Worship Planning Tools-December 2023 by CofChrist

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• 24 December 2023

• 25 December 2023

• 31 December 2023

WORSHIP RESOURCES

3 December 2023

First Sunday of Advent (Hope) Mark 13:24-37

Advent of Hope

Additional Scriptures

Isaiah 64:1-9; Psalms 80:1-7, 17-19; 1 Corinthians 1:3-9, Doctrine and Covenants 153:9

Advent Worship Setting

Create an arrangement of five candles as the focus. This can be in a wreath, mixed with greenery, or other decorations as space allows. Traditional colors for the candles are three purple, one pink (Joy), and one white (Christ); or choose your own colors. Each Sunday the previous candles are lit before the service starts, and one additional candle is lit during the lighting of the Advent Candle. The Christ candle is lit on Christmas Day. For a hybrid service, encourage those watching from home to create their own Advent setting.

The Focus Moment involves a narrator, the angel, Gabriel, Mary, and Joseph. This will take a bit of preparation, as Gabriel and Mary will be pantomiming what the narrator is reading. A large, giftwrapped box, with the lid wrapped separately, will be used.

Outreach International has a free resource for Advent that could be used in place of the Focus Moment at Outreach-International.org/how-to-help/resources/advent-stable

Prelude

Carols of the Season

“God Almighty, We Are Waiting”

“Angels, from the Realms of Glory”

Call to Worship 1 Corinthians 1:3-7

Let us worship in hope as we begin waiting for the gift of Jesus Christ.

Lighting the Advent Candle of Hope

CCS 397

CCS 436

_________________________________________________________________________________

Responsive Reading

Today, as we start our season of waiting. We set watch in the night sky and beckon the wise to follow.

When hope hangs low in the human heart, when darkness threatens to overcome our sense of safety and hope for the future, may we kindle our compassion, breathing life into the early embers of change and empathy.

Today, we light a candle for hope, sending prayers into the heavens and dreams deep into the human soul. As Advent begins, let us be aware of your light shining on those who have journeyed before us. May the seeds they planted in the world hope, peace, love, and joy take hold in our hearts and stretch toward the light.

People: We light a candle for hope. May it light our way.

Light the first candle.

Song of Hopeful Invitation CCS 75 “Kum Ba Yah”

Piano and guitar accompaniment can be found free online.

Stanza 1: Kum Ba Yah

Stanza 2: Come by Here

Stanza 3: (We) Sing of Hope

Invocation

Congregation’s Sung Response Sing “Come by Here” one more time.

Spiritual Practice: Breath Prayer

Today we will practice a breath prayer. I will guide you through every step, pausing to let you develop your prayer.

Place your feet flat on the floor. If helpful, close your eyes.

As you inhale, pay attention to your stomach, maybe placing a hand there to notice the movement as you inhale (pause, allowing time for an inhale) and as you exhale.

Pause

Take a few more deep, cleansing breaths.

Pause

Now, as you inhale, think, or say, “hope” and remain silent on the exhale. Devote 1-2 minutes for this

As you are ready, switch and be silent on your inhale, saying, “hope” on the exhale. Devote 1-2 minutes for this

When you are ready, say Amen. Take another breath and return your breathing to normal Open your eyes when you are ready.

Sharing

In pairs, small groups, or the whole group, reflect and share whether you experienced any differences between using the word, “hope” with the inhale or the exhale. Allow a few minutes for debriefing and then move directly into the Prayer for Peace.

Prayer for Peace

Light the Peace Candle.

Prayer

Lord, hear our prayers for people and countries in need. For people leaving everything behind to flee to safety, for those who have lost loved ones, for lives interrupted, for education stalled, and for families separated. Lord, bless your people with peace

We thank you for the friendliness of neighbors, the kindness of strangers, for those who give of themselves to help others, for those who reject the urge to be silent in the face of injustice. Lord, bless your people with peace.

Lord, give the people of the world hope, for peace and justice to carry the day, for there to be new beginnings for all people, for freedom to replace fear, and for there to be a better tomorrow. Lord, bless your people with peace. Amen.

Scripture Reading: Mark 13:24-37

Hymn of Hope

“Hope of the World”

OR “He Came Singing Love”

226 OR “Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus”

Scripture Exploration

Based on Mark 13:24-37

Focus Moment: “What Is on God’s Christmas List?”

During Advent, Focus Moments will tell the story of Jesus’s birth. Each week the narrator should quickly recap the previous week, and make sure people understand the Bible story as it develops. As we expectantly await the birth of Jesus, consider the question, “What is on God’s Christmas list?” People dressed as the Bible characters can read or act out the following scene.

CCS

CCS 400

The idea is to build expectation during Advent by telling the Christmas story and encourage all to recognize Christmas is not just about receiving, but also giving. This is the first of the four dramas.

Preparation: At the worship center: a large, gift-wrapped box with lid wrapped separately. The Gabriel character is on the rostrum while the narrator reads the text below. Although Gabriel doesn’t speak, they should pantomime actions to fit the words.

Cast: Narrator and Gabriel

Narrator: In the beginning, God had a vision. This vision would take years and years and years to happen. Over the next four weeks, we will hear the story and get to know Gabriel.

Gabriel pantomimes while the narrator reads.

Narrator: This is Gabriel, an angel who was part of the Christmas story. In fact, their role came very early in the story but more about that next week. Let’s just say today that their message launched the tradition of gift-giving many people still follow during Christmas celebrations.

Discussion: Gabriel freezes in place while the narrator engages those present in a brief discussion about this portion of the Christmas story.

• What do we know about Gabriel?

• What do you think God’s vision is?

• Why do you think we exchange gifts at Christmas time?

Gabriel pantomimes again while the narrator reads the final paragraph.

Narrator: So, what do you think is on God’s Christmas list? What would God want for Christmas? It’s in that big box, but we can’t look yet! I’m sure it’s really great, but we have to wait…

Herald House Scripture-Based Focus Moments, adapted HeraldHouse.org/search?q=scripture+based+focus+moments

Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper Scripture Reading

1 Corinthians 11:23–26, or Matthew 26:17–30, or Mark 14:12–26, or Luke 22:7–39

Communion Talk

Hymn of Preparation

516 OR “Joy and Wonder, Love and Longing”

“Coming Together for Wine and For Bread”

534 OR “Jesu, Jesu, Fill Us with Your Love”

Encourage participants to sing in languages other than their own.

367

CCS

Sung Affirmation “No Obvious Angels”

418 OR “like a child”

403

CCS

Invitation to Communion

All are welcome at Christ’s table. The Lord’s Supper, or Communion, is a sacrament in which we remember the life, death, resurrection, and continuing presence of Jesus Christ. In Community of Christ, we also experience Communion as an opportunity to renew our baptismal covenant and to be formed as disciples who live Christ’s mission. Others might have different or added understandings within their faith traditions. We invite all who participate in the Lord’s Supper to do so in the love and peace of Jesus Christ.

Blessing and Serving of the Bread and Wine

For guidelines on the Lord’s Supper, including online participation, see CofChrist.org/ourministry-tools.

Disciples’ Generous Response

Scripture: Doctrine and Covenants 163:9

Statement

The first Sunday of the month focuses on the Disciples’ Generous Response on Abolish Poverty, End Suffering, which includes oblation ministry.

During the Disciples’ Generous Response, we focus on aligning our heart with God’s heart. Our offerings are more than meeting budgets or funding mission. Through our offerings we can join in making God’s work visible in the world.

As we share our mission tithes either by placing money in the plates or through eTithing, use this time to thank God for the many gifts received in life. Our hearts grow aligned with God’s when we gratefully receive and faithfully respond by living Christ’s mission.

If your congregation is meeting online, remind participants they can give through CofChrist.org/give or through eTithing at eTithing.org (consider showing these URLs on screen).

Blessing and Receiving of Local and Worldwide Mission Tithes

Hymn

“All Earth Is Hopeful/Toda la tierra”

Encourage participants to sing in a language other than their own.

OR “View the Present through the Promise”

OR “I Wonder as I Wander”

Benediction Response

Postlude

CCS 392/393

CCS 401

CCS 435

Mark 13:24-37

Exploring the Scripture

Today is the first Sunday of Advent, with an emphasis on hopeful waiting. The Gospel of Mark does not include a birth story and it might seem curious that we are starting Advent at a point in the story just before the Passion of Christ. However, the comments on the end of time are suitable for our Advent preparation because they deal with the coming of the Lord. Christ came and Christ comes again: 2,000 years ago, today, and tomorrow!

Some refer to these verses in the 13th chapter of Mark as “the little Apocalypse” with likeness to the apocalyptic writing of John. In both accounts, God is coming into the world and the cosmos will be affected. We are counseled to repent, and wait expectantly with hopefulness because God is a faithful God and seeks to set up the peaceable kingdom on Earth. “The future of the creation belongs to the Prince of Peace…. As we anticipate that future, we devote ourselves to seek Christ’s peace and pursue it. We do not know the day or hour of Christ’s coming but know only that God is faithful” (Sharing in Community of Christ, 3rd ed., 16).

Verses 24–27 of this reading describe the “signs of the times” using images and language from the Hebrew Scriptures (Isaiah 13:10, 34:4; Joel 2:10, 3:4, 15; Ezekiel 32:7–8; Daniel 7:13). It was common to use cosmic images to signal important events. The writer combines the endtime judgment references from Isaiah, Joel, and Ezekiel with the coming of the Son of Man as described in Daniel. As hearers of these words, we undoubtedly know there is something significant coming.

Verses 28–31 contain a short parable of the fig tree with an image of tender, new life that is the forerunner of summer. We can have hope the Son of Man is near; God is faithful.

Verses 32–37 can be summarized as a wakeup call. We are urged to be prepared and alert, thinking beyond the present because “about that day or hour no one knows” (v. 32). When will the Messiah come? The writer of the Gospel of Mark advises us to keep awake for we do not know when the master will come.

Waiting can be viewed as passive, as in waiting for a train after work to take us home. But we are told to practice a different waiting waiting expectantly, as in waiting for a train that is bringing a loved one home to us. We wait and watch for the Lord to arrive with expectation and a sense that we cannot predict when it will happen. We join with those who lived before the birth of Jesus who were faithfully expecting the Messiah’s arrival.

By focusing at the beginning of Advent on the return of the Son of Man, we actively wait in solidarity with those who have gone before and hear, with them, the challenge to keep awake and watch for the Lord. While we may think we know how the story ends, this text causes us to realize the paradox of living between “already” (Christ has come) and “not yet” (God’s reign on Earth is not complete). We do not know the day when God’s reign will be realized. We need to be reminded that Christ comes. We need to be ready.

SERMON AND CLASS HELPS

First Sunday of Advent

Central Ideas

1. God is faithful. We wait in confidence and with hope that God’s reign will come.

2. Advent is a season of waiting something important is about to happen.

3. Expectantly waiting involves living as if Christ’s return is imminent.

Questions for the Speaker

1. What testimony do you have of God’s faithfulness?

2. How can you and your congregation use this Advent season as a time of self-examination? Are you prepared?

3. Workers sometimes joke, “Look busy, the boss is coming!” Do you see any likenesses between this and today’s text?

4. How are we like the servants (vv. 32–37), entrusted with work while the master is away?

5. What can you do as a congregation to shift from passive waiting to expectantly waiting for the coming of the Messiah?

6. What gives you hope for God’s reign to be realized on Earth?

SACRED SPACE: A RESOURCE FOR SMALL-GROUP MINISTRY

Year B Letters

First Sunday of Advent

1 Corinthians 1:3–9 NRSVUE

Gathering

Welcome

Advent is a season of expectant waiting for the coming of light into a darkened world in the form of the infant Jesus. Advent is spent anticipating and spiritually preparing for the arrival of the Christ Child. Scriptures, symbols, and hymns help make Advent a time of expectation for Christ’s birth, rather than a frenzy of holiday tasks.

The Advent season begins four Sundays before Christmas and is observed each Sunday until Christmas Day. An Advent wreath with four candles and one Christ candle in the center often is used to observe the weeks of Advent. One candle is lit each week until all are burning brightly on Christmas Day.

Prayer for Peace

Ring a bell or chime three times slowly. Light the peace candle.

Keeper of the great shalom, you carry such a broad and expansive universe on your shoulders yet make yourself known to us in this season of Advent and expectation for the coming Christ. Help us strive for peace like water rushing toward the ocean. As water brings life, allow peace to generate new life in us. As water carves new lands and patterns into being, allow peace to create new spaces in our lives and communities. As water flows to nourish many places unseen, allow peace to flow through us to create new bonds of life again. God, allow the birth of the Christ child to nourish us anew. Help us bring peace into the world, each and every day. Amen.

Spiritual Practice

Take Five

Light the first candle of Advent and say:

Today we light the first candle of Advent. This candle represents love. May the lighting of this candle remind us to share our light and love with the world.

The liturgical year starts with waiting for the birth of light. Advent is a time to take some time out and reflect on what is being born within us, just as we wait for the light and Son of God to be born. “Take Five” is a spiritual practice of taking “time out” for reflection.

To have hope, peace, and joy in the new light being birthed this season, Jesus taught us to not settle for a love that’s safe and bordered. Jesus taught us through his actions not only to love those who look, act, or think like us, but to open our arms wide to all. Jesus models a love that is unrestricted, unbounded, and unrelenting. This is the hope of Advent, the hope of new birth, the hope of God’s mercy and love.

