Worship on the First Sunday of Advent

Dec 3, 2023 • Rev. Steve Albertin

Welcome to worship at King of Glory Worship and Ministry Center in Carmel, IN!

On this First Sunday of Advent, as we prepare for our Lord's birth, let us worship the one who brings us Hope!

We begin our Advent Season with the lighting of the first candle on the Advent Wreath—the Candle signifying HOPE. We always await, in hope, the coming of Jesus into our lives. Christ is always arriving as He enters our troubled world, and He will arrive again to fulfill all of God’s promises. This not an idle hope, but an active HOPE that inspires us, His children, every day.

If you are able, we invite you to join us for communion where you are! You may use any kind of bread and either wine or grape juice, so that you may also receive the body and blood of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ.

For the full order of worship, please go to https://cdn.subsplash.com/documents/3MJJJC/_source/2f5d395a-2e1d-4480-b40a-65faca0db444/document.pdf

Today's Worship Theme:

- "Where Is God?"

- Isaiah 64:1-9

- Advent reminds us of the blessings of waiting. Because we see the fragile light of Christ up ahead, we can sit in the darkness and wait.

- God has torn open the heaven and come down but in ways we never expected.

- God comes to love to us not in a loud, flashing show of power but in the hidden, small and ordinary.

- There God comes speaking a promise: "For the sake of Jesus, I love you. I forgive you. may feel like you are standing in the rubble of Jerusalem. You want me to tear open the heavens and come down. I have . . . not with the fanfare of the Red Carpet but there in that baby born in a barn because there was no room in the inn."

Today's Songs:

- "As We Gather"

- "Now the Feast and Celebration" (ELW 167)

- "All Things Are Possible"

- "O Come O Come Emmanuel" (vs 1 & 2)

- "I Do Believe"

- "We Are An Offering" (ELW 692)

- "Soon And Very Soon"

Today's Readings:

- Isaiah 64:1-9

- Mark 13:24-37

Today's Children's Message

- Rev. Steve Albertin

Today's Message

- “Where Is God?” - Rev. Steve Albertin

- We can identify with the prophet Isaiah when our lives are hurting and we want God NOW!

- We wish God were clearly and obviously visible, because then it would be easier to believe. But God most often comes in the shadows and whispers. We complain that God is an "underachiever."

- Often God's presence is obvious to a believer but is only barely visible to the casual onlooker.

- Why does God communicate this way? Because God insists on remaining free and will not be some tame house pet on a leash.

- God is difficult to hear and see, not only because our lives are so cluttered and noisy, but also because WHAT God says is so different: God's love for us!

- That is why the Church, in it's wisdom, has the season of ADVENT in these weeks before Christmas: it is important to WAIT... so that we don't miss God's subtle and unspectacular visits among us in Word, Sacrament, and in that "poor baby of vagrant parents."

- God comes quietly, so that we will stop and wait to listen to what really matters: Gods' Promise!

Don't forget, you can give your offering online at https://kogcarmel.org/give

We invite you to join us again next week!

Go in peace and serve the Lord!

Some content courtesy of Worship Audio Tracks and Igniter Media.

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Order of Worship