This is part of the worship series,
"Greater Glory”
Series Introduction
Advent 1 | Advent 2 | Advent 3 | Advent 4
Christmas Eve/Day | Christmas 1
Fourth Sunday of Advent (Love)
Text: Haggai 2:20–23; Luke 1:26–38
Theme: I Have Chosen You
Key Idea: God anoints unlikely people to deliver his promises.
If you’ve played Secret Santa, you know that some gifts can be unexpected. But the unexpected choice can also make it exciting. Haggai closes with a reminder of God’s unexpected choice for Zerubbabel, appointed as governor of Judah to lead the temple rebuilding (Ezra 3:2). For a people tempted to give up on their work, God allows them to overhear a speech to Zerubbabel.
Through Haggai, God says that he will “overthrow royal thrones” (Haggai 2:22 NIV), looking past other forces that jockey for power, in favor of the remnant. Imagine the surprise: An overlooked government bureaucrat, assigned to a lowly province covered in rubble, is “made like my signet ring” (Haggai 2:23 NIV). The signet ring, used to seal royal decrees, represented the authority of the king (see Genesis 41:42; Esther 3:10). It comes to represent the leaders whom God has chosen to give authority (Jeremiah 22:24). In setting Zerubbabel as a seal, God makes him a royal representative on earth, stirred by the Spirit (Haggai 1:14).
Bernard of Clairvaux taught that Advent has three comings: the arrival of Jesus at Christmas, the arrival of Jesus in the last days, and the arrival of Jesus into our lives today. As Jesus comes into our hearts, God takes possession of us, saying: “I have chosen you” (Haggai 2:23 NIV). For what purpose are we “chosen”? God chooses Zerubbabel to establish a place where God can dwell among his people. And God continues to anoint unlikely people with his Spirit to deliver Jesus—the fulfillment of “God with us”—into the world. At the annunciation, the angel tells Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you” (Luke 1:35 NIV). Following the servant Zerubbabel (Haggai 2:23), we can respond to God with ordinary obedience, as did Mary: “I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled” (Luke 1:38 NIV).
God has chosen us to participate in the arrival of Jesus into the world, made like a signet ring through the Spirit’s anointing. Our ministry continues that of Jesus, the Son of Zerubbabel (Matthew 1:13), who also had little renown yet was filled with the Holy Spirit. Yet we can wear a ring on our finger so long that we forget the weight that it carries. Here is a message for a world tempted to self-aggrandize and place their own rings on their fingers. Consider how Advent urges us to imitate the humility of God’s Chosen One (Philippians 2:6–7). Consider whether your church has allowed God’s power to “overshadow” your congregation’s ministries, families, and visions. And consider a missional angle: Use this service to remind your congregation of the weighty, holy privilege to join with the Spirit in bringing Jesus to our neighbors.
Service Outline
God Gathers Us
Welcome & Announcements
Call to Worship & Lighting of the Advent Candle
[If the congregation is unfamiliar with the participants and/or purpose of Advent wreaths, the following introduction can be included:]
Good morning. I am/we are __________,
and we have been worshiping at __________ for __________ years.
Each Sunday in Advent,
we light one candle.
These candles represent the growing light
that Jesus brings to our dark world.
[As one person lights a blue/purple candle, another reads:]
On the fourth [final] Sunday of Advent,
we light this candle in love.
When our world is divided,
God’s love is stronger.
The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.
—John 1:5 NIV
*Opening Songs
“Hail to the Lord’s Anointed” Montgomery
“Lion and the Lamb” Mooring et al.
or
“Rejoice, the Lord is King” Wesley
*God’s Greeting & Greeting One Another
See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power,
and he rules with a mighty arm.
—Isaiah 40:10 NIV
Yet with the care of a shepherd,
our Sovereign Lord gathers us
from our homes and apartments,
from our schools and offices,
from our fields and factories.
During Advent,
we look in two directions.
we anticipate a King who has come
and a King who is coming.
As we wait for Jesus
to come at Christmas,
we find hope in waiting
for Christ to come again.
In this holy tension,
God gathers us and greets us, saying:
Grace and peace to you from him who is,
and who was, and who is to come,
and from the seven spirits before his throne,
and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness,
the firstborn from the dead,
and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
—Revelation 1:4–5 NIV
*Song(s)
“God Reigns! Earth Rejoices!” Morgan
“Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming” Baker
“Ancient of Days” Harvill and Sadler
“King of Kings” Ligertwood
“Manger Throne” Wickham et al.
Confession of Sin
King Jesus,
You call us to serve you,
but we do not listen.
You nudge our hearts with conviction,
but we resist.
You open doors to share your light,
but we keep to ourselves.
You face us to confront injustice,
but we turn away.
Come, Lord Jesus.
Forgive our cowardice.
Forgive our embarrassment.
Open our ears,
soften our hearts,
and strengthen our hands,
so that we might be faithful servants
in your glorious kingdom. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon: John 15:5, 8; Canons of Dort III.11
Our Lord told his disciples:
I am the vine; you are the branches.
