December 14, 2025
CHIMING OF THE HOUR
WELCOME
PRAYER
Subversive God, you revel in
reversing human hierarchies.
Inspire us to sing with teenage Mary
of tyrants toppled; and the last made first.
Ignite our hearts
until we truly understand what this means.
Embolden us to risk everything for the chance
to serve as midwives to your new creation,
so that, with Mary, our spirits will rejoice
in God our Savior—Jesus Christ her son—
and magnify Christ’s love in all we do. Amen.
PRELUDE “Chorale Prelude on Stuttgart” L.H. Bristol
LIGHTING OF THE ADVENT CANDLES
In the ancient world, various peoples lit fires to mark the turning of the light into winter’s season and to pray for the return of the light. The church has Christianized that practice in the lighting of the Advent wreath. To us, these candles are signs of the growing light of Christ who is coming again in all fullness into the darkness of our world. Until the dawning of that great day, we watch and wait in the Holy Spirit for Christ’s coming into the darkness of our world, lighting candles of hope, peace, joy, and love, and remembering the promises of God with prayer.
After a greeting in the name of the Lord, the leader says:
Watch and wait for Christ’s coming!
We light candles of hope, peace, joy, and love,
remembering the promises of God with prayer.
On the Third Sunday of Advent:
We light this candle in hope. Light the first candle.
We light this candle for peace. Light the second candle.
We light this candle in joy. Light the third candle (pink).
Sentences of Scripture may be read:
Year A Isaiah 35:1–2
35 The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad;
the desert shall rejoice and blossom;
like the crocus 2 it shall blossom abundantly
and rejoice with joy and shouting.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall see the glory of the Lord,
the majesty of our God.]
The litany concludes with prayer:
God of hope, God of peace, God of joy, you are our salvation;
we trust in you and are not afraid. Lead us to draw water with rejoicing
from the springs of salvation. God of promise, God of joy, into our darkness come.
*HYMN No. 83 “Come Thou Long-Expected Jesus”
1 Come, thou long-expected Jesus,
born to set thy people free;
from our fears and sins release us;
let us find our rest in thee.
2 Israel’s strength and consolation,
hope of all the earth thou art;
dear desire of every nation,
joy of every longing heart.
3 Born thy people to deliver,
born a child and yet a king,
born to reign in us forever,
now thy gracious kingdom bring.
4 By thine own eternal Spirit
rule in all our hearts alone;
by thine all-sufficient merit
raise us to thy glorious throne.
*CALL TO CONFESSION
There are two great equalizers among us. One is that we have all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. The other is that we are all now justified by God’s grace through the gift of Christ Jesus. Confident of both, let us admit where we have fallen short and receive grace without limit.
*PRAYER FOR CONFESSION
Holy and wonderful God, we confess that we have closed our eyes to what you are doing. We prefer to concentrate on problems, bad news and violence. When we do, we miss all the healing, freeing and helping you accomplish in our world. We pass up opportunities to participate in your Good News. We rob ourselves of so much joy. Forgive us and give us eyes to see, ears to hear, minds to under- stand, and hearts to treasure your mission in the world. Fill us with unquenchable joy at the coming of Jesus. Amen.
*SILENT PRAYER FOR CONFESSION
*ASSURANCE OF PARDON
The angel told Joseph, “You are to name the baby Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” Believe the good news of the gospel:
In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven! Hallelujah! Amen.
*RESPONSE No. 95 “Prepare the Way of the Lord” x3
Prepare the way of the Lord.
Prepare the way of the Lord,
and all people will see
the salvation of our God.
*PASSING OF THE PEACE OF CHRIST
God has received us, pardoned us and loved us;
let us forgive each other in love and share the peace of Christ.
Peace be with you.
And also with you.
Worshippers are invited to briefly “pass the peace” of Christ to those directly seated around them thus keeping our worship time “decent and in order” with a focus upon being part of God’s community.
ANTHEM “Bethlehem Promise” Joseph Martin
CHILDREN’S MESSAGE
UNISON PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION
Holy God, our hope and strength, by the power of your Spirit prepare the way in our hearts for the coming of your Word, so that we may see the glorious signs
of your promise fulfilled; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
SCRIPTURE Matthew 11:2–11
2 When John heard in prison what the Messiah[a] was doing, he sent word by his[b] disciples 3 and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” 4 Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5 the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, those with a skin disease are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. 6 And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”
7 As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? 8 What, then, did you go out to see? Someone[c] dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces. 9 What, then, did you go out to see? A prophet?[d] Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.10 This is the one about whom it is written,
‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way before you.’
