Posts Tagged ‘John The Baptist’
Below is a selection of resources and links for Advent Sunday for Year C, which, of course we celebrate on November 29. The readings speak of God’s constantly coming reign, and the need for us to be watchful to recognise it and receive it. In tough times like these, it’s good to have this reminder that God is at work even in the most tragic places in our world.
READINGS:
Jeremiah 33:14-16: God’s promise to raise up a descendant of David to reign in Israel & bring goodness, rightness & justice.
Psalm 25:1-10: A prayer for God’s compassion, forgiveness and leading, that praises God’s righteousness, compassion & love.
1 Thessalonians 3:9-13: Paul’s prayer for the Thessalonians that they may grow in love, and have strong and holy hearts when Jesus returns.
Luke 21:25-36: Jesus speaks of the signs that show the coming of God’s reign, and calls for his followers to be watchful & alert.
REFLECTIONS ON THEME:
The coming of God’s reign is a central focus of this week’s readings. Through Jeremiah God promises a leader like David for God’s people. The Psalmist prays for such leadership and guidance. In his prayer for the Thessalonians, Paul asks them to place themselves under God’s reign, and to grow in love, able to show how they have lived as Jesus did when he returns. Finally, in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus calls for us to be watchful and aware of what is happening around us, and open the the coming of God’s reign – and this does not just apply to the end, but to all times.
CONNECTING WITH LIFE:
GLOBAL APPLICATION: The season of Advent calls us to remember the God who comes to us – past, present and future. In the light of God’s eternal reign, we cannot help but reflect on our own priorities. Our lives in this world are called to reflect values that last and that have universal value. This calls us to be aware of the signs of God’s reign that are already visible in our world – in places of peace, restoration and sacrificial service – and to be part of calling out God’s reign in other places – places of need, violence and self-interest. Projects like the Advent Conspiracy (http://www.adventconspiracy.org/) offer a great opportunity to live out our faith in God’s coming reign.
LOCAL APPLICATION: Advent reminds us that in the midst of our daily struggles and victories, there is another reality at work, one that, if we remain aware and connected to it, will fill every detail of our lives with greater meaning & purpose. As we enter this season, we are called to watch, and to look for the signs of God’s reign around us, and then to co-operate with those signs, calling them into the light, and offering our love and strength to make God’s reign even more visible in our families, churches and communities.
RESOURCES FOR WORSHIP:
Prayers:
Watching
Expecting
O Come Emmanuel
A New World
Liturgy:
A Liturgy for Advent & Christmas
Hymns:
O Come, O Come Emmanuel
Come Thou Long Expected Jesus
Creator Of The Stars Of Night
Lo! He Comes With Clouds Descending
How Long We’ve Waited (New Hymn)
Longing (New Hymn)
Prepare The Way (Link to MySpace video)
Come Now Is The Time (Link to YouTube video)
Father, Spirit, Jesus (Link to YouTube video)
Marvellous Light (Link to album previews – scroll down for this song)
Advent Songs by Sojourn (A great album of new interpretations and new songs for the Advent season – and it’s available free or for a donation)
Images:
A Collection of Advent Candle Images from Worship Photos
Advent from Image Bank (and the same image without the words)
Church PowerPoint Backgrounds in Advent Liturgical Colour
Advent Backgrounds at ShareFaith
Video:
The Return Of Christ (The Work Of The People)
Advent – Christmas (SermonSpice)
Advent – He Comes (SermonSpice)
Other Advent Video Resources from SermonSpice
Additional Advent Resources & Reflections:
Sacredise Advent & Christmas Page
Advent (Taylor Burton-Edwards – GBOD)
The Text This Week
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Filed under Advent, Revised Common Lectionary, Worship, Year C
Tags:Advent 2, Christianity, God's Messenger, John The Baptist, Preparation, Restoration, Revised Common Lectionary, Worship, Year C
The work of preparation continues in the Advent journey this week. With a Gospel focus on John the Baptist, preparation for God’s work of forgiveness and restoration comes through as a strong theme.
READINGS:
Baruch 5:1-9: A prophecy of God’s restoration of Israel in justice and mercy.
OR Malachi 3:1-4: God is sending God’s messenger to prepare for God’s coming, and God’s people and God’s priests will be refined and made pure.
Luke 1:68-79: Zechariah’s song of thanksgiving for God’s rescue of Israel, and his proclamation of his son, John, as the messenger who will prepare the way for God’s coming.
Philippians 1:3-11: Paul’s prayer of thanksgiving for the Philippians, his desire for them to grow in love and purity, and his assurance that Christ will complete the work begun in them.
Luke 3:1-6: John begins his ministry of baptism and preaching, preparing the people for God’s coming.
REFLECTIONS ON THEME:
God is always coming, always available to God’s people, and always working for restoration. But, receiving God’s coming takes preparation, and so God sends a messenger to do this work, to prepare God’s people for God’s coming. The challenge in these passages is for us to embrace the work of preparation for ourselves – opening ourselves to God’s restoring, cleansing and disturbing work, and making our hearts ready for us to be messengers of God’s restorative justice and mercy to the world.
CONNECTING WITH LIFE:
GLOBAL APPLICATION: In a world where measurement happens on a quarterly basis, effective preparation is often sacrificed on the altar of expediency and immediacy. We are all too keen to declare the current recession “over” without taking the time to make the necessary changes to correct the flaws in our systems. The same applies to climate change science, addressing poverty, AIDS and conflict. The prophetic message of Advent is that we need to reflect on our brokenness as revealed in times like these, and prepare ourselves to go forward and do the necessary, lasting work of true restoration. These thoughts could apply particularly to the Climate Change Conference which starts tomorrow (Dec. 7) in Copenhagen.
