Order of Service / Advent 3 / December 14, 2025

 *Gathering Hymn O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (#1 VU | vs. 1,6,7)

Welcome & Land Acknowledgement

Advent Candle-Lighting

One: Today we light the third candle, the candle of Joy. Joy rises like a song that cannot be silenced, a quiet gladness pulsing beneath our days. Even in sorrow, Joy finds a way to bloom, for God is at work in hidden and surprising places. May this flame remind us that joy grows as we seek it and opens to us as we welcome it, and that Christ comes to shape our lives with laughter, wonder, and grace.

All Sing - Then Let Us Sing #55 “We light this candle”

We light this candle for joy. Await the new life within.

May our hearts now live each day, so joy can find a way, so joy can find a way.

Call to Worship

One: The Holy One draws near, and joy breaks open among us.

All: We come ready to receive God’s gladness.

One: Even in waiting, God renews our strength.

  All: Even in struggle, Christ brings light.

One: Let us rejoice, for God meets us here.

All: With open hearts and joyful spirits, we worship the living God.

Opening Prayer

*Opening Hymn Hark the Glad Sound (#29 VU)

Prayer of Confessional and Renewal (Unison)

Beloved Saviour, forgive us when patience slips through our hands, when we forget the steadiness of the farmer who waits for the earth’s precious harvest. Forgive us when grumbling rises in us, toward one another and toward you. Teach us again to breathe deeply, to steady our hearts, to set aside our complaints, and to remember the prophets and saints whose faithful steps guide our own. Hear us, God, as we offer our personal prayers to you in the silence of this moment… (a time of silent confession) Amen.

Words of Assurance

One: God is faithful, patient, and full of compassion.

All: Like rain on dry ground, God’s mercy renews us.

One: In Christ, our sins are forgiven and our hearts are renewed.

All: Thanks be to God, whose joy carries us forward.

Announcements and Minute for Mission

Time for God’s Children

Prayer for Illumination

Proclaiming the Scriptures

James 5:7-10 Wait patiently for the coming of the Lord.

Psalm 146:5-10 (VU p. 868) god’s reign brings justice.

Matthew 11:2-6 John’s disciples visit Jesus.

This is the Good News from the Bible.

  Thanks be to God.

Anthem

Sermon

*Hymn Be Still, My Soul (#652 VU)

*Offering

*Offertory Hymn (#55 VU | v. 4, In the Bleak Midwinter)

What can I give him, poor as I am?

If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;

if I were a wise man, I would do my part;

yet what I can I give him -- give my heart.

 

*Offertory Prayer (Unison)
God of Joy, as we wait for Christ’s coming, we offer these gifts with grateful hearts. Let them become signs of hope, songs of joy, and pathways of compassion in our community. Bless all we give, that your love may grow like light spreading at dawn. Amen

Prayers of the People and Lord’s Prayer

*Closing Hymn Tomorrow Christ Is Coming (#27 VU|vs.1,2,4)

*Commissioning

One: Go into the world, hearts awake to God’s coming.

All: We wait in hope and embrace the joy before us.

One: Be a witness to the love that draws near.

All: We act with courage and bring light to every place.

One: May God’s Spirit guide and strengthen us.

All: We go, carrying God’s presence into all we meet.

*Commissioning Song Prepare the Way of the Lord (#10 VU)

Prepare the way of the Lord! Prepare the way of the Lord! Make a straight path for him, make a straight path, prepare the way of the Lord! (x2)

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