Today we will engage in five minutes of centering prayer. Centering prayer is where we choose a word or phrase and repeat it while we focus on breathing in and breathing out. Select a word to focus on (peace, blessing, compassion, grace) and keep it in your mind as you breathe in for eight seconds, breathe out for eight seconds. We will repeat for five minutes.

Start the timer for five minutes. At the end of five minutes say, “Amen.”

Ask if anyone would like to share the word they chose and what the experience was during the centering prayer.

Sharing Around the Table

1 Corinthians 1:3–9 NRSVUE

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you so that you are not lacking in any gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the partnership of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

It is the first Sunday of Advent, the season of waiting and preparing for the Messiah’s birth. Many new Christians in Corinth are not Jews. They are Greeks and pagans. Paul worries about unity in the church. He addresses issues that have caused division. Here he writes to this diverse and challenging church community that lives in a city of diverse pleasures, widely different religious practices, and beliefs. This group is not a congregation of siblings that grew up together. Nor is his community in Corinth a church on the corner in a neighborhood with people of similar backgrounds. Paul is writing to Gentiles, pagans, and Jews with wildly different notions of God and what it means to be faithful. Paul offers greetings and gratefulness for them all, drawing them together in God’s grace. Think of your family, workplace or community, and the world you see through your cell phones or computer screens. Isn’t God’s invitation to unite diverse and challenging people relevant in our world today? Doesn’t grace seem like the only thing that can make that happen? Advent is the season of waiting and preparing for the Messiah, who brings the grace and peace to do just that.

Questions

1. How have you experienced grace this Advent season?

2. How might expressions of grace unify people today?

3. This Advent season, to whom might you extend the welcoming, safe space of God’s grace?

Sending Generosity Statement

Beloved Community of Christ, do not just speak and sing of Zion. Live, love, and share as Zion: those who strive to be visibly one in Christ, among whom there are no poor or oppressed.

Doctrine and Covenants 165:6a

The offering basket is available if you would like to support ongoing, small-group ministries as part of your generous response.

The offering prayer for Advent is adapted from A Disciple’s Generous Response:

God who is faithful, be present with us as we plan our spending. May we use our resources in ways that build healthy, happy relationships with you, others, and the Earth. May we remember the teachings of Jesus that challenge us to make lifestyle choices that are counter to our culture of accumulation and excess. Amen.

Invitation to Next Meeting

Closing Hymn

Community of Christ Sings 395, “People Look East”

Closing Prayer

Optional Additions Depending on Group

• Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper

• Thoughts for Children

Prayer for Peace

Ring a bell or chime three times slowly. Light the peace candle.

Spiritual Practice

Take Five

Light the first candle of Advent and say:

Today we light the first candle of Advent. This candle represents love. May the lighting of this candle remind us to share our light and love with the world.

Start the timer for five minutes. At the end of five minutes, say Amen. Ask if anyone would like to share the word they chose and what the experience was during the centering prayer.

Sharing Around the Table

1 Corinthians 1:3–9 NRSVUE

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Questions

1. How have you experienced grace this Advent season?

2. How might expressions of grace unify people today?

3. This Advent season, to whom might you extend the welcoming, safe space of God’s grace?

Generosity Statement

Beloved Community of Christ, do not just speak and sing of Zion. Live, love, and share as Zion: those who strive to be visibly one in Christ, among whom there are no poor or oppressed.

Doctrine and Covenants

165:6a

The offering basket is available if you would like to support ongoing, small-group ministries as part of your generous response.

The offering prayer for Advent is adapted from A Disciple’s Generous Response: God who is faithful, be present with us as we plan our spending. May we use our resources in ways that build healthy, happy relationships with you, others, and the Earth. May we remember the teachings of Jesus that challenge us to make lifestyle choices that are counter to our culture of accumulation and excess. Amen.

Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper

For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 NRSV

Communion Statement

All are welcome at Christ’s table. The Lord’s Supper, or Communion, is a sacrament in which we remember the life, death, resurrection, and continuing presence of Jesus Christ. In Community of Christ, we also experience Communion as an opportunity to renew our baptismal covenant and to be formed as disciples who live Christ’s mission. Others may have different or added understandings within their faith traditions. We invite all who participate in the Lord’s Supper to do so in the love and peace of Jesus Christ.

We share in Communion as an expression of blessing, healing, peace, and community. In preparation let’s sing from Community of Christ Sings (select one):

515 “In these Moments We Remember”

516 “Coming Together for Wine and for Bread”

521 “Let Us Break Bread Together”

525 “Small Is the Table”

528 “Eat This Bread”

Thoughts for Children

You will need:

• Large poster board with a Christmas-tree cutout

• Small hearts cut from construction paper

• Writing supplies

• Tape or glue

Say: Today is the first Sunday in Advent. Advent is a time of waiting and preparing. Just like people awaited Jesus’s birth, the coming of the Messiah, we await God’s preferred future. Waiting, however, doesn’t mean we don’t do anything. In fact, while we wait, it is important to prepare for what is to come and help bring it into the world.

Each week of Advent, we are going to practice waiting. We will sit together, quieting our minds and bodies as we wait. While we wait, we also will prepare by focusing on one word and seeing where that word takes our thoughts and feelings. When our time of waiting begins, we will use our breathing to help us focus on the word. When we breathe in, we will say the word in our heads. When we breathe out, we will say “prepare me” in our heads. You will continue to do this until our time of waiting is done, letting your thoughts and feelings help you better understand the word.

Our word for today is love.

Invite participants into a time of waiting. For this first time, try for two minutes If participants become too restless, close sooner. After the time of waiting, give all participants a paper heart and something to write with. Invite them to write or draw what their time of waiting was like on the heart. After they have had time to write or draw, invite them to attach their heart to the posterboard tree, using tape or glue.

Second Sunday of Advent (Peace) Mark 1:1-8 Advent of Peace

Additional Scriptures

Isaiah 40:1-11; Psalms 85:1-2, 8-13; 2 Peter 3:8-15a; Doctrine and Covenants 162:7a

Advent Worship Setting

Outreach International has a free resource for Advent that could be used in place of the Focus Moment at Outreach-International.org/how-to-help/resources/advent-stable.

Call

Isaiah 40:1-5

Lighting the Advent Candle of Peace

Light the Hope candle from last week before the service starts.

Responsive Reading

In the spectacular and glorious colors of a brilliant sunrise, in the cheerful laughter or memory of a table full of friends or family, in a moment of intuition that turns on the light of discernment and leads us toward wisdom, we find the peace that passes all understanding. But there are things we need to think about, ideas we need to comprehend. May we be attuned to hear the stories of those who stumble and struggle to find peace.

WORSHIP RESOURCES

10 December 2023

Prelude Carols of the Season “Comfort, Comfort Now My People” CCS 407 “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” CCS 415

Welcome

Worship

Peace is what the prophets foretold. Peace is what is sacrificed when profit takes precedence.

In this second week of Advent, as the waiting and expectation heighten, our desire for peace deepens. Like the wise called to journey in those early dawning days, may we seek, endeavor, and search for peace. Like the prophets old and new, may we cry out for its coming.

All: We light a candle for peace. May it light the way.

Light a second candle.

Song of Peaceful Invitation CCS 75

“Kum Ba Yah”

Piano and guitar accompaniment can be found free online.

Stanza 1: Kum Ba Yah

Stanza 2: Come by Here

Stanza 3: (We) Sing of Peace

Invocation

Congregation’s Sung Response

Sing “Come by Here” one more time.

Spiritual Practice: Breath Prayer

Today we will practice a breath prayer. I will guide you through every step, pausing to let you develop your prayer.

Place your feet flat on the floor. Sit as straight as is comfortable.

Pause after each instruction

• Place a hand on your abdomen. Feel your stomach move away from the spine as you inhale and feel it move toward the spine with the exhale.

• With the next inhale, breathe peace into the body. With the next exhale, breathe stress out of the body.

• Focus on your feet and ankles. With the next inhale, breathe peace into this area. With the exhale breathe out stress from this area.

• Next come the calves and shins. Breathe peace into these areas. With the exhale breathe out stress from these areas.

• Inhale peace into the knees and thighs. Exhale the stress.

• Spend a few breaths focusing on the lower body, inhaling peace from the waist down. Exhale stress from the lower body.

• Focus on the lower back and stomach: Inhale peace, exhale stress.

• Spend three breaths inhaling peace and exhaling stress from every part of the body from the chest down.

• Now focus on your chest, middle back, and upper back. See the peace and air traveling into the lungs and spreading all throughout this area. See the stress leave as you exhale.

• Notice your fingers, hands, and wrists. Inhale peace. Exhale stress.

• Notice your forearms and elbows. Inhale peace. Exhale stress.

• Spend three breaths inhaling peace and exhaling stress from everywhere below the neck.

• Notice your neck all the way around. Inhale peace. Exhale stress.

• Notice the area around the ears, and the back and top of your head. Inhale peace. Exhale stress.

• Now focus on your face. Inhale peace. Exhale the stress.

• Inhale peace. Let it spread throughout your body.

• Exhale stress from every part of you. Spend three breaths focusing on your body.

• One last time, inhale peace. Exhale stress.

Amen.

Move directly into the Prayer for Peace.

Prayer for Peace

Light the Peace Candle

Prayer

God of reconciliation and grace, you promise us a world where all is new, where love is born when hope is gone, where broken relationships are restored to wholeness.

May we live as people who know your story of love, and may we have the vision to imagine what could be possible if we dared to live this story.

God of abundant life, may we be witnesses of love, hope, and peace, and co-creators of the upside-down kin-dom for this world.

Amen.

Hymn of Peace

“Peace Child” CCS 402

OR “O God of Love, Grant Us Your Peace” CCS 316 OR “Peace Salaam Shalom” CCS 310 Encourage participants to sing in languages other than their own.

Focus Moment: “What Is on God’s Christmas List?”

Cast: Narrator, Gabriel, and Mary

Preparation: On the worship center is a large gift-wrapped box (wrap the lid separately)

Gabriel is on the rostrum. While the narrator reads the text below, Mary enters. She and Gabriel pantomime the reading together.

Narrator: This story began when I was sent to tell Mary she had been selected to be the mother of a special baby. I said, “Mary, you’ve been chosen to give birth to God’s Son.” She was really surprised and wondered what was

going on. “Me? I’m so young! I’ve never been a mother before!” But I reassured her she shouldn’t be afraid that everything would be OK. I told her she was to name the baby boy, “Jesus.” Mary replied, “I will do as God pleases, for I am God’s servant. God can use me in this special way. This will be my gift to God.”

Gabriel and Mary freeze while the narrator discusses this portion of the Christmas story.

• Why do you think God sent Gabriel to Mary?

• Put yourselves in Mary’s place. What do you think she is feeling?

• Mary accepts and agrees to what Gabriel has spoken. What do you think gave her the courage?

Then Gabriel and Mary resume their pantomime while the narrator reads the final paragraph.

Herald House Scripture-Based Focus Moments, adapted HeraldHouse.org/search?q=scripture+based+focus+moments

Hymn of Waiting

“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” CCS

OR “God Almighty, We Are Waiting” CCS 397

Morning Message

Based on Mark 1:1-8 OR Video

A “Witness the Word” sermon, based on Mark 1:1-8, by Emily Penrose McLaughlin, is available at Youtube.com/watch?v=iVSIEP5FAKs and Heraldhouse.org/collections/ digital-media-witness-the-word/products/witness-the-word-following-christs-footstepsmp4-video-download.

Disciples’ Generous Response

Scripture: Doctrine and Covenants 162: 7a-b

Statement

We are called to share our bounty so that others might know the joy of God’s kingdom. We look outside the walls of this building, the walls of our homes, the walls of our screens, the walls we build to protect us from things we are afraid of. The needs of people in our own neighborhoods, our own cities, and around the world are great. People yearn to feel God’s peace. How will you make a difference this Advent season?

394

If your congregation is meeting online, remind participants they can give through CofChrist.org/give or through eTithing.org (consider showing these URLs on screen).

Blessing and Receiving of Local and Worldwide Mission Tithes

Closing Hymn

OR “Canticle of the Turning”

Response Postlude

“Blessed

CCS 396

CCS 404

CCS 434

Be the God of Israel”

OR “O Little Town of Bethlehem”

Second Sunday of Advent

Mark 1:1-8

Exploring the Scripture

The Gospel of Mark is the story of a journey. It is the “good news” of the journey Jesus takes from his hometown of Nazareth to Jerusalem, and eventually to the cross. The gospel writer frames all we read here with the knowledge the story will eventually end in Jerusalem; Jesus also understands his life and ministry will take him there. The disciples who join him on the way will struggle to understand this journey, even to the very end.

Mark’s Gospel lets us know from the outset who the good news is about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. This Gospel does not have a birth account, like those found in Luke and Matthew, instead it begins with the time just before the start of Jesus’ ministry. For Mark the journey of Jesus, or the way, is the most important feature of the story. He begins by quoting Isaiah and telling us about John the baptizer and his role in preparing the way for Jesus.

