United Intergenerational Ministry

Transcription

1 Objective: United Intergenerational Ministry Advent Christmas Worship Series In Reverence, Experience God s Holiness First Sunday or mid-week in Advent- Series C Scripture Base: : Jeremiah 33:13; 1 Thessalonians 3:13; and Luke 21:29-31 Advent I: Righteousness: A Righteous Branch From David s Line Based on Jeremiah 33:15 In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. Help generations to reverently experience God s holiness by seeking His holiness that produces great joy through the righteous Branch that sprouts from David s line - Jesus our Savior. Preparations: Worship Bulletin: Reproduce as needed. Interactive Lesson: You will need two matching white towels or pieces of cloth. Put holes all over one piece, big holes, and rub it in dirt to make it look really dirty. Keep the other towel absolutely white and clean. Place each towel in a separate bag and make sure the bags look different so you can tell them apart. Opening Hymn To include children, alert the congregation to sing and have the organist replay the last phrase of each verse specifically so that children can sing it. Encourage those sitting near children to point to the last phrase so they can listen for it and repeat it. Adding repetition allows all ages with a variety of challenges to participate. Encourage those with any challenges that keep them from singing this hymn to listen to the words and those with hearing challenges to read the words of this hymn as it is sung so all can be blessed by the message. Lo, How A Rose E er Blooming LSB 359/ TLH 645/ LW 67 Opening Sentences: Can be read in a traditional style responsively To include children and those with sight or reading challenges, practice the response that is always the same so they can join in saying it with generations. Encouraging responses increases participation from all ages with a variety of challenges and helps children enjoy worship and be enjoyed in worship. Words are printed for the hearing impaired, but with their permission, point to the words of the refrain so they will know with what words and when they should respond to help them participate. : But You bless sinners through Christ; You cover them with Your righteousness. (Romans 4:6-8) Enter not into judgment with Your servant, for no one living is righteous before You. (Psalm 143:2) Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins. ((Ecclesiastes 7:20) As it is written: None is righteous, no, not one. (Romans 3:10) A Psalm of Blessing: Adapted from Psalm 25:1-10 Read or ask volunteers of all ages to read leader parts. For very young readers, read a few words to them at a time that they can repeat after you. Divide the congregation into three groups (pulpit side, lectern side, and balcony are suggested) and assign each group one line of the response. Even practice the response before you begin to help children learn it and remind those sitting near children to help them respond to keep them involved. Words are printed for the hearing impaired, but with their permission, point to the words of the refrain so they will know with what words and when they should respond to help them participate. God's Holiness - Advent I - Worship - Page 1

2 : Line 1: Make me to know your ways, O Lord. Line 2: Lead me in Your truth and teach me, Line 3: For You are the God of my salvation. To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, in You I trust. Let me not be put to shame; none who wait for You shall be put to shame. Remember not the sins of my youth; according to your steadfast love remember me. All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep His covenant and His testimonies. Confession: You may read this confession in unison. To include children and those with vision and reading challenges, read a few words at time so they can repeat them after you to help them participate in worship. Remind those sitting near those with hearing challenges to point to words as they are repeated to help them participate in worship All Generations: We confess that we are sinners. We do not always do good. We fail to walk in the ways of our God. We do not declare His Truth. We deserve only God s wrath and punishment. Forgive us, O Lord. Remember our sins no more. Guide us to walk in holiness and righteousness. Strengthen us to keep Your covenant. Absolution: If this absolution is being spoken by someone other than a pastor, omit the last sentence in the brackets. Pastors may omit the last sentence in this absolution before the brackets. Through our confession, O Lord, You have promised to forgive us from all unrighteousness and remember our sins no more so that we walk in Your ways through Your forgiveness and reverently experience Your holiness. For this reason, as a fellow servant of Christ the crucified and one redeemed through God s love, I can declare to you that all our sins are forgiven.[as a called and ordained servant of Christ and by His authority, I therefore forgive You all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.] Interactive Lesson FOR ALL GENERATIONS: Be Holy Based on: 1 Peter 1: But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, You shall be holy, for I am holy. You Will Need: Two matching white towels or pieces of cloth. Put holes all over one piece, big holes and rub it in dirt to make it look really dirty. Keep the other towel absolutely white and clean. Place each towel in a separate bag and make sure the bags look different so you can tell them apart. INSTRUCTIONS :If you have children present, invite them to come forward to help them participate in worship, but present this lesson even if you do not have children present. UIM Interactive Lessons are for all generations. As you present this lesson, speak to the children but bring the entire congregation into your conversation. Before you begin: Hide the dirty towel in one bag and the clean towel in a bag that looks completely different from the first bag so that you can easily tell the bags apart. Read 1 Peter 1:15-16, the verse on which this Advent Christmas Worship Series is based, and say: These verses tells us that God calls us to be holy as He is holy. They are found in the New Testament, but these same words where first written in the Old Testament. Read or ask volunteers to read Leviticus 11:44: For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy, and say: This means that God commands His people to be holy in both the Old and New Testament or throughout the Bible. Yet in our Opening Sentences, we heard that no one is righteous or does good and never sins. Not one of us can be holy. God's Holiness - Advent I - Worship - Page 2

