Worship & Prayers for the Fourth Sunday of Advent

 Opening Rite

If you’re at home you might wish to light a candle, make sure you are sitting comfortably and take a few deep breaths to still yourself. 

The Lord is here  His spirit is with us.                    

 Prayers of Penitence

‘The axe is laid at the root of the trees; every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down.’                                                                                 cf Matthew 3.10

But confident in God’s mercy we confess our sins.

After a period of reflection

Lord Jesus, you came to gather the nations into the peace of your kingdom: Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

You come in word and sacrament to strengthen us in holiness: Christ, have mercy. Christ, have mercy.

You will come in glory with salvation for your people: Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

May the God of all healing and forgiveness draw us to himself, and cleanse us from all our sins that we may behold the glory of his Son, the Word made flesh,Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

The Collect

You might like to keep a few moments of silence

God our redeemer, who prepared the Blessed Virgin Mary to be the mother of your Son: grant that, as she looked for his coming as our saviour, so we may be ready to greet him when he comes again as our judge; who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen

Isaiah 7:10-16

Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying, Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven. But Ahaz said, I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test. Then Isaiah said: ‘Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary mortals, that you weary my God also?  Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. He shall eat curds and honey by the time he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land before whose two kings you are in dread will be deserted.

Psalm 80:1-7,18-19

/R: Turn us again, O God, show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.  

Hear, O Shepherd of Israel, you that led Joseph like a flock; Shine forth, you that are enthroned upon the cherubim, before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh.  Stir up your mighty strength and come to our salvation.

O Lord God of hosts, how long will you be angry at your people’s prayer? You feed them with the bread of tears; you give them abundance of tears to drink.  You have made us the derision of our neighbours, and our enemies laugh us to scorn.

Let your hand be upon the man at your right hand, the son of man you made so strong for yourself and so will we not go back from you; give us life, and we shall call upon your name.

Romans 1:1-7

Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be Son of God with power according to the spirit* of holiness by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of his name, including yourselves who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, To all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 

The Gospel according to Matthew                                  Chapter 1:18-end

Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah* took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’ All this took place to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: ‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,    and they shall name him Emmanuel’, which means, ‘God is with us.’ When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.

This is the Gospel of the Lord  Praise to you O Christ

Reflection

In verse 23, Matthew quotes Isaiah 7:14. This is the classic example of Matthew’s idea of how Jesus ‘fulfilled’ prophecy. This is not so much ‘making it come true’ as ‘making the words mean more than they did before’. Whereas in Isaiah ‘Immanuel/ God with us’ had the meaning of God being on our side, in this passage, Matthew is showing that God is actually with us now, in this child, Jesus. The focus here is on Joseph and his actions. At the time of Jesus’ birth, marriage was a two-stage process. The bride was pledged to the husband and then followed a time of ‘getting to know each other’. (This could include co-habitation, particularly if the families wanted to be reassured that the couple was fertile.) Only then would families make formal contracts, giving the woman financial protection if the couple split or she was widowed. So, Joseph was well within his rights to call off the engagement – his betrothed wife was pregnant and not by him! Mary was particularly vulnerable because she would leave the marriage shamed, with nothing except a child to raise. Joseph’s name and dreams link him with the Joseph of Genesis, whose dreams led him to take the people into Egypt to protect them, just as this Joseph will later do for the child Jesus. The name Jesus was not uncommon and means ‘God saves’ or ‘God is our salvation’.

Reproduced with permission www.rootsontheweb.com 2002-2021  

Prayers

Spend a few moments praying for the people you know and love, for the world, for peace and for the relief of refugees everywhere. 

On the Fourth Sunday of Advent                   

Eternal God, as Mary waited for the birth of your Son, so we wait for his coming in glory; bring us through the birth pangs of this present age to see, with her, our great salvation in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Praying for the Earth                                 Waste production and litter

We give thanks for the material things of life. Help us to use them wisely, and to dispose of them thoughtfully. In business and as individuals, help us to reduce what we waste, and to remember that as the earth is our only home, nothing is altogether thrown away. Amen

From the Diocesan Cycle of Prayer for the Church

Porvoo Communion: Diocese of Oslo (Church of Norway), Diocese of Moray, Ross and Caithness (Scottish Episcopal Church) and the Diocese of Durham

Anglican Communion: The Anglican Church of Burundi Primate: The Most Reverend Sixbert Macumi

Diocese of Newcastle: For all involved with the administration of trusts and charities in our diocese and local communities

Morpeth Deanery: Benefice of Mitford with Hebron Vicar: Elaine Jones Reader: John Laurenson Readers PTO: Sean Fugill, Paul Kidd and Janice Robinson, Longhorsley St Helen’s C of E Primary School

From our Parish Prayer Cycle this week 

Give thanks for the many blessings experienced by our parish family

For the sick and those being cared for in hospital or at home      

For those in residential care    

For those whose year’s minds are this week 

Mary Tollen, Bryan Kirkwood, Jean Maddison, Elizabeth Miller, Alison Cox, George Howard, Allan Watson, Leonard Earle, Thomas Carr, Eddie James, Edward Oakley, Bowden Anderson and Doris Telfer

You might like to end your prayers with The 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 who trespass against us.  And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever.  Amen.

The Conclusion

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen

Let us bless the Lord!     Thanks be to God!