01. Year A - First Sunday in Advent

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VERSION: 9 April 2002

FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT, YEAR A

In 2001: 2 Dec

In 2004: 28 Nov

In 2007: 2 Dec

In 2010: 28 Nov

In 2013: 1 Dec

- - -

Note: For explanations and suggestions on the various resources provided, see the documents 'General notes and resources' and 'Advent season' in the 'General and seasonal' folder.

LITURGY

SENTENCE

See the document 'General notes and resources', under 'Sentence', in the 'General and seasonal' folder for suggestions on using a Sentence.

Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,

to the house of the God of Jacob;

that he may teach us his ways

and that we may walk in his paths. (Isa 2:3 NRSV)

OR

The time has come for you to wake up from your sleep.

The night is nearly over, day is almost here. (Rom 13:11,12 TEV)

OR

Watch out,

because you do not know what day your Lord will come.

(Matt 24:42 TEV)

OR, use the standard Advent Sentence in the document 'Advent season', under 'Sentence', in the 'General and seasonal' folder.

OR, use one of the general Sentences in the document 'General notes and resources', under 'Sentence', in the 'General and seasonal' folder.

PRAYER OF THE DAY (COLLECT)

Traditional

Stir up your power, O Lord, and come,

that by your protection

we may be rescued

from the threatening dangers of our sins,

and saved by your mighty deliverance;

for you live and reign

with the Father and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.

Amen.

OR, modernised traditional

Stir up your power, Lord, and come.

Protect us,

so that we may be rescued

from the threatening dangers of our sins,

and saved by your deliverance.

For you live and reign

with the Father and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.

Amen.

OR, alternative

(Let us pray for the presence of Christ. [silence])

Cleanse our consciences, Lord,

and enlighten our hearts,

through the daily presence of your Son Jesus Christ.

Make us ready

when he comes again in glory

to be our judge.

For he lives and reigns

with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.

Amen.

OR, new

(Let us pray that we remain alert for the coming of the Lord. [silence])

Jesus, Son of God,

you have promised to return

at a time that no one knows.

Keep us watchful in prayer

and strong in faith

as we wait for you to come.

For you live and reign

with the Father and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.

Amen.

FIRST READING

Isaiah 2:1-5 God's kingdom of peace

PSALM

Psalm 122

Antiphon:

(I was glad when they said to me,) Let us go to the house of the Lord. (Ps 122:1 NRSV)

OR

Antiphon:

Lift up your heads, O gates! that the King of glory may come in.

(Ps 24:9 NRSV)

SECOND READING

Romans 13:11-14 Our salvation is near

(If using NRSV or TEV, begin: 'You know . . .'; if NIV, begin: 'Understand the present time . . .')

ALLELUIA VERSE (Matt 24:44 NIV)

Alleluia, alleluia.

So you also must be ready,

because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

Alleluia.

GOSPEL

Matthew 24:36-44 No one knows the day or hour

(Begin: 'Jesus said:')

PRAYER AFTER THE GOSPEL

This is the gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, O Christ.

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for promising to return.

Make us always ready for your coming.

Amen.

OFFERING PRAYER

Everliving God,

we thank you for coming to us through your Son.

Make us ready for his coming again.

Do not let us be trapped by worry or worldly concerns,

but teach us to cheerfully give of ourselves

in serving you and other people.

Amen.

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH

Call to prayer

In joyful expectation of the coming of our Lord Jesus to help us, let us pray to him.

The regular response, OR:

We pray to the Lord:

Come, Lord Jesus, come.

Suggested intercessions

Concluding prayer

Come, Lord Jesus. Give us courage as we wait in hope. Raise us to the joy of your kingdom, where you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Amen.

SEASONAL PREFACE

It is indeed right and good,

Lord God, holy Father,

that we should at all times and in all places

give thanks to you,

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

You fulfilled your promise to comfort your people

by sending Jesus the Redeemer,

and to make all things new through him

when he comes to judge the world

and set it right.

And so, with angels and archangels,

and with all the company of heaven,

we adore and praise your glorious name:

COMMUNION INVITATION

Blessed are those who have been invited

to the wedding feast of the Lamb.

(Thanks be to God.)

Come, everything is ready.

PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION

For an Advent post-communion prayer, see the document 'Advent season', under 'Prayer after communion', in the 'General and seasonal' folder. Alternatively, use the third prayer of the day (as given above) at this point. It may be modified as follows.

Cleanse our consciences, Lord,

and enlighten our hearts,

through the gift of the body and blood

of your Son Jesus Christ.

Make us ready

when he comes again in glory

to be our judge.

For he lives and reigns

with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.

Amen.

SEASONAL BLESSING

This seasonal blessing is used together with (ie before) the usual blessing in the order of service.