3 Take the dirty towel out of the first bag, hold it up, and say: We and all sinners are dirty like this towel. At times, we are even filled with holes because sin is rotting us away. We need Jesus the Branch of Righteousness we hear about in the verse this service is based on, Jeremiah 33:15 - In those days and at that time I will cause righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. He came to earth to take away the sin that is boring holes in us. In Psalm 51:7, King David prays, Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Through the righteousness of Christ, our sins are forgiven, washed away, and we are made as white as snow in God s sight - He sees our sins no more. He not only forgives our sins, He forgets them just as He has promised once again in the Old Testament and the New Testament. In the Old Testament, in Isaiah 43:25 we read: I, I am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins and the New Testament, in Hebrews 8:12 we read: For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more. It is God s forgiving and forgetting our sins through Christ s death and resurrection that makes us, not sinless, but forgiven and righteous in His sight. In our sermon, we will hear how the righteousness of Christ helps us to be radiant and makes our hearts thrill and exult. For now, all we need to remember is that through the righteousness of Christ that He won for us through His death and resurrection, we are made righteous and holy in God s sight - all our sins are forgiven and forgotten. If you are offering the UIM SS Lesson that complements this service, add: Those who attend(ed) UIM SS (learned/will learn) what it means to be righteous or blameless in God s sight even when we continue to sin. Invite everyone to join you in singing the following UIM Song in which we ask God to help us stay righteous and blameless through Christ s forgiveness every day. Those who have come forward may return to their seats. UIM Song: Encourage children and those with sight or any reading challenges to listen to the words of this song/ hymn and those with hearing challenges to read the words and be blessed by the message. Righteous, Blameless, Help Us Stay Sung to the tune of Savior of the Nations, Come LSB 332/ TLH 95/ LW 13 Tune: Public Domain/ Text: Used by permission, Family Crossfires Ministries, Inc Note: This is the Opening Song for the UIM SS Lesson that complements this UIM Worship Service. Opening Songs introduce and clarify lessons. They do the same for UIM Worship services. 1. Righteous, blameless, he-lp us stay Through forgiveness ev ry day, Hold You sacred and li-fe too Through all that we s-ay and do. 2. Help us live a ho-ly life Through the strength You give in Christ, Bringing more people to-you; Help them hold You sa-cred too. Options for Readings: Option 1: Worship Leader reads all readings. Option 2: Invite different generations to read the first two readings during the service. Remember, you can help very young readers by reading words to them that they can repeat after you. Always have the Worship Leader read the Gospel to give it reverent significance. Option 3: Invite all generations to repeat the words of the first two readings a few words at a time in unison to include all generations. Notes: Always remind readers to state chapter and verse after every reading to teach generations where these passages are located so they can use them in their times of need. The readings are made shorter intentionally so that they can be read more easily by all ages. God's Holiness - Advent I - Worship - Page 3

