Order of Service – 1st December 2024

The Order of Service follows below.

For improved text clarity and easier reading, e.g. change text size, you can use ePub on iPhones, iPads and other devices with an ePub application. If you want to see it exactly as printed, or print your own there is a pdf.

Brougham Place Uniting Church
Kardlayirdi Karnungga
A Light on the Hill

December 1, 2024
Preacher: Rev Linda Driver
Advent 1. Purple

We acknowledge the Kaurna people as the traditional carers of the land on which our church is built.

Welcome! As you wait for worship to begin, please turn your phone to silent.

Prelude

Welcome and Acknowledgment of Country

Naa marni?
(Are you all good?)
Marni Ai!
(Good I am)

Call to Worship

From a branch sprouting
hope is coming.

The heavens are shifting,
hope is coming.

A troubled world waits.
Hope is coming.

Lord, we, your people, wait patiently, hanging on with Advent hope. Lord, we bring you ourselves,
we bring you our worship.

We Sing: Light One Candle

Light one candle for hope,
one bright candle for hope,
He brings hope to every heart.
He comes! He comes! (repeat)

Lighting of the Candles

Jesus said, ‘I am the light of the world’. We are waiting for the day when we will celebrate the Christ child born in the night. As we light this first candle, we pray for the world to know hope.
God of hope, may we know your presence in the light and the holy darkness.

We Sing: O Come O Come Emmanuel

Tune TiS 265

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
and fill our lives, with hope that abounds,
as once an exiled Israel you found,
redeemed, restored and set on holy ground.

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to us and in our hearts will dwell
O come, O light of Christ, so bright and clear
and lift our spirits by your advent here.
In all who gather, show us your face,
that we may know the warmth of your embrace.

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to us and in our hearts will dwell
O come, O Wisdom, mind and heart divine,
help us restore a world we’ve let decline.
Enlighten us; your way we would know
and show us where new seeds of hope to sow.

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to us and in our hearts will dwell.
O Advent God of hope, joy, love and peace,
in you we pray our sad divisions cease.
Bind us as one, a people of grace,
for at your table each one has a place.

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to us and in our hearts will dwell.

Prayer of Adoration and Confession

…Check our hearts and minds as we acknowledge how much we still have to grow into your likeness: that day by day we have opportunities to reveal your care and love for all creation and yet we take advantage of it, abuse it, and treat what is precious and valuable as if it has no intrinsic worth.
Forgive us, Creative One,
and help us see the signs all around us
calling us to do better,
to be better.
Amen.

Word of Grace

Friends, God is love. Through Christ our sins are forgiven.
May we take hold of this forgiveness
and live our lives in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Amen

Passing of the Peace

The peace of our God be with you.
And also with you.

Community News and Notices

Go to our website to view current or previous issues of BP E-news and to sign up to receive BP E-news by email.

Children’s Time

From: God’s Holy Darkness by Sherei Green, and Beckah Selnick and illustrated by Nikki Faison. Reproduced by Permission of Augsburg Fortress.

We Sing: Jesus calls us here to meet him

Jesus calls us here to meet him
as, through word and song and prayer,
we affirm God’s promised presence
where his people live and care.
Praise the God who keeps his promise;
praise the Son who calls us friends;
praise the Spirit who, among us,
to our hopes and fears attends.
Jesus calls us to confess him
Word of Life and Lord of All,
sharer of our flesh and frailness
saving all who fail or fall.
Tell his holy human story;
tell his tales that all may hear;
tell the world that Christ in glory
came to earth to meet us here.
Jesus calls us to each other:
found in him are no divides.
Race and class and sex and language
such are barriers he derides.
Join the hand of friend and stranger;
join the hands of age and youth;
join the faithful and the doubter
in their common search for truth.

Together in Song 477. John L. Bell and Graham Maule © 1989, WGRG, Iona Community. Administered in Australia and New Zealand by Willow Publishing Pty Ltd. Words used with permission under copyright CCLI Licence No 137219. Copyright cleared music for churches.

Communion

Invitation

Words of Institution

Great Prayer of Thanksgiving

Let us give our thanks to God:

May God be with you.
And also with you.

Lift up your hearts!
We lift them up to our God.

Let us give thanks to God our Creator.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.

Let us pray…

And so, with your people on earth, and all the company of heaven, we praise your name and join their unending hymn, saying:
Holy, holy, holy God
God of power and might
heaven and earth are full of your glory
Hosanna in the highest
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of God
Hosanna in the highest!

