sunday december 7, 2025

Fruitland United Methodist Church
December 7, 2025

*(Please stand if you are comfortably able.)

Prelude: “Pat-a-Pan!” by Bernard de la Monnoye

Welcoming the Light of Christ and inviting the neighborhood to worship.

Welcome and Announcements
*Call to Worship Second Sunday of Advent
In these Advent days, the Lord calls us to prepare for His coming.
We come seeking light in the midst of darkness.
John the Baptist invites us to turn our hearts back to God.
We long to walk toward the promise of the Kingdom.
Come, Lord Jesus! Light our path and guide our way.
*Sharing the peace of Christ.

We Light the Second Candle of Advent: The Candle of Peace.
Prayer: God of Peace, as we light this candle, shine your gentle light into
our restless hearts. Where there is division, bring reconciliation; where
there is worry, bring calm; where there is fear, bring courage; where there is
hurt, bring healing.
Make us instruments of your peace-- in our homes, our church,
our community, and our world. Guide our steps so that we may
prepare the way of the Lord with acts of justice, kindness, and hope. Amen.

*Sing: “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” UMH 211

Scripture: Psalm 72: 1-7, 18-19 Chase Van Weerdhuizen

Time With Young Christians – Pastor Jorge
(Please write prayer concerns and celebrations on yellow notepads, to be collected.)

Time of Community Expressions
     Hymn: “Holy, Holy, Holy” TFWS 2007
     Thanksgiving and Celebration
     Prayers for Healing and Wholeness, Our Community and the World

​Invitation to Generosity – Pastor
    Offertory “O Rest in the Lord” from The Messiah by G.F. Handel
*Doxology Praise God, from whom all blessings flow . . . UMH 95

Scripture Reading: Matthew 3: 1-11 Pew Bible p. 1499

Sermon: “The Turn That Changes the Story” Pastor Jorge
Matthew 3: 1-11

By the second week of Advent, we already feel inside the story.
The first week always surprises us: the call to prepare comes, and
we realize we are not ready.

We’ve been caught in our own routines and concerns. But this
week, we begin to find our rhythm again, to walk toward the
promise.

And right then, John the Baptist appears.
With his strong voice from the wilderness, he says:
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

We often hear “repent” as a scolding. But John is not inviting us
into guilt—he’s inviting us to live a different story. To turn aside
from the same old path and step into a new one. It is as if he were
saying:

“What you long for is close. Turn, and come see what God is
doing.”

The crowds understood this. They ran to the river for baptism,
confessing their desire for a different life. But when the Pharisees
and Sadducees approached for the same baptism, John
stopped them and said something crucial: “Bear fruit worthy of
repentance.”

In other words: it is not enough to step into the water. It is not
enough to say we want to change.
The new story must be visible in our lives. True repentance shows
up in how we treat others, in the choices we make, in the justice
we seek.

And that is Advent for us today.

A reminder that there is more to come: more light, more hope,
more kingdom.

And as we wait, we show—with our fruits—that we want to be part
of that story: through acts of justice, peace, hospitality, and
compassion.

We may not feel fully ready.
But every small fruit is a step toward the Kingdom that is
already drawing near.
This is the turn that changes our story.
This is the Advent way. Amen.

*Prayer of Confession: Merciful God, your Word calls us to
straighten our paths and turn our hearts toward you. We
confess that we have not always borne fruit worthy of
repentance. Forgive what we have been, transform what we
are, and guide us toward the new story you offer in Christ.
Amen.
In Christ, we find forgiveness, grace, and a new beginning.
Thanks be to God. Amen.

Hymn: “Make Me a Channel of Your Peace” TFWS 2171

The Great Thanksgiving
The Lord be with you. And also, with you.
Lift up your hearts. We lift them up to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the
Lord. Hosanna in the highest!

And so, in remembrance of these your mighty acts in Jesus Christ, we offer
ourselves in praise and thanksgiving; As a holy and living sacrifice, in union
with Christ’s offering for us, as we proclaim the mystery of faith.

Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.

Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here and on these gifts of bread
and wine. Make them be for us the Body and Blood of Christ, that we may
be for the world the Body of Christ, redeemed by His blood. In this Advent
season, straighten our paths, renew our hope, and guide us in your peace.
Amen. (Pastor blesses the bread and the cup.)

The Lord’s Prayer

The Table is Served “One Bread, One Body” UMH 620

Pastoral Benediction: May the God of Peace prepare your path, may
Christ meet you with grace, and may the Holy Spirit lead you with hope into
the coming days. Amen

*Sing: “Halle, Halle, Hallelujah” TFWS 2026

Postlude: “A Christmas Meditation” by Roy Nolte