11 “Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist, yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
Pause…
This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God!!
SERMON
On this third, Sunday of Advent, the lectionary plunks us down in the middle of Matthew’s gospel far away from the Stories of Jesus’ impending birth with all the angels, Mary, Joseph, shepherds, and the cattle lowing off in the distance somewhere. Why is this?
It’s helpful to remember that the first two Sundays in our advent preparations focus upon the future coming of Jesus at the culmination of time when he comes again in judgment. The last two Sundays in Advent zero in on Jesus’ initial coming to us through his birth. In particular, the third Sunday in Advent is known as Joy Sunday and the scripture passages focus on John the Baptist and how he is the one who prepares the way for the coming Messiah. As you listen to the text, keep in mind that John the Baptist and Jesus are blood cousins and have known one another nigh thirty years. John passionately preached how he was preparing the people of Israel for the coming Messiah, and the upcoming Judgement the Messiah would bring. As John delicately puts it in Matthew 3:10: The ax is already at the foot of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
We might say that John the Baptist might not be the first one you invite to a Christmas party because his tone is a wee bit Debbie-downerish. The Baptist had a very focused and narrow understanding of what the Messiah would and should be doing. For John, the Messiah would be a powerful political figure and commander who would rally the Jewish people back to become a sovereign nation once more; it would again be a holy and pietistic nation living out the Law of God casting holy judgment upon those who didn’t. Now, this is the last we hear of John in Matthew’s gospel until today’s text Matthew 11:2-11. As you listen, hear if you can pick up a twinge of buyer’s remorse from John’s words. One gets the impression that the Messiah he introduced in chapter 3 was not living up to his expectations. Listen to the Word of the Lord, read by Elder Wendy Hill
Matthew 11:2-11
2When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples 3and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” 4Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. 6And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”
7As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? 8What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces. 9What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10This is the one about whom it is written, ‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’ 11Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
Expectations versus reality. It’s when we manufacture in our minds the way things or people are supposed to turn out or be and but then they don’t match our expected desires. There’s a gap between what’s expected and what’s reality. Like Clark Griswold and his family driving across the country excitedly going to Wally World, they arrive only to discover it’s closed. Our Story this morning is laced with misplaced perceived expectations and hard realities. It sets us up for the subliminal questions we are asked to wrestle with from our text:
What are our expectations of this coming Messiah?
Who or what do we expect to see, visit, or meet on Christmas morning?
Do we expect anything to even happen at all on Christmas Day, for that matter?
First, there are John’s expectations of Jesus. John has been arrested by King Herod because John had the audacity to publicly call Herod out for sleeping with Herod’s brother’s wife. For John, his ministry was check-mated and all he could do is languish in prison and hope God would make good on his promises to separate the good wheat (insert, repentant, contrite Jews) from the chaff (i.e., the unrepentant Jews and Gentiles) and burn the chaff in unquenchable fire (Mat. 3. 12). Unfortunately, these were not the reports John was hearing about.
Since we last saw John in Matthew 3, Jesus has begun his ministry and has been tempted by Satan to use his power and status as the Son of God to achieve earthly power and dominion; in so many words, Jesus tells the devil, “Get a life” and then proceeds to lay out a template for how the people of God are to live with one another; we call those the Beatitudes. The people of God are not to be perusing power but are blessed when they are poor in spirit, meek, or persecuted for righteousness’ sake.
Furthermore, Jesus as Messiah was not confronting and hobnobbing with the political powerbrokers trying to rest power from them; on the contrary, in the first 12 chapters of Matthew Jesus is hanging out with the community’s outcasts and dejected ones. Instead of debating Herod in the palace, Jesus is moving among the people out in the countryside, in the backwater places of Palestine with the poor, the sick, the diseased, the foreigner, the prostitutes, and the crooks. He is living a Messiahship of grace and inclusion whereas John was expecting a Messiahship that would usher in the separation and exclusion of all those sinful people. So, he sends his disciples to see if Cousin Jesus is bona fide. Is Jesus really the one or was the Baptist to look for another, because quite honestly, Jesus doesn’t seem to be fitting the bill at all. You can almost hear a tinge of disappointment in John’s questions. Jesus was not fulfilling the Baptist’s expectations of Messiah.
