(Image: Desert Bloom Stockcake.com)
©Order of Worship for Sunday December 14, 2025
Third Sunday of Advent
A Weary World Rejoices
For the Avent Ferry UMC Worship Video Click Here (Link opens in a new window)
The worship video will be available live at 11:00 am
Prelude…..“Streams in the Wilderness”…..Greg D./Cullen W.
Music: Greg D.
Coming of the Light:
Greetings:…………………………………………………Pastor Liz
Announcements:………………………………………….Lorri B.
Call to Worship:……………………………………Margaret S.
Our God can part the sea.
God can bring water from a rock,
and provide bread in the desert.
Our God can walk on water.
He can heal the sick,
and turn water into wine.
Our God sets the stars in the sky.
God hears our voice when we cry,
and is closer than our own breath.
There is nothing our God cannot do.
Let us stand in awe. Let us worship God with wonder.
Opening Prayer:…………………………………….Margaret S.
Lighting of the Advent Candle:…………….Childs Family
Scripture: Psalm 126
When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,
we were like those who dream.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with shouts of joy’
Then they said among the nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”
The Lord has done great things for us;
We are glad.
Restore our fortunes, O Lord,
Like the watercourses in the Negeb!
May those who sow in tears
reap with shouts of joy!
Those who go forth weeping,
bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
carrying their sheaves.
Reader 1: The desert shall rejoice and blossom;
the wilderness will burst into song.
Reader 2: Even the weary will find strength,
and joy will bloom where sorrow once lived.
Reader 1: We light this candle as a sign of joy-
joy that is not naive, but rooted in God’s presence among us.
Reader 2: Joy that sings even in the shadows: God is near!
All:
God of joy,
Fill our hearts with gladness even in weary days.
Let your joy rise up in us
as a witness to your faithfulness.
Come, Lord Jesus, come. Amen.
Light the third candle–The Candle of Joy
Opening Hymns: “Good Christian Friends, Rejoice” #224 UMH
Words: 14th cent Latin; trans by John Mason Neale, 1855
Music: German melody, harm. By Gary Alan Smith, 1988
Harm. © 1989 UM Publishing House
Good Christian friends, rejoice with heart and
soul and voice,
1.give ye heed to what we say: News, news!
Jesus Christ is born today! Ox and ass before
him bow, and he is in the manger now.
Christ is born today, Christ is born today!
Good Christian friends, rejoice with heart and
soul and voice,
2.now ye hear of endless bliss: News, news!
Jesus Christ was born for this! He hath opened
heaven’s door, and ye are blest forever more.
Christ was born for this, Christ was born for this!
Good Christian friends, rejoice with heart and
soul and voice,
3.now ye need not fear the grave: News, news!
Jesus Christ was born to save! Calls you one and
calls you all to gain his everlasting hall.
Christ was born to save, Christ was born to save!
“It Came Upon the Midnight Clear” #218 UMH
Words by Edmund H. Sears, 1849 (Luke 2:8-14)
Music by Richard Storrs Willis, 1850
1. It came upon the midnight clear,
that glorious song of old,
from angels bending near the earth
to touch their harps of gold:
“Peace on the earth, good will to all,
from heaven’s all-gracious King.”
The world in solemn stillness lay,
to hear the angels sing.
2. Still through the cloven skies they come
with peaceful wings unfurled,
and still their heavenly music floats
o’er all the weary world;
above its sad and lowly plains,
they bend on hovering wing,
and ever o’er its Babel sounds
the blessed angels sing.
3. And ye, beneath life’s crushing load,
whose forms are bending low,
who toil along the climbing way
with painful steps and slow,
look now! for glad and golden hours
come swiftly on the wing.
O rest beside the weary road,
and hear the angels sing!
4. For lo! the days are hastening on,
by prophet seen of old,
when with the ever-circling years
shall come the time foretold
when peace shall over all the earth
its ancient splendors fling,
and the whole world send back the song
which now the angels sing.
Passing of the Peace:………………………………Pastor Liz
Let us offer signs of reconciliation and peace to one another.
Gloria Patri:…….“Glory Be to the Father”…….#71 UMH
Words: Lesser Doxology, 3rd-4th century
Music: Henry W. Greatorex, 1851
Glory be to the Father
and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning, to
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen. Amen.