LOCAL APPLICATION: How much of the day do we spend in reaction? So much pain and injustice is caused simply because we react in fear, anger, self-protection or simply impatience. However, if we can develop a prepared heart, we can more easily slow down, reflect and then act with wisdom and grace. Preparation – particularly of the heart – is restorative. It’s a proactive stance that frees us from our selves and our destructive or unhelpful patterns of behaviour and moves us into a life that more easily considers, serves and brings restoration to others. We need John’s to call us to this work of preparation & then we need to be John’s for others.
RESOURCES FOR WORSHIP:
Prayers:
New Days
Messengers
Liturgy:
A Liturgy for Advent & Christmas
A Liturgy of Creation and Communion (If you are picking up on the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen)
Hymns:
O Come, O Come Emmanuel
Love Divine All Loves Excelling
Hail To The Lord’s Anointed
Messenger (New Hymn)
Clear The Path (New Hymn)
Hark The Glad Sound!
God With Us (Link to YouTube video)
God Of This City (Link to YouTube video)
God Will Make A Way (Link to YouTube video)
Hear Our Praises (Link to YouTube video)
Over The Mountains And The Sea (I could sing of your love forever) (Link to YouTube video)
Video:
Recapturing Advent (The Work Of The People)
John The Baptist (SermonSpice)
A Voice In The Wilderness (The Work Of The People)
Additional Advent Resources & Reflections:
Sacredise Advent & Christmas Page
GBOD
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Filed under Advent, Revised Common Lectionary, Worship, Year C
Tags:Advent 2, Christianity, God's Messenger, John The Baptist, Preparation, Restoration, Revised Common Lectionary, Worship
The third week of Advent (December 13) continues the journey with John the Baptist, focussing on his preaching and the call to justice that he proclaimed. In worship services where we seek to have a strong justice orientation, we couldn’t ask for a better platform to work from!
READINGS:
Zephaniah 3:14-20: God’s promise to bring the exiled people of Israel home, and to dwell among them, bringing them joy and healing, and including all the marginalised and oppressed ones.
Isaiah 12:2-6: A song of praise for the God “who lives among you”.
Philippians 4:4-7: Rejoice, pray and give thanks, and God’s peace will fill you.
Luke 3:7-18: John prepares the people for the coming Messiah, denying that he is the one, and calling them to live justly and with integrity.
REFLECTIONS ON THEME:
The journey with John the Baptist continues as he preaches, baptises and calls people to just and ethical living. All of the passages make a clear connection between preparing the heart for God’s coming and living out the righteousness, justice and joy of God’s reign. The call, then of Advent, is to embrace this internal and external spiritual work. In the run up to Christmas, this call is particularly prophetic, as we choose how to celebrate this season ethically, spiritually and in a Christ-honouring way.
CONNECTING WITH LIFE:
GLOBAL APPLICATION: It is ironic that the season of God’s coming to us has, in the wealthy West, become characterised by inflated prices, increased profit-seeking, rampant consumerism and individualistic greed and excess, while in other parts of the world – notably Africa – the struggle for survival and for a meaningful place in the world’s decision making bodies continues. What might John the Baptist preach to us about this? How can we, who live among the wealthy and powerful, use our privilege to create opportunities and justice for our poorer brothers and sisters?
LOCAL APPLICATION: Who are the voiceless, excluded ones in your community? Who are the ones that a John the Baptist would call you to serve and include? What practices or ways of living would John challenge you on? What uses of your wealth might he question? Is there a way, this week, that your worship can overflow to the poorer communities and people around you? Can you use this Advent season to develop long term programs or strategies for embodying Christ’s coming to the people who most need to hear it in your neighbourhood, and perhaps the world?
RESOURCES FOR WORSHIP:
Prayers:
An Uncomfortable Vision
It’s My Problem, Too
Liturgy:
A Liturgy for Advent & Christmas
A Liturgy of Compassion
Hymns:
A whole selection of hymns new and old for this week at “Singing From The Lectionary”
Advent Hymns arranged for Contemporary Worship from Dean McIntyre of the GBOD
Advent Hymn (David Beswick)
Hallelujah! What A Saviour
Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee
O Spirit Of The Living God
It Came Upon The Midnight Clear
God Of Justice (Link to YouTube video)
Prepare The Way (Link to MySpace video)
How Long? (John van de Laar) (Link to Amazon mp3 download)
Glory In The Highest
Video:
Restored Fortune (From The Work of the People, based on the Zephaniah reading)
John The Baptist (SermonSpice)
A Voice In The Wilderness (The Work Of The People)
Additional Advent Resources & Reflections:
Sacredise Advent & Christmas Page
GBOD
Below is a selection of resources and links for Advent Sunday for Year C, which, of course we celebrate on November 29. The readings speak of God’s constantly coming reign, and the need for us to be watchful to recognise it and receive it. In tough times like these, it’s good to have this reminder that God is at work even in the most tragic places in our world.
A selection of new songs and prayers that lead us into an encounter with God and God's passion for justice in the world. Covering issues of economic justice and Jubilee, creation-care and war, the songs on Every God-Beloved Life will help you to express your love for God, while also embracing the least, the marginalised and the hurting.
Explore the sacrament of holy communion, unlock its hidden gifts - a sense of abundance flowing from thanksgiving; the freedom that forgiveness brings; the security that hope provides; the connection of a caring community; the awareness of the divine at all times, in all situations - and open doors to new inspiration for worship and for living.
Mystery, brokenness, holiness, confession, the cross, surrender, praise, intimacy, following Christ, reaching out - these are the elements of every believer's story, and these are the inspiration for the songs on this acoustic-rock worship CD, offering a selection of tried and tested songs that are already being sung in churches around South Africa, and the world.
