Advent 3: We Allow Ourselves to Be Amazed

Sunday, December 15, 2024
10:30 AM 11:30 AM 10:30 11:30

Union Presbyterian Church 200 E Main St Endicott, NY, 13760 United States (map)

Google Calendar ICS

After Elizabeth gives birth, her neighbors and family celebrate with her. When
it comes time to name the child, Zechariah affirms the name given by the angel
and by Elizabeth. In that moment of affirming the promise, Zechariah’s speech is
restored. Everyone is filled with awe. How often do you allow yourself to be amazed?
Wonder is all around us—can we recognize it? As we learn how to rejoice in a weary
world, can we live in a way that allows amazement and wonder to surprise us often?
In Psalm 126, those who expect to reap tears are granted a surprise: shouts of joy.
Amazement is a balm for the weary.
~~ From “How does a weary world rejoice?” Copyright A Sanctified Art, 2023

You can join us for worship in our beautiful sanctuary, or right here online. Worship is live-streamed; videos are available here or on Youtube following the service. You are invited! You are always welcome; come prepared to be amazed!

How Does a Weary World Rejoice?

Advent 3

We Allow Ourselves to Be Amazed

Psalm 126; Luke 1:57-66

Union Presbyterian Church

December 15, 2024

Sharing the Light of Christ, Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

Liturgist: Laura Keibel Preacher: Rev. Pat Raube

Welcome

Announcements Laura Keibel

Prelude Tower Ringers

“Let There Be Peace on Earth,” arr. Chris Bartlette

* Call to Worship

Our God can part the sea.

Our God can bring water from a rock,

and provide bread in the desert.

Our Lord can walk on water.

He can heal the sick,

and turn water into wine.

Our God sets the stars in the sky.

God hears our voice when we cry,

and is closer than our own breath.

There is nothing our God cannot do.

Let us stand in awe.

Let us worship God with wonder.

* Hymn # 160 W & R

“Awake! Awake, and Greet the New Morn,” Marty Haugen

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.     

Awake! awake, and greet the new morn,

For angels herald its dawning.

Sing out your joy, for soon he is born,

Behold! the Child of our longing.

Come as a baby weak and poor,

To bring all hearts together,

He opens wide the heavenly door

And lives now inside us for ever.

To us, to all in sorrow and fear,

Emmanuel comes a-singing,

His humble song is quiet and near,

Yet fills the earth with its ringing;

Music to heal the broken soul

And hymns of lovingkindness,

The thunder of his anthems roll

To shatter all hatred and blindness.

In darkest night his coming shall be,

When all the world is despairing,

As morning light so quiet and free,

So warm and gentle and caring.

Then shall the mute break forth in song,

The lame shall leap in wonder,

The weak be raised above the strong,

And weapons be broken asunder.

Rejoice, rejoice, take heart in the night,

Though dark the winter and cheerless,

The rising sun shall crown you with light,

Be strong and loving and fearless.

Love be our song and love our prayer

And love our endless story;

May God fill every day we share

And bring us at last into glory.

Candle-Lighting Liturgy Bruce Wolff and Jan Rea

How does a weary world practice joy?

By dancing, and throwing birthday parties.

By hanging Christmas lights, and holding sleepy babies.

By singing loudly, and looking for good news.

By telling the story of Jesus,

and showing up for our community.

There are a million ways to practice joy.

So today we light the candle of joy as a reminder and a charge.

With God’s help, may we bring joy into a weary world.

Choral Response

“Hope Waits for Us at Advent,” Amanda Udis-Kessler

Used with permission.

Joy waits for us at Advent.

Joy waits for us to sing.

Joy waits for our amazement

At the grade in everything.

In this time of preparation

For the work of co-creation,

For the birthing of a world

Where wonder is restored,

Joy is born in us once more.

* Call to New Life

If you spend any time with a child,

you will notice that children see the world differently.

For a child, a ladybug is a miracle.

A pine tree is a wonder.