John is a unique person. He has left the norms of society and has moved to the countryside where he wears clothes and eats food that set him apart from the everyday person. Yet, many come to him to confess their sins and be cleansed or baptized, and forgiven. What prompted this following? The Gospel makes clear that it was not John himself who was drawing the crowds, it was his message of the One he proclaimed. People from all around the area were looking for the Messiah who would change their world, and John’s role was to prepare them for his arrival and tell of the Holy Spirit that would come as a result. Expectation of new possibilities filled the air as John spoke of the One to come.

This is the second Sunday of Advent and we are also in a time of preparation and expectation. Like the earliest followers, we come today to hear the good news of what is to come. But we know the rest of the story; we know about the journey Jesus took and where it led him.

Unlike those who came to hear John preach, and the early disciples, we know and understand that “the way” leads to the cross. That doesn’t mean our choice to walk with Jesus on this journey is any easier. In fact, it most likely makes it more difficult. We understand that when we follow the way, we, like John, will need to live differently. We will be called to live in a countercultural way, think first of the other, and speak of the One who is greater than us.

While we will not have to face crucifixion, our crosses will not be easy. However, we are better prepared because we know and have experienced the Holy Spirit of which John speaks. We know we do not journey alone, but with the knowledge of God’s grace and love. The way has been prepared for us. Let us celebrate the good news that is to come this Christmas season.

We open ourselves to the Spirit of Christ, to experience forgiveness of sins, just as John the Baptist preached repentance for sins. We choose to follow Jesus; the way has been prepared.

SERMON AND CLASS HELPS

Central Ideas

1. The life and ministry of Jesus is a journey, which leads to Jerusalem and finally to the cross.

2. We, like the early disciples, are called to join Jesus on the way that has been prepared for us.

3. Being on the way with Jesus calls us to take up our own crosses and live and act differently.

4. We expect the birth of Jesus who brings us the Holy Spirit to comfort us on this journey.

Questions for the Speaker

1. When have you felt called to be on the way with Jesus?

2. How has the Holy Spirit prepared the way for you?

3. How has following Jesus called you to live counterculturally?

4. What does the celebration of Jesus’ birth mean for you today?

SACRED SPACE: A RESOURCE FOR SMALL-GROUP MINISTRY

Year B Letters

Second Sunday of Advent (PEACE)

2 Peter 3:8–15a NRSVUE

Gathering

Welcome

Advent is a season of expectant waiting for the coming of light into a darkened world in the form of the infant Jesus. Advent is spent anticipating and spiritually preparing for the arrival of the Christchild. Scriptures, symbols, and hymns help make Advent a time of expectation for Christ’s birth, rather than a frenzy of holiday tasks.

Prayer for Peace

Ring a bell or chime three times slowly. Light the peace candle.

Sower of seeds, you promise to feed your flock like a shepherd, to gather your lambs, to gently lead. In this time of Advent darkness, we sit in hope for the things to come. We gather in community to hear of your promises of peace and redemption. We hope that in the grand design of this time of rest for the Earth that you will bring us to peace.

God, open our eyes to the hope that you have for the world to be at peace. Help us to gather those who feel no hope that they may find new life in you. Bring us all to a place of hope again. From that new sense of hope, allow us to go and proclaim peace, to be peace in our neighborhoods, to act for peace in the world at-large. God, we hope for a time of peace again, we hope for the promises of your peace made real through Jesus again, we hope for a deeper connection with you again. Grant us the peace to hope again. Amen.

Spiritual Practice

Take Five

Light the second candle of Advent and say:

Today we light the second candle of Advent. This candle symbolizes Christ bringing peace to the world. May the lighting of this candle remind us to seek peace and patience in our lives.

The Christmas season that mirrors the Advent season can be full of rushing and to-do lists. This is true in our spiritual lives, too. We hope that all our spiritual to-do lists will bring us comfort, spiritual guidance, and answers. Advent is a time of waiting and anticipating, but the light isn’t birthed right away. All the to-do lists can’t bring the birth of the Son of God sooner. We learn to settle into the

waiting time. To “take five” at this time of year reminds us to go inward and be patient with waiting on God.

Start the timer for five minutes. After five minutes say, “Amen.”

Ask if anyone would like to share the word chosen and what the experience was while focusing on the word during the centering prayer

Sharing Around the Table

2 Peter 3:8–15a NRSVUE

But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be destroyed with fire, and the earth and everything that is done on it will be disclosed.

Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of persons ought you to be in leading lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set ablaze and destroyed, and the elements will melt with fire? But, in accordance with his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness is at home.

Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish, and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation. So also our beloved brother Paul wrote to you according to the wisdom given him

The second letter of Peter is not addressed to a particular congregation or community. It reads like a last testament of what Peter would say to the church in a new time and place. To the early church in transition and the church experiencing transition today, the author of 2 Peter offers wisdom about faithful waiting.

This passage begins with a reminder from Psalm 90:4 that God’s time is not the same as our time. Human nature is impatient expectation, while God’s nature is infinite patience. In this passage, God’s patience is not idle waiting; it reflects God’s desire for all creation to be reconciled to God. The counsel for waiting is a call to holiness and right relationships. The invitation is to be at peace and to be diligent in the working of God’s grace. This work includes the inward work of personal peace as well as outward expressions of sharing Christ’s peace. The new heaven and Earth, where righteousness is at home, is not a future occurrence but a here-and-now reality if we choose to see it and work toward it.

This passage mirrors counsel from Doctrine and Covenants 140:5c that reads:

…Zionic conditions are no further away nor any closer than the spiritual condition of my people justifies.

This Advent season is an invitation to awaken to conditions in your own community as you wait for the coming of the peaceful One.

Questions

4. What spiritual practices or self-care practices will help you move toward Jesus, the peaceful One, in this season of Advent?

5. How might you awaken to God’s possibilities of new life and liberation of those oppressed by unjust systems?

6. What suffering are you called to address for Christ’s peace to be realized and life to flourish?

Sending

Generosity Statement

Beloved Community of Christ, do not just speak and sing of Zion. Live, love, and share as Zion: those who strive to be visibly one in Christ, among whom there are no poor or oppressed.

Doctrine and Covenants 165:6a

The offering basket is available if you would like to support ongoing, small-group ministries as part of your generous response.

The offering prayer for Advent is adapted from A Disciple’s Generous Response:

Invitation to Next Meeting

Closing Hymn

Community of Christ Sings 397, “God Almighty, We Are Waiting”

Closing Prayer

Optional Additions Depending on Group

• Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper

• Thoughts for Children

Prayer for Peace

Ring a bell or chime three times slowly. Light the peace candle.

Spiritual Practice

Take Five

Light the second candle of Advent and say:

Today we light the second candle of Advent. This candle symbolizes Christ bringing peace to the world. May the lighting of this candle remind us to seek peace and patience in our lives.

Start the timer for five minutes. After five minutes say, “Amen.”

Ask if anyone would like to share the word chosen and what the experience was while focusing on the word during the centering prayer

Sharing Around the Table

2 Peter 3:8–15a NRSVUE

The counsel for waiting is a call to holiness and right relationships. The invitation is to be at peace and to be diligent in the working of God’s grace. This work includes the inward work of personal peace as well as outward expressions of sharing Christ’s peace. The new heaven and Earth, where righteousness is at home, is not a future occurrence but a here-and-now reality if we choose to see it and work toward it.

This passage mirrors counsel from Doctrine and Covenants 140:5c that reads:

…Zionic conditions are no further away nor any closer than the spiritual condition of my people justifies.

This Advent season is an invitation to awaken to conditions in your own community as you wait for the coming of the peaceful One.

Questions

7. What spiritual practices or self-care practices will help you move toward Jesus, the peaceful One, in this season of Advent?

8. How might you awaken to God’s possibilities of new life and liberation of those oppressed by unjust systems?

9. What suffering are you called to address for Christ’s peace to be realized and life to flourish?

Generosity Statement

Beloved Community of Christ, do not just speak and sing of Zion. Live, love, and share as Zion: those who strive to be visibly one in Christ, among whom there are no poor or oppressed.

Doctrine and Covenants

165:6a

The offering basket is available if you would like to support ongoing, small-group ministries as part of your generous response.

Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 NRSV

Communion Statement

All are welcome at Christ’s table. The Lord’s Supper, or Communion, is a sacrament in which we remember the life, death, resurrection, and continuing presence of Jesus Christ. In Community of Christ, we also experience Communion as an opportunity to renew our baptismal covenant and to be formed as disciples who live Christ’s mission. Others may have different or added understandings within their faith traditions. We invite all who participate in the Lord’s Supper to do so in the love and peace of Jesus Christ.

We share in Communion as an expression of blessing, healing, peace, and community. In preparation let’s sing from Community of Christ Sings, 519 “In the Singing.”

Thoughts for Children

You will need:

• Large poster board with a Christmas-tree cutout

• Small doves cut from construction paper

• Writing supplies

• Tape or glue

Say: Today is the second Sunday in Advent. Advent is a time of waiting and preparing. Just like people awaited Jesus’s birth, the coming of the Messiah, we await God’s preferred future. Waiting, however, doesn’t mean we don’t do anything. In fact, while we wait, it is important to prepare for what is to come and help bring it into the world.

Each week of Advent, we are going to practice waiting. We will sit together, quieting our minds and bodies, as we wait. While we wait, we also will prepare by focusing on one word and seeing where that word takes our thoughts and feelings. When our time of waiting begins, we will use our breathing to help us focus on the word. When we breathe in, we will say the word in our heads. When we breathe out, we will say “prepare me” in our heads. You will continue to do this until our time of waiting is done, letting your thoughts and feelings help you better understand the word.

Our word for today is peace.

Invite the participants into a time of waiting. For this second time of waiting, try for three minutes If participants become too restless, close sooner. After the time of waiting is done, give all participants a paper dove and something to write with. Invite them to write or draw what their time of waiting was like on the dove. After they have had time to write or draw, invite them to attach their dove to the posterboard tree using tape or glue.

17 December 2023

Third Sunday of Advent (Love) John 1:6-8, 19-28

Advent of Love

Additional Scriptures

Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11; Psalm 126; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24; Mosiah 1:102-103; Doctrine and Covenants 153:9a-b

Advent Worship Setting

Outreach International has a free resource for Advent that could be used in place of the Focus Moment at Outreach-International.org/how-to-help/resources/advent-stable

Prelude

Carols of the Season

“People, Look East”

“Away in the Manger”

Welcome

Call to Worship

CCS 395

CCS 425/426

And he shall be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the father of heaven and earth, the creator of all things, from the beginning; and his mother shall be called Mary. And he comes among us, so that salvation might come through faith on his name.

Mosiah 1:102-103, adapted

Lighting the Advent Candle of Love

Light the Hope and Peace candles from last two weeks before the service starts.

Responsive Reading

WORSHIP

RESOURCES

Let us remember that God’s love is openly and freely given to us so we may be able to help others. Just as we are loved, may we reach out and share that love with those nearby, and to those we have yet to meet. Let us courageously bring love to the world.

Let our lights sparkle and our spirits take flight. Keeping our minds and hearts open, let us recognize love. Here it comes love.

Love shines in the darkness. Love sings in the shadows. It will not wither and cannot be limited. Love was the hope of the saints, the call of the prophets. It was the passion of John the Baptist and the courage of Mary. Love is a lamp in the window, a beacon on the hill, a star in the night sky. God of Love, you lead us home.

On this third Sunday of Advent, we light a candle for love.

All: We light a candle for love. May it light the way.

Light a third candle.

Song of Loving Invitation

“Kum Ba Yah” CCS 75 Piano and guitar accompaniment can be found free online.

Stanza 1: Kum Ba Yah

Stanza 2: Come by Here

Stanza 3: (We) Sing of Love

Invocation

Congregation’s Sung Response Sing “Come by Here” one more time.

Spiritual Practice

Breath Prayer: Welcome and Gratitude

Today we will practice a simple breath prayer. On the inhale we will think, “Yes, yes, yes!” On the exhale we will think, “thank you, thank you, thank you.”

The Advent theme this week is love so our inhale thinking, “Yes, yes, yes!” will be about embracing everything that comes our way. And the exhale of, “thank you,” is about gratitude that is a critical aspect of real love.

Relax, with both feet flat on the floor, close your eyes if you want to, and release your worries the best you can.

Pause after each instruction.

Inhale. Exhale.

Repeat this step two or three times

With the next inhale, think, “Yes! Yes! Yes!”

With the next exhale, think, “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

For the next few moments continue with breathing in, “Yes! Yes! Yes!” and breathing out, “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.” When ready, after the final, “Thank you!” say “Amen,” and sit in silence.

OR Connection: Visualization

Sit quietly. Relax with both feet flat on the floor. Close your eyes if you want. Breathe in and out, clearing your mind and settling in for a few moments. Bring to mind someone whom you love very much.

Pause after each instruction. Picture them in your mind. What are they wearing?

See their posture in your mind’s eye. Now, imagine hearing their voice. Love all these things about them. See them doing the things that stirs this affection for you. Bask in your love for this dear person.

Now, try to experience the love that this friend has for you. See yourself through their eyes. Take some time to let yourself experience your love for them and their love for you.

Imagine what would happen if you shared your feelings with your friend. Telling them, “I love you,” by sending a text, sending a letter, making a call, and listing all your favorite things about that person.

