Login / Signup

Free Access

Pentecost Sale - Save $131!

The Advent-ure Of Peace

Worship
Zephaniah 3:14-20
Philippians 4:4-7
Luke 3:7-18
Third Sunday of Advent - C
Dallas A. Brauninger
Lectionary Worship Aids
Series V, Cycle C
First Lesson: Zephaniah 3:14-20
Theme: The Advent-ure Of Peace

Call To Worship
Leader: All of us meet troublesome relationships.

People: We come yearning for solutions.

Leader: We know about arguing with ourselves and disagreeing with others.

People: We come wanting to resolve and settle.

All: Come, Christ, we await your peace.

Collect

Peace-giving God, who promises to lead us toward agreement and who calls us home to our true selves, renew within us a sense of your enduring peace. Amen.

Prayer Of Confession

God who removes disaster from us, God who turns away enemies of fear and turmoil, God who rejoices over us with gladness, renew us with the lasting peace of your love. In the name of Christ. Amen.

03C Hymns
"[O][Oh] Come, O Come, Emmanuel" Tune: VENI EMMANUEL

"My Heart Sings Out With Joyful Praise" Tune: MARIAS LOVS NG

"People In Darkness Are Looking For Light" (vv. 1-3) Tune: ADVENT1

* * *

Second Lesson: Philippians 4:4-7
Theme: Amazing Peace

Call To Worship

Rejoice in God for God is near. Let us rejoice in God by unfolding our souls. Let us rejoice by sharing ourselves with God and with those around us. And we will know a peace that we had not expected. Come, let us worship God.

Collect

We come to you, O God, with hearts thankful for your generous
spirit. Hear our songs and prayers of thanksgiving because you are near to show us the way of peace. Amen.

Prayer Of Confession

Dear God, we want to move beyond protecting our gentleness so much that we become closed in upon ourselves. We equate gentleness with exposing our vulnerability. We forget that tenderness also uncovers strength. Help us to glimpse the peace that can come from compassion. In Jesus' name. Amen.

03C Hymns
"Mary And Joseph In Bethlehem Town" Tune: SABRA

"Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" Tune: MENDELSSOHN

"Gentle Mary Laid Her Child" Tune: TEMPUS ADEST FLORIDUM

* * *


Gospel: Luke 3:7-18
Theme: God Is Able

Call To Worship
Leader: God is able,

People: And so are we.

Leader: God is able to do what seems impossible.

People: We are able to bear amazing fruit from our resources.

Leader: Come, let us worship our able, empowering God.

Collect

God, who offers us a reason to change our ways and who invites us to discover that we, too, are able to be kind, to share, and to choose fair ways, to you we return thanks. Amen.

Prayer Of Confession

When we live out the faith of our baptism, O God, we begin to understand our responsibility for how we live. Strengthen our resolve to act beyond self-interest. Open our ears to hear that we are able to live as you would have us live. In the name of the coming Savior. Amen.

03C Hymns
"Awake! Awake, And Greet The New Morn" Tune: REJOICE, REJOICE

"[On River Jordan's Bank][On Jordan's Bank][The Baptist Shouts][On Jordan's Shore]" Tune: WINCHESTER NEW

"Healing River Of The Spirit" Tune: JOEL or BEACH SPRING

____________

1. Sing verses 1, 2, and 3 of this Advent Hymn on Advent 3. Sing verse 3 as a closing response after the benediction.
UPCOMING WEEKS
In addition to the lectionary resources there are thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...
Proper 10 | OT 15 | Pentecost 5
30 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
30 – Children's Sermons / Resources
29 – Worship Resources
34 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Proper 11 | OT 16 | Pentecost 6
29 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
27 – Children's Sermons / Resources
20 – Worship Resources
29 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Proper 12 | OT 17 | Pentecost 7
34 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
32 – Children's Sermons / Resources
26 – Worship Resources
31 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Plus thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...

New & Featured This Week

The Immediate Word

Christopher Keating
Thomas Willadsen
Katy Stenta
Mary Austin
Nazish Naseem
Dean Feldmeyer
George Reed
For July 27, 2025:

CSSPlus

John Jamison
Object: A card with Luke’s short version of the Lord’s Prayer to give to each child. Make your own card or use the one I have attached to this message.

* * *

Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Great! Let’s hear the story. But I want to begin by asking you a question.

StoryShare

Peter Andrew Smith
Luke frowned at the email he was writing. He moved a couple of words around and then hit the save button. He ran the email though the grammar checker and spell checker again. He took a deep breath and then started reading through it one more time. After he finished, he noticed the time. He had to send it soon or it would be too late for there to be a response before the deadline. He sighed and sat back in his chair. He wished he wasn’t so nervous.

Emphasis Preaching Journal

Mark Ellingsen
Bill Thomas
Frank Ramirez
Bonnie Bates
Hosea 1:2-10 and Psalm 85
I came across an interesting fact about how the state of Ohio deals with sealing and expunging a court record. The process for filing a court file and expunging a criminal record are combined into the same thing. If granted, the request seals the record forever, and officials are not allowed to discuss the person’s past criminal record.
David Coffin
Another mass shooting appears on the television “Breaking News!” Many people have lost count of the number of school or concert shootings in the recent years in the USA. Usually prominent are comments such as, “We hold these families up in prayer,” and “more mental health is needed.” People who work both in spiritual care and mental health have heard this all before.

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
Prayers usually include these concerns and may follow this sequence:

The Church of Christ

Creation

The communion of saints


These responses may be used:


Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer
Lord, hear us.
Lord, graciously hear us.


God, the centre of my being,

When I think of you, praise spills from my lips. I wish I always acted as though you were my centre, for then perhaps your kingdom would be known here.

SermonStudio

James Evans
(See Advent 2, Cycle B, for an alternative approach to vv. 1-2 and 8-13.)

In 1988, Southern Baptists held their annual convention in San Antonio, Texas. It was a contentious meeting, as factions within the denomination vied for control of the various agencies and boards. Throughout the week, angry words were spoken across the aisle as various resolutions and officer elections revealed the deep schism growing within the group.

Michael D. Wuchter
He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples." He said to them, "When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial."
-- Luke 11:1-4

One of the disciples said to Jesus, "Lord, teach us to pray."

Lee Ann Dunlap
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall; Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't
put Humpty Dumpty together again.

This is a nursery rhyme we learned as children, and somewhere along the line in history class we were taught that its composer, "Mother Goose," was, in fact, a political satirist. If we look between the lines of these playful rhymes we will find some kind of hidden message poking fun at royalty. (I guess you had to be there to get the joke.)
Kirk R. Webster
Do you have somebody in your world who seems to live his/her life daily on a treadmill of self-imposed rules, almost as Tarzan swings from one vine to another? These people swoop from one regulation to another rule, to another regulation, in an attempt to maintain control and safety in their lives. They travel by self-imposed boundaries that probably aren't necessary to a fulfilling life. Consider our 45-year-old suburbanite named Jim.
Julia Ross Strope
A single song is being inflected through all the colorations of the human choir.
The way to become human is to recognize the lineaments of God in all the wonderful modulations of the face [of humankind].
-- Joseph Campbell, The Hero With a Thousand Faces

Call To Worship (Leader)
We are in sanctuary -- together, removed from the world, secluded for a while.
We have brought with us our burdens and anxieties.
We've come here with our hopes and thanksgivings.

Special Occasion

Wildcard SSL