First of Advent
First Sunday of Advent
Welcome!
We know not everyone who is part of Westwood Church is able to be in church on Sunday morning however, we thought it would be good to offer some excerpts from the Sunday morning service. Where we can, we offer parts of the service in text and audio, whichever works best for you. If you want to plug in headphones to your computer, tablet or mobile phone now is a good time to do it ! If you want to offer some comment or feedback just use the comment box at the end of this post.
Your Weekly Church Notices
Scripture
Romans 13: 11 – 14
Matthew 24: 36 – 44
Praise – Christ be our light
Prayers
Lord Jesus Christ, in a world obsessed by speed, when there are not enough hours in the day, where time is short and tomorrow is too late, you tell us to slow down. You give us permission to take time. In a world demanding answers, you simply pose questions.
In a world teetering on the edge of insanity, you offer calm. In this time of waiting and wondering, steady our minds; unravel the tangle of frantic action with which we have smothered our lives; open that place of wonder and awe that allows the mystery of grace and hope to enter into all that we do and all that we are.
Loving Lord, remove from us the self-absorption that blinds and deafens us to the needs of others. Help us examine our lives without fear, recognise our many failings, and look to you for mercy and hope. Strengthen us that we may break free from the chains of selfishness, pride and doubt, and walk with purpose in the paths of light.
May the Lord, who brings freedom to our spirits, restore our fractured lives, mend our broken hearts and grant us mercy and peace.
This may be all that we have to offer Lord, nothing more and nothing less than our humanity awkward and self-conscious, fragile and frail, yet here we gladly accept the healing and wholeness that you offer to us through your deep and gracious and undeserved love.
Hear us as we join in the words of the Lord’s Prayer saying…
Our Father who art in Heaven Hallowed be thy name. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, for thine is the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory forever. Amen.
Address
Monday morning, I looked and felt like a half shut knife. I’d love to tell you that I had been burning the midnight oil all in pursuit of the Glory of God and Westwood Church but that would not be the case.
Jet, our lovely Spaniel, decided to lie downstair whimpering and whining. It’s most unusual for him to be like that. So, at three in the morning, I got up and let him out. Jet then went back to sleep but I didn’t. By five in the morning, he was again whimpering and whining downstairs. This was very annoying so we told him to be quiet and go back to bed. Jet went quiet. I assumed he had gone back to sleep. Good for him!!! I was wide awake with two hours to go until the alarm.
I should have got up for Jet at 5 in the morning. It might have avoided the puddle of dog vomit on the kitchen floor!!!
When we don’t get a good night’s sleep the next day is pretty much written off.
In Victorian times a regular nine hours sleep was the norm but in these hectic days of constant work and pressure we are on average down to six hours sleep; some survive on less than that. At times of worry it must be a common experience for us all to spend the wee small hours lying in bed wide awake, the brain churning the problems over and over, then falling asleep just before the alarm goes and spend the rest of the day feeling exhausted.
And there are times when people act as though they’re half-asleep even when they should be wide-awake and alert. In today’s gospel reading Jesus tells us not to be like that. “Keep alert,” he says, “for you don’t know when God will approach you.” He goes on to say that God approaches suddenly and silently and unexpectedly, and those who aren’t ready will miss him. If we are half-asleep, we are likely to miss the moment God comes.
Paul picks up the theme of being ready for God coming into your life. “The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber,” he says, “…the night is nearly over; the day is almost here.” He’s referring to the Day of the Lord, when it was widely believed that Jesus would reappear. Back in the days of the Old Testament, the Day of the Lord was thought to be the final day when God would appear to crush sin out of existence. Isaiah says, “See, the day of the LORD is coming –a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger– to make the land desolate and destroy the sinners within it.” (Isaiah 13:9). And Joel says, ” Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming. It is close at hand–” (Joel 2:1).
Amos sees the day of the Lord as a time of darkness: “Why do you long for the day of the LORD? That day will be darkness, not light,” he says (Amos 5:18). But Paul tells us that the time of darkness is nearly over. Since the coming of Jesus darkness has been banished from the land, and Jesus will reappear in a blaze of glory, not in darkness. It’s time, therefore, for all Christians to emerge from the darkness and come into the light, for only those who live in the light will be able to recognise the Prince of Light when he comes.
The candles in the Advent crown going from their dark colours to the lighter pink and then the white are there to show that progression from darkness to light; the dawn is rapidly approaching. It’s time to wake from our sleep, to prepare for his coming and the dawning of His light upon all humanity. Darkness has been banished by God Himself coming into our world as a human being.
As Christians we are called to wake people from their sleep, to welcome the dawn, to spread the light. To draw back the curtains and welcome the sunrise. This Advent as we pledge ourselves anew to our Lord, let us remember that the world is not just waiting on the Christ but is waiting us to wake from our sleep and bring the freshness of a new dawn to people everywhere.
Praise – Come thou long expected Jesus
Prayers for Others
Life’s times of hardship and darkness
Loving Father we know that life’s journey has many twists and turns, times of light and shade, times of darkness, times of chaos and of peace. For those travelling through life’s darker moments we come to you in our prayers. Help us to remember that no matter how dark it may seem darkness does not hide us from you. You are always close seeking to share our burdens and bring light into our living. Lord hear us in our prayers as we think on those journeying through life’s darker moments…
Hong Kong Tower Block infernos
In scenes reminiscent of Grenfell Tower, we witnessed seven of the eight public high rise towers in the Tai Po District of Hong Kong become an inferno. 55 have died, there may be more, and hundreds of the 4600 residents are missing. We cannot think on this as anything other than a human tragedy. Where families grieve, where justice needs to be found, where practices need to change, Lord be present. Grant that your peace may come to the broken hearted, grant that the anger of your justice may come to those who bear responsibility, grant the wisdom and the grace to learn and create a better future for all. Lord hear our prayers…
Russia Ukraine Conflict
The war and the politics continue though not quite as headline grabbing as once, they were. Leaked peace deals, allegations of the US coaching Russia, just more of the same rhetoric and blaming and unprofessionalism we have come to associate with this sad and painful conflict. While politicians fill the headlines help us Lord to remember that there are those who serve on the frontlines of conflict. They know the darkness of war, the pain of loss and long for the light of your peace to come again. Give them faith in you Lord that You can cause wars to stop and bring peace to their land and to their hearts. Hear us in our prayers…
Praise – Make Way Make Way
The Grace
And now… May the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Love of God and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you and all whom you love, now and for evermore. AMEN.