4 Old Testament Reading: Jeremiah 33: Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 15 In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. New Testament Reading: 1 Thessalonians 3: And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, 13 so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints. Vignette to the Gospel: Read or ask volunteers of all ages to read parts, or ask the pulpit side to read even numbered parts and the lectern side to read odd numbered parts. For very young readers, read a few words to them at a time that they can repeat after you. Even practice the response before you begin to help children learn it and remind those sitting near children to help them respond to keep them involved. Words are printed for the hearing impaired, but with their permission, point to the words of the refrain so they will know with what words and when they should respond. : Be righteous and holy through Christ until He comes again. Part 1: For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:11) Part 2: But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.(malachi 4:2) Part 3: And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. (Mark13:26) Part 4: Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. (Matthew 24:35) Gospel Reading: Ask generations to stand out of reverence (1) for words that our Lord actually said when He walked on earth or (2) for words that were said about Him. Option: For deeper effect, process with a cross to the middle of the center aisle and read the Gospel. Read Luke 21: And [Jesus] told them a parable: Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. 30 As soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near. 31 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Sermon Hymn: To include children, invite and encourage those sitting near them to help them listen for and sing the words that are repeated at the end of each verse. Adding repetition allows all ages with a variety of challenges to participate. Encourage those with any challenges that keep them from singing this hymn to listen to the words and those with hearing challenges to read the words of this hymn as it is sung and be blessed by the message Joy to the World LSB 387/ TLH 87/ LW 53 Based on Isaiah 60:4-5: UIM Sermon: Our Hearts Will Thrill and Exult! 4 Lift up your eyes all around, and see; they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from afar, and your daughters shall be carried on the hip. 5 Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and exult, because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you. Introduction: What is most wonderful about UIM Worship is that it can involve all generations. Explain to generations that each time they hear the worship leader say We will be radiant, they should respond with the words Our hearts will thrill and exult! This response is also the title of the sermon to make it easy to God's Holiness - Advent I - Worship - Page 4

5 remember. Always remind children to listen for the worship leader s cue so they can respond and participate. Give those with hearing challenges printed copies of the sermon or of this outline and ask those seated near them to point to the responses so they can respond right along with everyone else! If you are uncomfortable with having worshipers respond or would like to ask for a response for some sermons and not others to add variety and meet the needs of those who may like one or the other, you may omit the response, but do try to make it part of your sermon by saying it yourself for stronger emphasis and effect. I. Read Isaiah 60:4-5. The radiance in our Sermon Text comes with the knowledge that all nations will come together to embrace the gospel, and unite themselves to the Christian Church, a community of believers who support and love each other out of their love for God who loves them ( 1 John 4:19 ). However, with all of the fighting between people and even Christians, it is hard to see this happening. Still, we can be sure it will happen because God says it will happen and everything God says is Truth ( John 17:17 ). We do not have to understand His Word completely or even be able to explain it, we only need to believe it. As we believe through the faith He gives us, we are made righteous and holy through the righteousness of Christ as we learned in our interactive lesson. His righteousness empowers us to embrace and share the Gospel so, we and all sinners, will unite and become one in and through Christ s righteousness. Then II. Our Advent Christmas Worship Series is about worshiping God with reverence to experience His holiness. It is based on on:1 Thessalonians 4:7 For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness and Hebrews 12:28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe. In this service, God is calling us to be holy and 1 Peter 1:13-16 guides us in how to be holy, 13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, You shall be holy, for I am holy. These three passages help us to see that as we become righteous through Christ and holy in God s sight, we will with reverence experience His holiness, and standing in awe of our God, III. All of the reverence and holiness we receive through the righteousness of Christ places us in the perfect place to hold God and all of His creation sacred, the theme and mission of our current UIM year. We will also be able to hold God s gift of life sacred, which is the theme and mission of our current UIM Series. Hold God and His creation and gift of life sacred requires the reverence or deep respect for our God that must exist and come from deep in our souls; it must come from a sincere faith and belief in what we cannot see, the unseen Paul tells us to look to in 2 Corinthians 4:18:... look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. As we look to the unseen through Christ s righteousness, we will come to understand the wonder and fullness of our own righteousness in Christ and IV. Being radiant, with hearts that thrill and exult is a glorious place to be! Yet it is a difficult place to remain in a sin-filled world. This is why we need the righteous Branch that sprouts from David s line we read about in Jeremiah 33:14-15, our Old Testament Reading. Verse 15 is also the verse on which this service is based: In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. This Branch is Jesus. He executes justice and righteousness to guide and lead us on the right path because sin constantly causes us to stumble off the path, and we cannot do anything about it. Only He can draw us back to Himself. As He does, we find Him waiting to help and save us while we are still sinners (Romans 5:8). The more we realize how faithful He is to sinners, the more we will worship Him with reverence and awe, and as we experience His holiness, God's Holiness - Advent I - Worship - Page 5

