Leader : Praise the Lord, O my soul: O Lord my God, you are exceeding glorious; you are clothed with majesty and honour.

ALL : You deck yourself with light, as it were with a garment:
and spread out the heavens like a curtain.

Leader : He waters the hills from above: the earth is filled with the fruit of your works. He brings forth grass for the livestock: and green herbs for the service of man; that he may bring food out of the earth, and wine that makes glad the heart of man: and oil to make him a cheerful countenance, and bread to strengthen man’s heart.

ALL : Lord, how manifold are your works; in wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your riches.

Leader : Isaiah 40:21-23 and 57:15
21 Do you not know? Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood since the earth was founded?
22 He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth,
and its people are like grasshoppers.
He stretches out the heavens like a canopy,
and spreads them out like a tent to live in.
23 He brings princes to naught
and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.

15 For this is what the high and lofty One says—
he who lives forever, whose name is holy:
“I live in a high and holy place,
but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly
and to revive the heart of the contrite.

HYMN AHB 28 Praise to the Lord, the Almighty

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty,
the King of creation!
O my soul, praise Him, for He is thy
health and salvation!
All ye who hear,
Now to His temple draw near;
Sing now in glad adoration!

Praise to the Lord, who o’er all
things so wondrously reigneth,
Who, as on wings of an eagle,
uplifteth, sustaineth.
Hast thou not seen
How thy desires all have been
Granted in what He ordaineth?

Praise to the Lord, who hath fearfully,
wondrously, made thee!
Health hath vouchsafed and, when
heedlessly falling, hath stayed thee.
What need or grief
Ever hath failed of relief?
Wings of His mercy did shade thee.

Praise to the Lord, who doth prosper
thy work and defend thee,
Who from the heavens the streams of
His mercy doth send thee.
Ponder anew
What the Almighty can do,
Who with His love doth befriend thee.

Praise to the Lord! Oh, let all that
is in me adore Him!
All that hath life and breath, come
now with praises before Him!
Let the Amen
Sound from His people again;
Gladly for aye we adore Him.

READING OF THE SCRIPTURES

Genesis 1:26-2:2
26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
27 So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.
31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.
2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.

Matthew 13:3-9 and 18-23
3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 He who has ears, let him hear.”

18 “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20 The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. 22 The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. 23 But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

SERMON
To seek God’s blessing on a season yet to begin is a step of faith – we are saying that whatever we do, the outcome belongs to the Lord: we are trusting in Him.

Every farmer knows that we can plant the seed, fertilise the soil, kill the weeds, and if possible, even irrigate the land; but the final outcome is not in our hands. And so we turn to God ..

According to the book of Genesis God made man on the sixth day. He was the last aspect of God’s creating.
Now there’s an interesting sequence in the story.
Before He made man, He established man’s purpose – “to rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
Then He made man in His image to fulfil this purpose.
Then He blessed them by saying, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
And then God rested.
He had handed over responsibility to those made in His image.

But we still need God. There are things in this universe and on this planet which are beyond our control – many things … not the least of which is the weather. And so we turn to God …

He has made us stewards of creation but we still need Him in order to manage this creation. Our dependence is on the Lord.

Jesus once told a story about sowing seed. Some fell on the hard ground, some in the rocky places and some amongst the weeds. But some fell in the good soil and that seed multiplied into an abundance.
In His explanation, Jesus said that the seed was the “message of the Kingdom”. Some did not understand that and the seed was taken from them.
Another group did understand it but the moment that troubles came they gave up.
Still another group found their crop strangled by the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth.
The last group did get the message and their crop multiplied.

Now parables are an interesting literary device – they can say one thing and mean any number of other things – depending primarily where you are in your situation.
This parable however, is quite specific … although we have interpreted it in many different ways.
It is specifically about what we do with the “message of the Kingdom”.
What do we do about our understanding of the Lordship of Christ in our lives and in this creation?

There are those who will this season, not understand that God is in control and that we should turn to Him and trust in Him. They may well produce a crop but it will be meaningless and will produce no fruit in their lives. They will remain hard in their hearts.
Others will trust in God at the start but when troubles come, they will seek support in other places, people and things.
Still others will worry so much that not only will God be kept out, but they will be consumed by worries and fears of bankruptcy.
And then there are those – hopefully at least all of you who are here today, but including others who also put their whole trust in the Lord. Their crop – not simply wheat and barley and lupins – will be multiplied. They will know a contentment which draws its strength from the Lord of heaven and earth.

