Advent 4 A (21 December 2025): A Life Uncommon/Courage/Love

 

Bible Readings: Isaiah 7:10-16, Psalm 80:1-7,17-19, Romans 1:1-7, Matthew 1:18-25

About the Images:
Upper Left: This is a free microsoft clipart image with a line of text from the song 'Life Uncommon' by Jewel.
Upper right: The Dream of St Joseph by Rembrandt. Public domain. Found at http://www.consciouslivingfoundation.org/photo_gallery.fineart.htm

Middle Left:  This is a free Hermano Leon image.  Please note that this site no longer seems to be in operation.

Middle Right: This is a free slide from Church Galleries - see my link in the column at left. The site is not operating at present. 
Lower Left: This is a free image from Cerezo Barredo - see my link column at left.

Lower Right and Bottom Left: These free images are from the Sundaygraphx website. See my link column at left. 

Kid's Story: An "Ordinary" Christmas?
Found in Fun Group Devotions for Children's Ministry by various authors, Group Publishing 1993 ISBN 1559451610, page 31 (pictured at left). This is based on the Matthew reading.

 

Kid's Time: Jesus' Family Tree

Found in More Hot Illustrations for Youth by Wayne Rice, Zondervan 1995, ISBN 0310207681, page 93 (pictured at right). There are the most amazing and colourful characters in Jesus' family tree and this little story makes the most of them all.  Lots of fun if you get the whole congregation to participate with the kids.

Drama: The Diaries of Joseph and Theodore

Found in Cloth For the Cradle by The Wild Goose Worship Group, Wild Goose Publications, 1997, ISBN 1901557014, page 68 (pictured at left). This is based on the Matthew reading.

Drama: The Village Gossips
Found in Cloth For the Cradle by The Wild Goose Worship Group, Wild Goose Publications, 1997, ISBN 1901557014, page 58 (pictured at left). This drama is also based on the Matthew reading.

Discussion:
How would Joseph have felt?
How would Mary have felt?
In what way does Immanuel (God with us) make a difference to you?

Listening Song: Immanuel

By Michael Card on his album, The Final Word (pictured at right). This goes well with the gospel reading but, as you can tell from the title, it goes well with Christmas in general.

Listening Song: Life Uncommon
By Jewel on her album, Spirit (pictured at left). This goes well with the Christmas story and relates well to those ordinary people, like Mary and Joseph, who did indeed live a life uncommon.

Listening song: So This is Christmas 

By John Lennon on his album, Lennon Legend (pictured at right). This song, an oldie but a goodie, challenges us to think about the implications of Christmas. 

Story: A Stranger At the Door

Found in More Hot Illustrations for Youth by Wayne Rice, Zondervan 1995, ISBN 0310207681, page 25 (see illustration above right).

Story: Taking a Stand
Found in The New Century Version Youth Bible, Word, 1991, ISBN 0849909252, page 907 (pictured at left).

Response Activity: Christmas Haiku
Give everyone a small piece of paper or card and a pen or pencil. Give them step by step instructions on how to write a five line haiku as follows: 1. Choose a character from the Christmas story 2. Two feelings your character experienced 3. Three words which describe your character 4. Four or more words to describe something your character did that you admire 5. One word that describes how you would like to be like your chosen character. To conclude, one option is then to collect them all and laminate them and return them - another is to put them all in a photo album and leave the album where everybody has access to it.

Quote: St Hildegard of Bingen

This makes a great benediction/blessing:
    Be not lax in celebrating.
    Be not lazy in the festive service of God. 

    And be ablaze with enthusiasm. 

Also:

Taize Service: The Greatest Story Ever Told

Found in Worship Feast by Taize, Abingdon Press, 2004, page 40 (pictured at left). This is based on the Matthew reading.

Service Outline: Gifts Galore

Based on the Matthew reading this is found in The All-Age Service Annual Volume 4, published by Scripture Union, 2010, ISBN 9781844275199, page 78 

Service Starter: Of Royal Descent

Based on the Matthew reading, this is found in The All-Age Service Annual Volume 4, published by Scripture Union, 2010, ISBN 9781844275199, page 21 

Drama: I Don't Belong

Found in Let's Make a Scene for..... by Verena Johnson, Open Book, 1998, ISBN 0859108937, page 25 (pictured at left). This goes well with the Romans reading. 

