Call to Worship:
The God who speaks comfort to us calls us here
The God who addresses us with tenderness meets us here.
The God who guides us with gentleness cares for us here.
We come to prepare a way for the Lord,
We come to ready ourselves for the transformation of our lives.
For the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it.
Carol: Hark the Herald
Lighting of the Advent Candles
Prayers
LEADER: God of glory, you call on us to prepare the way for Jesus' birth.
PEOPLE: Forgive us if we put our time and energy into making all sorts of
material preparations for Christmas; buying gifts; ordering food; baking cakes; writing cards - all important, but preparations which give temporary pleasure
compared to the lasting peace which Christ gives.
silent confession
LEADER: God of glory, you call on us to prepare the way for Jesus' birth by
helping to make smooth the rough places in people's lives, by seeking to
reduce the mountainous problems some people experience.
PEOPLE: Forgive us when we fail to become involved with the pain of other people by pleading seasonal busy-ness.
silent confession
LEADER: God of glory, you call on us to prepare the way for Jesus' birth by
being agents of comfort and mercy.
PEOPLE: Forgive us for all the times we put our own personal comfort
before that of others. For confusing being comfortable with being comforting.
silent confession
LEADER: God of glory, we confess that all too often we do spend more time
on making preparations for our own pleasure than preparing for Jesus to be
born anew in our hearts and lives - in our families, our communities,
our nation.
PEOPLE: Help us to prepare ourselves faithfully to receive the Christ-child.
Amen
Assurance and Pardon.
LEADER: Listen to what God promises: salvation happens when love and faithfulness meet together, when righteousness and peace kiss. (Psalm 85:9,10) This is surely the gospel of Jesus Christ. In him we experience salvation.
The Lords prayer
Carol: Go tell it on the Mountain
Setting the Scene: John the odd!
Quiz:
1. What was the name of John The Baptist's father?
a) Jacob
b) Zechariah (Luke 1:59)
c) Nathaniel
2. What was the name of John the Baptist's mother?
a) Elizabeth (Luke 1:57)
b) Ruth
c) Herodia
3. How were Jesus Christ and John the Baptist related? 3.
a) There mothers were sisters
b) There fathers were father and son
c) There mothers were cousins Yes (Luke 1:36)
4. Of what occupation was John the Baptist's father?
a) Dentist
b) A Temple priest (see Levites) (Luke 1:5)
c) A shepherd.
5. What did John the Baptist say was near?
a) The end of the world
b) Long winter nights
c) The Kingdom of God (Matthew 3:2)
6. Of what was John the Baptist's clothing made?
a). Camel hair (Matthew 3:4)
b) Leather
c) wool
7. What did John the Baptist eat?
a) Fresh bread
b) Locusts and wild honey (Matthew 3:4)
c) Roast Lamb
8. Where did John the Baptist baptize Jesus Christ?
a) In the Dead sea
b) In the River Jordan
c) In the Mediterranean sea
9. When talking about Jesus, what did John the Baptist say he was not worthy of doing?
a) Untying his shoe
c) Scrubbing his floor
d) Easting a meal with him.
10. How did John the Baptist die?
a) Crucified (like Jesus)
b) Beheaded (Matthew 14:1-12)
c) died of old age
Carol: On Jordan's Bank
Bible Readings:
Talk:
Out of the Ordinary
1) John – a man out of the ordinary:
I want you to think of someone very unusual this morning. A man wandering in a desert place, shouting that people should change their ways. Wearing an animal skin, with a leather belt around his middle to hold the animal skin in place. This garment he is wearing is not a smooth skin though, but a rough skin of a camel. This man eats strange food – Locusts and wild honey. That means he catches insects and raids bee-hives for his nourishment. This man is rather strange – could we say – out of the ordinary!
John was never a leading player – his whole life was actually mnot about drawing attention to himself – but pointing to another. Throughout his life he played second fiddle. That’s what his life was about. He played before and he played behind and he supported the main melody, the main act, the main event, the "one who was coming," which was Jesus. That was his job. Before, behind, around, in the background. So that when Jesus came, his voice could ring out loud and clear.
John’s task was never to be a popular character, but to disturb people – to wake them up, so make them alert for Christ who was coming. It was John’s job to give them a sense that God was active in this world. It had been years and years since a great prophet had been active in ancient Israel, so John’s job was to remind people that God was not dead, in fact; God was still very active.
So in some ways, John had to be out of the ordinary – slightly odd – to make people sit up and listen. John was no normal fella – he was certainly a bit weird – but somehow this unusual persona attracted attention; which is just what God intended him to do:
John’s job was to be the dry run before the test.. He was to be the lightening before the storm actually arrives. He was to be the first tremor of the earthquake that was on its way. His job was to be like a "leaked press release" before the Prime Ministers speech. Even before Jesus came to speak, people would begin to speak about what was going to be spoken.
Indeed John was out of the ordinary – and yet his quirkiness was part of God’s divine plan. Have you ever wondered why you are the way you are, aware of your all eccentricities and peculiarities? Wished you were more normal? (whatever that means) Well today as we focus on John the Baptist we realise that God has made us to be out of the ordinary – to be extra-ordinary for his sake.