Take a final inhale and exhale. Would it make sense to reach out and make this experience real? If so, reach out to them soon. Sit in silence.

Hymn of Love

“On Jordan’s Banks the Baptist’s Cry” CCS

OR “Of the Father’s Love Begotten” CCS

Prayer for Peace

Light the Peace Candle.

Prayer Loving God, you make us in your image. Forgive us when we fail to see your image in one another, when we give into greed and indifference, when we do not question the systems that are life-denying. As we are made in your image, let us live in your image and be Christlike

391

in service, endurance, and love.

Amen

Focus Moment “What Is on God’s Christmas List?”

Cast: Narrator, Gabriel, Joseph, and Mary

Preparation: At the worship center is a large, gift-wrapped box (wrap the lid separately)

The actors Gabriel and Mary are on the rostrum. While the narrator reads this text, Joseph enters. Gabriel, Mary, and Joseph pantomime the reading together.

Narrator: Mary knew she was going to be the mother of a very special baby and that baby would need a dad here on Earth to teach him all kinds of things. Well, God had a vision for that, too. God knew Joseph would make a good husband and dad, so God sent an angel to fill Joseph in on the details.

In a dream, the angel told Joseph: “You should marry Mary. My vision is that you will all be a family and you will raise this baby together.” When Joseph woke up, he did what God had said and took Mary as his wife. What a wonderful gift! Joseph accepted a great responsibility when he agreed to be Jesus’s earthly father and Mary’s husband.

Gabriel, Mary, and Joseph freeze while the narrator engages the people in a brief discussion about this part of the Christmas story and then reads the final paragraph.

• How do you think Joseph felt about Gabriel’s visit?

• Why do you think Joseph was obedient to God’s plan?

• What might it have been like to be Jesus’s father?

Herald House Scripture-Based Focus Moments, adapted HeraldHouse.org/search?q=scripture+based+focus+moments

Scripture Reading

John 1:6-8, 19-28

Hymn “Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus” CCS 400 OR “Joseph, Kind Joseph” CCS 414

Morning Message

Based on John 1:6-8, 19-28

Disciples’ Generous Response

Scripture Reading: Doctrine and Covenants 153:9a-b

Story

Ask someone to prepare a testimony about when they experienced God’s love, perhaps through another person.

Statement

If your congregation is meeting online, remind participants they can give through CofChrist.org/give or through eTithing.org (consider showing these URLs on screen). Blessing and Receiving of Local and Worldwide Mission Tithes

Closing Hymn “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” CCS 423 OR “God’s Love Made Visible!” CCS 411 Benediction Response Postlude

Third Sunday of Advent

John 1:6-8, 19-28

Exploring the Scripture

John the Baptist’s role in today’s scripture passage and the other three Gospels is the ministry of preparation: “Get ready for the coming Messiah God’s chosen, anointed king!” John is the forerunner, the announcer for the coming big event. John is genuine. John is good at getting people’s attention with his message of repentance. People are responding and being baptized. In baptism, people sum up the Exodus story of Israel leaving Egyptian slavery and crossing the River Jordan into the Promised Land. Baptism was something Gentiles did when coming into the Jewish faith. John, in using baptism, is getting Jews to begin again, to be truly converted.

The coming Messiah means good, but disruptive, times are ahead. God’s king, the Messiah, will shake up empires like Rome and unjust kingdoms like King Herod’s. He’ll restore Jerusalem and Israel to justice and peace, a light to the world. John is so effective at revival that Jewish leaders from Jerusalem are stirred up. They worriedly need to come and find out what is going on. “Who are you?” they eagerly, insistently ask.

John answers in John 1:23, quoting Isaiah 40:3: “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord.’”

In the ancient world, when the king or emperor was coming, workers would improve the road, which often was just a dirt track. Can we improve our Advent “road”? How do we remove obstacles in our lives that hinder the coming of the Messiah, Jesus, into our hearts in a deeper, more intense way? Are the obstacles misplaced priorities, addictions, things that are not right in our lives? The commercialized Christmas, shopping for Christmas, can get in the way of what is important in the Christmas story. The traditional Christmas story, as told in the other gospels, is about unjust government, a poor family that has to deliver a baby in a stable. God’s Messiah is born not in a palace, but a feeding trough in a barn.

When King Herod starts killing all the baby boys in the Bethlehem area, family members must flee for their lives to Egypt as refugees, destitute foreigners, immigrants.

John the Baptist, in today’s passage, is a voice in the wilderness of modern distractions, calling our attention to the true meaning of Christmas. The Messiah of justice and peace, turning the world upside down, is coming! There can be no Messianic peace without Messianic righteousness in our lives including justice for the poor.

All four Gospels quote Isaiah 40:3 to explain John’s role as a preparer for the coming Messiah. Read the whole passage in Isaiah 40:1–5. John is clear. He is not the coming Messiah. He is not even worthy to undo the strap of the Messiah’s sandal the task of a slave.

Only the Messiah is to be seen in John’s witness. John is just the forerunner. And John whispers, “The Messiah is already here, among you, but you do not recognize him yet. So look! Be alert!” Perhaps the

SERMON AND CLASS HELPS

beggar on the street, the hungry child, or faces in the Outreach International catalog are Jesus for us this Christmas.

Advent is preparation for incarnation; the Word is becoming human. John the Baptist calls us to get ready, “Make straight the way of the Lord!”

Central Ideas

1. Like John, we are not the light but testify to the light.

2. The Messiah is coming. Make straight the way of the Lord. Get your heart ready!

3. We are to be like John the Baptist in our families and among friends and coworkers to help people prepare for the real meaning of Christmas.

Questions for the Speaker

1. The question this season is not “Are you ready for Christmas?” but “Are you ready for the Messiah?”

2. How do we clear the way for Jesus, the Messiah, to come more deeply into our lives this Christmas? What is getting in the way of a deeper life as a disciple?

3. How can I be a genuine witness of Jesus Christ this Christmas? What can I do to embrace the peace and justice message of the season?

4. How can your congregation testify of the light in your neighborhood?

SACRED SPACE: A RESOURCE FOR SMALL-GROUP MINISTRY

Year B Letters

Third Sunday of Advent (HOPE)

1 Thessalonians 5:16–24 NRSVUE

Gathering

Welcome

Advent is a season of expectant waiting for the coming of light into a darkened world in the form of the infant Jesus. Advent is spent anticipating and spiritually preparing for the arrival of the Christchild. Scriptures, symbols, and hymns help make Advent a time of expectation for Christ’s birth, rather than a frenzy of holiday tasks.

Prayer for Peace

Ring a bell or chime three times slowly. Light the peace candle

Igniter of the first flame, who gives oxygen to fire, who gives fig trees fruit, who gives expectant people hope, grant peace to those who wait in despair. As we celebrate joy, we know many people struggle to feel your joy and peace. They struggle to find their voice in the world because they have lost the joy of singing and shouting excitedly! But you are faithful, God. You will restore joy to those who have lost it, you will bring peace to the nations and return joy to lives in despair. Excite us anew, O God, that we might share our joy with others and work for the kind of peace that delights you. As the potter forms clay, form us into a peaceful community that embraces and exudes peace. Pump us full of oxygen again, so the peace flame may spark, grow, and spread to all this season. Amen.

Spiritual Practice

Take Five

Light the third candle of Advent and say:

Today we light the third candle of Advent. This candle symbolizes hope in new life. May we have hope in that new life which is coming forth in us.

Today we will engage in five minutes of centering prayer. Centering prayer is where we choose a word or phrase and repeat it while we focus on breathing in and breathing out.

Select a word to focus on (peace, blessing, compassion, grace) and keep it in your mind as you breathe in for eight seconds, breathe out for eight seconds. We will repeat for five minutes.

Start the timer for five minutes. After five minutes say, “Amen.”

Ask if anyone would like to share the word chosen and what the experience was while focusing on the word during the centering prayer.

Sharing Around the Table

1 Thessalonians 5:16–24 NRSVUE

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast to what is good; abstain from every form of evil.

May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely, and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this.

Paul, Silas, and the other believers have been accused of disturbing and destabilizing the community in Thessalonica through their actions and teachings. They are forced to flee and minister from a distance.

After providing pastoral and practical guidance to a community reeling from persecution, Paul now addresses the pain and suffering it is experiencing while trying to provide hope.

Many who read today’s text struggle to understand the meaning of praying without ceasing. As one pastor once expressed, “that sounds exhausting!” Praying without ceasing is an invitation to shift the entire orientation of one’s life toward God. We categorize and compartmentalize our experience based on our expectations of where and how God is present. Many of us, shaped by our cultures, equate “good feelings and things” with God and hard times with God’s absence.

To pray and give thanks in all circumstances is a practice known most intimately by the oppressed. When the world as you know it is unraveling, when the powers that be are pressing upon you, it takes great faith to recognize God is present even here. God is daily breath, bread, sustenance, and survival.

Paul also articulates the importance of constant discernment to a community straddling two worlds, the promises of Jesus and the rule of empire: “...test everything. Hold fast to what is good.” Amid his absence, he is offering assurance and guidance. It takes enormous courage to live with integrity in trying times. He encourages the community to stay focused on God through prayer in all conditions and constantly discern about what it is hearing and seeing What is of God and what is not of God in the daily circumstances and realities of life?

Whatever is happening within us or around us, we have the consistent promise of Emmanuel, God-with-us. On this third Sunday of Advent, as we continue to wait for the coming of Christ into our lives and world, we hold fast to this promise. In our waiting, struggling, yearning, longing, incompleteness, we are invited to orient our whole selves to the God of life and hope in all conditions.

Questions

1. What are some different ways you have experienced prayer?

2. When have you unexpectedly become aware of God’s presence?

3. What does “hold fast to what is good” look like when your life is in crisis or chaos?

Sending Generosity Statement

Beloved Community of Christ, do not just speak and sing of Zion. Live, love, and share as Zion: those who strive to be visibly one in Christ, among whom there are no poor or oppressed.

Doctrine and Covenants 165:6a

The offering basket is available if you would like to support ongoing, small-group ministries as part of your generous response.

The offering prayer for Advent is adapted from A Disciple’s Generous Response:

Invitation to Next Meeting

Closing Hymn Community of Christ Sings 403, “like a child”

Closing Prayer

Optional Additions Depending on Group

• Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper

• Thoughts for Children

Prayer for Peace

Ring a bell or chime three times slowly. Light the peace candle.

Spiritual Practice

Take Five

Light the third candle of Advent and say:

Today we light the third candle of Advent. This candle symbolizes hope in new life. May we have hope in that new life which is coming forth in us.

Start the timer for five minutes. After five minutes say, “Amen.”

Ask if anyone would like to share the word chosen and what the experience was while focusing on the word during the centering prayer

Sharing Around the Table

1 Thessalonians 5:16–24 NRSVUE

After providing pastoral and practical guidance to a community reeling from persecution, Paul now addresses the pain and suffering it is experiencing while trying to provide hope.

Paul also articulates the importance of constant discernment to a community straddling two worlds, the promises of Jesus and the rule of empire: “...test everything. Hold fast to what is good.” Amid his absence, he is offering assurance and guidance. It takes enormous courage to live with integrity in trying times. He encourages the community to stay focused on God through prayer in all conditions and constantly discern about what it is hearing and seeing. What is of God and what is not of God in the daily circumstances and realities of life?

Questions

1. What are some different ways you have experienced prayer?

2. When have you unexpectedly become aware of God’s presence?

3. What does “hold fast to what is good” look like when your life is in crisis or chaos?

Generosity Statement

Beloved Community of Christ, do not just speak and sing of Zion. Live, love, and share as Zion: those who strive to be visibly one in Christ, among whom there are no poor or oppressed.

Doctrine and Covenants

165:6a

The offering basket is available if you would like to support ongoing, small-group ministries as part of your generous response.

Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 NRSV

Communion Statement

All are welcome at Christ’s table. The Lord’s Supper, or Communion, is a sacrament in which we remember the life, death, resurrection, and continuing presence of Jesus Christ. In Community of Christ, we also experience Communion as an opportunity to renew our baptismal covenant and to be formed as disciples who live Christ’s mission. Others may have different or added understandings within their faith traditions. We invite all who participate in the Lord’s Supper to do so in the love and peace of Jesus Christ.

We share in Communion as an expression of blessing, healing, peace, and community. In preparation let’s sing from Community of Christ Sings (select one):

515 “In these Moments We Remember”

516 “Coming Together for Wine and for Bread

521 “Let Us Break Bread Together”

525 “Small Is the Table”

528 “Eat This Bread”

Thoughts for Children

You will need:

• Large poster board with a Christmas-tree cutout

• Small stars cut from construction paper

• Writing supplies

• Tape or glue

Say: Today is the third Sunday in Advent. Advent is a time of waiting and preparing. Just like people awaited Jesus’s birth, the coming of the Messiah, we await God’s preferred future. Waiting, however, doesn’t mean we don’t do anything. In fact, while we wait, it is important to prepare for what is to come and help bring it into the world.

Our word for today is hope.

Invite participants into a time of waiting. For this third time of waiting, try for four minutes. If participants become too restless, close the time sooner. After the time of waiting is done, give all participants a paper star and something to write with. Invite them to write or draw what their time of waiting was like on the star. After they have had time to write or draw, invite them to attach their star to the posterboard tree, using tape or glue.

