ADVENT SUNDAY 1
Dare to imagine God’s goodness
Prelude
BCMC Vocal ensemble—VT 210 O Come, O Come, Immanuel
VT 216 Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming
VT 218 Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus
VT 269 Break Forth, O Beauteous Heavenly Light
Gathering
Welcome and Call to Worship—John Waltner
Advent Candle Lighting—Simon Hodge
Leader: We light a candle of hope.
And we imagine:
People: God’s righteousness, God’s steadfast love, God’s justice.
Leader: We light the candle to see God’s goodness in us, among us.
Hope is a Candle –Verse 1—VT 211
Confession and Assurance
Leader: Trees grow silently—
from deep inside—energy is released.
Branches reach for the light.
People can grow silently, too.
People: We confess that all too often we stifle the growth
God inspires deep inside of us,
preferring the immediate, the good enough, the comfortable.
Leader: In Advent—O God—cause us to get up, lean forward, and extend our gaze.
People: Surely God, who caused the righteous Branch to spring up,
will enliven our imaginations in this season of hope.
(silence)
*Hymn—Bless’d be the God of Israel—VT 223
Hearing God’s Word
Children’s Conversation—Carol Flickinger
Scripture—Jeremiah 33:14-16 and Luke 21: 25-36—Margaret Goering
Sermon—Hopeful Waiting—Dawn Yoder Harms
Responding
*Hymn of Response—Now the Heavens Start to Whisper—VT 237
Communion
Prayers of God’s People—John Waltner
Sending
Sending Song—Go, My Friends, In Grace—VT 810
Benediction
Postlude (please remain seated)
BCMC Vocal Ensemble: Cynthia Linscheid, Virginia Mininger, Susie Swartley,
Barbara Thiesen, Ron Garber, Dave Linscheid, Vern Preheim, Aaron Tschetter.
Thank you to the Worship Decoration Committee: Judy Friesen, Kathy Stucky, Susie Swartley, and Brenda Turner.
The Advent Candle Lighting reading and the Confession and Assurance is from Leader Magazine, Mennonite Church USA.
The bulletin cover is from SALT Project Inc. SALT is a not-for-profit production company dedicated to the craft of visual storytelling.
Audio-Visual—Ken Lamp
Pastors—Dawn Yoder Harms, Renee Reimer, Nathan Koontz