6 V. The radiance of God is awesome and it comes to us through Christ, whose righteousness has established our hearts blameless in holiness before God our Father as we read in our New Testament Reading, 1 Thessalonians 3: But His radiance should not stay in us. The thrill and exultation of our hearts needs to reach out to help other hearts thrill and exult and be radiant and believe. This is good news in a world of increasing unbelief and the lack of hope that comes with it. Unbelievers cannot rejoice always like believers because they do not believe in God, know Christ as their Hope and Salvation, or possess the power of the Spirit to persevere. They do not believe Jesus is coming again as our Gospel Reading makes very clear, and they may suffer eternal consequences for their unbelief. This is why they need to see our radiance and the thrill and exultation of our hearts. It can help them desire to come to Him. But we should not focus on the sins of unbelievers and forget our own sins. Believers also fail to come to Him as we need to. Some fail to worship God in His temple because they believe they can worship Him anywhere, and they are right. The problem is, when we stay away from worship every week, we forget or neglect to worship Him every day. Even those who come to worship Him every week sometimes forget to worship Him all week long. While attending church does not save, only faith saves, worship in God s holy temple strengthens our faith to make it through daily struggles and keeps our faith strong so it does not become weak and threaten our salvation. Of course, the most beautiful part of worshiping the Lord in His temple is that there in His presence, more than any other place on earth, VI. Likewise, by studying God s Word, we gain understanding of the things of God that we do not know or that we constantly forget. For example, God s Word teaches us that the unbelief in or neglect of God that we see all around us and sometimes in us is all part of God s plan to save the world. Romans 11:32 tells us, For God has consigned all to disobedience, that He may have mercy on all. It s hard but important for us to understand why God put disobedience in place. One reason is to manifest the power of His grace and mercy through which He saves us. And when those He shows mercy to pass on the mercy they receive many can be blessed and brought to Christ so they also may obtain mercy and show mercy. Another reason God put disobedience in place is to show how He works all things together for good to those who love Him. ( Romans 8:28 ). Of course, all people are free to choose not to believe and to remain in their sin. But it is when they suffer the consequences of their sin and see their need of a Savior and come to Him that we are most able to see why God has put disobedience in place. And our sin also makes us go to Christ to receive forgiveness and salvation. As we do, God grant it to be so for each one of us. Amen. Offering: Taken according to custom. To add a stewardship or any hymn, type the number in your bulletin. Creed: Type in the page number from the hymnal for the Creed you will be using. Communion Service: Nicene Creed (LSB back page, TLH pg. 22, LW pg. 166) Non-Communion Service: Apostle s Creed. (LSB back page, TLH pg.12, LW pg 167) Prayers: You may use the following prayer petitions provided or your own prayers. The words to the prayer do not need to be printed in your bulletin. Do print the response if you choose to use it. s generate the participation of all generations. However, using responses some weeks and not other weeks can add variety and also meet both the needs of those who like responses and those who prefer not to say responses. If possible, pass out a printed copy of your prayers for those who cannot hear well or at all. This will help to include them and help them feel this worship is reaching out to them. Remind those sitting near them to help especially children respond and to point to responses for the hearing impaired. Conclude your prayers with the Lord s Prayer unless it is part of your communion liturgy. God's Holiness - Advent I - Worship - Page 6

