Worship Night: Tuesday, December 2, 2018

CALL TO WORSHIP
Psalm 130

MUSIC
Curated by Kevin & Alyssa Borst
Hillsong Worship - Joy To The World
Hillsong Worship - The Passion
Phil Wickham - O Come All Ye Faithful
John Mark McMillan - King of My Heart
Bethel Music - The Goodness of God
Phil Wickham - Living Hope
Elevation Worship - Do it Again
All Sons & Daughters - God With Us

COMMONS WORSHIP MUSIC PLAYLISTS
Spotify
Google Play Music
YouTube

ADVENT REFLECTIVE PRAYER
Written by Yelena Pakhomova
In the liturgical calendar, Advent marks the beginning of the church year, but it also falls at the end of our calendar year and catches us in this tension when we have so much to do before the end of the year, and yet we sense that this is the time to slow down. We feel the need to get in touch with ourselves and be honest about how we are doing while balancing our to-do lists and the emotional complexity the season brings, especially around family and relationships.

In our time of prayer tonight and in this season of Advent, let’s breathe deeply and know that God finds us in our waiting, in the midst of everything that is going on, and his word to us is the same as it was to Zechariah, Mary and the shepherds - “Do not be afraid.”

Let us pray.

Our loving God,

As we wait for Jesus, 
We thank you for the gift of this time 
When we can re-order our rhythms and 
pay attention to what’s going on inside.


Lord, would you draw near to us right now,

Quieting our emotions and embracing us in our restlessness.

Let us know that we are held by you, as we bring to you 
the physical and emotional pain we carry,

the unresolved conflicts we feel we need to fight on our own,
the dreams we stopped to believe you are interested in,
all those things that hold us captive and do not let us live freely and lightly,

all the brokenness that we hide so well. Sometimes even from ourselves.

God, our hope, come to us in our waiting and help us see where it is that we need You most right now.

We pause now to listen and to name some of those things that make our hearts heavy this season. And we ask ourselves a question -

Where do I need God most right now?

Jesus, our Light,

Always with us, always coming,

As we wait for you, we place the pieces of our life before you
and ask you to make us whole.

We also remember how people did not recognize you,

because you did not fit their expectations of who the Messiah should be 
and how the Messiah should save.

Christ our Saviour and our Lord,

in your grace, set us free from the false expectations,

from the false images of you and of ourselves that we’ve constructed,

from everything that is not ours to carry and from all those things we believe we need to control. Speak to us and show us the way of life.

We pause now to let go off what we are clenching in our hands to make space for what you want to give us this season. And we ask ourselves a question -

Lord of my life, what do I need to trust to you right now?

Spirit of the Living God,

Always creating and always calling us deeper into love. 
Would you fill us with deep joy and lead us into the rest of this season with renewed hope and anticipation.


As we wait to see the full coming of God’s kingdom, 
Instill within us your peace,

And help us to know and choose what moves us closer to you.
God, make your presence real and give us the strength 
to bring your love and peace into our workplaces, relationships, and commitments. 


Holy Spirit, our teacher, and our friend help us see the new and gentle work you are doing in our lives this season and give us the courage to take a step forward.

We pause now and listen to the word of hope you want us to hold on to as we wait.

And we ask ourselves a question - What are You inviting me into this season, God?

And we close here trusting that you are the God who comes in the most unexpected ways and who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.

In the name of the one we so eagerly await, Amen.