Drama: What's Jesus Got to Do With Christmas

Found in Let's Make a Scene for..... by Verena Johnson, Open Book, 1998, ISBN 0859108937, page 86 (pictured at left). This goes well with the Matthew reading. 

Poem: Superstar

Found in The Electric Bible by Peter Dainty, Kevin Mayhew Ltd, 2003, ISBN 1 84417 041 1, page 80 (pictured at right).  This poem is based on the Matthew reading.  

Drama: Engaged

Found in Mega Drama 2 by Verena Johnson (Ed.), Open Book, 2001, ISBN 085910916Xv2, page 88 (pictured at left). This drama is based on the Matthew reading.

Brilliant Comments on the Gospel

Found in Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes by Kenneth E. Bailey, SPCK, 2008, ISBN 9780281059751, pages 38-47 (pictured at right).

Messy Christmas

Found in Lucy Moore, Messy Church, The Bible Reading Fellowship, 2006, ISBN 978 1 84101 503 3, page 131ff

Drama: Three Become One

Found in All Age Sketches for The Christian Year by Peter Shaw, The Bible Reading Fellowship, 2006, ISBN 10 1 984101 458 3, page131ff.  This is based on the Romans reading.

Discussion Questions: The Birth of Jesus

Found in Welcome by Beth Barnett and Keith Dyer, Scripture Union, 2011, ISBN 978 0 9871500 2 8, page 121. These are based on the Matthew reading. 

Reflection and Prayer: 
Found in Advent Readings from Iona by Brian Woodcock and Jan Sutch Pickard, Wild Goose Publications, 2005, ISBN 1901557332 (pictured at right). These are based on the Isaiah reading and found under the heading: December 18th.

Brilliant Pre-Reading: Generations

Found in The First Advent in Palestine by Kelley Nikondeha, Broadleaf Books, 2022, pages 109ff. Based on the gospel reading. 

Listening Song: Psalm 80: Restore Us

By Sons of Korah on their album, Resurrection, Wordsong Artists, 2005 (pictured at right). 

Advent 3 A (14 December 2025): Joy/Transformation/Healing

 

Bible Readings: Isaiah 35:1-10, Psalm 146:5-10 or Luke 1:46-55, James 5:7-10, Matthew 11:2-11

About the Images:
Upper left: This is a microsoft free clipart image with text from the Isaiah reading.
Upper right: It never ceases to amaze me how the prickly, brittle and dry Australian bush can be transformed at certain times of the year by the most amazingly beautiful flowers. I took this photo near Kangaroo Valley in New South Wales. It is a drumstick flower which grows on a rather spiky large bush. Feel free to use this photo as you wish.

Middle left: This image comes from the excellent Church Galleries site (see my link in the below left column) which is not working at present.

Middle Right:  This is a Microsoft free clipart image onto which I added the words from Luke 1:50.

Lower Left, Bottom Left and Bottom Right: These are from the lovely www.sundaygraphx,blogspot.com site - see my link column at left. 

Lower Right: This is a WikiCommons image  - this photo by an unknown author is licensed under CC BY-NC. It goes well with the James reading. 

Listening Song: Flowing Over Me

by Derri Daugherty on Flap Your Wings, Resolve Records, 2000 (pictured at right). This song matches in beautifully with the Isaiah reading.

Kid's Story: The Race
By Christobel Mattingly and Anne Spudvilas, Scholastic, 1995, ISBN 1863882251 (pictured at left). This goes well with the Isaiah reading.

Film Clip: The Mission

Depending on time either show or describe the scene between Father Gabriel and Rodrigo Mendoza in the monastery cell. Then show Mendoza's epic struggle to get to the mission ending when the Indian releases Mendoza's burden (pictured at right). This too fits in well with the Isaiah reading.

