Metropolitan United Church
London Ontario, Canada
Order of Service
Sunday, December 15 2024
11AM Service
Advent III
Organ Prelude
Welcome
Announcements
- Friday, 20th – Lessons and Carols. The Choristers will lead the 7:00 pm reflective Service
- Sunday, 22nd there will be a return to normal service times of 9:30 and 11:00 as we worship on what may be for some, their Christmas Service.
- Then on Christmas Eve, three services – 4:30 – Teddy Bears & PJs; 8:00 Christmas Eve Service with the Sr. Choir and the Bell Choir. Then 11:00 pm we will see in Christmas Day itself with a beautiful Christmas Eucharist.
Please join us when you can.
Let us worship God
Call to Worship: The Grace
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit
be with you.
All: And also with you.
Processional Hymn
#62 - Once in Royal David's City
Opening Prayer & Lord’s Prayer
A New Creed: Let us declare our faith together:
We are not alone, we live in God’s world.
We believe in God: who has created and is creating, who has come in Jesus, the Word made flesh, to reconcile and make new, who works in us and others by the Spirit.
We trust in God.
We are called to be the Church: to celebrate God’s presence, to live with respect in creation, to love and serve others, to seek justice and resist evil, to proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen, our judge and our hope.
In life, in death, in life beyond death, God is with us.We are not alone.
Thanks be to God.
Sanctus Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty
Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee
Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty
God in three persons, blessed Trinity!
Circle Time & Third Advent Candle (no Sunday School)
Scripture Reading: Isaiah 12:2-6
2 Surely God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid,for the Lord God is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation.
3 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.
4 And you will say on that day:Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name;make known his deeds among the nations; proclaim that his name is exalted.
5 Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously; let this be known in all the earth. 6 Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.
Leader: On the first two Sundays of Advent, we lit the candles of hope and peace. Today, we light the candle of joy.
Sometimes when we think of Christmas and joy, we get the feeling that we should be happy all the time. Joy, however, is not the same as feeling happy. Joy is a deeper feeling founded in the knowledge that God cares and loves us with a steadfast love. We learn of that love most profoundly with the birth and life of the Messiah. Let us remember all the gifts that are ours in the coming of Christ. “Joy to the world, the Lord is come.”
Let us all pray:
All: Dear God, thank you for your son, Jesus. Thank you for being among us and the wonder, love, salvation and the gift of eternity that his birth points to. Help us live in such a way that our words and our actions may help others know the joy we have in him. Amen.
Light the third Advent Candle (pink)
All Singing: A Candle Is Burning (v.3)VU#6
A candle is burning, a candle of joy,
A candle to welcome brave Mary’s new boy.
Our hearts fill with wonder,
and eyes light and glow,
As joy brightens winter like sunshine on snow.
Anthem: Training Choir
Responsive Psalm Psalm 130VU#853
Offertory Prayer
This is our opportunity to invest in God’s Mission
O Lord, giver of life and source of freedom
We know that all we have received is from your hand.
You call us to be stewards of your abundance,
the caretakers of all you have entrusted to us
Help us to always use your gifts wisely
and teach us to share them generously.
May our faithful stewardships bear witness
to the love of Jesus Christ in our lives. Amen.
Doxology (VU#541)
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise him, all creatures here below;
Praise him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.
Anthem: Anthem: In Dulci Jubilo – R. L. Pearsall
The Christmas Pageant with Carols
Hymn Joy To The WorldVU#59
Antioch
Commissioning & Benediction
Choral Response
A Nativity Prayer (Elata)HWC#126
O holy child of Bethlehem,
descend to us we pray,
cast out our sin, and enter in,
be born in us today.
Postlude We Wish You A Merry Christmas
