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Second Sunday of Advent

Worship
Lectionary Worship Aids
Series III
* CALL TO WORSHIP
Hear the words of the Lord. Are they not words of peace, peace
to his people and to his loyal servants and to all who turn and
trust in him?

* PRAYER OF CONFESSION
God of the first day, God of today, God of the last day, we admit
that we are more frightened by the threat of a nuclear accident
or a nuclear war than we are hopeful for a new heaven and earth.
It is like our apprehension of major surgery, an unpleasant
experience, but one that can bring about the condition in which
healing can take place. We may be fatalistic and feel powerless
to change unjust institutions that provoke and promote war.
Forgive our reluctance to look for the new day and to work for
justice and peace with patience, repentance, and perseverance,
whatever the disappointments and delays. Baptize us with the
Holy Spirit according to the gospel of Jesus Christ, your Son.
Amen.

* DECLARATION OF GOD'S FORGIVENESS
Hear the Good News! God has forgiven your guilt and put away all
your sins. Friends, believe the Good News! In Jesus Christ, we
are forgiven.

* EXHORTATION
Prepare a road for the Lord through the barren places of our
common life. Clear a highway for God across the fruitless areas
of our history.

* PRAYER OF THE DAY
Jesus Christ, Son of God, since you have walked in our shoes,
enable us by the same Holy Spirit of our baptism to proclaim the
good news and prepare the way for your coming again so that you
may be surrounded by people from all earth's cities and
countrysides. Amen.

* PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
Saving God, loving Christ, baptizing Spirit, hear our
thanksgiving for all who have paved the way for your good news to
reach us. We admire the bold preaching of the prophets and
apostles. We appreciate the work of scholars and translators in
preparing a written text for us to read. We are grateful for the
printers and binders that make Bibles for us and for all who help
us to read and understand the Word of God written. Most of all
we

thank you that your saving and forgiving love was embodied in
Jesus of Nazareth, the great good Shepherd who has gathered his
flock into the Church. For past deliverance, for present
comfort, for future promise we give you thanks, faithful God.
Amen.

* PRAYER OF DEDICATION
We worship you, loving and faithful Lord, by the presentation of
these tokens of our prosperity and the yield of our work. Use us
and our offerings to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. Amen.

* PSALM 85:1-2, 8-13
LORD, you were favorable to your land;
you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
You forgave the iniquity of your people;
you pardoned all their sin.
Let me hear what God the LORD will speak,
for he will speak peace to his people,
to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts.
Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him,
that his glory may dwell in our land.
Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet;
righteousness and peace will kiss each other.
Faithfulness will spring up from the ground,
and righteousness will look down from the sky.
The LORD will give what is good,
and our land will yield its increase.
Righteousness will go before him,
and will make a path for his steps.

UPCOMING WEEKS
In addition to the lectionary resources there are thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...
Proper 7 | OT 12 | Pentecost 2
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Plus thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...

New & Featured This Week

The Immediate Word

Thomas Willadsen
Nazish Naseem
Dean Feldmeyer
Mary Austin
Katy Stenta
George Reed
For July 6, 2025:

CSSPlus

John Jamison
Object: This is a role play activity for the children.

Note: You will need an older volunteer to help with this activity. One option would be to find a teenager with some physical ability. If a teen is not available, an adult could be used instead. For simplicity here, I will refer to my older volunteer as “TOM”. You will also need to select three of your younger children to serve as volunteers in the story.

* * *

Emphasis Preaching Journal

Mark Ellingsen
2 Kings 5:1-14
Bill Thomas
Frank Ramirez
Mark Ellingsen
Bonnie Bates
2 Kings 5:1-14, Psalm 30
Naaman seeks healing. He travels hoping healing will come to him when he visits the king of Israel. Yet, healing does not come in that way. Rather healing comes through Elishah. Healing comes from believing and being cleansed in the River Jordan. Healing comes through Naaman’s faithfulness and through God’s grace. Psalm 30 also reminds us to seek healing; to seek God and God will heal and restore us. Do we believe that? Do we believe that God can bring healing?

StoryShare

John E. Sumwalt
But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.’ (vv. 10-11)

When I visit your church for the first time, consider the possibility that I might be looking for a church home. I am a good-looking old guy, but I have gray hair and I dress down in the summer, so don’t be put off by my cargo shorts and tank top. Talk to me!

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
Damien and Ora grinned at each other in excitement. The time had come - at last! They'd been with the Leader for months and months, waiting for this moment. Not that it had felt much like training. They'd simply lived with the Leader, listening to his stories, hearing about the Kingdom, learning to get along really well with all the other people at Mission Headquarters. Now all seventy of them were ready, the spaceship had docked, and the Mission was about to begin. Ora was glad she'd been paired up with Damien again.

SermonStudio

James Evans
Stan Purdum
Carlos Wilton
(See Epiphany 6/Ordinary Time 6, Cycle B, and Easter 3, Cycle C, for alternative approaches.)

Anyone who has ever had the experience of losing a friend because of some conflict or dispute, and then has had the friendship restored because of love and forgiveness, has a unique insight into the meaning of this psalm. Although the poem begins and ends with praise, there is in the middle of the poem a brief moment of confession and contrition that puts the praise portions of the psalm in an entirely different light.

April Yamasaki
A word of encouragement came from an unlikely source the other day in a television interview with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. The former football player, wrestler, and now actor was asked about a low time in his life when he was very discouraged about his career and future.

"How did you make your way back from that?" he was asked.

The Rock replied, "You have to put yourself out there. You have to get out there and fail, and learn from your failures."

Larry D. Powell
In the summer of 1983, I participated in a ministerial exchange program sponsored by my denomination. My assignment was to a circuit of churches on the Isle of Man, a tiny island located in the Irish Sea. The months preceding the exchange included considerable correspondence with the minister on the island with whom I would exchange pastoral duties for six weeks.
Richard E. Gribble, CSC
A wealthy businessman decided to take a walk and eat his lunch at the same time. He strolled by a park. There he purchased a hot dog and a soft drink. As he walked through the park two different "street people" approached him one by one. Each asked, "Can you help me? I am hungry." Each time the businessman looked straight ahead and kept walking. After finishing his lunch, he stopped and bought a chocolate eclair for dessert. As he was about to take the first bite, he was forced to jump out of the way as a young boy raced by on his skateboard. The eclair went flying and landed on the ground.

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