If you remain in me and I in you,
you will bear much fruit;
apart from me you can do nothing.
This is to my Father’s glory,
that you bear much fruit,
showing yourselves to be my disciples.
—John 15:5, 8 NIV
We use these words of good news
to confess our faith:
By the effective operation
of the same regenerating Spirit,
God also penetrates into the inmost being,
opens the closed heart,
softens the hard heart,
and circumcises the heart that is uncircumcised.
God infuses new qualities into the will,
making the dead will alive,
the evil one good,
the unwilling one willing,
and the stubborn one compliant.
God activates and strengthens the will
so that, like a good tree,
it may be enabled to produce
the fruits of good deeds.
—Canons of Dort III.11 Translation © 2011, Faith Alive Christian Resources.
For all who long for purpose,
Christ has come to rule
in all our hearts alone.
Thanks be to God!
Offering and/or Children’s Message
God Speaks to Us
Prayer of Illumination
“Speak, O Lord” (st. 1) Getty & Townend
Scripture Reading
Haggai 2:20–23; Luke 1:26–38
This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God!
Sermon
“I Have Chosen You”
Prayer of Dedication
“Speak, O Lord” (st. 2–3) Getty & Townend
God Receives Our Dedication
Remembrance of Baptism
[Baptism is a sign of our Christian identity; like the king’s signet ring, sacraments mark the sealing of God’s Word spoken to us. John Calvin describes the sacraments as a royal seal that ratifies the king’s decrees (Institutes IV.14.5; see also Belgic Confession, Art. 33). God’s promise through Haggai—“I have chosen you”—is marked with the baptismal waters, which unite God’s elected community in the Spirit (Ephesians 4:4–6). These waters affirm that we belong to Jesus Christ, the king of the church and the head of the body.
Remembering and reaffirming our baptismal identity could be a meaningful response to this sermon. It reinforces (but does not re-make) the gospel promises for a covenant community that might have been baptized long ago, or even before memory. It also declares that God chooses his people for a purpose: to be the body of Christ, the witness of Jesus on earth, anointed with the Spirit to carry his ministry and represent his rule until he returns (Westminster Confession, XXVIII.I).
This act could be introduced with the following words. (For other options, see The Worship Sourcebook 7.1.4.)]
Beloved of God,
We gather around the baptismal font
to remember our baptism.
Some of us were here recently;
others of us were not.
Some of us have memories of
passing under these waters;
others of us do not.
What we share is our participation
in these living waters.
What we share is our unity
in the body of Christ,
sealed with the gift of the Spirit.
The waters of baptism mark
our identity as God’s chosen family.
They remind us of our purpose and mission
as Christ’s representatives on earth.
As we gather to remember our baptism,
we commit ourselves to participating
in the arrival of Jesus into the world.
We commit to honoring
the weight of this sacred call.
We commit to living into
the promise made by faith at our baptism:
“To be a faithful member of this congregation,
and, through worship and service,
seek to advance God’s kingdom
here and throughout the world.”
—CRCNA/RCA Service for Baptism
Let us remember our baptism,
and be thankful.
*Song
“Imagine” Getty & Getty
or
“Christ Be Magnified” Asbury et al.
[Sing this song as worshipers come forward. Invite them to place their hand in the baptismal font or to receive a sign of the cross drawn from its water. After, consider anointing the top of their palm(s) with oil, a biblical practice that represents God’s Spirit coming on a person for holy service. Special consideration should be given for those in the congregation who are not baptized; they could still be warmly invited to receive anointing.]
Words for anointing:
Do not be afraid, [name];
you have found favor with God.
—Luke 1:30 NIV
or
[You are] the Lord’s servant;
may his word to you be fulfilled.
—Luke 1:38 NIV
[Consider concluding with an acapella tag: “Spirit of the Living God” Iverson]
God Sends Us
*Call to Service
You are the possession of God.
We will stand where the Lord stands,
against injustice and with the wronged.
You are the Lord’s servant.
We will stand by people
in any form of suffering and need.
—based on Belhar Confession 4
or
Q. But why are you called a Christian?
A. Because by faith I am a member of Christ
and so I share in his anointing.
I am anointed
to confess his name,
to present myself to him as a living sacrifice of thanks,
to strive with a free conscience against sin and the devil
in this life,
and afterward to reign with Christ
over all creation
for eternity.
—Heidelberg Catechism Q&A #32 Translation © 2011, Faith Alive Christian Resources.
*Benediction
God sends us with these words of promise:
I took you from the ends of the earth,
from its farthest corners I called you.
I said, ‘You are my servant’;
I have chosen you and have not rejected you.
So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
—Isaiah 41:9–10 NIV
May the power of the Most High,
which overthrows all royal thrones,
overshadow you.
Go, and prepare the way of the Lord
for the day he returns.
Come, Lord Jesus! Amen.
*Sending Song:
“Canticle of the Turning” Cooney
or
“Prepare the Way of the Lord” Berthier
“Even So Come” Ingram et al.
