Advent Preparation

If I have not clarified before, I love the Church calendar. However, one of the ways I find it incredibly useful in the spiritual formation of the people of God is around the idea of longing and expectation. Advent and Lent give us as the people of a God a unique opportunity to grow the muscles of longing and expectation because we live in a world that is impatient and instantaneous. Almost anything can be delivered to our front door within 48 hours. But the seasons of Advent and Lent cannot be rushed - they can be hurried - but not rushed. The slow march to the arrival of Christ - the growing longing for His second coming. The slow setting of Christ’s face toward the cross - the slow longing for our own resurrection. These invitations we find in the Church calendar - but not in a calendar governed by national holidays and school schedules.

As you plan for yourself, your family, your team, and your church to enter the season of Advent, how will you invite them to slow their pace, set their gaze, and ponder in their hearts? These things will not naturally occur, they must be planned, cultivated, invited. This is part of our work as worship leaders, not to use our people to meet our needs and agenda but to bless our people with a clearer view of serving God and His people in the season ahead.

You might also like these other Advent resources:

• Advent Devotional 2023

• Advent Preparation 2022

• Advent Beyond Nostalgia

• Navigating Advent and Christmas

• Advent, Christmas, and Corporate Worship

31 December: Liturgy + Set List

• WONDER AND GIFT

  The Church calendar says that Christmas is more than a day, it is a season. So we are still in the season of Christmas, remembering Christ’s coming, and anticipating His return. As we sing together this morning, I want to encourage you to look back over the past year and search for ebeneezers - remembrances of God’s care, help, and provision. Hold those things in your heart and mind, and sing from that place, sing from that remembrance this morning.

• BEHOLD

• HARK THE HERALD ANGELS SING

Almighty God, you have poured upon us the new light of your incarate Word: Grant that this light, kindled in our hearts, may shine forth in our lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one god, now and for ever. Amen.

• ONLY A HOLY GOD

  Readings: Luke 1:26-33, Matthew 1:1, 12-16

  This is the word of the LORD. The kind of people Jesus came from reveals the kind of people Jesus came for. Thanks be to God. Thanks be to God.

  Sermon: Luke 1:26-56

  Writer Frederick Buechner says, ‘The grace of God means something like: "Here is your life. You might never have been, but you are, because the party wouldn't have been complete without you. Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don't be afraid. I am with you. Nothing can ever separate us... I love you." If you are here this morning as a follower of Jesus, as you look back over 2023 and as you look ahead to 2024 you have nothing to fear, because the Lord who loves you says in His Word: ‘I will never leave you or forsake you.’ God is so kind, so good, so gracious, he can work all things for our greater good, and His greater glory. As we close out our morning and our year, we’re going to sing about God’s glory with a song that will have a familiar melody, but maybe words which are unfamiliar. Would you stand if you’re able…

• All Glory Be To Christ

Revelation 5

Revelation 5

Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”

And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying,

“Worthy are you to take the scroll
    and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
    from every tribe and language and people and nation,

and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
    and they shall reign on the earth.”

Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice,

“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
and honor and glory and blessing!” 

And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying,

“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”

And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

There is a new song declaring an eternal truth - that Christ is the Lamb who was slain, the One who reigns, and the One who will return. A song that the saints and angels, the living creatures and the elders with proclaim for all eternity: Worthy is the Lamb.

Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence

Let all mortal flesh keep silence

and with fear and trembling stand;

ponder nothing earthly-minded,

for with blessing in his hand

Christ, our God, to earth descending,

comes our homage to command.

King of kings, yet born of Mary,

as of old on earth he stood,

Lord of lords in human likeness,

in the body and the blood

he will give to all the faithful

his own self for heav’nly food.

Rank on rank the host of heaven

spreads its vanguard on the way

as the Light from Light, descending

from the realms of endless day,

comes the pow’rs of hell to vanquish

as the darkness clears away.

At his feet the six-winged seraph,

cherubim with sleepless eye,

veil their faces to the presence

as with ceaseless voice they cry:

“Alleluia, alleluia!

Alleluia, Lord Most High!”

There is nothing to fear for those who fear the Lord.

Those who stand in awe of God will not be awed by the world.

Is the anxiety or excitement of a new year causing your heart to be awed or fearful in things other than God?

1 January: Liturgy + Set List

• BEHOLD

  Call to Worship: Psalm 118:14-17

  Welcome to worship with us on this final day of the Christmas season, and the first day of the year. We are glad you have joined us to do precisely what we have read in those verses - to declare the wondrous deeds of the Lord. A new year can bring excitement, anxiety, fear, or worry. But as followers of Christ, we can rest in the reality that there is no portion of the year ahead that God does not know deeply, intimately, and completely. And if you are here this morning as a follower of Christ, there is nowhere you will go this year that Christ will not go with you. We will spend some time praying together using Psalm 16 - I will read a portion of the passage, and then give you a prompt for prayer, and leave some time for you to pray silently in your own heart. Let’s continue in worship through prayer…

Psalm 16:

Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.