The Breaking of the Bread

And so, we will together share in this bread and this wine – and remember Jesus.
These are the gifts of God for us, the people of God.

The Lord’s Prayer

Let us pray together in the words that Jesus taught us:

Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be Your name,

your Kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth as in Heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins,

as we forgive those who sin against us.

Save us from the time of trial

and deliver us from evil.

For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours

now and forever. Amen.

The Communion

Let us all drink together:
The cup of hope.
Amen

Prayer After Communion

Youth are invited to stay in the service today.
Children may go downstairs for Sunday School. Parents, you are welcome to join your child in Sunday School if you feel your child may need your assistance. Alternatively, you may wish for your child to remain with you for the duration of worship. Activity packs are available at the entrances.

We Sing: You are before me, Lord

You are before me, Lord, you are behind,
and over me you have spread out your hand;
such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too high to grasp, too great to understand.
Then, where, Lord, from your presence shall I go,
and from your Spirit where, Lord, shall I fly?
If I ascend to heaven you are there,
and still are with me if in hell I lie;
and if I take my flight into the dawn,
or if I dwell on ocean’s farthest shore,
your mighty hand will rest upon me still,
and your right hand will guard me evermore.
Search me, O God, search me and know my ways;
try me, O God, my mind and spirit try;
keep me from any path that gives you pain
and lead me in the everlasting way.

Scripture Readings

Jeremiah 33:14-16

The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this is the name by which it will be called: “The Lord is our righteousness.”

Luke 21:25-36

“There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in a cloud’ with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

Then he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees; as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

“Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life and that day does not catch you unexpectedly, like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place and to stand before the Son of Man.”

Psalm 139:1-12

Lord, you have examined me and you know me.
You know everything I do;
    from far away you understand all my thoughts.
You see me, whether I am working or resting;
    you know all my actions.
Even before I speak,
    you already know what I will say.
You are all around me on every side;
    you protect me with your power.
Your knowledge of me is too deep;
    it is beyond my understanding.

Where could I go to escape from you?
    Where could I get away from your presence?
If I went up to heaven, you would be there;
    if I lay down in the world of the dead, you would be there.
If I flew away beyond the east
    or lived in the farthest place in the west,
you would be there to lead me,
    you would be there to help me.
I could ask the darkness to hide me
    or the light around me to turn into night,
but even darkness is not dark for you,
    and the night is as bright as the day.
    Darkness and light are the same to you.

From this shines forth the Word of God.
Thanks be to God.

Message

We Sing: In our Darkness, there is no Darkness

In our darkness
there is no darkness with you, O Lord;
the deepest night is clear as the day. In our.. (repeat)

Prayers of the People

Offering

To give electronically towards the ministry of Brougham Place, please go to bpuc.org/give

Alternatively, there is an offering bowl near the lectern on the left-hand at the front of the church.

Offering Prayer

Creator God, every good gift we have comes from you.
May our humble offerings be used for your work within this community and beyond.
Amen.

We sing: Love Divine, All Loves Excelling

Love divine, all loves excelling,
joy of heaven, to earth come down,
fix in us thy humble dwelling,
all thy faithful mercies crown:
Jesus, thou art all compassion,
pure unbounded love thou art;
visit us with thy salvation,
enter every trembling heart.
Come, almighty to deliver,
let us all thy life receive;
suddenly return, and never,
never more thy temples leave:
thee we would be always blessing,
serve thee as thy hosts above,
pray, and praise thee, without ceasing,
glory in thy perfect love.
Finish then thy new creation,
pure and spotless let us be,
let us see thy great salvation,
perfectly restored in thee:
changed from glory into glory,
till in heaven we take our place,
till we cast our crowns before thee,
lost in wonder, love and praise.

Charles Wesley 1707-88 alt. Public Domain.

Sending Forth and Benediction

May the peace of God be with you and may you know God’s presence with you in the light of this day and the darkness of this night.
We will go,
knowing God is with us,
and sharing God’s love with one another.
Amen

Postlude

Please join us for morning tea in the basement. There are stairs behind the organ and a ramp between the church and the car park leading to the basement. You are welcome!

This service has been prepared with assistance from

Liturgy Learning & (Purposeful) Life (L3)

Words for Worship (MediaCom)

Spill the Beans Issue #41 (Roddy Hamiton)

Bible Reading: New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition