Prophet vs Messiah - An Advent Sermon

Originally Preached at North Lynn on 15th December 2019

3rd Sunday of Advent

All hymns in most hymnals and On Spotify

Prayers based upon those used in the service beneath the order of service

Call to worship: Psalm: 146:1,2,10

Hymn O for a thousand tongues to sing

Prayer of Adoration

Prayer of Confession

Prayer of Thanksgiving

Lord’s Prayer

Hymn To the name of our Salvation

1st Reading: Isaiah 35:1-10

2nd Reading: James 5:7-20

Offering

3rd Reading: Matthew 11:2-11

Hymn The Kingdom of God

Sermon

Hymn Tell out my soul

Prayers of Intercession

Hymn O come, O come Immanuel

The Grace

 

Prayer of Adoration

God of all things, in whose light all creation stands, we bring before You our adoration and praise, for we know that You are the Lord, the Holy One, and the King of all there is. We hear the Baptist’s cry echo down the ages and join those who came to before us. We join in our praise with the millions who have gone before, throughout the ages, who declared that You are our God. We know that Your praises shall continue for all time, and after time in the Kingdom of Heaven, worthily so for You are The Lord. Praise be unto You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen

Prayer of Confession

Forgiving Father we bring before You our sins, all those things we have done wrong. We confess that we have not always done as we ought, instead we have sinned and we have left those things we should have done, undone. We do not remember the needs of others and we often fail to see You in all things. We say to You, Lord God, we are sorry for All our sins. We ask You to forgive us, trusting not in any deeds of our own, but in the mercy of You to forgive us our sins. Having sought forgiveness, we know that You say to us that Our Sins are forgiven. Thus forgiven, we ask You to help us to resist sin, and be strong against the temptations of the evil one. For You are the Holy One, who can forgive us anything, and triumph over anything, as shown to us in the great sacrifice of Christ upon His Cross. Thanks be unto You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen.

Prayer of Thanksgiving

God of all Goodness, we give You thanks for Your gifts, poured out for us in great abundance, for we know that it is thanks to You we enjoy every good thing, and that we enjoy every mercy given unto us. We thank You for the joys of the wintertime, the clear mornings and the hope of snow, the pleasures of being tucked up in the warm of an evening, and the promises of spring to come. We thank You for all the gifts that come to us through Christ, for the gift of Forgiveness, of Salvation, and the promise of the life hereafter, redeeming us all. We thank You O God, For we know that all this is from You. Thanks be unto You, Father Son and Holy Spirit, Amen

Lord’s Prayer

Our Father, Who art in Heaven

Hallowed be Thy Name

Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done,

On earth as it is in heaven,

Give us this day, our daily bread,

And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those that trespass against us

And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil

For thine is the Kingdom

The Power and the Glory

Forever and ever

Amen

Prayers of Intercession

Lord Hear Us

Lord, Graciously Hear Us

World

Lord God we pray for the world around us. We pray especially all those who have been afflicted by Coronavirus and the difficulties it has caused and ask for their families and friends to be comforted. We pray for all those who live in fear of their governments, soldiers and police. We pray for those in lands recovering from war, may they rebuild and see a peace that lasts. We ask that all those in want of the basic necessities may have their needs met, whatever they may be of, that worries of survival might end, that people might be free to make more than just existence of their lives. We pray thus for both abundance, and that things may get through to those who need them.

Lord Hear Us

Lord, Graciously Hear Us

Church Abroad

Holy Lord, we pray for the Church in lands abroad. We pray for those whose only possession is the gospel, and work to share it with all they meet. We pray for those who face threats when they practise their religion, Lord, keep them safe and frustrate those who would do the devil’s work. We pray for all those who are bringing the word to new ears in lands abroad, especially those in countries where to evangelise for life is illegal, Lord, may every heart they come to be opened by them, that their neighbours will turn away from the cruelty this world encourages. We pray for all those congregations called Methodists, in lands across the world, may they flourish.

Lord Hear Us

Lord, Graciously Hear Us

Home

Father God we pray for our own land. We know that You see all that happens, and We ask that You may move the hearts and minds of those who are in power, to be Your obedient servants. We ask That they be guided to do good and find the ways to do it. We ask that all those tasked with turning the laws into actions be guided by Righteousness and not by things of this world. We pray too that the nation may bring itself to be more Christian to one another, disagreeing with respect and understanding, not bile, hatred and self-righteousness. We ask your Help and Guidance upon Her Majesty the Queen and all the Royal Family, May they know You as we do.

Lord Hear Us

Lord, Graciously Hear Us

Church At Home

We pray Lord for the Church at Home. We pray for our Christian brothers and sisters in the circuit, and in other Christian Churches hereabouts, may we pull together for The Lord. We pray for those Churches worrying for the future, may they be filled with the Holy Spirit to go forth and tell, and find willing ears to listen. We pray too for those worrying over worldly things, Lord, keep their worries from distracting them from the wonders of You.

Lord Hear Us

Lord, Graciously Hear Us

The sick

Father God we pray for those who are Ill. We pray for those who are faced with hospital stays and operations, may they come through safely. We pray for all those whose ailments need doctor’s appointments and pills, may they be helped by their medicines. We pray for those at home, recovering, may they be able to know progress and ask Your aid to cheer them. We pray too for all those doctors, nurses, chemists, porters and so forth who work for the aid of the sick. May they be see much success in their work and avoid error and exhaustion. We pray for those known to us as unwell, (especially…)

Lord Hear Us

Lord, Graciously Hear Us

Locally

We pray for this community around us, for all those who are kin and neighbours. We pray for both those we know and care for, and those who are yet only faces to us, yet are Your beloved Children too. We pray for them in their needs and wants. We ask that we may be a light to them so that they may come to know You. We pray that we may be seen to be worthy servants of Christ, and in our lives may we burn so brightly with the Holy Spirit as to be a light to the Gospel for our neighbours.

Lord Hear Us

Lord, Graciously Hear Us

Ourselves

We pray Lord God for ourselves. You know us utterly, from the innermost thoughts of our hearts to our most public deeds. We ask that You strengthen us to do what we ought, whether we want to or not. We ask that our dearest desires may be worthy of fulfilment and that we shall see those things come to pass, and know it as Your Work.

Lord Hear Us

Lord, Graciously Hear Us

Assurance of prayers being answered

We Pray O God, knowing that when we pray, You hear our prayers, and You will always give them answer. We ask that we may know such answers as proof of You, and the truth of Your Promises. Amen.