Advent Worship and Corporate Action: The Fourth Sunday of Advent

By Carl Park

*These Advent devotionals are shortened versions of a church Advent resource provided by Carl Park, Great Commission Community Church, and adapted for our readers. We at AACC hope that these Advent devotionals can serve as an encouragement to our readers during this Advent Season. Please refer to our initial article for the full resource HERE.

Invitation 

Today is the 4th and final Sunday of Advent this year, the day before our Savior was born.  Advent means “coming” or “arrival.” We celebrate two Advents of Christ, the first one that happened 2000 years ago when He was born. And the second Advent is the one we are still waiting for, when Jesus will arrive again, to recreate everything, and to make all things right. During this season we have much gratitude for what He has done, and we also feel anticipation for when he comes again. 

Our call to worship comes from Isaiah 9:

For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given;

and the government shall be upon his shoulder,

and his name shall be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Reading from the Gospels about Christ’s First Coming

Luke 2:8–20 (Read Italicized Aloud)

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, 

“Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 

“Glory to God in the highest,

 and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”

And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.

But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

Prayer

Father God, we come before you this morning, we adore you and we give you all the glory, for you alone are worthy of it. We will praise your name forever; you are a good and faithful God. You are Alpha and Omega, beginning and end, maker of heaven and earth.

We come before you, knowing that we are all born with, and live together under, a sin condition for “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). We confess that we are often divided, consumed by pride, idolatry, greed, racism, lust, violence, self-righteousness. Lord, forgive us. We confess we are in need of a Savior, where we can be justified freely and made right with you.

We thank you for sending your son Jesus to this earth to be our Savior, to live a perfect life and to willingly give His life as a sacrifice for our sins. We thank you, Jesus, for being the atonement for our sins. Thank you for being Immanuel, God with us. Thank you for your grace and mercy, that we together might live out your holy calling.

We celebrate this Advent, the birth of your son Jesus, and we also look forward to the 2nd Advent, the day when you will come again to make all things right, and to complete your Kingdom. Until then we ask for the strength of your Holy Spirit to help us to keep your commands, to live in truth, to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with you. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.

Sermon

Read Matthew 1:17–25

Communion

On the night Jesus was betrayed…

Read Aloud this summary of Christ’s story. 

“I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.

And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

born of the Virgin Mary,

suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, died, and was buried;

he descended to the dead.

On the third day, he rose again from the dead.

He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.

From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body,

and the life everlasting. Amen.”

Sent

Go, in the grace of Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, to share the good news of Christ’s coming through doing justice and promoting peace in your community.

Photo by eberhard 🖐 grossgasteiger on Unsplash

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Carl Park serves as a pastor to Great Commission Community Church in Arlington, VA, and faculty for the Institute for Worship Studies.