24 December 2023

Fourth Sunday of Advent (Joy) Luke 1:26-38

Advent of Joy

Additional Scriptures

2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16; Psalms 89:1-4, 19-26; Romans 16:25-27; Doctrine and Covenants 163:9; 163:10a

Advent Worship Setting

Create an arrangement of five candles as the focus of the worship center. This can be in a wreath or mixed with greenery or other decorations as your space allows. Use traditional colors for your candles: three purple, one pink (Joy), and one white (Christ); or choose your own colors. Each Sunday the previous candles are relit before the service starts, and one additional candle is lit during the lighting of the Advent Candle. The Christ candle is lit on Christmas Day. For a hybrid service, encourage those watching from home to create their own Advent worship setting.

The Focus Moment involves a narrator, Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus (this can be a doll). This will take a bit of preparation as Mary and Joseph will be pantomiming what the narrator is reading

Prepare a large, gift-wrapped box that contains a large mirror and smaller little mirrors, one for each person. On the inside of the box lid is written, “What God wants is YOU!”

Outreach International has a free resource for Advent that could be used in place of the Focus Moment at Outreach-International.org/how-to-help/resources/advent-stable.

Call to Worship

Organize a diverse group to read the text of “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” Community of Christ Sings 394, dividing the stanzas and then reading the refrain in unison. Perhaps place the readers around the worship space.

Lighting the Advent Candle of Joy

Light the candles of Hope, Peace, and Love from the last three weeks before the service starts.

WORSHIP RESOURCES

Prelude Carols of the Season “Joy to the World” CCS 408 “Infant Holy, Infant Lowly” CCS 416 Welcome

Responsive Reading

JOY! Uncontainable, irrepressible, bubbling up in an explosion of energy. What the weary long for, what children often embody, what makes the Divine smile Joy! It cannot be bought but is a priceless treasure. As we wait expectantly for the special birth this evening, may we experience awe and wonder at such a gift. May we find joy in God’s Advent Emmanuel, God-with-us.

Joy lives deep in the human spirit. Let us reject those things our current consumer culture says will bring us happiness money, success, power.

May we hear the call of John the Baptist to turn around and begin again. God made us in joy. May we live that way.

On this fourth Sunday of Advent, we light a candle for joy!

All: We light a candle for joy. May it light the way.

Light a fourth candle.

Song of Joyful Invitation

“Kum Ba Yah” CCS 75

Piano and guitar accompaniment can be found free online.

Stanza 1: Kum Ba Yah

Stanza 2: Come by Here

Stanza 3: (We) Sing with Joy

Invocation

Congregation’s Sung Response Sing “Come by Here” one more time.

Spiritual Practice

Meditation on Joy Pause after each instruction.

Let your body settle into a posture of ease and balance. Breathe in. Breathe out.

Gently close your eyes and settle your attention in your body and in the present. Welcome into your attention a friend who is happy or joyous. They may be delighting in the birth of a child, in recovered health after a spate of illness, or in a life event that has brought a newfound happiness.

Sense their gladness, gratefulness, or delight as you have seen it in them. Offer them a generous wish that their joy may deepen and continue.

“May your joy deepen.”

“May your life continue to bring gladness and delight.”

Next, invite into your attention someone whom you envy or feel some resentment toward.

It may be a friend, a colleague or even someone you do not know but whom you admire and yet at the same time envy.

Offer to that person a generosity of heart that celebrates their gladness, accomplishments, or successes:

“May your joy deepen.”

“May your gladness continue.”

Sense whether it is possible to offer that same generosity of joy to yourself. Take some moments to reflect on the many blessings and moments of happiness and ease that are present in your life in this moment.

Reflect on your capacity for love, care, and empathy, on the people in your life who care for you, on the moments of gladness and delight you encounter.

Say to yourself:

“May I deepen in joy and generosity.”

“May I live with appreciation and gladness.”

Offer a prayer of gratitude over all the joy you have experienced. When you are ready, open your eyes and come out of the posture and sit in silence.

Prayer for Peace

Light the Peace Candle.

Prayer

God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, provide for all seeking refuge from famine.

God of Hagar, Joseph, and Moses, liberate all seeking refuge from slavery.

God of Esther, Naomi, and Ruth, strengthen all seeking refuge as families.

God of David, Elijah, and Jeremiah, protect all seeking refuge from conflict.

God of Ezekiel, Ezra and Nehemiah, comfort all who are longing for home.

God of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. journey with all seeking refuge today.

In the name of the One who was both refuge and refugee. Amen.

Ministry of Music OR Congregational Hymn of Peace

Christian Aid, 2016

“Té People Walk/Un pueblo que camina” CCS 292

Encourage participants to sing in a language other than their own. OR “Peace Child” CCS 402

Focus Moment: “What is on God’s Christmas List?”

Cast: Narrator, Joseph, Mary, and baby Jesus (could use a doll)

Preparation: At the worship center is a large, gift-wrapped box that contains a large mirror and smaller little mirrors, one for each person. On the inside of the box lid is written, “What God wants is YOU!”

Actors take their places on the rostrum and pantomime their parts while the narrator reads the text below. At the appropriate time, have Mary reach into the manger, lift out baby Jesus, and cradles him. If desired, add an innkeeper, shepherds, angel, and wise men to pantomime their portion of the story.

Narrator: When it was almost time for Jesus to be born, the government ordered everyone to return to the town of their origin. For Joseph, that was Bethlehem. So, Mary and Joseph packed some supplies and started on their journey. When they arrived in Bethlehem, they found there was no place to stay. They asked everyone they saw, but there just weren’t any rooms available. Mary was really tired; it had been a long, dusty trip. Finally, one innkeeper had an idea. He offered them some space in the stable behind his inn. So, they settled in with the cows and sheep, maybe even a stray dog.

Later, in the quiet of the night, Mary gave birth to baby Jesus, the very first Christmas gift. It wasn’t too long after that when some shepherds witnessed a marvelous sight. While they were watching their sheep, the sky lit up and an angel declared to them, “Do not be afraid because I am bringing you good news. To you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. Go you will find the child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” They did what the angel said. They found the stable, and when they looked inside, what do you think they saw? A manger! A baby! They were in the right place! They had found Jesus!

These shepherds joined in the first celebration of Christmas. Later there were wise men who came to see what all the excitement was about and offered this baby gifts from their treasure chests. So, you see, our story is about gifts gifts Mary and Joseph offered to God, gifts wise ones gave to Jesus, but more importantly, the gift of God’s Son that was given to us.

All actors freeze and the narrator engages the people in a brief discussion about this part of the Christmas story.

• What is a manger? How would it feel to sleep in one?

• What do you know about shepherds? Why do you think they were obedient to the angels?

• How might the shepherds have acted around the baby Jesus?

• Why do you think the Wise Ones followed the star?

Discussion should end with the question “What is on God’s Christmas list?” The narrator reads the final paragraphs below to provide the answer. All actors pantomime the conclusion of the Advent Focus Moment series while the narrator reads.

Narrator: What is on God’s Christmas list? It’s in the big box, where we have kept it hidden throughout Advent. Peek in the box and see what it is…

Actors open the large box, discover a large mirror and message inside the top, and hold them up for all to see. Actors remove the small mirrors from the box and distribute them throughout the congregation.

Narrator: Take a look in your mirror. You! You are on God’s Christmas list! When we live as faithful disciples, it brings God delight.

Scripture Reading: Doctrine and Covenants 163:10a

That’s the best gift ever; you are what God wants for Christmas.

Herald House Scripture-Based Focus Moments, adapted HeraldHouse.org/search?q=scripture+based+focus+moments

“Joseph, Kind Joseph”

OR “Star-Child”

OR “Tomorrow Christ Is Coming”

Morning Message

Based on Luke 1:26-38

OR video

A “Witness the Word” sermon by Robin Linkhart based on Luke 1:26-38 is available at HeraldHouse.org/collections/digital-media-witness-the-word/products/witness-the-word-asacred-yes-mp4-video-download.

Disciples’ Generous Response

Scripture Reading: Doctrine and Covenants 163:9

Story

Ask someone to share about a time they experienced an advent of joy in their life.

Statement

During this time of Disciples’ Generous Response, we focus on aligning our heart with God’s heart. Our offerings are more than meeting budgets or funding mission. We can tangibly express our gratitude to God through our offerings, who is the giver of all.

As we share our mission tithes either by placing money in the plates or through eTithing, use this time to thank God for the many gifts received in life. Our hearts grow aligned with God’s when we gratefully receive and faithfully respond by living Christ’s mission.

If your congregation is meeting online, remind participants they can give through CofChrist.org/give or through eTithing.org (consider showing these URLs on screen).

Blessing and Receiving of Local and Worldwide Mission Tithes

Closing Hymn

Benediction Response Postlude

Hymn

CCS 414

CCS 420

CCS 406

“Hark! The

CCS 423 OR “Angels We

High” CCS 427

CCS 433

Herald Angels Sing”

Have Heard on

OR “Good Christian Friends, Rejoice!”

Fourth Sunday of Advent

Luke 1:26-38

Exploring the Scripture

Today is the fourth and last Sunday of Advent, the period of preparation for and expectation of the coming of a Messiah. Interestingly enough, though, today’s text is not the account of Jesus’ birth as we might expect; rather, it is the foretelling of that birth. We must not jump ahead too quickly to Christmas; we are still in Advent.

Several key features are found in today’s text from Luke. The angel Gabriel visits an ordinary young woman in an out-of-the-way town (Nazareth), in an insignificant province of the Roman Empire. The woman, Mary, is engaged, but not yet married, to Joseph, who was a descendant of King David. Gabriel tells Mary she is favored by God and will give birth to a child named Jesus who will be called “Son of the Most High” (v. 32). As one might expect, Mary does not receive this news well, at least at first. She is not yet married and is still a virgin. And what will Joseph think of all this?

The angel tells Mary not to be afraid because what is about to happen to her is God’s doing. Her baby will be born of the Holy Spirit. We might assume, however, that Mary is not easily convinced. This is a major shock and might easily upset her preparations for her marriage to Joseph. Gabriel goes on to tell Mary that her relative Elizabeth who is well past childbearing age is expecting a child also and closes with the affirmation that nothing is impossible with God.

Miraculously, Mary accepts the astounding news (v. 38). She hardly has time to hear what the angel said, let alone consider its implications, and yet she agrees. In this acceptance, Mary models for us how to receive the most wonderful of all gifts. Her answer is “Yes,” and this yes forever changes the world. Luke is always talking about the Spirit. He starts with today’s promise from the angel that Mary’s child is born of the Spirit of God. Later chapters describe the Spirit’s presence and role in key events in Jesus’ life and ministry, including his baptism, temptation in the wilderness, early ministry in Galilee, and announcement of his mission in the Nazareth synagogue. Just as Jesus allowed himself to be led and directed by the Spirit, the same Spirit seeks acceptance and recognition in the life of each person. This Spirit keeps our lives focused on Jesus, whose mission we claim as our own. When we ask ourselves, or others ask us, what gives focus to our lives, may we always reply in word and deed, “His name is Jesus!”

Our text for today reminds us God is always surprising people, disrupting our lives just when we think we have everything planned. Even in this season of Advent, when God is so wanting us to be ready to receive the most wonderful gift of all, we are too often so busy our lives too full to find room for Jesus. Our waiting and expectation has become cluttered with all that we think we need to get done to be ready for Christmas. The world tells us there are just a few more shopping days left. But God tells us there are a few days to slow down and make room in our lives for the Savior.

SERMON AND CLASS HELPS

Central Ideas

1. Advent is a time of preparation and expectation.

2. God is constantly surprising people, disrupting their plans.

3. Nothing will be impossible with God.

4. God’s Spirit is present from the beginning.

5. The focus of our lives is Jesus.

Questions for the Speaker

1. What are the most important features of this scripture text that you must include when you preach today?

2. When has God surprised you and disrupted your “peaceful” life?

3. When have you opened yourself to the Spirit’s guidance? How has this affected your life?

4. How will you use the remaining days of Advent? How will you invite the congregation to use them?

SACRED SPACE: A RESOURCE FOR SMALL-GROUP MINISTRY

Year B Letters

Fourth Sunday of Advent (JOY)

Romans 16:25–27 NRSVUE

Gathering

Welcome

Prayer for Peace

Ring a bell or chime three times slowly. Light the peace candle.

Great Shepherd, you faithfully lead and guide us each day, yet we still feel like voices crying in the wilderness. You have blessed us with an abundance of love, yet we struggle to feel that abundance. God, as we look about the world today, we see many who do not feel your love. Who do not feel the love of their friends and families supporting them. Who struggle with loss and division and join our voices calling for a sign of your love. God, grant us peace. Grant us peace that settles our weary hearts so that we can love again. Grant us peace that allows us to love unconditionally, so that others may recognize your light in our lives. By sharing the light of your love in our lives we believe we can become peacemakers for those around us. Bless us with your love during this season of Advent. Amen.

Spiritual Practice Take Five

Light the fourth candle of Advent and say:

Today we light the fourth candle of Advent. This candle represents joy. May the lighting of this candle remind us to share peace, reconciliation, and healing of the spirit with the world.

