Traditional Services

WESLEY METHODIST CHURCH

TRADITIONAL SERVICES

Wesley Sanctuary 7.30am | 9.30am (Live-streamed) | 11.30am | 5.00pm

7 December 2025 | SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT

Advent – A Season of Waiting and Faithful Anticipation

Liturgical Colour: Purple

Lectionary (Year A): Isaiah 11:1–10, Psalm 72:1–7, 18–19,
Romans 15:4–13, Matthew 3:1–12

Songs: All Earth is Waiting (UMH 210)
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (UMH 211)
Jesus Shall Reign (UMH 157)

Sermon: A Shoot from the Stump (Isaiah 11:1–10)

I.  GATHERING

We gather in the Lord’s name weekly to be renewed in our hearts and minds. Our worship of God is a response to his revelation as he reveals his truth to us through Scripture, sermon, prayers and songs 

PREPARATION PRAYER

In Christ, God, you have made your home on earth.
Christ dwells among us and is one with us.
Highest of all creation, he lives among the least.
He journeys with the rejected and welcomes the weary. 

All: We gather, alive to the Word of God through songs and Scripture, ready to listen and respond with heart, soul, strength, and mind.
Amen. 

MEDITATION VERSE AND REFLECTION QUESTION 

God will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
or decide by what he hears with his ears;
but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
Isaiah 11:3b–4

He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
Righteousness will be his belt
and faithfulness the sash around his waist.
Isaiah 11:4b–5

PRELUDE  

GREETING

CALL TO CONFESSION based on Romans 13:12–14

L: The night is nearly over; the day is almost here.
So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.
Let us behave decently, as in the daytime,
not in carousing and drunkenness,
not in sexual immorality and debauchery,
not in dissension and jealousy.
Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ,
and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh. 

PRAYER TO CONFESSION 

All: Holy One,
you call us to wake from sleep,
to become aware to our surroundings.
The dawn of a new time of preparation is upon us.
Forgive us when sleepiness takes its toll,
when our discussions become battles,
when our judgement and self-judgement outweigh our faith. 

Let us put on the light of Christ
and live as you have called us
in respect, in mutual dialogue, and in healthy living.
Help us so that everything we do reflects Christ’s light.
Amen. 

CANDLE LIGHTING LITURGY

L: Last Sunday, we lit the candle of hope, as a sign of our promise to God to live in hope, believing that the time of God’s reign has come and is coming among us. 

Advent reminds us that we are people who share a story, the story of Jesus, who enacts peace by judging in favor of the poor and deciding with equity for the meek of the earth. We long for the day when
“the wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard shall lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion will feed together,
and a little child shall lead them” (Isaiah 11:6). 

All: Today, we choose to live the story of peace, believing that true peace comes when we seek the flourishing of all God’s creation.

L: We light this candle of peace as a sign of our commitment to bring Light to the places the world seeks to hide until that day when all creation lives together in harmony and abundance. 

CALL TO WORSHIP *by Dr. Lisa Hancock, 2025

Beloved, we gather to remember who we are, not who the world tells us to be.
We tell the story together of the day that all the earth awaits.

We recall the story of God’s people, how God has called us to live in peace and
righteousness in a world full of conflict and twisted morality.
We tell the story together of the day that all the earth awaits.

We recount the story of our journey with God, the moments of God’s provision,
God’s prodding, and God’s prophetic guidance.
We tell the story together of the day that all the earth awaits.

We gather to repent and return anew to God’s story that guides our lives
to work for peace and flourishing for all God’s creation.
We gather to tell the story of the day that all the earth awaits.

All: Thanks be to God! Amen. 

OPENING HYMN *
All Earth is WaitingUMH  210

GOSPEL READINGMatthew 3:1–12

PRAYER HYMN
O Come, O Come, EmmanuelUMH 211, St. 2, 6, 7

SILENT PRAYER

PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

All: Dear God, source of all light,
by your Word give light to our lives. Amen. 

MUSICAL INTERLUDE

II.   SERMON

III.   WE RESPOND IN PRAYER, SHARING AND GIVING

We respond to God’s Word through (a) praying for the church and the world, (b) sharing of God’s peace with one another (2 Cor 13:11, Gal 5:13) after having received the peace of Christ, and after made peace with one another, (c) offer to God our tithes and gifts (Matt 5:24), as a response to Christ’s sacrificial offering (Eph 5:2, 1 Pet 2:5). 

PRAYER

Prayers of the People

THE APOSTLES’ CREED*

RITUAL FOR HOLY COMMUNION

Invitation

Confession and Pardon

Exchange of Peace

The Great Thanksgiving (spoken responses)

The Lord’s Prayer (ASAS)

Giving the Bread and Cup
This is the Feast of Victory (UMH 638)

Partaking of Bread and Cup

Thanksgiving Prayer

SHARING

Welcome

Family News

GIVING

Offertory Prayer

Tithes and Gifts to God

Communion Offering for Year-end Outreach Blessing [COSC Ministry]

Doxology *
Advent Doxology
Tune: OLD 100TH

Praise God for gifts of hope and peace.
Praise God for gifts of joy and love.
Praise God for sending Christ to dwell.
On earth for us – Emmanuel.
Amen.

IV.   SENDING FORTH

Having encountered God through worship, we are to (a) serve one another through acts of service, (b) participate in the programs of the church to continue growing in our Christian discipleship, and (c) to go forth into the world as Christ’s hands and feet in the ministry of reconciliation. 

CLOSING HYMN *
Jesus Shall ReignUMH 157, St. 1, 2, 4

BENEDICTION *

POSTLUDE

Prayer Ministry at the Altar
If you need someone to pray with you, please proceed to the inner rails of the altar area. If you wish to pray alone, please use the outer rails.

* Congregation may stand.