“Are you the one or are we to be looking for someone else?”
Now Jesus when confronted with these questions could have thrown his cousin John under the bus and replied, “WHAT!? Someone ELSE?! Why, you go tell John, ‘Who has made you judge and jury of my Messiahship?!’” No, Jesus doesn’t do that. He takes John in his own expectations and then reframes them for his cousin. “Tell my cousin John what you yourselves see and hear: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and poor souls are being evangelized.”
What you and I miss with Jesus’ response is that he is quoting prophetic Hebrew scripture from Isaiah 35 and 61. Jesus is telling John’s disciples to go back and tell John what they are personally, experientially, encountering when they are around Jesus. Jesus is subtly reminding John, “Cuz, you expected me to do that, but God wants me to do this. My goal, God’s goal, is to love people into the Kingdom and make the circle of fellowship ever wider and larger. John, I know you had your expectations of me and what I was to do but your expectations are too small. My expectations include a greater, larger, more inclusive vision.”
Yet, John was not the only one who had his expectations broken. It seems the crowds with Jesus also had their own expectations about who and what John the Baptist, the one who is to prepare for the Messiah’s way, was to be. In rapid-fire succession, Jesus addresses the crowd’s expectations of John:
What did y’all come out and expect to see?
A mealy-mouthed, wimpy prophet and preacher?
John is a spiritual giant! Did you expect to see a fashion show of finely dressed traveling evangelists?
Did you expect to see someone like the Old Testament prophets?
Let me tell you, John’s not only a prophet but he was prophesied about by those Old Testament prophets! No one like him has ever been born but he is the least of all people in the Kingdom of Heaven.
It seems everyone has their own opinion and expectation, about the way things should be. We are no different, really. We come to Church and pray at home with an image and expectation of who God is and what God should do about “those” people. We have our own expectations of who Jesus is and how he is to respond to us and our questions, problems, and issues. We have our own expectations of who is worthy of God’s love and who is not. We have our own expectations of how our religious leaders are to act, dress, and behave. We are human beings, and we bring our emotionally, socially, culturally, and spiritually infused expectations based upon our own personal and corporate histories to bear on how we see Jesus, God, and what we expect God to do in our lives.
Beloved, what are your expectations of Jesus?
What do you expect God to do for you?
What are the expectations you place upon your own spiritual leaders?
What are your expectations for Christmas Day?
Is it about gifts, a big meal, hanging out with family and friends, or is it about new life, new birth?
As we make our way through Advent, let’s do a few things. First, ask yourself if you have any expectations for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. If not, why not?
Next, ask yourself if the expectations you have placed upon Jesus, God, are realistic or do they reflect your own emotional, political, or cultural agenda. If so, how do they and how are they either in line with or contrary to the values of God expressed in the Beatitudes in Matthew 5?
Finally, ask yourself if your expectations of Jesus are too small like John the Baptist’s were. If they are, what’s the largest, most fantastic image of Jesus’ vision and ministry you can imagine? Now, ask how you are going to play a part in making his vision a reality?
Today is Joy Sunday because today, we celebrate that our expectations of God are so much smaller than they truly are, and Jesus asks us to expect more out of him than we ever imagined. I close with a prayer the great Reformed theologian, Karl Barth, wrote in his book, “Fifty Prayers”, regarding Advent. Let’s pray:
Lord, may you now let us this year once more approach the light, celebration, and joy of Christmas Day that brings us face to face with the greatest thing there is: your love, with which you so loved the world that you gave your only Son, so that all of us may believe in him and therefore not be lost, but may have eternal life. Amen.
*AFFIRMATION OF FAITH Affirmation of Faith for Advent
We believe in God, creator and lover of the earth, origin and destiny of us all.
We believe in Jesus the Christ— God coming to us in the fragile promise
of a baby yet unborn— who emerges as the herald of hope, God’s laughter in the face of despair.
Plunged into death and hell, he broke free the captives, and is leading the way
to the land of promise where justice and peace will flourish.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, who implants the seed of truth, brings us to birth
as the body of Christ, and empowers us to confront and transform all that is corrupt, degrading and deceitful.