I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
    I have no good apart from you.”

As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones,
    in whom is all my delight.

Take a moment to reflect, remember, and name evidences of God’s care and kindness to you in 2022.

The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply;
    their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out
    or take their names on my lips.

Will you take a moment to name and confess to God the places of fear, anxiety, worry, or uncertainty about the year ahead.

The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;
    you hold my lot.

The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
    indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
    in the night also my heart instructs me.

I have set the Lord always before me;
    because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

Will you take a moment to invite the Holy Spirit to press these truths deeply into your heart in the year ahead.

Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;
    my flesh also dwells secure.

For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
    or let your holy one see corruption.

You make known to me the path of life;
    in your presence there is fullness of joy;
    at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

• KING OF KINGS

• O COME ALL YE FAITHFUL

  Reading: Luke 2:41-52

  Sermon: John 20:1-18

  My only hope, your only hope in 2023 is not resolutions, but resting in the unchangeable character of God. All things are passing away - including you and me - but God’s Word never passes away - God never changes. So would you stand and sing these next two songs as prayers looking ahead to this year, and fixing our eyes on the Risen, Author, and Perfector of our faith…

• TURN YOUR EYES UPON JESUS

  You will recognize the melody of this next song, but the words may be new. Let’s sing together…

• ALL GLORY BE TO CHRIST

  Benediction: John 20:30-31

Psalm 145

Great Is the Lord

A Song of Praise. Of David.

I will extol you, my God and King,
    and bless your name forever and ever.

Every day I will bless you
    and praise your name forever and ever.

Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,
    and his greatness is unsearchable.

One generation shall commend your works to another,
    and shall declare your mighty acts. 

On the glorious splendor of your majesty,
    and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.

They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds,
    and I will declare your greatness.

They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness
    and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

The Lord is gracious and merciful,
    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

The Lord is good to all,
    and his mercy is over all that he has made. 

All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,
    and all your saints shall bless you!

They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom
    and tell of your power,

to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds,
    and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.

Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
    and your dominion endures throughout all generations.

[The Lord is faithful in all his words
    and kind in all his works.]

The Lord upholds all who are falling
    and raises up all who are bowed down.

The eyes of all look to you,
    and you give them their food in due season.

You open your hand;
    you satisfy the desire of every living thing.

The Lord is righteous in all his ways
    and kind in all his works. 

The Lord is near to all who call on him,
    to all who call on him in truth.

He fulfills the desire of those who fear him;
    he also hears their cry and saves them.

The Lord preserves all who love him,
    but all the wicked he will destroy.

My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
    and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.

As we move into a new year, the Lord who loves you says that He is faithful in all His words and kind in all His works. How might this reality shape your year? “I am one in whom Christ dwells and delights. I live in the unshakeable kingdom of God. The kingdom is not in trouble, and neither am I.” - James Bryan Smith

Savior of the Nations, Come + Let The Earth Now Praise the Lord

Savior of the Nations, Come

Savior of the nations, come;

virgin's Son, make here your home.

Marvel now, O heav'n and earth,

that the Lord chose such a birth.

Not by human flesh and blood,

by the spirit of our God

was the Word of God made flesh,

woman's offspring, pure and fresh.

Wondrous birth! O wondrous Child

of the virgin undefiled,

though by all the world disowned,

still to be in heav'n enthroned.

From the Father's throne he came

and ascended to the same,

captive leading death and hell.

High the song of triumph swell!

Praise to God the Father sing,

praise to God the Son, our King,

praise to God the Spirit be

ever and eternally.

Let The Earth Now Praise the Lord

Let the earth now praise the Lord,

Who has truly kept His word

And at last to us did send

Christ, the sinner's help and friend.

What the fathers most desired,

What the prophets' heart inspired,

What they longed for many a year,

Stands fulfilled in glory here.

Abram's promised great reward,

Zion's helper, Jacob's Lord--

Him of twofold race behold--

Truly came, as long foretold.

As Your coming was in peace,

Quiet, full of gentleness,

Let the same mind dwell in me

Which is Yours eternally.

Bruise for me the serpent's head

That, set free from doubt and dread,

I may cling to You in faith,

Safely kept through life and death.

Then when You will come again

As the glorious king to reign,

I with joy will see Your face,

Freely ransomed by Your grace.

God is the Promise Maker and Promise Keeper. He swears against Himself - for there is none greater. His story of redemption began before the Fall in the garden, it continued with a promise and a covering, it moved forward with Christ’s arrival, it is in the already and not yet of the resurrection and ascension of Christ, and it will be seen and experienced in fullness when He returns. How might God be inviting you to rejoice and celebrate His continued redemptive work in your life and the world today, and in the new year ahead?

Psalm 88

I Cry Out Day and Night Before You

A Song. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. To the choirmaster: according to Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.