This parable has an ancient source in the Jewish Passover meal. In the Maggid – part of the story telling which takes place during the Seder – four sons are to ask questions about the Exodus. And the father then tells a story about four sons.
The first son does not know what question to ask – he is the stupid son – equivalent to the hard path.
The second son doesn’t understand the reason to ask the question – he is the innocent son – equivalent to the rocky ground.
The third son asks why he should even ask a question – he is the wicked son – equivalent to the weeds which choke the seed.
The fourth son asks what is the meaning of all that the Lord has done – he is the wise son – equivalent to the good soil.

Jesus’ parable and the account of the four sons in the Maggid challenge our trust in the good desire of God to bless us.
God has a purpose for us – to be stewards of His creation.
And God has blessed us to be fruitful.

May our response be like the wise son, like the good soil.
May we put our trust in the Lord for this season.
May we trust for the rain to come in season, may we trust for the multiplying of the crop.
Do not falter, do not fail, do not try to help God along in something which He can do without your help – do what you need to do; do it well and honour the Lord in your trust of Him.
And He will not fail you ….

Let me close with these words from 2 Timothy 2
Here is a trustworthy saying:
If we died with him,
we will also live with him;
12 if we endure,
we will also reign with him.
If we disown him,
he will also disown us;
13 if we are faithless,
he will remain faithful,
for he cannot disown himself. Amen

PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION

ALL: Our Father, who art in heaven

Leader: Through our love of the countryside,
Through our care for animals,
Through our respect for property and tools,

ALL: Hallowed be Your Name

Leader: On our farms and in our homes,
In our training colleges and schools,
Where machinery is made, and where policy is planned,

ALL: Your Kingdom come

Leader: By our seeking your guidance,
By our keeping your commandments,
By our living true to our consciences,

ALL: Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven

Leader: For the millions who live in poverty and hunger,
For our own needs, and the requirements of our neighbours,
By co-operation, sympathy, and generosity,

ALL: Give us this day our daily bread

Leader: Because we have broken your commandments, doing what we ought not to do, and neglecting what we ought to do,ALL: Forgive us our trespasses

Leader: If any have injured us by injustice, double dealing or exploitation,

ALL: As we forgive those who trespass against us

Leader: When we consider doing to others what we would dislike done to us, when prosperity lulls us to false security, or adversity prompts us to despair, when success makes us boastful, or failure makes us bitter,

ALL: Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil

Leader; In the assurance of faith,
In the confidence of hope,
In the will to serve,
Help us to love Christ as Lord, and our neighbours as ourselves.

ALL: For Thine is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen

HYMN AHB Through all the changing scenes of life

Through all the changing scenes of life,
In trouble and in joy,
The praises of my God shall still
My heart and tongue employ.

Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
With me exalt His name;
When in distress to Him I called,
He to my rescue came.

The hosts of God encamp around
The dwellings of the just;
Deliverance He affords to all
Who on His succor trust.

Oh, make but trial of His love,
Experience will decide
How blest they are, and only they,
Who in His truth confide.Fear Him, ye saints, and you will then
Have nothing else to fear;
Make you His service your delight,
Your wants shall be His care.

OFFERING

PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING

Almighty God,
You created the heavens and the earth
and all that is on them.
You gave them to us and commanded us to be good stewards
over all Your dominion.
We cannot do this: we cannot seed, we cannot harvest -
Except by Your grace.
You have blessed us bountifully,
You have given and not taken away,
You have blessed the fruit of our labour for Your Name sake.
We are ever grateful for all that You have done,
Are doing, and will still do amongst us.
Today, we have gathered to ask Your blessing on the season
which lies before us -
We come also with with our gifts,
grateful for what You have already done.
In our prayer of thankfulness,
we ask that you would bless that which we bring,
that it might be seed in Your Kingdom
and that Your Word would bear much fruit.

We offer to You, also ourselves, our souls and bodies,
that we might be a living sacrifice to Your glory.
May our lives, our hopes and our dreams,
be a delight to Your Name.
May Your Spirit live in us,
May Your grace flow through us,
May Your Kingdom, come through us.

In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Amen

BLESSING OF THE SEASON

Leader: Our help is in the Name of the Lord

ALL: Who has made heaven and earth

Leader: The eyes of all wait upon Thee, O Lord

ALL: And you give them their needs in due season.

Leader: You open Your hand

ALL: And fill all things living with plenteousness

Leader: O Holy Spirit, bestow upon all who till the ground wisdom to understand your laws, and to co-operate with your wise ordering of the world; and grant that the bountiful fruits of the earth may not be hoarded by the selfish or squandered by the foolish, but that all who work may share abundantly in the harvest of the soil; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

O Lord Jesus Christ, you warned your disciples, having put their hand to the plough, not to look back; Bless this season and the skill of the farmer for the service of mankind. Amen.