2) Baptism – an experience out of the ordinary:
John came preaching a message that held an appeal to people to repent and be baptised – to step out of the ordinary way of living for self, and getting things wrong, of living with guilt and greed, and failure - and to do the out of the ordinary thing of coming to God and receiving his forgiveness and new beginning..
And they came – out of the cities into the desert, down to the banks of the River Jordan to give this strange man with his out of the ordinary message a try. And what did they get when they came to him; well not always a warm welcome – they often heard harsh words “You brood of vipers” he called them, and he continued to rant on to them about things that may happen that they had to be concerned about – yet still they came, many came, asking "What should we do?".
Baptism was then, and still is an out of the ordinary experience. Why be baptised? Some of you may ask, as you have watched baptisms here in recent months – but the essence of baptism is simply an experience that marks a new beginning, that celebrates a conscious decision to move away from the old and live in a new way – to boarded horizons and stop living for self, live for others. Those elements of repentance and forgiveness are still there – as you go under the waters and confess tour sin, and rise again, and receive forgiveness. This washing and cleansing that John practised in the Jordan is taken on by the Christ, the sinless one – he not only enters out humanity, but takes on our need to symbolism and ritual, and by doing so commits himself to a live of service for us.
In Church history, this is the second most popular time of year for baptisms, after Easter; as he hear Johns words to repent and be baptised. Is God speaking to you? Is their a challenge to go the way of Christ and to follow him through the waters of baptism? I feel it would be wrong today not to offer this challenge. On your spiritual walk with God – is this something you need to do?
John didn’t just baptise – he taught them that they way the were living needed to change – stop living for yourself’ From now on if you have two coats give one away to the poor, and the same with your food." Stop living for yourself, live for others.
Tax collectors listened to him and came asking “what should we do?" He baptised them as well, and told them to life honest lives – to only "Collect the money they were suppose to, and stop robbing people of other money no more than the amount prescribed for you."
Even Soldiers listened to him and came asking "And what should we do?" Again he said Repent and be baptised – and after he had baptised them he told them – be satisfied with what you have, stop craving after money and taking if form people by threats or false accusation, live differently.
John called people to step out of their ordinary way of doing things and live differently – to live for others, to reassess how you do things and stop being so self- focused.
He challenged people that their horizons had become too small;
that their confidence had grown, but it was misplaced;
that their job, our job, other people’s job, was just like his – they wanted to be first fiddle, but their whole job in life, our whole job, is to be second fiddle. – always looking out for others – always pointing to God.
John modelled this by constantly pointed away from himself: “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals.” Pointing to one who came out of the Ordinary:
Jesus comes – out of the ordinary:
Jesus Christ, steps up to John in the Jordan river, just like anyone else had done before. Like the Tax collectors, like the soldiers, like the many others – he steps out of the ordinary and presents himself to his cousin John. No chariot of fire to bring him down to the river, no choir of angels to herald his arrival there, no fanfare, no voice from Heaven (yet) Jesus steps out of the ordinary – coming down from Nazareth to the Jordan to be baptised.
Do you know, many people in our world today seek God. These are days of spiritual searching. People take pilgrimages to holy sights, while others go off round the world in search of something or someone! Others read weighty tomes in search of a glimpse of the almighty. Christians move from church to church – hoping to encounter a deeper relationship with God somewhere else. Others fast for days on end and pray long hours, while others watch the God channel on TV and tune onto Premier Radio – waiting to hear his voice. Yet Jesus often comes to us in the ordinary things of life – he comes to us when we are least expecting it, when we are going about our daily tasks, when we are tired and weary, when we feel that carrying on is difficult – then Jesus steps into the ordinary moment of our lives, and they become sacred moments. This is what happened to John down by the Jordan. John who pointed away from himself – pointed away to Jesus, suddenly came face to face with Christ. In that moment John knew why he was born, he knew what life was all about, he knew that in his eccentricity – God was with him, he was not alone.
At this season of Advent we recognise again Immanuel – God with us; Jesus who comes out of the ordinary. He comes out of an ordinary little town of Bethlehem; born to an ordinary young woman; with an ordinary working man beside her. Born when the Romans did an ordinary Census; and a volatile time that was nor becoming ordinary to those who lives at that time. Taking on our ordinary flesh and blood, humanity and weakness. God chooses this ordinary time to enter our creation in this unique way. So often Jesus comes again to us – into our ordinary days, when we are least expecting it, he draws alongside and suddenly we know, as John knew, that we are not alone.
John – no ordinary guy – bit weird really – but used by God
Baptism no ordinary experience – very odd really – but still Jesus calls us to follow him in this way.
Jesus – came from the ordinary – but anything but. Jesus who entered our ordinary world back then, and comes again today, to challenge us and refocus our lives, to always point to him. Amen
Song: King of Kings, Majesty
Intercessions
Light and pray peace on people
Carol: Ding, dong merrily
Benediction
The Grace