Giving of our Tithes and Offerings:…………..Pastor Liz
AFUMC Giving Link: https://afumc.com/give/
Offertory:…….“Sing We Now of Christmas”….Handbell Choir
French carol, 15th C. Arr. by Joel Raney © 2023 Hope Publishing Company
“Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow” (The Doxology) #94 UMH
Adapted © 1989 The United Methodist Publishing House
Words by Thomas Ken, 1674, adapted by Gilbert Vieira, 1978
Music: Geistliche Kirchengesänge, 1623; harmony by Ralph Vaughan Williams, 1906
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
praise God, all creatures here below:
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Praise God, the source of all our gifts!
Praise Jesus Christ, whose power uplifts!
Praise the Spirit, Holy Spirit!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Prayer After Receiving:………………………………Pastor Liz
The Prayers of the People:………………………….Pastor Liz
Anthem:…….. “Lullaby on a Winter Night”…….Choir/Mark B.
By James Murray and William Kirkpatrick
Arr. Mary Donnelly and George L. O. Strid. ©2025 Choristers Guild
Old Testament Lesson:…….Isaiah 35:1-10…….…Margaret S.
The desert bloomsThe wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocusit shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and shouting. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the LORD, the majesty of our God.]]Strengthen the weak hands and make firm the feeble knees.Say to those who are of a fearful heart, “Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God. He will come with vengeance, with terrible recompense. He will come and save you.”Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be opened;then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy. For waters shall break forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert;the burning sand shall become a pool and the thirsty ground springs of water; the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp; the grass shall become reeds and rushes.A highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Holy Way; the unclean shall not travel on it, but it shall be for God’s people; no traveler, not even fools, shall go astray.
No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it; they shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there.
And the ransomed of the LORD shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
Hymn of Preparation:.“Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne” #2100 TFWSWords: Timothy R. Matthews Music: Emily E. S. Elliott
1. Thou didst leave thy throne and thy kingly crown,
when thou camest to earth for me; but in
Bethlehem’s home there was found no room
for thy holy nativity.
O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,
there is room in my heart for thee.
2. Heaven’s arches rang when the angels sang,
proclaiming thy royal degree; but in
lowly birth didst thou come to earth,
and in great humility.
O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,
there is room in my heart for thee.
3. The foxes found rest, and the birds their nest
in the shade of the forest tree; but thy
couch was the sod, O thou Son of God,
in the deserts of Galilee.
O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,
there is room in my heart for thee.
4. Thou camest, O Lord, with the living Word
that should set thy people free; but with
mocking scorn, and with crown of thorn,
they bore thee to Calvary.
O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,
there is room in my heart for thee.
5. When heav’ns arches shall ring and its choir shall sing
at thy coming to victory, let thy
voice call me home, saying “Yet there is room,
there is room at my side for thee!”
And my heart shall rejoice, Lord Jesus,
when thou comest and callest for me.
Message: ……..…“Joy Blooms in the Desert”…..…Pastor Liz
Response to the Word:
Closing Hymn: “Tradin’ My Sorrows” #3108 W&S
Words and Music: Darrell Evans © 1998, arr.© 2010 Integrity’s
Hosanna Music (ASCAP
I’m tradin’ my sorrows, I’m tradin’ my
shame, I’m layin’ them down for the joy of the
Lord. I’m tradin’ my sickness,
I’m tradin’ my pain, I’m layin’ them
down for the joy of the Lord.
Yes, Lord, yes, Lord, yes, yes, Lord. Yes, Lord, yes, Lord,
yes, yes, Lord. Yes, lord, yes, Lord, yes, yes, Lord. Amen.
I am pressed but not crushed, persecuted
not abandoned; struck down but not destroyed.
I am blessed beyond the curse, for his
promise will endure that his joy’s gonna be my strength.
Though the sorrow may last for the night,
his joy comes with the mornin’.
I tradin’ my sorrows, I’m tradin’ my
shame, I’m layin’ them down for the joy of the
Lord. I’m tradin’ my sickness,
I’m tradin’ my pain, I’m layin’ them
down for the joy of the Lord.
Yes, Lord, yes, Lord, yes, yes, Lord. Yes, Lord, yes, Lord,
yes, yes, Lord. Yes, lord, yes, Lord, yes, yes, Lord. Amen.
Dismissal with Blessing:…………………………..Pastor Liz
Postlude:……………………………………………………..Greg D.
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Come and join “A CommUNITY Celebration of Christmas” on Sunday evening, December 14, 6pm, at Avent Ferry United Methodist Church. A multi-cultural program of music will feature choirs from Avent Ferry UMC, Rios de Agua Viva, the Chinese Christian Fellowship, and other musical guests. Refreshments in the church fellowship hall will follow.
Your presence will be welcomed as we all join together in a celebration of the love, joy, hope,
and peace that the birth of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, brings to our world.
Sunday December 14th Worship Service