Advent 4: “Let All Within Us Praise Christ’s Holy Name”

Christ's reign has begun. Outside of time, beyond past, present, and future, Christ sits on the throne and all things are being restored in Christ. Our role is to bear witness to it, to see Christ in the people we meet, and to serve with love as people who know the shepherd's voice. November 22, 2020 Bulletin Hymns Crown Him with Many Crowns – #268 All Hail the Power of Jesus Name – #263 Joy to the World – #134 CALL TO WORSHIP      Lector, Tracy Caruso “I will search for my sheep,” says the Lord. Like lost lambs or scattered sheep, the Lord seeks us and calls us home. “I will gather them from far and near,” says the Lord. A cherished fold, a beloved flock, the Lord sustains us and gives us rest. “I will be their shepherd,” says the Lord. We listen for the voice of the God who seeks us, and follow with devotion and gratitude! HYMN OF PRAISE “Crown Him with Many Crowns” – GTG #268 CALL TO CONFESSION      Rev. Seth Thomas PRAYER OF CONFESSION God of mercy, who has compassion for the lost and the least, in disbelief and denial, we ask: “When did we see you among us?” We should have seen you in the classmate on the playground whom we did not invite to join our game. Or in the stranger on the sidewalk whom we crossed the street to avoid. Or in the neighbor at the nursing home, whom we left to carry her pain alone. We should have seen you in the man begging for work or a warm meal, in the woman struggling to overcome addiction, in the child seeking refuge from the terrors of violence. But, instead, we turned away. Forgive us, Lord. Break our hearts for what breaks yours, and give us compassion and courage to respond to the suffering of this world. Amen.