Westminster Worship Notes

Worship Notes Archives

December 9, 2007

2^nd Sunday in Advent

Preparation for Worship

For despair, like hope, is oriented toward the future; indeed, it is preoccupied with the future. But where an eschatology of despair grants to the powers of this world a triumph that can be reversed only in a distant heaven, the virtue of hope is rooted in a confidence that Christ's victory has brought something new into our place and time of which the church is an imperfect but real foretaste. The task of evangelism is to make that foretaste available to the world even while pointing forward to the full consummation of Christ's victory, the rule of peace.

Bryan Stone

Today is the second Sunday in Advent. The Advent candle lit at the beginning of the service represents peace and this underlying theme runs throughout our service.

The opening liturgy reflects the vision of Isaiah of a peaceable kingdom where enemies come together in peace. Our prayer of confession highlights on a corporate and personal level our resistance to peace. In the sharing of Christ's peace, we embody peace in greeting each other. Following the sermon, we profess the portion of the Confession of 1967 addressing peace. This confession was particularly potent in its historical time. Then we sing the famous prayer of Francis of Assisi calling for our Lord to make us servants of peace.

In the sermon this Sunday, we continue to explore many of the songs of Advent. This morning's canticle is taken from the story of Simeon. While the narrative takes place after the birth of Jesus, this particular song captures the Advent-like anticipation and desire experienced by the people of God for wholeness and salvation. We, like Simeon, are servants of peace.