Curiosity is a love language,

and water is not only for survival, but for joy.

As adults, we forget this language of awe and wonder,

and when we do, we distance ourselves form God.

In this prayer, we have an opportunity to close that distance.

So let us return to God with hearts wide open.

Let us return to God in prayer.

Join me in our prayer for Wholeness and Peace.

* Prayer for Wholeness and Peace (Responsive)

Holy God,

Somewhere in our childhood we face pressure to outgrow awe.

We turn into adults who obsess over data and facts.

We praise those who have answers,

and assume that wonder is an answerless game.

Forgive us for closing that door to you.

Remind us that the kingdom of God belongs to children.

[Silent Prayer]

And we pray,

Teach us the ways of awe and wonder,

so that like Zechariah,

when we find ourselves speechless,

our first words will be words of praise.

With hearts wide open we pray. Amen.

* Words of Assurance

Family of faith,

Just as we marvel at mountains and newborns,

at sunrises and sunsets, God marvels at us.

There is nothing you could do or leave undone

that could precent God from loving you.

So proclaim and hear and believe the good news of the gospel:

We are forgiven.

We are loved.

We belong to God. Amen.

* Sharing of the Peace

Let us allow God to open our eyes as if for the first time.

Let us allow God to help us to see the world with awe and wonder.

May the peace of God be with you.

And also with you.

Let us offer one another a sign of God’s peace.

Scripture Psalm 126

A reading from the book of the Psalms, Psalm 126.

When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,
    we were like those who dream.

Then our mouth was filled with laughter
    and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then it was said among the nations,
    “The Lord has done great things for them.”

The Lord has done great things for us,
    and we rejoiced.

Restore our fortunes, O Lord,
    like the watercourses in the Negeb.
May those who sow in tears
    reap with shouts of joy.
Those who go out weeping,
    bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
    carrying their sheaves.

Time for Young Disciples Rev. Pat Raube

Music: “I’ve Got the Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy”

(Public Domain)

Anthem Choir

“The Great Forerunner of the Morn”

(Public Domain)

The great forerunner of the morn,
The herald of the Word, is born;
And faithful hearts shall never fail
With thanks and praise his light to hail.

With heavenly message Gabriel came,
That John should be that herald's name,
And with prophetic utterance told
His actions great and manifold.

Though still unborn, yet gave aright
His witness to the coming Light;
And Christ, the Sun of all the earth,
Fulfilled that witness at his birth.

Of woman born shall never be

A greater prophet than was he,

Whose mighty deeds exalt his fame

To greater than a prophet’s name.

All praise to God the Father be,

All praise, eternal Son, to thee,

Whom with the Spirit we adore

Forever and forevermore.

Scripture Luke 1:57-66 (NRSVUE)

A reading from the Gospel according to Luke, beginning at chapter 1, verse 57.

Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.

On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him Zechariah after his father. But his mother said, “No; he is to be called John.” They said to her, “None of your relatives has this name.” Then they began motioning to his father to find out what name he wanted to give him. He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And all of them were amazed. Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began to speak, praising God. Fear came over all their neighbors, and all these things were talked about throughout the entire hill country of Judea. All who heard them pondered them and said, “What then will this child become?” For indeed the hand of the Lord was with him.

Response  Holy Wisdom, Holy Word: 

Thanks be to God! 

Sermon “We Allow Ourselves to Be Amazed”

Reception of “New” Member Bruce Wolff

Presentation

On behalf of the Session, I present Bruce Wolff, who was raised here, confirmed here, and who comes today to reaffirm his membership in this congregation by Affirmation of Faith.

Bruce, in baptism you were claimed by God, marked as Christ’s own forever,

and joined to his body by the Holy Spirit.

You come to us, then, not as a stranger,

but as a friend in Christ and a member of the household of God.

We rejoice that you now desire to reaffirm your commitment to this congregation

in the worship and mission of the church.