Christ, the Sun of Righteousness, shine on you and make you ready to meet him when he comes in glory . . .

DISMISSAL

Go in peace. Be ready for the coming of the Lord.

Thanks be to God. OR In the name of Christ. Amen.

HYMNS AND SONGS

FOR THE READINGS

Please note:        * =        Modernised version available

      G3, G4 . . . =        Guitar chords available in the Music Package 3, 4 . . .

      GS =        Guitar chords in the Supplement to LH

First reading: Isaiah 2:1-5

LHS

AT

TIS

Second reading: Romans 13:11-14

LHS

AT

TIS

Gospel: Matthew 24:36-44

LHS

AT

TIS

PSALM 122

For musical settings of Psalm 122, see Music Package 1. See also TIS 78 Jerusalem our home.

The following metrical paraphrase by David Sch¸tz may be sung to the tune of 'His banner over me is love', ATN 76. If reproducing this version, please put 'Words (c) David Sch¸tz' at the beginning or the end of the psalm.

I was so glad to hear them say:

'Let's go up to the house of God.'

Our feet will stand within your walls,

O city of Jerusalem.

Here is a city strong and firm,

where people of the Lord will come

to praise the holy name of God.

Here are the thrones of David's house,

where justice will be fairly done.

Pray for Jerusalem, that peace

and blessings of the Lord will come.

Peace to Jerusalem and to

the temple of the Lord our God.

For his sake I will seek your good.

NOTES ON THE READINGS

See the document 'General notes and resources', under 'Notes on the readings', in the 'General and seasonal' folder.

ISAIAH 2:1-5: In Isaiah's time the national ungodliness would never draw foreigners to the temple to learn of the true God. The term 'mountain of the Lord' means the Jerusalem temple, for places of worship were always located on elevations, eg Mount Zion, Mount Olympus. Isaiah thus predicts that despite the aberration of that particular time the temple of the Lord would assume an elevation above all religions. In this way nations would flock to learn and be enlightened by the word of the Lord. Peace would be arbitrated among human belligerents by this process. What an incentive for Christians to answer the scriptural call unceasingly to bring the gospel of the healing Messiah, Jesus Christ, to the nations until he comes to fulfil the prophecy in its finality!

ROMANS 13:11-14: Even in the church's infancy in Rome, believers needed reminding and encouragement to make the most of their opportunities in preparedness for Christ's coming. The night will soon give way to the eternal day. Therefore Christians need urgently to recognise the danger of spiritual separation from the Lord through loss of self-control in pleasure or anger. 'Putting on' the Lord means to be 'up and doing' in continual prayerful meditation in his word, with resultant living which reflects God's light and repels the darkness of evil.

MATTHEW 24:36-44: These words of Jesus stress the unexpectedness of his second coming. While according to his human nature even he did not know when that day would be, yet be assured that in God's mind it is set and will happen. People in the time of Noah, instead of repenting, simply carried on with life as normal, disregarding their opportunity for a life together with God. It was not so much their wicked immorality as their purposeful blindness which left them unprepared when the flood came. So with the ones received by the Lord and those left when he comes. If one knows that the day will inevitably come, one watches and is not caught unprepared, thus losing all eternally.

VISUAL

VISUALS FOR THE READINGS

Pictures or visual symbols could be displayed on banners or the overhead screen during the readings. For instance, the first reading (and the Psalm) could be illustrated by a picture like the one in the TEV Bible for Psalm 122:1; and a symbol of the sun with IHS or JESUS inscribed in it could accompany the second reading (or the whole service).

DRAMA

'MEGA DRAMA'

See a drama for the day in Mega Drama resources (Openbook Publishers), originally included in these worship resources when they were released on disks.

DRAMATISING THE READINGS

The readings can be read by more than one person to make the dramatic meaning of the text clearer. For instance, the first reading could be read by two readers: narrator (vv 1,5), and Isaiah (vv 2-4).

CHILDREN

CHILDREN AND THE READINGS

The children could make and/or display symbol(s) of the sun. The meaning could be explained (see the second reading, living in the light).

TALKING WITH THE CHILDREN

Talk about waiting with longing.

'COME AND SEE JESUS'

The Come and See Jesus curriculum published by Openbook Publishers has a wealth of material and ideas that may be adapted for use in worship. Please note that a new edition of this material is now available for the Revised Common Lectionary.

This week's story is 'The flood (Gen 6 - 9)'. Material for this story may be found in

Original Edition, 1 Advent, year A (in 3rd Series C book)

OR

Revised RCL Edition, same

OTHER MATERIAL

See the documents 'Advent readings and carols service' and 'Advent proclamation' in the 'Rites and services' folder.