Film Clip: An Unexpected Christmas

And if you are doing anything at all about angels, this New Zealand film clip is just brilliant (providing you can translate beforehand  "shipherd" and  "pisant" :)

Confession: 

By Joanne Carlson Brown and found in The Abingdon Worship Annual 2013 by M. J. Scrifes and B. J. Beu (Eds.), Abingdon Press, Nashville, 2012, page 294 (pictured at right). This is based on the Luke reading.

Litany: Among the Poor

From Cloth for the Cradle by Wild Goose Worship Group, Wild Goose Publications, 1997, ISBN 1901557014, page 31 (pictured at left).

Meditation: The Magnificat

From Cloth for the Cradle by Wild Goose Worship Group, Wild Goose Publications, 1997, ISBN 1901557014, page 45 (pictured at left). This, of course, fits in well with the Luke reading.

Reflection and Prayer: 

Found in Advent Readings from Iona by Brian Woodcock and Jan Sutch Pickard, Wild Goose Publications, 2005, ISBN 1901557332 (pictured at right). These are based on the Luke reading and found under the heading: December 23rd.

Intercession: Pinning Our Hopes on Jesus (i)

From Cloth for the Cradle by Wild Goose Worship Group, Wild Goose Publications, 1997, ISBN 1901557014, page 54-55 (pictured above left).

Response Activity:
Give everyone a green leaf made of cardboard or paper and a pen and have an advent wreath somewhere in your worship space with a pile of nappy (diaper) pins beside it. Explain that God calls us to be part of the healing and transformation of others. Ask: How are we doing that? How can we do this specifically in some practical way this Christmas? Write what you think you can do on the leaf and attach it to the Advent wreath. Pick up a pin and return to your seat and hold it as the above  intercession is prayed. (If you used the pins last week I would advice against using them this week!)

Also:

Taize Service: Sing Out My Soul 

Found in Worship Feast by Taize, Abingdon Press, 2004, page 32 (pictured at right). This is based on the Luke reading.

Drama: When in Doubt

Found in Mega Drama 2 by Verena Johnson (Ed.), Open Book, 2001, ISBN 085910916Xv2, page 83 (pictured at left). This drama is based on the Matthew reading.

Blessing

Found in Messy Church 2 by Lucy Moore, The Bible Reading Fellowship, 2008, ISBN 978 1 84101 602 3, page 149 (pictured at right). This is based on the Psalm.

Liturgies: Payback Freedom

Found in Navagatio: Pocket Liturgies by Safe Space Telford, Proost, 2007, ISBN 978 1 9066340 03 2, page 81ff. These use the Psalm reading.

Advent 2 A (7 December 2025): Transformation/God's Bigger Picture/Celebrating Peace

 

Bible readings: Isaiah 11:1-10, Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19, Romans 15:4-13, Matthew 3:1-12.

About the Images:

Upper left:  This is my photo so please feel free to use this one for worship and related activities also. It is of Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. I liked the way the rainbow is seen through the framework of our world - i.e., there is a bigger picture greater than the one we see.

Upper right: This is also my photo with text. I did some work in one of the areas devastated by the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires (when 173 people lost their lives). This is the amazing regrowth which occurs in the Australian bush weeks after a fire. Trees which seem dead grow leaves close along their trunks - epicormic growth- and ferns pop out of layers of ash. Please feel free to use this photos for worship and related activities. For more information about the fires, wikipedia has a fairly comprehensive and coherent report of what happened at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Saturday_bushfires
Middle Left: This illustration is by Cerezo Barredo.  Unless you speak Spanish, the easiest way to access his lovely line drawings is to go through Textweek (see my link at left) and scroll down to the Graphics and Multimedia section. There is a new one each week.

Middle Right: This image comes from the awesome Church Galleries website which is down at present, however this particular one was free on the site one week.  

Lower Left: Once again this is my image, so please feel free to use it for worship and related activities. This image is of a young man in Jerusalem blowing the shofar. One of the reasons a shofar is blown is to call people to repentance and to foreshadow the coming of the Messiah; consequently, the blowing of the shofar is often linked to John the Baptist - you will notice the song below from Godspell is introduced with the blowing of a shofar. 

Lower Right and Bottom Left: These are free images from Sundaygraphx - see my link column at left where you will find lots of free images for year A and C. 