We believe in the coming reign of God. Announced by the Baptist, it has drawn near to us in Jesus, and will be consummated in the glorious marriage of earth and heaven, when all who have passed through the world’s deep sorrow
will be raised from the waters, robed in righteousness, and gathered into the joyous fulfilment of God’s desire.
For the coming of that day on this day, we work and pray: Come, Lord Jesus, Come!
HYMN No. 88 “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”
1 O come, O come, Emmanuel,
and ransom captive Israel,
that mourns in lonely exile here
until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to thee, O Israel.
2 O come, thou Wisdom from on high,
who orderest all things mightily:
to us the path of knowledge show;
and teach us in her ways to go.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to thee, O Israel.
3 O come, O come, thou Lord of might,
who to thy tribes on Sinai’s height
in ancient times didst give the law
in cloud and majesty and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to thee, O Israel.
4 O come, thou Root of Jesse, free
thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
from depths of hell thy people save
and give them victory o’er the grave.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to thee, O Israel.
5 O come, thou Key of David, come,
and open wide our heavenly home;
make safe the way that leads on high,
and close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to thee, O Israel.
6 O come, thou Dayspring, come and cheer
our spirits by thine advent here;
disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
and death’s dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to thee, O Israel.
7 O come, Desire of nations, bind
all peoples in one heart and mind;
bid envy, strife, and discord cease;
fill the whole world with heaven’s peace.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to thee, O Israel.
THE PASTORAL PRAYER & THE LORD’S PRAYER
God who promises to be with us, open our eyes:
To see all you are doing in our midst
To observe all the places in need of help and healing
To marvel at the resources you have placed in our hands for your work in the world.
God who longs to be with us, open our ears:
To hear the moans of the hungry
To listen to the cry of the oppressed
To discern that far off hymn the angels sing.
God who comes to be with us, move our feet:
To walk into the darkest corners with your light
To run into violence with your peace
To tip toe beside those who mourn with your compassion.
O come, O come Emmanuel,
God with us in Jesus Christ,
to loosen the chains
That prevent us from forgiving
That constrict our hearts from loving
That tighten around us in anxiety and fear.
We boldly ask these things with confidence,
knowing your will in Christ Jesus our Lord,
who taught us to pray saying: “Our Father…”
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. Forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
PASSING OF FELLOWSHIP PADS & ANNOUNCEMENTS
TITHES & OFFERINGS
We give to God’s work in the world in response to all that God has done for us. In awareness and gratitude, let us give God’s tithes and our offerings.
OFFERTORY ANTHEM
*RESPONSE N0. 143, v. 4 “Angels, From the Realms of Glory”
All creation, join in praising
God the Father, Spirit, Son,
evermore your voices raising
to the eternal Three in One:
come and worship, come and worship,
worship Christ, the newborn king!
*PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
We thank you God, for all the ways you work and heal and bless and free us. Accept these gifts given in great gratitude and in anticipation of Christ’s return. Multiply them for your glory and for the good of all people. Amen.
*HYMN No. 123 “It Came Upon the Midnight Clear”
1 It came upon the midnight clear,
that glorious song of old,
from angels bending near the earth,
to touch their harps of gold:
“Peace on the earth, good will to all,
from heaven’s all-gracious King”:
the world in solemn stillness lay,
to hear the angels sing.
2 Still through the cloven skies they come,
with peaceful wings unfurled,
and still their heavenly music floats
o’er all the weary world:
above its sad and lowly plains
they bend on hovering wing,
and ever o’er its Babel sounds
the blessed angels sing.
3 Yet with the woes of sin and strife
the world has suffered long;
beneath the heavenly hymn have rolled
two thousand years of wrong;
and we at war on earth hear not
the tidings that they bring;
O, hush the noise and cease the strife
to hear the angels sing!
4 And you, beneath life’s crushing load,
whose forms are bending low,
who toil along the climbing way
with painful steps and slow,
look now, for glad and golden hours
come swiftly on the wing:
O, rest beside the weary road,
and hear the angels sing.
5 For lo, the days are hastening on,
by prophets seen of old,
when with the ever-circling years
shall come the time foretold,
when peace shall over all the earth
its ancient splendors fling,
and the whole world give back the song
which now the angels sing.
*BENEDICTION
Go out from this place to look for and support all that God is doing in our world.
Now unto the One who is able to do beyond what we can ask or even imagine be all honor and glory and power. And may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all, now and forever. Amen.
*POSTLUDE