Throughout this Advent season we have been contemplating how “taking five” helps us slow down and connect with the Divine. Joy is cultivated from within each of us, as is our pain. Joy can come from journeying with God to heal our pain and finding a love and acceptance that always has been within us. The Christ Child represents joy. Christ teaches us that we all are children of God, and that all are loved.

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for see, I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people.”

Luke 2:10 NRSVUE

Select a word to focus on (peace, blessing, compassion, grace) and keep it in your mind as you breathe in for eight seconds, breathe out for eight seconds. We will repeat for five minutes.

Start the timer for five minutes. At the end of five minutes say, “Amen.”

Ask if anyone would like to share the word they chose and what the experience was as they focused on their word during the centering prayer.

Sharing Around the Table

Romans 16:25–27 NRSVUE

Now to God who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but is now disclosed and through the prophetic writings is made known to all the gentiles, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever! Amen.

As this Advent lesson brings us closer to celebrating Christmas, it also invites us to open our eyes and hearts wider to see and receive what God has been and continues to do amid life’s journey, wherever we are. In this gift of radical love, joy, hope, and peace that always brings us to the manger, we have the privilege to meet for the first time or once again, the birth and life of Jesus, who is the fullest expression of who God is, what God is about, and what God is seeking to make new in our lives.

Questions

1. What is the good news that resonates in you this Advent?

2. How have you trusted in God’s presence in a time of hardship or struggle?

3. How have you seen love, joy, hope, and peace lived this Advent season?

Sending

Generosity Statement

Beloved Community of Christ, do not just speak and sing of Zion. Live, love, and share as Zion: those who strive to be visibly one in Christ, among whom there are no poor or oppressed.

Doctrine and Covenants 165:6a

The offering basket is available if you would like to support ongoing, small-group ministries as part of your generous response.

The offering prayer for Advent is adapted from A Disciple’s Generous Response:

Invitation to Next Meeting

Closing Hymn Community of Christ Sings 407, “Comfort, Comfort Now My People”

Closing Prayer

Optional Additions Depending on Group

• Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper

• Thoughts for Children

Prayer for Peace

Ring a bell or chime three times slowly. Light the peace candle.

Spiritual Practice

Take Five

Light the fourth candle of Advent and say: Today we light the fourth candle of Advent. This candle represents joy. May the lighting of this candle remind us to share peace, reconciliation, and healing of the spirit with the world. Throughout this Advent season we have been contemplating how “taking five” helps us slow down and connect with the Divine. Joy is cultivated from within each of us, as is our pain. Joy can come from journeying with God to heal our pain and finding a love and acceptance that always has been within us. The Christ Child represents joy. Christ teaches us that we all are children of God, and that all are loved.

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for see, I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people.”

Luke 2:10 NRSVUE

When we “take five” this season to express gratitude, it brings joy to our hearts. Today we will engage in five minutes of centering prayer. In centering prayer we choose a word or phrase and repeat it while we focus on breathing in and breathing out. Select a word to focus on (peace, blessing, compassion, grace) and keep it in your mind as you breathe in for eight seconds, breathe out for eight seconds. We will repeat for five minutes.

Start the timer for five minutes. At the end of five minutes say, “Amen.”

Ask if anyone would like to share the word they chose and what the experience was as they focused on their word during the centering prayer.

Sharing Around the Table

Romans 16:25–27 NRSVUE

As Paul writes to the new Christians in Rome, he challenges them to recognize it is God who strengthens them in the proclamation of the good news of Christ. Paul has been formed in the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Christ. Now he wants those in Rome also to claim this same gospel for their lives. The mystery of what God had been doing now is made known in the life of Jesus. And it will continue to be made known through their lives as they live into obedient faith. This kind of obedient faith comes from the trust placed in God. It is demonstrated through the hope and the joy that fills human lives. The presence of God’s incarnation in the life of Jesus God choosing to come and be with us is how God demonstrates God’s trustworthiness and love for all. Through the struggles of life, we trust God to be with us even in crisis, hardship, and suffering. As this Advent lesson brings us closer to celebrating Christmas, it also invites us to open our eyes and hearts wider to see and receive what God has been and continues to do amid life’s journey, wherever we are. In this gift of radical love, joy, hope, and peace that always brings us to the manger, we have the privilege to meet for the first time or once again, the birth and life of Jesus, who is the fullest expression of who God is, what God is about, and what God is seeking to make new in our lives.

Questions

1. What is the good news that resonates in you this Advent?

2. How have you trusted in God’s presence in a time of hardship or struggle?

3. How have you seen love, joy, hope, and peace lived this Advent season?

Generosity Statement

Beloved Community of Christ, do not just speak and sing of Zion. Live, love, and share as Zion: those who strive to be visibly one in Christ, among whom there are no poor or oppressed.

Doctrine and Covenants

165:6a

The offering basket is available if you would like to support ongoing, small-group ministries as part of your generous response.

Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 NRSV

Communion Statement

All are welcome at Christ’s table. The Lord’s Supper, or Communion, is a sacrament in which we remember the life, death, resurrection, and continuing presence of Jesus Christ. In Community of Christ, we also experience Communion as an opportunity to renew our baptismal covenant and to be formed as disciples who live Christ’s mission. Others may have different or added understandings within their faith traditions. We invite all who participate in the Lord’s Supper to do so in the love and peace of Jesus Christ.

We share in Communion as an expression of blessing, healing, peace, and community. In preparation let’s sing from Community of Christ Sings (select one):

515 “In these Moments We Remember”

516 “Coming Together for Wine and for Bread”

521 “Let Us Break Bread Together”

525 “Small Is the Table”

528 “Eat This Bread”

Thoughts for Children

You will need:

• Large poster board with a Christmas-tree cutout

• Small hearts cut from construction paper

• Writing supplies

• Tape or glue

Say: Today is the fourth Sunday in Advent. Advent is a time of waiting and preparing. Just like people awaited Jesus’s birth, the coming of the Messiah, we await God’s preferred future. Waiting, however, doesn’t mean we don’t do anything. In fact, while we wait, it is important to prepare for what is to come and help bring it into the world.

Our word for today is joy.

Invite participants into a time of waiting. For this time, try for five minutes If participants become too restless, close sooner. After the time of waiting, give all participants a paper heart and something to write with. Invite them to write or draw what their time of waiting was like on the heart. After they have had time to write or draw, invite them to attach their heart to the posterboard tree, using tape or glue.

Christmas Day

Luke 2:1-20 (A,B,C)

In a Stable Wrapped in Starlight

Additional Scriptures

Isaiah 9:2-7; Psalm 96; Titus 2:11-14

Preparation

Recruit Three Wise Humans, a Scripture Reader, and a shepherd any gender, ethnicity, or age. They should rehearse their lines so they can speak the words casually instead of stiffly reading them aloud.

Prelude

Prayer for Peace

Light the Peace Candle.

Prayer

Jesus, prince of peace.

Emmanuel, God with us.

Pause.

Love, Joy, Hope, and Peace be with us. Amen.

Welcome, Joys, and Concerns

Call to Worship

Wise Human 1: Today is Christmas Day!

Wise Human 2: Whoo-hoo!

Wise Human 1: We celebrate the birth of Jesus!

Wise Human 2: Whoo-hoo!

Wise Human 1 to 2: Take it down a notch! … We are the Three Wise Humans, and we are here to be wise.

Wise Human 3 to 1: Really?

Wise Human 1: We will sing carols and hear scripture to remind us of the sacred night.

Wise Human 2: Whoo-hoo!

Welcoming Hymn

“Joy to the World!”

OR “When the Present Holds No Promise”

Invocation

CCS 408

CCS 430

WORSHIP RESOURCES

25 December 2023

Response

Reading

Wise Human 3: Romans ruled their world back then. And they said that all the people had to be registered. For many people, it meant traveling.

Scripture Reader: Luke 2:1-2

Hymn

Reading

Wise Human 1: Lots of things happened before all this, though. Mary was pregnant, Joseph was her husband, and they lived in Nazareth.

Scripture Reader: Luke 2:3-5

Wise Human 2: What’s really cool about this is that Joseph was descended from King David!

Wise Human 1: Yep. And after traveling all that way, they couldn’t find any place to stay. But still, it was a holy night, a marvelous night.

Reading

Wise Human 3: Can you imagine having to give birth to a baby when you’re in a stable?

Wise Human 2: Lots of people have to have babies in less-than-ideal circumstances.

Wise Human 1: Yeah, seems like from the beginning, Jesus could relate to the people who aren’t so privileged.

Scripture Reader: Luke 2:6-7 Hymn

Reading

Wise Human 2: Okay, break to the shepherds. They were the servants of the world.

Wise Human 1: Pretty low class.

Wise Human 3: We don’t care.

Wise Human 1: We don’t care. But what an experience!

Scripture Reader: Luke 2:8

Hymn

Reading

Wise Human 1: I wish I was there to see this!

Wise Human 2: I’m pretty sure I’d be scared.

“I

CCS 415

CCS 394

Heard the Bells on Christmas Day”

OR “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”

“O Little Town of Bethlehem” CCS 434 OR “Silent Night! Holy Night!” CCS 421

Hymn

“Away in a Manager” CCS 426 OR “What Child Is This” CCS 432

“In the Bleak Midwinter” CCS 422

CCS 410

OR “Holy Night, Blessed Night”

Hymn

Scripture Reader: Luke 2:9-12

“The First Noël”

OR “Go, Tell It on the Mountain”

Reading

Wise Human 3: Then the heavens opened up …

Wise Human 2: Interrupting It rained?

Wise Human 3: Noooo. They could see a lot of angels!

Wise Human 2: Wow!

Scripture Reader: Luke 2:13-14

Hymn

“Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”

OR “Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming

Reading

Wise Human 2: I’d probably faint. Do you think they all fainted?

Wise Human 1: Nope. They did what the angels asked them to do.

Scripture Reader: Luke 2:15-17

Hymn

“Angels We Have Heard on High”

OR “Angels, from the Realms of Glory”

Reading

Scripture Reader: Luke 2:18-19

Wise Human 2: I think I’ll treasure this too.

Wise Human 1: Me too.

Wise Human 3: Me too.

Disciples’ Generous Response Statement

During this time of Disciples’ Generous Response, we focus on aligning our heart with God’s heart. Our offerings are more than meeting budgets or funding mission. Through our offerings we can join in making God’s work of peace visible in the world. What will you offer at the manger today?

As we share our mission tithes either by placing money in the plates or through eTithing, use this time to thank God for the many gifts received in life. Our hearts grow aligned with God’s when we gratefully receive and faithfully respond by living Christ’s mission.

If your congregation is meeting online, remind participants they can give through CofChrist.org/give or at eTithing.org (consider showing these URLs on screen).

Blessing and Receiving of Local and Worldwide Mission Tithes

Monologue

This is about an encounter with Christ resulting in reconciliation. The monologue is optional.

CCS

424

409

CCS 423

CCS 437

CCS

427

436

Character: A teenager or young adult dressed as a shepherd.

“The Shepherd Witness”

It was the night I seriously argued with my father. Sure. Maybe it was the usual, but he just didn’t understand. I don’t know if I want to do this, to do what he does. The sheep are all right and I like being a protector. But I didn’t feel like I belonged. Anywhere. I didn’t feel like I belonged anywhere.

You know what that’s like? To feel like you‘re out of place, out of step. To feel clumsy when you’re really not. And it’s like he just didn’t understand. All he saw was me not making my way. I...I just felt like I didn’t belong anywhere. And, frankly, I didn’t like my father very much...because he didn’t understand. It’s like he didn’t care.

But then that night something happened. I didn‘t see it myself. My father didn‘t either, but his friends did. They said that an angel came to them and there was a kind of light all around them. They said that they were afraid at first, but the angel told them that there‘s no need for fear, but tonight was a night of joy, of wondrous joy.

That angel said that to us is born a savior in the city of David, Christ the Lord. The messiah. The messiah! And that the shepherds would find the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. And then right after, the heavens opened up and a whole lot of angels came and said, “Glory to God in the highest. And on earth, peace, goodwill to men.”

I wish I had seen it. I wish I could have seen it. But I didn’t. His friends asked my father to watch the sheep while they went to find the baby. So, he was going to do that, but he woke me up and told me to go along with them. I was pretty cranky. I mean, it seems like my father is always telling me what to do. And waking up in the middle of the night isn’t exactly my favorite thing, you know. But I went.

We found the baby. The savior. The Christ. I came back. I came running back to my father and I told him. Well, I tried to. But I couldn’t....It was an experience, you know? I tried...I tried though. I told him I belonged. I saw the child and I belonged. I told him I saw the messiah. The Christ. He’s right here, right now! Right now! And you know what? He believed me. My father believed me! And he never actually saw any of it!

He believed in the Christ without actually seeing him. At that moment I saw my father for who he really is. He believed me, he believed in me, and I looked in his eyes and I saw him differently...his compassion...his love. He believed me! I’ll tell you; I couldn’t have a better father. Nobody can. I’m the luckiest kid in the world.

Debra Bruch

Closing Hymn

“Good Christian Friends, Rejoice”

Benediction Sending Forth

Read “Silvery Star, Precious Star,” CCS 419, Stanza 4. End with, “Follow the star’s light. Go in peace.”

CCS 411

CCS 433 OR “God’s Love Made Visible!”

