Advent 2.3
Theme – Faith
Gather
The nights are long…
…the darkness deep…
…but the reason for our faith draws near.
Song – We Have Waited
Prayers of the People
God of the faithful as well as the doubting, we pray this day for those in our community who are struggling during this time. Help us serve those who bear these burdens, that we all may experience the hope you give, for this life and the one to come.
Lord, in Your mercy…
Hear our prayer.
Lighting of the Advent Candle/Song – In This Season (Week 2)
Reading – Isaiah 11:1-10
There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.
And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and might,
the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.
He shall not judge by what his eyes see,
or decide disputes by what his ears hear,
but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,
and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.
Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist,
and faithfulness the belt of his loins.
The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together;
and a little child shall lead them.
The cow and the bear shall graze;
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra,
and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den.
They shall not hurt or destroy
in all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.
Song – Wintertide
Peace/Benediction
And now may the God of our faith bring about His coming vision of justice and harmony through our lives this day, this week and this season. May we share in the knowledge of the Lord. Go in faith to love and serve the Lord.
Next: Advent 2.4