Engle wrote, "because it deals overtly with the problem of evil, and it was too difficult for children, and was it a children's or an adult's book, anyhow?" The next year it won the prestigious John Newbery Medal. Tolkien states in the foreword to The Lord of the Rings that he disliked allegories and that the story was not one.[66] Instead he preferred what he termed "applicability", the freedom of the reader to interpret the work in the light of his or her own life and times.

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