Clerk of Session Cyndy Vosburgh: Ephesians 4:4-6

There is one body and one Spirit,

just as you were called to the one hope of your calling,

one Lord, one faith, one baptism,

one God and father of all,

who is above all and through all and in all.

As members of the body of Christ,

let us reaffirm the faith into which we were baptized.

*Statement of Faith: The Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

Bruce, we have professed our faith as one body.

Will you be a faithful member of this congregation,

share in its worship and mission through your prayers and gifts, your study and service, and so fulfill your calling to be a disciple of Jesus Christ?

Bruce: I will, with God’s help.

Let us pray:

Holy God, thank you for calling us to be your people

and joining us to Christ’s body, the Church.

We praise you for leading Bruce home to this congregation.

Empower us by your Spirit, that we might love one another as Christ loves us,

honoring him in all that we say and do,

giving our lives in service to others, through Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord. Amen.

Bruce, remember your baptism and be thankful.

Bruce: Thanks be to God.

Welcome

Welcome to this ministry that we share in Jesus Christ.

The peace of Christ be with you.

Bruce: And also with you.

* Hymn “Isn’t It Amazing,” Anna Strickland (Insert from WWR resource)

Used with permission.

Seeds within the soil grow

Deep under the ground below

Planted when the earth was bare

No life showing anywhere.

Gloria – Isn’t it amazing?

Deeper, deeper grow the roots

Reaching upward grow the shoots

Through the earth they weave and snake

Until soil starts to break

Gloria – Isn’t it amazing?

Cell by cell a plant is built

Toward the sun the leaves will tilt

Nourished by the sun and rain

To bring forth its seed and grain

Gloria – Isn’t it amazing?

Even when the earth seems bare

Plant the seeds of hope with care

If you water in the drought

You will reap with joyous shout

Gloria – Isn’t it amazing?

Prayers of the People   

The Lord’s Prayer   

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen. 

Prayer Response # 174 W & R

“Prepare the Way of the Lord,” Jacques Berthier

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.   

Prepare the way of the Lord,

And all people will see

The salvation of our God.

Call for Offering

Bell Offertory Tower Ringers

“Exultation,” Bill Ingraham

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.   

* Doxology

"Doxology for a Weary World,” Anna Strickland

Used with permission.

Praise the one Creator, praise the Living Christ

Praise the Holy Spirit, praise both day and night

Praise when you are weary, praise in times of joy

Praise, my soul, with all your strength

And your heart and voice

* Prayer of Dedication

* Hymn # 169 W & R

“The Angel Gabriel from Heaven Came,” John Wickham

Used by Permission. CCLI License #CSPL068847

The angel Gabriel from heaven came,
His wings as drifted snow, his eyes as flame,
“All hail," said he, "O lowly maiden Mary,"
Most highly favored Mary, gloria!

“For know a blessed mother you shall be,
All generations praise continually,
Your Son shall be Emmanuel, by seers foretold,"
Most highly favored Mary, gloria!

Then gentle Mary meekly bowed her head.
“To me be as it pleases God,” she said.
“My soul shall laud and magnify God's holy name.”
Most highly favored Mary, gloria!

Of her, Emmanuel, the Christ, was born
In Bethlehem, all on a Christmas morn,
And Christian folk throughout the world will ever say:
Most highly favored Mary, gloria!

* Benediction

Family of faith,

as you leave this place,

you go into a weary world—

so speak tenderly.

Do the good that is yours to do.

Choose connection.

Hold onto hope.

And remember

that Christ took on flesh for you.

You are God’s beloved.

So go rejoicing.

The world needs it.

Amen.

Postlude Chris Bartlette

“Joyful Day,” Mark Hayes

Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.   

Where an * is indicated, please rise in body and/or in spirit.

“W & R” ~ the red Worship and Rejoice hymnal

“PH” ~ the blue Presbyterian Hymnal

Words for Worship taken and/ or adapted from How Does a Weary World Rejoice, Words for Worship Advent-Baptism of Christ Sunday, Rev. Sara (Are) Speed, A Sanctified Art, 2023.