God bless the season, the farm and the farmer.

ALL: God bless the season.

Leader: God bless the season, the hillside and the valley; the land which is rich, and the land which is poor; in countries beyond the seas, and in our homeland.

ALL: God bless the season.

Leader: God bless the season, in fair weather and in foul, in success and disappointment, in rain and wind, in frost and sunshine;

ALL: God bless the season.
Leader: Almighty God, you fill the earth with your riches for the use of your children: remember the impoverishment of the nations: and on all who are in authority bestow your gifts of wisdom and goodwill, that, being lifted above self-regard, they may establish a new order, wherein the needs of all men shall be supplied; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

May the farmers’ hope be fulfilled in a plentiful harvest. Amen.

HYMN AHB 59 We plough the fields and scatter

We plough the fields and scatter
The good seed on the land,
But it is fed and watered
By God’s almighty hand:
He sends the snow in winter,
The warmth to swell the grain,
The breezes and the sunshine,
And soft, refreshing rain.

All good gifts around us
Are sent from heaven above;
Then thank the Lord,
O thank the Lord, for all his love.

He only is the maker
Of all things near and far;
He paints the wayside flower,
He lights the evening star;
The winds and waves obey him,
By him the birds are fed;
Much more to us, his children,
He gives our daily bread.

We thank thee then, O Father,
For all things bright and good,
The seed time and the harvest,
Our life, our health, our food.
Accept the gifts we offer
For all thy love imparts,
And what thou most desirest,
Our humble, thankful hearts.Leader: ………………

Leader: Almighty and everlasting God, who governs all things in heaven and earth; mercifully hear the supplications of your people, and grant us your peace all the days of our life; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

ALL: Amen

Leader: May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

ALL: Amen

9.00am

Merredin Uniting Church       Fifth Street, Merredin

A Traditional Christmas Carols Service including the baptism of Isabella Stones, the daughter of ‘Stones’ and Anne

EASTER SERVICES

Friday

9am at Merredin. Good Friday service.

6pm at Mukinbudin we will have a Tenebrae Service. Come along if you missed the service on Thursday evening.

Sunday

9am – Easter Service at Merredin with Holy Communion and Thanksgiving for Fanie & Suzette’s daughter Lianie

11am – Easter Service at Bruce Rock

LADIES GUILD

Meets at 10am at the Merredin Church on TUESDAY 6 April. The feature will be the movie “Fireproof”. A poignant story of daring to love your partner to the limits.

MORE MEN’S SECRET BUSINESS

6pm at Venue 68 on WEDNESDAY 7 April

Julian Krieg will speak on “Dealing with stress and disappointment”, “Taking life in context” and “Talk to a mate”. Check out Steve Higgin’s article in last week’s Mercury and David’s in the forthcoming issue.

BLESSING OF THE PLOUGH IN BRUCE ROCK

At St Mary’s Catholic Church at 11am on SUNDAY April 11th. Followed by morning tea.

VIETNAM FOR CHRIST

Ralph & Linda Parker will be at the Church of Christ at 7pm on THURSDAY April 15th. Bring a plate to share at 6pm.

BLESSING OF THE SEASON

The Churches in Merredin will hold special services in their own congregations on SUNDAY April 18th

Just a quick post to let you know when our Easter services will be. They are as follows…

Merredin

April 1 @ 7pm Tenebrae
April 2 @ 9am Good Friday
April 4 @ 9am Easter

Mukinbudin

April 2 @ 6pm Good Friday

Bruce Rock

April 4 @ 11am Easter

If you are not a regular to our church, please feel free to come along to one of these services. We would love to have you join us for this special time.

God Bless,

Dave Q

• December 27 – Final service of the year at 9.00am. All welcome.
• January 3 – Combined service at the Anglican Church – 9.00am
• January 10 – Combined service at the Church of Christ – 9.30am
• January 17 – Combined service at the Uniting Church – 9.00am
• January 17 – Moorditj Mia Nursing Home – 2.30pm
• January 24 – All church services return to normal – 9.00am

All the members of Merredin Uniting Church would like to wish the people of Merredin and the surrounding towns a very blessed Christmas. We hope and pray this Christmas is a wonderful, happy and safe time for you and your family.

If you would like to join us for our Christmas Day Service it will be at 9.00am at our church building on Fifth Street. Come and hear “What’s so amazing about Christmas”. All are welcome.

God’s Richest Blessings

Dear David,

It was a delight and privilege to meet you when we visited Merredin recently. I know that for some tour members it was a highlight of the tour and I am sure the Merredin people enjoyed it as much as we did.