Christmas Day

Luke 2:1-20

Exploring the Scripture

This passage details the unremarkable birth of yet another child into poverty, in an overcrowded village. The parents-to-be are directed by Roman decree to leave their hometown of Nazareth and travel to Bethlehem, the ancestral home of the father, to be officially counted and registered. We assume it was a difficult journey for Mary and Joseph, considering Mary’s pregnancy. But as oppressed people, there was little choice; they were required to comply with the decree.

At a deeper level, one objective of this text is for the readers to make the connection between Joseph’s ancestry in the house and lineage of David (centered in Bethlehem) and the prophesied coming of a Messiah (Micah 5:2). Another objective of the beginning of the story is to help us imagine and understand the unjust political environment in which Mary and Joseph are living. The humble setting of this story continues as shepherds in their fields are overwhelmed by the angel message. Shepherding was considered the lowliest of professions a curious choice for those who are to witness the newborn Messiah. Besides Mary and Joseph, the circumstances and social standing of the shepherds are suggestions of God’s upside-down kingdom “the last will be first, and the first will be last” (Matthew 20:16).

Within this account, shepherds witness the heavenly event and testify of the importance of what has happened. As witnesses go, shepherds would not have been at the top of the list of those who have credibility or importance. Though all the participants in the Luke text are considered poor and humble, this does not lessen their joy and praise for what God has done. Just like the heavenly host, the shepherds return home, “glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen” (v. 20) a celebration of the birth of Jesus, the Messiah. God breaks in on the usual and expected with an incarnational message delivered by socially unacceptable participants.

The name Emmanuel signals “God with us.” While we know Christ came into the world as Savior for everyone, it appears that God chose to live among the humble, ostracized, and poor of that time and place. This foreshadows Jesus’ ministry, as he will also choose to walk with the poor, marginalized, and outcast. In the person of Jesus, God graces the world with a message of hope and favor not tied to birthrights, education, or worldly success. Jesus is “God’s Love Made Visible!” (Iola Brubeck, Community of Christ Sings 411) for all people.

Central Ideas

1. Mary and Joseph were members of an oppressed people and culture. Shepherds were at the bottom of the social classes.

2. The birth of Jesus shows God choosing to “dwell with” those who are poor, outcast, and marginalized; Emmanuel means “God with us.”

3. Jesus came to bring hope for all people. He is God’s love made visible.

Questions for the Speaker

SERMON AND CLASS HELPS

1. Identify those who are oppressed and marginalized in today’s world. How does God in Christ speak hope to them?

2. How is this text an example of God’s upside-down kingdom?

3. In what ways does this story explain the hymn text: “How silently, how silently the wondrous gift is given!” (Phillips Brooks, “O Little Town of Bethlehem” Community of Christ Sings 434)?

4. Why do you think Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds make powerful participants in the story?

5. On this Christmas Day, what message can you share with those who are struggling, mourning, and despondent? What is the good news that will cause all to rejoice at the manger?

SACRED SPACE: A RESOURCE FOR SMALL-GROUP MINISTRY

Year B Letters

Christmas Day

Titus 2:11–14 NRSVUE

Gathering

Welcome

On Christmas Day we light all four Advent candles and then light the Christ candle in the center of the Advent wreath. The candles symbolize the hope, joy, love, and peace of Christ. The Christmas season lasts twelve days, from Christmas Day to Epiphany on January 6.

Prayer for Peace

Ring a bell or chime three times slowly. Light the peace candle.

Mother of peace, we rejoice on this Christmas day, for Mary has brought new life, new hope, new joy, and new love into a lamenting world in the form of your Son, Jesus!

Jesus: a baby in need of nurture, holding, cradling, swaddling. Jesus: a baby so tiny and soft, yet bursting with possibility and strength! Jesus: the hope of the world!

May the seemingly impossible and yet absolutely ordinary creation of a new baby inspire us to strive for peace in our towns and stables. Peace: a seedling in need of nurture. Peace: a seedling so tiny, yet bursting with possibility! Peace: the hope of the world!

May we lean on you the way a mother leans on a midwife. May we guide peace into being the way a midwife guides a mother. And may we rejoice in peace the way we rejoice in the birth of your Son, Jesus, the Prince of Peace! Amen.

Spiritual Practice

Praying the Psalms

Light all the Advent candles including the Christ candle in the center of the wreath. Say: I will read Psalm 100:1–4 adapted, pausing after each verse. When I pause, we will say aloud together: “The Lord is good, God’s love endures forever.”

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come into God’s presence with singing.

All: The Lord is good, God’s love endures forever.

Know that the Lord is God. It is God who made us, and we are God’s; we are God’s people, and the sheep of God’s pasture.

All: The Lord is good, God’s love endures forever.

Enter God’s gates with thanksgiving, and God’s courts with praise.

Give thanks to God, bless God’s name.

All: The Lord is good, God’s love endures forever.

Amen.

Sharing Around the Table

Titus 2:11–14 NRSVUE

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly, while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. He it is who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds.

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all…” (Titus 2:11 NRSVUE).

With all the pageantry of Christmas holiday concerts, children’s programs, church-school programs, and music on the radio it is easy to forget the message of Titus 2:11 is the point of all the celebration. What is our response to this good news? The author of Titus says the response is straightforward: behave righteously.

The letter to Titus, attributed to the Apostle Paul, encourages the disciple to right behavior and tries to explain that disciples of Jesus live lives of good deeds, honest interaction, and healthy (moral) choices. It is quite worthwhile to read the entire letter when considering today’s text.

As we celebrate the appearance of grace in a cow stall on the back side of Bethlehem, it is important to consider the response we will make to that appearance of grace. The formula of generosity starts with God in the gift of Jesus and moves into our lives and to the lives of others when we recognize the grace given, try to live in that grace, and share that grace with others whom we encounter in everyday life. It is from God’s generosity that our gratitude blooms, and the fruit of generosity ripens through giving ourselves to others.

Grace is the gift of God’s reconciling presence extended freely. We cannot earn or achieve God’s grace. Simply put, grace appeared, salvation has come, and disciples extend grace to all. Merry Christmas!

Questions

1. What does it mean to you that grace appeared, and salvation has come to all?

2. How do qualifiers (only believers, members, or “good” people receive grace) make the gift of Jesus something less than grace?

3. How does this unlimited generosity impact your thinking and behavior toward others different from you?

4. How should grace impact conversations about racism, sexism, ageism, wealth inequality, and environmental degradation?

Sending Generosity Statement

Beloved Community of Christ, do not just speak and sing of Zion. Live, love, and share as Zion: those who strive to be visibly one in Christ, among whom there are no poor or oppressed.

Doctrine and Covenants 165:6a

The offering basket is available if you would like to support ongoing, small-group ministries as part of your generous response.

God of love and light, in this season of hope, love, and joy, may the peace of your Son, Jesus, be made real in the world. May our hearts, minds, hands, and resources be useful in the cause of bringing your light where there is darkness and your love where there is despair, anger, fear, and suffering. May our offerings be used toward your purposes we pray. Amen.

Invitation to Next Meeting

Closing Hymn Community of Christ Sings 409, “Go, Tell It on the Mountain”

Closing Prayer

Optional Additions Depending on Group

• Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper

• Thoughts for Children

Prayer for Peace

Ring a bell or chime three times slowly. Light the peace candle.

Mother of peace, we rejoice on this Christmas day, for Mary has brought new life, new hope, new joy, and new love into a lamenting world in the form of your Son, Jesus!

Jesus: a baby in need of nurture, holding, cradling, swaddling. Jesus: a baby so tiny and soft, yet bursting with possibility and strength! Jesus: the hope of the world!

Spiritual Practice

Praying the Psalms

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come into God’s presence with singing.

All: The Lord is good, God’s love endures forever.

Know that the Lord is God. It is God who made us, and we are God’s; we are God’s people, and the sheep of God’s pasture.

All: The Lord is good, God’s love endures forever.

Enter God’s gates with thanksgiving, and God’s courts with praise. Give thanks to God, bless God’s name.

All: The Lord is good, God’s love endures forever.

Amen.

Sharing Around the Table

Titus 2:11–14 NRSVUE

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all…” (Titus 2:11 NRSVUE).

Questions

1. What does it mean to you that grace appeared, and salvation has come to all?

2. How do qualifiers (only believers, members, or “good” people receive grace) make the gift of Jesus something less than grace?

3. How does this unlimited generosity impact your thinking and behavior toward others different from you?

4. How should grace impact conversations about racism, sexism, ageism, wealth inequality, and environmental degradation?

Generosity Statement

Beloved Community of Christ, do not just speak and sing of Zion. Live, love, and share as Zion: those who strive to be visibly one in Christ, among whom there are no poor or oppressed.

Doctrine and Covenants

165:6a

The offering basket is available if you would like to support ongoing, small-group ministries as part of your generous response.

Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 NRSV

Communion Statement

All are welcome at Christ’s table. The Lord’s Supper, or Communion, is a sacrament in which we remember the life, death, resurrection, and continuing presence of Jesus Christ. In Community of Christ, we also experience Communion as an opportunity to renew our baptismal covenant and to be formed as disciples who live Christ’s mission. Others may have different or added understandings within their faith traditions. We invite all who participate in the Lord’s Supper to do so in the love and peace of Jesus Christ.

We share in Communion as an expression of blessing, healing, peace, and community. In preparation let’s sing from Community of Christ Sings (select one):

515 “In these Moments We Remember”

516 “Coming Together for Wine and for Bread”

521 “Let Us Break Bread Together”

525 “Small Is the Table”

528 “Eat This Bread”

Thoughts for Children

You will need:

• Christmas treat (candy, cookies, etc.; be cautious of potential allergies)

Say: Today we celebrate Christmas! All during Advent, we waited and prepared for this day. On Christmas, we remember the joy, hope, love, and peace Jesus brings to the world, and we consider the ways we are called to share joy, hope, love, and peace in the world. I brought something else I’d like to share with you today (show the treats you brought). Before I give each of you one of these treats, I want you to tell me how you plan to share joy, hope, love, or peace in the world. If you are having trouble thinking of something, let me know, and I’ll help you. Allow participants time to think and share. Make sure everyone gets a chance to share and celebrate each participant’s plan before giving everyone a treat.

First Sunday after Christmas Day Luke 2:22-40

Recognize the Messiah

Additional Scriptures

Isaiah 61:10 62:3; Psalm 148; Galatians 4:4-7; Doctrine and Covenants 163:2a

Preparation

Continue with the Three Wise Humans from the Christmas Day service. They can be any gender, ethnicity, and age. They should rehearse their lines so that they speak the words casually instead of stiffly reading them out loud.

Call to Worship

Wise Human 1: Can you imagine what it was like to live when Jesus was a baby?

Wise Human 2: Nope. I wonder, though, if I would recognize a baby the way Simeon and Anna did.

Wise Human 3: It’s a good story. Both of them.

Wise Human 2: Yeah. Luke was a good storyteller. He writes that Mary and Joseph went to the temple in Jerusalem to circumcise the infant Jesus. It was a sacred ritual back then. That’s when Simeon and Anna came into the story.

Scripture Reading: Luke 2:25-36

Wise Human 3: I wonder if being really, really, old was significant back then.

WORSHIP RESOURCES 31 December 2023

Prelude Welcoming Hymn “Come, Holy Spirit, Come” CCS 154 OR “I Danced in the Morning” CCS 23 Welcome, Joys, and Concerns Call to Worship Doctrine and Covenants 163:2a Hymn “Look at This Man, Born of God” CCS 26 OR “We Would See Jesus” CCS 35

Invocation Response

Wise Human 1: It might be significant now! By the time you get that old, you’ve lived and experienced. Seems to me you have some wisdom.

Wise Human 2: When I get that old, I won’t remember anything! Including why I went into the temple in the first place!

Wise Human 1: I think it’s cool that Luke says Anna was a prophet. He even wrote about who she was!

Scripture Reading Luke 2:36-39

Sharing in the Spoken Word

Based on Luke 2:22-40

Scripture Reading: Luke 2:39-40

Wise Human 3: Wish I could recognize Jesus like that.

Wise Human 1: We can! It takes discernment of the Holy Spirit.

Wise Human 3: Yeah but, Jesus isn’t running around anymore!

Wise Human 2: Yes, he is. Sure, he is. Look closely, you can see Jesus in people.

Wise Human 1: We share this sacred story, you know. Jesus is here, right here, right now.

Wise Human 3: Wait! What? If Jesus is in people, then …

Wise Human 1: Jesus has as many faces as people. That’s a lot of different ways to see God.

Wise Human 2: Throw Creation into the mix and we got more perspectives than we can ever count.

Wise Human 3: That blows my mind!

Wise Human 1: Exactly. Infinite possibilities. That’s why we need to discern who lets the light shine and why the Holy Spirit helps us.

Wise Human 2: Gotta learn to see. We all do.

Reflection To See

Take a moment, close your eyes, and visualize the night sky and sounds. Finding my spot on the roof of the house Gazing into the night sky

A quiet unlike any lazy afternoon

Muted sounds slowly creeping in Not quite approaching conscious awareness

Visualize creation and people in front of you, stretching out in a field. Closing my eyes to the ancient fires filling the sky There appears a field

In the field is a sea of faces people and animals, trees, and plant life creatures who walk, run, slither, creep, fly creatures who swim

Deep within you, you see light coming from each form of creation.