O Lord, God of my salvation,
    I cry out day and night before you.

Let my prayer come before you;
    incline your ear to my cry!

For my soul is full of troubles,
    and my life draws near to Sheol.

I am counted among those who go down to the pit;
    I am a man who has no strength,

like one set loose among the dead,
    like the slain that lie in the grave,
like those whom you remember no more,
    for they are cut off from your hand.

You have put me in the depths of the pit,
    in the regions dark and deep.

Your wrath lies heavy upon me,
    and you overwhelm me with all your waves. Selah

You have caused my companions to shun me;
    you have made me a horror to them.
I am shut in so that I cannot escape;

    my eye grows dim through sorrow.
Every day I call upon you, O Lord;
    I spread out my hands to you.

Do you work wonders for the dead?
    Do the departed rise up to praise you? Selah

Is your steadfast love declared in the grave,
    or your faithfulness in Abaddon?

Are your wonders known in the darkness,
    or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?

But I, O Lord, cry to you;
    in the morning my prayer comes before you.

O Lord, why do you cast my soul away?
    Why do you hide your face from me?

Afflicted and close to death from my youth up,
    I suffer your terrors; I am helpless.

Your wrath has swept over me;
    your dreadful assaults destroy me.

They surround me like a flood all day long;
    they close in on me together.

You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me;
    my companions have become darkness

It is here in the deep darkness of our own hearts, our own sin, our own brokenness that Christ arrives. Darkness is as light with Him, the night as bright as the day - because Christ is the Light of the World shining into the dark.

Luke 2:22-35

LUKE 2:22-35

And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,

“Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,
    according to your word;

for my eyes have seen your salvation

    that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,

a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
    and for glory to your people Israel.”

And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

Is your life marked by anticipating the arrival of Christ?

Are you looking for Him, waiting for Him, hoping for Him?

Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates

Lift up your heads, ye mighty gates;

behold, the King of glory waits;

the King of kings is drawing near;

the Savior of the world is here!

Fling wide the portals of your heart;

make it a temple, set apart

from earthly use for heaven's employ,

adorned with prayer and love and joy.

Redeemer, come, with us abide;

our hearts to thee we open wide;

let us thy inner presence feel;

thy grace and love in us reveal.

Thy Holy Spirit lead us on

until our glorious goal is won;

eternal praise, eternal fame

be offered, Savior, to thy name!

It is a wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles, joy of joys that God has moved toward us and dwelt among us. How much more overwhelming that God inhabits the heart of every believer? Spend time today thanking God for His arrival into a specific time and place in our history, but also His arrival into your heart and life.

Psalm 75

God Will Judge with Equity

To the choirmaster: according to Do Not Destroy. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song.

We give thanks to you, O God;
    we give thanks, for your name is near.
We recount your wondrous deeds.

“At the set time that I appoint
    I will judge with equity.

When the earth totters, and all its inhabitants,
    it is I who keep steady its pillars. Selah

I say to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,’
    and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horn;

do not lift up your horn on high,
    or speak with haughty neck.’”

For not from the east or from the west
    and not from the wilderness comes lifting up,

but it is God who executes judgment,
    putting down one and lifting up another. 

For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup
    with foaming wine, well mixed,
and he pours out from it,
    and all the wicked of the earth
    shall drain it down to the dregs.

But I will declare it forever;
    I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.

All the horns of the wicked I will cut off,
    but the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up.

The One who established the foundations of the world, the One who upholds the universe by the Word of His power, the One who in all things hold together, is the One who keeps steady the shaking world. Are you allowing your life to be held by the One who holds all things?

All My Heart This Night Rejoices

All my heart this night rejoices

as I hear

far and near

sweetest angel voices.

"Christ is born!" their choirs are singing

till the air

ev'rywhere

now with joy is ringing.

Hear! The Conqueror has spoken:

"Now the foe,

sin and woe,

death and hell and broken!"

God is man, man to deliver,

and the Son

now is one

with our blood forever.

Should we fear our God's displeasure,

who, to save,

freely gave

his most precious treasure?

To redeem us he has given

his own Son

from the throne

of his might in heaven.

See the Lamb, our sin once taking

to the cross,

suff'ring loss,

full atonement making.

For our life his own he tenders,

and his grace

all our race

fit for glory renders.

Softly from his lowly manger

Jesus calls one and all,

"You are safe from danger.

Children, from the sins that grieve you

you are freed;

all you need

I will surely give you."

Come, then, banish all your sadness,

one and all,

great and small;

come with songs of gladness;

we shall live with him forever

there on high

in that joy

which will vanish never.s

Shall we your Godhead see.

We cannot celebrate in isolation the birth of Christ. Our celebrations of Christ’s birth should be fueled by the reality that the rescue plan of God continues - that the cross is the ultimate victory over satan, sin, and death and that Christ will return once again to usher in a celebration that will never end. How might your Advent season be marked by celebrating the reality of Christ’s rule and return?