Thank you David for your leadership of the service and also giving us an insight into your own faith journey – your personal touch was very inspiring to the Sing Australia members.

Merredin is very fortunate to have you as their Minister – you are an inspirational leader and a wonderful asset to Merredin and the surrounding district.

I am sure the event opened new doors for you in Merredin and this will be invaluable in your work in that community.

The remainder of the tour was a great success with many memorable nights of singing, dining and friendship with existing groups. We started a new group in Kalgoorlie. Our visits to schools in Wyalkatchem, Morowa and Mullewa touched the hearts of everyone in the group and these times were highlights of the tour.

Again, many thanks for the wonderful hospitality shown to us, it will long be remembered by all tour members.

Have a very Happy and Blessed Christmas,

Yours sincerely,

Colin Slater  OAM
National Director

Hello all, here is the fourth advent reading that was read by the Higgins family yesterday…

Last Sunday we lit the candle of joy.  We light it and the candles of hope and peace again as we remember that Christ, who was born in Bethlehem, will come again to fulfil all of God’s promises and bring us everlasting peace and joy (Light the Candles of Hope, Peace, and Joy).

The fourth candle of Advent is the Candle of Love. God’s love is a perfect love.  It holds nothing back. God, in love, gives us everything we need to live a life of hope and peace.

The bible says that “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.”  Jesus shows us God’s perfect love.

This is what love is like: Love is patient, love is kind and envies no one.  Love is never boastful or conceited, rude or selfish.  Love is not quick to take offense, it keeps no records of wrongs, it does not gloat

over other people’s troubles, but rejoices in the right, the good, and the true.   There is nothing that love cannot face, there is no limit to its faith, to its hope, to its endurance.

Love never ends. We light the candle of love to remind us that Jesus brings us God’s love and shows us how to love others. (Lights the Candle of Love)

Love is like a light shining in a dark place.  As we look at this candle we celebrate the love we find in Jesus Christ.

Let us pray: Thank you God for the love you give us. We ask that as we wait for all your promises to come true, and for Christ to come again, that you would remain present with us.  Help us today, and everyday to worship you, to hear your word, and to do your will by sharing your love with each other. We ask it in the name of the one who was born in Bethlehem. Amen.

About a week before Christmas the family bought a new nativity scene. When they unpacked it they found 2 figures of the Baby Jesus. “Someone must have packed this wrong,” the mother said, counting out the figures. “We have one Joseph, one Mary, three wise men, three shepherds, two lambs, a donkey, a cow, an angel and two babies. Oh, dear! I suppose some set down at the store is missing a Baby Jesus because we have 2.”

“You two run back down to the store and tell the manager that we have an extra Jesus. Tell him to put a sign on the remaining boxes saying that if a set is missing a Baby Jesus, call 7126. “Put on your warm coats, it’s freezing cold out there.”

The manager of the store copied down mother’s message and the next time they were in the store they saw the cardboard sign that read, “If you’re missing Baby Jesus, call 7126.”

All week long they waited for someone to call. Surely, they thought, someone was missing that important figurine. Each time the phone rang mother would say, “I’ll bet that’s about Jesus,” but it never was. Father tried to explain there are thousands of these scattered over the country and the figurine could be missing from a set in Florida or Texas or California. Those packing mistakes happen all the time. He suggested just put the extra Jesus back in the box and forget about it. “Put Baby Jesus back in the box! What a terrible thing to do said the children.” “Surely someone will call,” mother said. “We’ll just keep the two of them together in the manger until someone calls.”

When no call had come by 5:00 on Christmas Eve, mother insisted that father “just run down to the store” to see if there were any sets left. “You can see them right through the window, over on the counter,” she said. “If they are all gone, I’ll know someone is bound to call tonight.” “Run down to the store?” father thundered. “It’s 15 below zero out there!”

“Oh, Daddy, we’ll go with you,” Tommy and Mary began to put on their coats. Father gave a long sigh and headed for the front closet. “I can’t believe I’m doing this,” he muttered.

Tommy and Mary ran ahead as father reluctantly walked out in the cold. Mary got to the store first and pressed her nose up to the store window. “They’re all gone, Daddy,” she shouted. “Every set must be sold.”

“Hooray,” Tommy said “The mystery will now be solved tonight!” Father heard the news still a half block away and immediately turned on his heel and headed back home. When they got back into the house they noticed that mother was gone and so was the extra Baby Jesus figurine. “Someone must have called and she went out to deliver the figurine,” my father reasoned, pulling off his boots. “You kids get ready for bed while I wrap mother’s present.”