Slowly, as I gaze, eyes closed there appears a spark of light light emanating from each, showing the fire that fills their form each blazing anew with glory the field an infinite expanse of light ancient light ancient fire

Within you is also the light. See it. Light filling my consciousness spilling, glowing, illuminating Light filling all time, all space, showing the path I choose Light showing all paths chosen Enough light To see Turn to your neighbor and greet them and say, “I recognize the light of God within you.”

Dean Robinson; used with permission

Hymn

“Seek Ye First”

Encourage participants to sing in a language other than their own.

OR “See What Love We Have Been Given!”

Prayer for Peace

Light the Peace Candle.

Hymn

“Joseph, Son of an Ancient King”

This song is a beginner level for pianists. Invite a piano beginner to accompany the congregation, giving the pianist plenty of time to prepare. OR “Peace among Earth’s Peoples”

Peace Prayer

God, our father and mother:

CCS 599

CCS 496

CCS 443

CCS 448

Jesus calls us brothers and sisters, and we join him in pursuing freedom from fear, hatred, prejudice, anxiety, loneliness, and despair. We long to abolish these heavy, destructive walls that keep us apart from you and from one another. We long to build ladders that reach up and over, connecting us to curiosity, love, open-mindedness, calm, hope, and community.We thank you for the hope Jesus’s birth brought and continues to bring our world. May we look to the stars to guide us. May we look to Jesus to inspire us. May we look into the faces of the hopeless in our communities as we kneel in service, washing their feet. In the name of Jesus, who stands with us. Amen.

Tiffany and Caleb Brian

Disciples’ Generous Response

Generosity Hymn

“Help Us Express Your Love”

OR “View the Present through the Promise”

Reflection

The Ember

CCS 621

CCS 401

The master bent down close to the coal that still gleamed in the vast complexity of creation Many times, the ember had almost extinguished

Many times, the master had sent ones to bear the message I am coming I am coming to share with you

I am coming to weep with you

I am coming to laugh and sing and celebrate with you I am coming to bring healing, sight, acceptance, forgiveness Each time, the message had been received

Each time hope had sprung up for some of the children of creation For some, not all

For some

Those whose vision was engulfed in their own image Whose understanding was chained down with learned expectations Hope was not acceptable Joy was not found Peace was an obstacle to be overcome and not embraced Love was love of self

For some, life was to be tightly gripped in their hand Held and controlled

For some, the ember could be extinguished if need be

The Master looked down Smiled Breathed

The ember glowed brightly In a manger He stirred and opened His eyes

Dean L. Robinson; used with permission

Statement

As we share our mission tithes either by placing money in the plates or through eTithing, use this time to thank God for the many gifts received in life. Our hearts grow aligned with God’s when we gratefully receive and faithfully respond by living Christ’s mission.

If your congregation is meeting online, remind participants they can give through CofChrist.org/give or through eTithing.org (consider showing these URLs on screen).

Blessing and Receiving of Local and Worldwide Mission Tithes

Closing Hymn

“I Have Called You by Your Name”

Encourage participants to sing in a language other than their own. OR “Prophetic Church, the Future Waits”

Benediction

Recognizing the Messiah

Read Galatians 4:4-7 Go in peace.

Postlude

CCS 636

CCS 362

First Sunday after Christmas Day

Luke 2:22-40

Exploring the Scripture

Today’s text is set at the temple at Jerusalem. Joseph and Mary brought Jesus there to fulfill the requirements of Jewish law. The previous verse (Luke 2:21) refers to Jesus’ circumcision, the ritual required for all newborn males. But in the temple we read of presenting Jesus, as the firstborn male, to the service of God, a ritual also required by Jewish law. Included is the necessary sacrifice. Wealthier couples would have brought a lamb, but Jesus’ parents brought the also-acceptable sacrifice of “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons” (v. 24), perhaps showing the family’s low economic standing.

After these requirements were fulfilled, the text describes the words and actions of two people who are on the scene at the time. Nine verses (vv. 25–34) are devoted to Simeon, who, according to the text, was guided to the temple that day by the Spirit an important motif for Luke. But Simeon was not just a casual observer. The Spirit had assured him that he would live to see the One who God sent for the world’s salvation. He recognized, by the Spirit’s power, the baby Jesus was this savior. Simeon blessed Jesus and his mother and father.

The other person to give attention to Jesus on that occasion was an aged widow, Anna. She had lived at the temple for some time, engaging constantly in fasting and prayer. Like Simeon, Anna recognized who Jesus was and the role of redemption he would play. The importance of these two elderly sages was in their recognition and prophetic declaration of whom Jesus was and that he had been sent for the world’s salvation. This confirmed what Mary had been told previously by the angel Gabriel and by her relative Elizabeth.

The last verse records the family’s return to their home in Nazareth, where Jesus “grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him” (v. 40). This description of Jesus’ obedience and devotion is significant as we do not have other information about Jesus’ upbringing until his visit to Jerusalem at age 12.

Today’s text highlights fulfilling tradition and law, which was of major importance then. But in today’s world, in many places, conforming to rules is not stressed. Religious rituals have become less commonplace. People are less aware of mystery. We can learn important lessons from today’s text. Simeon and Anna were not authority figures. Like Joseph and Mary and therefore Jesus they were ordinary people. Yet God, through the Spirit, graced them with the insight, devotion, and faith to be instruments of blessing at this formative time in the life of Jesus and his parents.

This text invites us to find expressive rituals for celebrating the presence of God in the ordinary people and experiences of life. We may not do this in the same ways as did our forebears. But it is just as important for our spiritual well-being and our journey as disciples of Jesus Christ. If we allow ourselves to be guided by the Spirit, we will keep our lives focused on the One who was sent to redeem the world.

SERMON AND CLASS HELPS

Central Ideas

1. Jesus was born into a tradition where following ritual and law was important.

2. The Spirit guided Simeon and Anna as they became instruments of God’s blessing to Jesus and his parents.

3. In today’s more-secular world, we are challenged to find expressive rituals that keep us connected to the Divine.

4. We need to always open ourselves to the Spirit’s guidance.

Questions for the Speaker

1. What relevance do you see in fulfilling rituals and laws as described in the text?

2. What to you were the key features of the blessing Simeon and Anna brought?

3. How have you felt guided by the Spirit?

4. How can you challenge the congregation to be guided by the Spirit?

SACRED SPACE: A RESOURCE FOR SMALL-GROUP MINISTRY

Year B Letters

First Sunday after Christmas

Galatians 4:4–7 NRSVUE

Gathering

Welcome

The Christmas season lasts twelve days, from Christmas Day to Epiphany on January 6. During this time, we celebrate the hope, joy, love, and peace of Jesus Christ.

Prayer for Peace

Ring a bell or chime three times slowly. Light the peace candle

God our Father and Mother, Jesus calls us brothers and sisters, and we join him in pursuing freedom from fear, hatred, prejudice, anxiety, loneliness, and despair. We long to abolish these heavy, destructive walls that keep us apart from you and from one another. We long to build ladders that reach up and over, connecting us to curiosity, love, open-mindedness, calm, hope, and community.

We thank you for the hope Jesus’s birth brought and continues to bring our world. May we look up to the stars to guide us. May we look up to Jesus to inspire us. May we look into the faces of the hopeless in our communities as we kneel in service, washing their feet.

In the name of Jesus, who stands with us. Amen

Spiritual Practice

Praying the Psalms

Say: I will read Psalm 139:1–6, 23–24, adapted, pausing after each verse. When I pause, we will say aloud together: “Search me, O God, and know my heart.”

O Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away.

All: “Search me, O God, and know my heart.”

You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.

All: “Search me, O God, and know my heart.”

Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, you know it completely.

All: “Search me, O God, and know my heart.”

You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.

All: “Search me, O God, and know my heart.”

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is so high that I cannot attain it.

All: “Search me, O God, and know my heart.”

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts.

See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

All: “Search me, O God, and know my heart.”

Amen.

Sharing around the Table

Galatians 4:4–7 NRSVUE

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children.

And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.

The letter of Paul to the Galatians proclaims the equality of all Christians, whether Jew or Gentile. One issue that Christianity dealt with at the time of Paul is whether Gentile Christians needed to conform to Jewish law. Christianity was a sect of Judaism. Many believed that men needed to be circumcised, and Mosaic law must be followed. Paul believed God accepted the Gentiles as they were. After Paul had been to Galatia, other Jewish-Christians had come through, proclaiming the necessity of following Jewish provisions.

Galatians 4:4–7 is a brilliant response from Paul. Paul draws upon his experience as a Jewish man as well as the experience of Gentiles as corecipients of God’s gift. He does this by sharing the custom of inheritance present in the culture of both parties. You have been “adopted” by God. “So you are no longer a slave, but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.” (Galatians 4:7 NRSVUE).

The idea of family was something both Jewish and Gentile Christians understood. They were offered belonging, status, and safety. The new life Paul talked about as heirs of God offered freedom from slavery, false gods, and repressive laws. God offered this not because of what they did, but because of who they were. They were the children of God. As we enter this next phase of the lectionary following Advent, this is an excellent reminder to be united in Christ, not divided by those things that the world says should separate us.

Questions

1. Are there rules and requirements that we require people to follow to be part of our community?

2. Paul speaks of being “heirs” of the kingdom. What does that mean to you?

3. How does Paul’s message relate to the Enduring Principle of Worth of All Persons?

Sending

Generosity Statement

Beloved Community of Christ, do not just speak and sing of Zion. Live, love, and share as Zion: those who strive to be visibly one in Christ, among whom there are no poor or oppressed.

Doctrine and Covenants 165:6a

The offering basket is available if you would like to support ongoing, small-group ministries as part of your generous response.

Invitation to Next Meeting

Closing Hymn Community of Christ Sings 416, “Infant Holy, Infant Lowly”

Closing Prayer

Optional Additions Depending on Group

• Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper

• Thoughts for Children

Prayer for Peace

Ring a bell or chime three times slowly. Light the peace candle.

In the name of Jesus, who stands with us. Amen

Spiritual Practice

Praying the Psalms

Say: I will read Psalm 139:1–6, 23–24, adapted, pausing after each verse. When I pause, we will say aloud together: “Search me, O God, and know my heart.”

O Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away.

All: “Search me, O God, and know my heart.”

You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.

All: “Search me, O God, and know my heart.”

Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, you know it completely.

All: “Search me, O God, and know my heart.”

You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.

All: “Search me, O God, and know my heart.”

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is so high that I cannot attain it.

All: “Search me, O God, and know my heart.”

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts.

See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

All: “Search me, O God, and know my heart.”

Amen.

Sharing around the Table

Galatians 4:4–7 NRSVUE

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children.

And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.

Questions

1. Are there rules and requirements that we require people to follow to be part of our community?

2. Paul speaks of being “heirs” of the kingdom. What does that mean to you?

3. How does Paul’s message relate to the Enduring Principle of Worth of All Persons?

Generosity Statement

Beloved Community of Christ, do not just speak and sing of Zion. Live, love, and share as Zion: those who strive to be visibly one in Christ, among whom there are no poor or oppressed.

Doctrine and Covenants

165:6a

The offering basket is available if you would like to support ongoing, small-group ministries as part of your generous response.

Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 NRSV

Communion Statement

All are welcome at Christ’s table. The Lord’s Supper, or Communion, is a sacrament in which we remember the life, death, resurrection, and continuing presence of Jesus Christ. In Community of Christ, we also experience Communion as an opportunity to renew our baptismal covenant and to be formed as disciples who live Christ’s mission. Others may have different or added understandings within their faith traditions. We invite all who participate in the Lord’s Supper to do so in the love and peace of Jesus Christ.

We share Communion as an expression of blessing, healing, peace, and community. In preparation let’s sing from Community of Christ Sings (select one):

515 “In these Moments We Remember”

516 “Coming Together for Wine and for Bread”

521 “Let Us Break Bread Together”

525 “Small Is the Table”

528 “Eat This Bread”

Thoughts for Children

You will need:

• Large piece of paper or posterboard with sentences to be completed on it

• Something to write with (preferably a marker)

Say: Today’s scripture reminds us that Jesus was born to show us how much God loves us! Sometimes, though, I have trouble feeling God’s love.

Ask: Do you ever have trouble feeling God’s love? What situations make it hard for you to feel God’s love? (Affirm all answers but be prepared to offer your own examples, such as, I have a hard time feeling God’s love when my friends leave me out).

Say: A lot of things can make us forget how much God loves us. So today I want us to work really hard to imagine God’s love in different ways so that we can remember more easily. To do that, we are going to work together to write a poem about God’s love. I will start a sentence, and I would like you to raise your hand if you have a way to finish it. (Feel free to accept more than one answer for each prompt.)

God’s love looks like…

God’s love feels like…

God’s love smells like…

God’s love tastes like…

God’s love sounds like…

As participants finish your sentences, add their words and phrases to the posterboard so they can see the poem coming together.

Say: Look at this beautiful poem we created. Let’s read it together!

Say: Wonderful! Next time you are struggling to feel God’s love for you, remember this poem and think of some things that represented God’s love. Remember those things and feel God’s loving arms around you.