November 30, 2025 – First Sunday of Advent

Lectionary Readings   -   Gathering   -  Word  -   Eucharist   -   Sending   -   Music and Art

Lectionary Readings

Isaiah 2:1–5
Turn swords into plowshares; walk in the light of the Lord.

Psalm 122
I was glad when they said, “Let us go to the house of the Lord!”

Romans 13:11–14
Salvation is near: wake up; live honorably; put on Jesus Christ.

Matthew 24:36–44
The Lord is coming; keep awake; no one knows the day or hour.

— Gathering —

Opening Sentences

Wake up; wake up! The day of God is near.
We do not know the hour,
so we will live like the time is here and now. 
God is here, now!

Let us go to the house of our Living God.
We journey with all peoples of all creeds.

Let us go and bask in Holy Wisdom’s warmth
so that we can learn her ways
and choose her paths.

To enter the house of God, we must wake up
to the nightmare of hate and violence; 
all oppression must cease.
We will beat our weapons into tools for love.
We will take the walls we raise against the stranger
and build a house where all can live in peace.

Prayer of the Day

God of justice, God of peace,
even now you are breaking into our weary world.
Make your presence known 
to those who wait and watch for you.
Send your Spirit of justice rolling over the earth;
sweep away all war and suffering
so that all of your creation 
can glorify you in peace—
the kin-dom that Jesus promised us
come down to earth at last. Amen.

Hymn, Psalm, or Spiritual Song


Thanksgiving For Baptism

At the baptismal font:
The Lord be with you. And also with you.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
O Lord our God, we give you thanks
for the hope and longing you instill in us
through the promise of our baptism—
a voice crying out in the wilderness,
a messenger to prepare the way,
the day of redemption drawing near.
By the power of your Holy Spirit,
poured out upon us in baptism,
keep us awake and make us ready
for the coming of your glorious realm
of righteousness, justice, and peace;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Confession and Pardon

At the baptismal font:
This is the time for us to wake from sleep;
salvation is near to us.
Let us then lay aside the tatters of sin,
and put on the armor of righteousness,
asking our Savior for forgiveness.

O God,
we are steeped in a world of violence.
War is one of the first things we learn,
and we let it work its way into our lives.
Your promises of peace sound like impossible
   dreams,
and we become accustomed to cruelty.
Forgive us. Wrest our weapons from our hands,
and show us how beautiful life can be
when you forge them into instruments
   of peace.

Lifting water from the font:
Beloved, know this:
the God of Presence,
the God of Transformation,
the God of Peace,
hears our prayers
and gives us power to love.
Through Jesus Christ, we are forgiven! Thanks
   be to God!

— Word —

Prayer for Illumination

At the lectern or pulpit:
Holy God, our hope and strength,
by the power of your Spirit
prepare the way in our hearts
for the coming of your Word,
so that we may see the glorious signs
of your promise fulfilled;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Scripture

Before the readings:
A voice is crying in the wilderness:
Listen to the word of the Lord.
Mark 1:3; John 1:23

After the readings:
Heaven and earth will pass away
but the word of the Lord stands forever.
Thanks be to God.
Isaiah 40:8; Mark 13:31

Sermon

Ascription of Praise

After the sermon:
Now to the God of all wisdom,
who strengthens us according to the gospel,
through Jesus Christ be all glory forever. Amen.
Romans 16:25–27

Hymn, Psalm, or Spiritual Song

Affirmation of Faith

Out of Israel, God in due time raised up Jesus.
His faith and obedience were the response
of the perfect child of God.
He was the fulfillment
of God’s promise to Israel,
the beginning of the new creation,
and the pioneer of the new humanity.
He gave history its meaning and direction
and called the church to be his servant
for the reconciliation of the world.
Adapted from the Confession of 1967, 9.19

Prayers of Intercession

Gathered here, in the house of the Lord,
let us pray for the coming of Christ’s realm.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We pray for the peace of the church . . .
Bring peace, O God, to all believers;
show us how to honor and serve you
as members of Christ’s body.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We pray for the peace of the earth . . .
Bring peace, O God, to all the world;
bind us more firmly together
in the pursuit of the common good.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We pray for the peace of all nations . . .
Bring peace, O God, to every land;
teach us to trade our swords for plowshares
and spears for pruning hooks.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We pray for the peace of this community . . .
Bring peace, O God, to our city [town];
make us attentive to the needs of our neighbors
and protect all who are in danger.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We pray for the peace of loved ones . . .
Bring peace, O God, to family and friends;
heal those who are sick, help those who suffer,
and give hope to those who mourn.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We pray for the peace of Jerusalem . . .
Bring peace, O God, to the world you have made:
the peace that passes understanding
and the promise of your new creation;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who is coming in glory to reign. Amen.
Psalm 122:6

— Eucharist —

Invitation to Offering

At the communion table:
All things in heaven and earth belong to God,
who is coming in glory to reveal a new creation.
Let us offer our lives to the Lord.
2 Peter 3:8–15

Prayer of Dedication

At the communion table:
Eternal God,
as we wait for the fulfillment of your reign,
use these gifts and the gifts of our lives
to bring justice to those who are oppressed,
to set free those who are in prison,
to lift up those who are bowed down,
and to uphold those who are vulnerable. Amen.

Great Thanksgiving

The Lord be with you. And also with you.
Lift up your hearts. We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.

Blessed are you, O Lord our God:
You established your people to be a light for the nations,
and called us to walk in your paths and follow your ways.
Even now, you are coming to bring justice and peace to the world.

Therefore we praise you, joining the song
of the universal church and the heavenly choir:
A Sanctus (“Holy, holy, holy”) is sung.