Then the phone rang. Father yelled “answer the phone and tell’em we found a home for Jesus.” But it was mother calling with instructions for us to come to 205 Chestnut Street immediately, and bring three blankets, a box of cookies and some milk.

“Now what has she gotten us into?” my father groaned as we bundled up again. “205 Chestnut. Why that’s across town. Wrap that milk up good in the blankets or it will turn to ice before we get there. Why can’t we all just get on with Christmas? It’s probably 20 below out there now. The wind is picking up. Of all the crazy things to do on a night like this.”

When they got to the house at 205 Chestnut Street it was the darkest one on the block. Only one tiny light burned in the living room and, the moment we set foot on the porch steps, my mother opened the door and shouted, “They’re here, Oh thank God you got here, Ray! You kids take those blankets into the living room and wrap up the little ones on the couch. I’ll take the milk and cookies.”

“Would you mind telling me what is going on, Ethel?” my father asked. “We have just walked through below zero weather with the wind in our faces all the way.” “Never mind all that now,” my mother interrupted. “There is no heat in this house and this young mother is so upset she doesn’t know what to do. Her husband walked out on her and those poor little children will have a very bleak Christmas, so don’t you complain. I told her you could fix that oil furnace in a jiffy.
My mother strode off to the kitchen to warm the milk while my brother and I wrapped up the five little children who were huddled together on the couch. The children’s mother explained to my father that her husband had run off, taking bedding, clothing, and almost every piece of furniture, but she had been doing all right until the furnace broke down.

“I been doing washing and ironing for people and cleaning the five and dime,” she said. “I saw your number every day there, on those boxes on the counter. “When the furnace went out, that number kept going through my mind, 7162 7162, that is what it said on the box.” If a person is missing Jesus, they should call 7162 7162. That’s how I knew you were good Christian people, willing to help folks. I figured that maybe you would help me, too. So stopped at the grocery store tonight and I called your miss’s. I’m not missing Jesus, mister, because I sure love the Lord. But I am missing heat. I have no money to fix that furnace.

“Okay, Okay!” said father. “You’ve come to the right place. Now lets see. You’ve got a little oil burner over there in the dining room. Shouldn’t be too hard to fix. Probably just a clogged flue. I’ll look it over, see what it needs.”

Mother came into the living room carrying a plate of cookies and warm milk. As she set the cups down on the coffee table, I noticed the figure of Baby Jesus lying in the center of the table. It was the only sign of Christmas in the house. The children stared wide-eyed with wonder at the plate of cookies my mother set before them.

Father finally got the oil burner working but said you need more oil. I’ll make a few calls tonight and get some oil. Yes, sir, you came to the right place, father grinned.

On the way home father did not complain about the cold weather and had barely set foot inside the door when he was on the phone.

Ed, hey, how are ya, Ed?” “Yes, Merry Christmas to you, too. Say Ed, we have kind of an unusual situation here I know you’ve got that pickup truck. Do you still have some oil in that barrel on your truck? You do?

By this time the rest of the family were pulling clothes out of their closets and toys off of their shelves. It was long after their bedtime when they were wrapping gifts. The pickup came. On it were chairs, three lamps, blankets and gifts. Even though it was 30 below, father let them ride along in the back of the truck.

No one ever did call about the missing figure in the nativity set, but as I grow older I realize that it wasn’t a packing mistake at all. Jesus saves, that’s what HE DOES.

KOBUS – Last Sunday we lit the candle of Peace.  We light it and the candle of hope again as we remember that Christ, who was born in Bethlehem, will come again to judge the world and bring it everlasting peace. (Relight the candles of hope, and peace)

SAL – The third candle of Advent is the Candle of Joy.  When the angel Gabriel told Mary that a special child would be born to her she was filled with joy.  She sang a song that began with the words: “My soul magnifies the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my saviour.

FRANCOIS – Just as the birth of Jesus gave great joy to his mother, so his presence in the world gave joy to those who had none before.  He healed them and gave them hope and peace when they believed in him.  From hope, peace, and love grows joy.

SARITA – We light the candle of joy to remind us that when Jesus is born in us we have joy and that through him there will be everlasting joy on earth. (Light the Candle of Joy – PINK ONE)

PAUL – Joy is like a light shining in a dark place.  As we look at this candle we celebrate the joy we find in Jesus Christ.

KOBUS – Let us pray: Thank you God for the joy you give us.  We ask that as we wait for all your promises to come true, and for Christ to come again, that you would remain present with us.  Help us today, and everyday to worship you, to hear your word, and to do your will by sharing your joy with each other.  We ask it in the name of the one who was born in Bethlehem.  Amen.