"Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying,
Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?”
And I said, “Here I am, send me!”
Lord of Hosts, you have sent us, we have said we will go. Please give us the courage to stand for you, to break the chains of injustice, and proclaim your Good News."

Christ’s Church has assembled.
We are one body, with Christ as our head.
What kind of body is this?
The Body of Christ, brought together not by human flesh, but by the sovereign Lord.
And who does he call us to be?
A people who look not to their own interests, but to the interests of others. Those who proclaim the goodness of their Lord.
Come, Let us worship as one united body.

"O Holy Spirit, come into our hearts;
By you Spirit, draw us to yourself, O God
And give us a pure heart
Guard us, Christ, from every evil thought,
And so envelop us again
With your most gentle love
That every suffering may seem light to us.
Let us worship our King!"

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. – Ephesians 3:14-19 (NIV)

Hear our prayers O God,
Listen to the words of our mouths.
Surely God is our help
The Lord is the one who sustains us.
We will praise your name, O Lord, for it is good.

In the morning when the sun rises we shall praise You, O Lord.
You have delivered us through every long night and given us safe passage across rivers of struggle.
The darkness is past; the light has come. Let us raise our song and prayer to you, O Lord, in joy.

We proclaim the message of the cross:
It is the wisdom and power of God.
For God alone our souls wait in silence.
Steadfast love belongs to the Lord.
Jesus said: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.
May the word of God be fulfilled among us this morning.

God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities. And by his stripes we are healed.

You have turned our mourning into dancing!
You have taken away our funeral clothes
and re-clothed us in joy,
so that our whole being—body, mind and soul—
might sing praise to you and not be silent.
O Lord, our Lord, we will give thanks to you forever!

The Lord says,
“For I am about to create a new heavens and a new earth;
The former things shall not be remembered or come to mind.
But be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating;
For I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy, and its people as a delight.
The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox.”
Lord, help us to bring about this new creation even here today.

The God we worship is steady and faithful;
Yet He continues to surprise us.
Before we ever knew about God, He knew us and loved us.
Even if we aren’t aware of His presence, He promises to be with us.
Even when hope seems lost, He refreshes us with His grace.
God’s mercies are new every morning. Great is His faithfulness.

Come, bring all that you are to God who hears our prayers and does not hide from our requests. God is more faithful than our closest companions. Call upon God, our Savior, for he hears your voice and will redeem you. Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you. Let us trust in and worship our God together.

O Holy Spirit, come into our hearts;
By your power draw us to yourself, o God,
With your most gentle love
That every suffering may seem light to us.
Our holy Father, our gentle Lord,
Help us in our every need.

O God, hear my prayer, give ear to the words of my mouth. Behold, God is my helper; the Lord is the upholder of my life. We will praise your name, O Lord, for it is good.

Jesus says to you and to me:
“I am the light of the world.
Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness,
But will have the light of life.”
Let us fix our eyes upon the true Light as we gather and worship today.

Come, let us be about our preparations for a new advent of love among us.
The wastelands of life around us cannot shut out the promise of life-giving water.
Hatred and warfare, injustice and suffering, are not the last word, for they are not of God.
We hear again the promise of peace, coming in the one who lived Shalom among all people.
We see again the light God promises in the midst of our darkness.
We are feeling again the joy that comes through partnership in the gospel.
May our worship recall us to what is centered in life; to the One who gives us breath and purpose in life.
We come to embrace the new advent, to be renewed in peace, faith, joy, and love.

“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light;
On those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.”
The Light that is the Word of God, God incarnate
Let us worship as we wait for the newborn king!

In the midst of frenzied shopping and end-of-year weariness,
we gather together here
to read again the ancient stories,
and light a candle in the darkness, to celebrate a visitation.
Gathered here we declare our intention to live as if the greatest gift in the world were about to be placed into our hands
and as if the Giver has understood our deepest needs, our most heartfelt prayers.

Friends, pray for one another
for you are all partners in the Gospel Mission.
Let us be convinced that the one
who began this good work of the Gospel in us
will complete that work when our Lord Jesus returns in Glory.

Friends, we are pressing on towards the goal, for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Jesus Christ. For he has called us his own and have made us his own. As we wait, let us continue to work towards being complete and mature in our Lord Jesus, so that we may arrive and share in Christ's resurrection.