Call to Celebration
A shoot soon comes from Jesse’s stump, and a branch shall spring from roots.
Rejoice, rejoice all God’s children. Let all the people give God the praise.
A leader soon comes who will lift the poor with righteousness around his waist.
Rejoice, rejoice all God’s children. Let all the people give God the praise.
A child soon comes from an innocent place with divine wisdom and gentle might, and he’ll lead the way to hope and peace.
Rejoice, rejoice all God’s children. Let all the people give God the praise and to God alone be all the glory.
Amen
Offertory
O God of hope and peace, today we gather to worship your holy name and to be encouraged to have vision. Vision of goodness, vision of gladness, vision of wholeness. We acknowledge that we have been blessed with so much! Prod us to share our abundance. Remind us that everything belongs to you, and we are merely stewards of your mighty grace. We give in the peace of knowing that you are our God and Redeemer, through Jesus Christ – God made flesh. Amen.
Service December 4th
Scripture Lesson
Isaiah 11:1-10
The Voice
11 But on this humbled ground, a tiny shoot, hopeful and promising,
will sprout from Jesse’s stump; A branch will emerge from his roots to bear fruit.
2 And on this child from David’s line, the Spirit of the Eternal One will alight and rest. By the Spirit of wisdom and discernment
He will shine like the dew. By the Spirit of counsel and strength He will judge fairly and act courageously.
By the Spirit of knowledge and reverence of the Eternal One,
3 He will take pleasure in honoring the Eternal. He will determine fairness and equity; He will consider more than what meets the eye and weigh in more than what he’s told.
4 So that even those who can’t afford a good defense will nevertheless get a fair and equitable judgment.
With just a word, He will end wickedness and abolish oppression. With nothing more than the breath of His mouth, He will destroy evil.
5 He will clothe himself with righteousness and truth; the impulse to right wrongs will be in his blood.
With unwavering steps and integrity uncompromised, He will establish peace.
6 A Day will come when the wolf will live peacefully beside the wobbly-kneed lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat; The calf and yearling, newborn and slow, will rest secure with the lion; and a little child will tend them all.
7 Bears will graze with the cows they used to attack; even their young will rest together, and the lion will eat hay, like gentle oxen.
8-9 Neither will a baby who plays next to a cobra’s hole nor a toddler who sticks his hand into a nest of vipers suffer harm.
All my holy mountain will be free of anything hurtful or destructive, for as the waters fill the sea,
The entire earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Eternal.
10 Then on that day, that root from Jesse’s line will stand as a signal for the peoples of the world
Who will come to Him seeking guidance and direction and glory will be restored to the land where He resides.