7 Prayer of the Church Knowing how much we need the righteousness of Christ to be righteous and holy in God s sight, we pray for all people to know how much they need Him and to come to Him. Each time you hear Strengthen us, O Lord, please respond with Hear our prayers through Christ our righteousness. Almighty God, Creator of every living thing, You have commanded us to be holy as You are holy, and it is because we cannot be holy that You have sent Your Son to forgive all our sins through His suffering, death, and resurrection. Continue to be with us and keep us holy through His righteousness and the power of the Holy Spirit. Strengthen us, O Lord. Generations: Hear our prayers through Christ our righteousness. Holy Jesus, who came once to this earth as a tiny Babe to bear our sins and be our righteousness, we bow in reverence before Your manger and Your cross begging for Your forgiveness and standing in reverent awe of our Creator and Redeemer who has come to be with us even in all of our sins. Draw us closer to You each day on earth until You come again with all of the angels to take us to live with You in heaven forevermore. Strengthen us, O Lord. Generations: Hear our prayers through Christ our righteousness. O sacred and holy God filled with power and mercy to save us in heaven and help us through every struggle on earth, hear us as we pray for the eternal and earthly needs of people You have given us to pray and care for. Please be with, strengthen, and protect all people in their times of need. Especially, at this time, be with ( ), as well as all of those whom we hold dear and pray for silently in our minds and hearts. Comfort those who mourn, (especially, ). Sustain them and strengthen them in their faith and Christian lives. Strengthen us, O Lord. Generations: Hear our prayers through Christ our righteousness. Triune God, send Your Spirit to live in us to cleanse us and empower us to be holy and hold You and Your gift of life sacred. Through Your Spirit, sanctify and keep us strong in faith that seeks to bring more and more people to You and show them their need for Christ. So that our faith does not grow weak and fail, keep us faithful in our worship of You and our study of Your Word until Christ comes again. Strengthen us, O Lord. Generations: Hear our prayers through Christ our righteousness. All these things we lay at Your throne trusting that You hear and answer as we [boldly say AMEN!] or [join together in praying the prayer Jesus taught His disciples to pray: Our Father who art in...] [Holy Communion may be celebrated according to custom.] Note: You may choose a Communion Hymn or use the hymn below. God's Holiness - Advent I - Worship - Page 7

8 Hymn of Anticipation: To include children, alert the congregation to sing and have the organist replay the last phrase of each verse specifically so that children can sing it. Encourage those sitting near children to point to the last phrase so they can listen for it and repeat it. Adding repetition allows all ages with a variety of challenges to participate. Encourage those with any challenges that keep them from singing this hymn to listen to the words and those with hearing challenges to read the words of this hymn as it is sung so all can be blessed by the message. Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates LSB 340,341/ TLH 73 / LW 24 Benediction: May God our Creator and Redeemer bless us as we leave this place. May His face shine upon us and fill us with the holiness that comes to us through the righteousness of Christ, and may the radiance and thrill and exultation in us bring others to Christ as we await the time when He will come again. All God s People say: Amen. Closing Hymn: To include children, invite and encourage those sitting near them to help them listen for and sing sing Holy, holy, holy at the beginning of each verse. Adding repetition allows all ages with a variety of challenges to participate. Encourage those with any challenges that keep them from singing this hymn to listen to the words and those with hearing challenges to read the words of this hymn as it is sung and be blessed by the message. Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty! LSB 507 /TLH 246/ LW 168 BEFORE WORSHIPERS LEAVE: If you are offering the UIM SS Lesson that complements this UIM Worship Service, invite the entire congregation to say or repeat after you the God s Word For Us Today passage from this lesson printed on the last page of their worship bulletin: So that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints. 1 Thessalonians 3:13 Permission to reproduce this UIM Resource is given to the ordering congregation ONLY and is not transferable. Each time this UIM Resource is used, a donation is requested to continue UIM for congregations like yours in the future. To review a wealth of UIM Resources, visit: Questions? info@familycrossfires.org Donations to continue this ministry or in appreciation for help a UIM Resource has given you may be sent to: Family Crossfires Ministries, Inc., N6753 Black Oak Circle, Shawano, WI God's Holiness - Advent I - Worship - Page 8