2nd Sunday in Advent

 Taken from/inspired by Malachi 3:1-4; Luke 1:68-79; Philippians 1:3-11; Luke 3:1-6, and the ANZPB

Bidding: Hear our prayer;

Response: Let our cry come to you.

“I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty. [Malachi 3:1-4]

Let us pray.

Jesus Christ,as we anticipate your coming,
Prepare our communities
and make a straight path through our hearts;
convict us to repent,
Show us how to embody your love.

[silence]

Bidding: Hear our prayer;

Response: Let our cry come to you.

We pray for the church.
Support us in your work
“...that [our] love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight.”
[Philippians 1:9b]
Refine your church like gold; draw us toward righteousness.
 

[silence]

Bidding: Hear our prayer;

Response: Let our cry come to you.

We pray for the world and your whole creation.
…shine on those living in darkness

    and in the shadow of death…

guide our feet into the path of peace.
[Luke 1:79]

[silence]

Bidding: Hear our prayer;

Response: Let our cry come to you.

As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:

“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
    make straight paths for him.
 Every valley shall be filled in,
    every mountain and hill made low.
The crooked roads shall become straight,
    the rough ways smooth.
 And all people will see God’s salvation.’”
[Luke 3:4-6]

Incline your ear, O Lord, to our pleading,
and by the grace of your coming to us
enlighten the darkness of our hearts,
through Jesus Christ, our Saviour,
who is alive with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.

Amen.