Listening Song: Prepare ye the Way of the Lord
From the soundtrack of Godspell (pictured at left).

Pass the Peace:
I don't use the Pass the Peace option every week.  I think it becomes a kind of rut we do without seriously thinking about why we do it - and there are also people in every congregation who find it quite confronting ie shy people, some people with Asbergers, and now we have Covid issues as well etc etc.  I try to use it on special occasions when it has some significance or meaning to the rest of the service.  It works in well today with the lighting of the second Advent candle which is often known as the peace candle and in particular it works well with the Isaiah reading for today.

Who Am I?
I was born in 1931.

My father was a school teacher.
I spent three years as a high school teacher before I was ordained.
I am a small person with a huge laugh.
I bounce into room full of joy and delight.
I can put people at ease easily.
I catch people's attention.
I use my hands when I speak.
My eyes twinkle behind gold rimmed spectacles.
I am passionate about God, Christianity and my country.
I have spent my life fighting against injustice and racism.
I have shared my vision with kings, presidents and all sorts of world leaders.
I believe in a world where black and white can go hand in hand into a glorious future.

I believe each person in the world is a creature of infinite value made in the image of God.
I am confident of the future because I believe in God's faithfulness and power to deliver those who ask for help.
I am Desmond Tutu.

Story: Get a Bigger Frying Pan
Found in Still More Hot Illustrations For Youth Talks by Wayne Rice, Zondervan, 1999, ISBN 0310224640, page 67 (pictured at right). This story goes well with the Isaiah reading.

Discussion Questions:

1. What is God's picture of our church?

2. What is God's picture of our community?

3. What do you think is God's picture of the world?

4. How can we help to make that vision a reality?

Poem: The Stump

Found in In Due Season by Herbert F Brokering, Augsburg Publishing, 1966 (pictured at left) in the Summer section under Isaiah 11:1. I put images with this poem and used backing music. I used UK by Burial on their CD, Untrue (pictured at right).

Poem: Warning

By Jenny Joseph and often know by its first line "when I am an old woman I shall wear purple". Easily found by googling. It is a poem about not being dictated to by the expectations of our society.

Also:

Poem/Meditation: John
By Ruth Burgess in Dandelions and Thistles: Biblical Meditations from the Iona Community by Jan Sutch Pickard (ed.) Wild Goose Publications, 1999, ISBN 1901557146, page 46 (pictured at left). This goes well with the Matthew reading.

Drama: John the Baptist Speaks

Found in Mega Drama 2 by Verena Johnson (Ed.), Open Book, 2001, ISBN 085910916Xv2, page 81 (pictured at right). This drama is based on the Matthew reading.

"Be Prepared" Kit

Found in Messy Church 2 by Lucy Moore, The Bible Reading Fellowship, 2008, ISBN 978 1 84101 602 3, page 207 (pictured at left). This is based on the Matthew reading.

Drama: When Two Or More

Found in All Age Sketches for The Christian Year by Peter Shaw, The Bible Reading Fellowship, 2006, ISBN 10 1 984101 458 3, page 44ff (pictured at right).  This is based on the Romans reading.

Reflection and Prayer: 
Found in Advent Readings from Iona by Brian Woodcock and Jan Sutch Pickard, Wild Goose Publications, 2005, ISBN 1901557332 (pictured at left). These are based on the Isaiah reading and found under the heading: December 11th.

Invocation

By Kenneth L Sehested and found in Before the Amen by Maren C Tirabassi and Maria I. Tirrabassi (Eds), Pilgrim Press, Cleveland, 2007, ISBN 978 0 8298 1750 8, page 201 (pictured at right). Based on the Psalm reading.

Witnessing

By Ann B Day and found in Before the Amen by Maren C Tirabassi and Maria I. Tirrabassi (Eds), Pilgrim Press, Cleveland, 2007, ISBN 978 0 8298 1750 8, page 215 (pictured at right). Based on the Romans reading.

Sermon and Worship Suggestions: Life Together

By Robert J Morgan and Joshua D Rowe in Nelson's Annual Preachers Source Book, Thomas Nelson, 2008, ISBN 1 4185 2536 7, page 266.  These resources are based on the Romans reading.