Blessed is Jesus Christ, our Savior:
In Christ Jesus, you drew near to us for our salvation,
teaching us to live in faith and to seek the good of all.
Through his dying and rising, you brought life to the world.
The words of institution are included here.

Remembering your goodness and grace,
we offer ourselves to you with gratitude
as we share this joyful feast.
A Memorial Acclamation (e.g., “Christ has died”) is sung.

Pour out your Holy Spirit upon us and upon this bread and cup;
make us one in the body and blood of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Keep us faithful and alert for the hour of Christ’s coming.
Let us live honorably as children of truth and light,
so that we may eat and drink together in your holy realm.

Through the Lord Jesus Christ,
in the unity of the Spirit,
we bless you, God of glory,
now and forever.
An Amen is sung.

Lord’s Prayer

 

Breaking the Bread

 

Communion of the People

 

Hymn, Psalm, or Spiritual Song

 

Prayer after Communion

At the communion table:
God our hope, we give you thanks
that you have given us this foretaste
of the justice, righteousness, and peace
of your promised new creation.
Strengthen us with this heavenly food
as we seek to serve your holy realm.
Lead us to live in joyful expectation
of the coming again in glory
of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

— Sending —

Hymn, Psalm, or Spiritual Song

 

Blessing and Charge

At the doors of the church:
May the God of peace make you holy
and the power of the Spirit sustain you
until the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Alleluia!
1 Thessalonians 5:16–24

Prepare the way of the Lord! Amen.
Isaiah 40:3; Mark 1:3

“Cardboard Cathedral”

Shigeru Ban, 2013

Additional Materials

Congregational Song

GATHERING

  • Creator of the Stars of Night (OG) CONDITOR ALME SIDERUM GTG 84

  • Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates (G) TRURO GTG 93

  • Awake! Awake, and Greet the New Morn (OEG) REJOICE, REJOICE GTG 107

WORD

  • The People Who Walked in Darkness (OG) ISAIAH 9 GTG 86

  • For You, O Lord, My Soul in Stillness Waits (G) MY SOUL IN STILLNESS WAITS GTG 89

  • Watchman, Tell Us of the Night (EG) ABERYSTWYTH GTG 97

  • Savior of the Nations, Come (G) NUN KOMM, DER HEIDEN HEILAND GTG 102

EUCHARIST

  • Come Now, O Prince of Peace (O) O-SO-SO GTG 103

  • While We Are Waiting, Come (G) WAITING (Cason) GTG 92

  • I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light (O) HOUSTON GTG 377

  • You Have Put On Christ (E) BAPTIZED IN CHRIST GTG 491

SENDING

  • Keep Your Lamps (EG) KEEP YOUR LAMPS GTG 350

  • Soon and Very Soon (G) SOON AND VERY SOON GTG 384

  • Light One Candle to Watch for Messiah (OEG) TIF IN VELDELE GTG 85

  • The Prophets Caught a Vision (O) LLANGLOFFAN Protest of Praise, David Bjorlin, GIA, 98

  • View the Present through the Promise (OEG) FRANKLIN PARK LUYH 470

Psalms and Canticles

Psalm 122

Metrical

  • Rejoice, Rejoice, Come Sing with Me [FOREST GREEN]; PAS 122A 
  • I Rejoiced When I Heard Them Say [ENGLAND]; GTG 400, PAS 122B 
  • Let Us Go Rejoicing [POINT HILL]; PAS 122E 
  • With Joy I Heard My Friends Exclaim [SUSSEX CAROL]; PAS 122F 

Responsorial

  • Psalm 122, A Responsorial Setting; PAS 122D 
  • Let Us Go Rejoicing to the House of the Lord; LPGA 1 

Organ Music

  •  “Christ, Be Our Light,” Augsburg Organ Library: Advent II, Nancy Raabe, AF (E

  • “Creator of the Star of Night,” Augsburg Organ Library: Advent I, Richard Warner, AF (ME)

  • “Wachet Auf: Prelude,” Five Chorale Preludes & Free Accompaniments, Faythe Freese, MSM (M)

  • “Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 645,” J. S. Bach, various publishers; IMSLP.org (MA)

Piano Music

  • “Chaconne in G Major, HWV 435,” Klaviersuiten und Klavierstücke (London 1733), Georg Friederich Händel, HEN (MA)

  • “Méditation, Op. 31,” Mélanie (Mel) Bonis, IMSLP.org (ME)

  • “Entrance, Op. 82, No. 1,” Forest Scenes, Op. 82, Robert Schumann, KAL (M)

Anthems for Adult Choirs

  • “Wake, Awake!” Lynn Zettlemoyer, CGA, 3 pt, pno (E)

  • “Walk in the Light,” Andre Thomas, CGA, SATB or opt 2 pt, pno (E)

  • “Processional on ‘Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence,’” Robert Hobby, MSM, SATB, org, opt brass, opt hb (ME)

  • “E’en So, Lord Jesus, Quickly Come,” Paul Manz, MSM, SATB, acap (MA)

  • “Wake, Awake,” F. Melius Christiansen, AF, SSAATTBB, acap (MA)

  • “I Was Glad When They Said unto Me,” Hubert Parry, JM, SATB div, org (A)

  • “Final Chorus,” Dona Nobis Pacem, Ralph Vaughan Williams, OUP, SATB, orch (A)

Art

  • Let Us Beat Our Swords into Plowshares, Evgenly Viktorovich Vuchetich, 1959 (VDL)

  • Swords into Plowshares, Peter Koenig, 20th century (VDL)

  • Cardboard Cathedral, Shigeru Ban, 1957 (VDL)

  • Where Advent Begins, Jan Richardson (JR)