December 6, 2020
Below, you’ll find the song lyrics and scripture readings for the live stream on December 6th (in the order they are needed).
Change Everything
when will the night be turned to day
when will our torches find their flame
when will our eyes have light to see
o god, bring peace
when will our weapons have no place
when will our violence be replaced
when will our safety be complete
o god, bring peace
o god, bring peace
o god, if you could change everything
would it be a king or a new way to breathe
neither or both, o god could it be
something we’d never conceive
when will our worry be dissolved
when will our anxious thoughts be lost
when will our minds be put at ease
o god, bring peace
o god, bring peace
o god, if you could change everything
would it be a king or a new way to breathe
neither or both, o god could it be
something we’d never conceive
when will our cells maintain their shape
when will our bodies cease to fade
when will our dying taste defeat
o god bring peace
o god bring peace
Call to Worship
we have gathered to worship
the Eternal One
the One who draws near to the weak
but regards the proud from a distance
to enter the story of God
and find our own stories reimagined
that the Spirit of God might transform our hearts and minds
breathing peace into our distress,
comfort into our pain,
and drawing us into God’s work
of reconciliation in the world
Amen
Branch
behold, a branch shall come
from where the axe was laid
the root, unmarred by kings
will crown a sprout of grace
the spirit of the lord
will rest upon him
his judgement will pierce through
both brand and the best wording
with righteousness and peace
he will judge them
and decide with equity
for the poor and forgotten
but he shall strike the earth
with a tongue like a Javelin
and with a breath, reduce to ash
the gloating wicked
and behold, when with branch comes
as wolves and lambs lay down
your children will be left unharmed
safe above the ground
for they will not hurt or destroy
on all my mountain
and all the earth will raise
the same refrain:
O Praise the Name beyond all naming
open wide, ye gates: forsake your hinges
for the branch is raised, the beacon lifted
to gather in the rest to life, unbending
behold a branch shall come
and I know you’re tired
but set your heart to search for life
on every withered stump
There’s a Voice In the Wilderness Crying
there’s a voice in the wilderness crying
a call from the ways untrod
prepare in the desert a highway
a highway for our God
the valleys shall be exalted
the lofty hills brought low
make straight all the crooked places
where the lord our god may go
o Zion that bringest good tidings
get thee up to the heights and sing
proclaim to a desolate people
the coming of their king
like the flowers of the field, they perish
the works of all decay
so the pow’r and the pomp of nations
shall pass like a dream away
but the Word of our god endureth
the arm of the lord is strong
he stands in the midst of nations
and he will right the wrong
there’s a voice in the wilderness crying
a call from the ways untrod
prepare in the desert a highway
a highway for our God
the valleys shall be exalted
the lofty hills brought low
make straight all the crooked places
where the lord our god may go
Old Testament Reading
Today’s Old Testament reading, and Josh’s sermon text, is Joshua 2:
Then Joshua son of Nun sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” So they went, and entered the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab, and spent the night there. The king of Jericho was told, “Some Israelites have come here tonight to search out the land.” Then the king of Jericho sent orders to Rahab, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house, for they have come only to search out the whole land.” But the woman took the two men and hid them. Then she said, “True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they came from. And when it was time to close the gate at dark, the men went out. Where the men went I do not know. Pursue them quickly, for you can overtake them.” She had, however, brought them up to the roof and hidden them with the stalks of flax that she had laid out on the roof. So the men pursued them on the way to the Jordan as far as the fords. As soon as the pursuers had gone out, the gate was shut.
Before they went to sleep, she came up to them on the roof and said to the men: “I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that dread of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt in fear before you. For we have heard how the Lorddried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites that were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. As soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no courage left in any of us because of you. The Lord your God is indeed God in heaven above and on earth below. Now then, since I have dealt kindly with you, swear to me by the Lord that you in turn will deal kindly with my family. Give me a sign of good faith that you will spare my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death.” The men said to her, “Our life for yours! If you do not tell this business of ours, then we will deal kindly and faithfully with you when the Lord gives us the land.”
Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the outer side of the city wall and she resided within the wall itself. She said to them, “Go toward the hill country, so that the pursuers may not come upon you. Hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers have returned; then afterward you may go your way.” The men said to her, “We will be released from this oath that you have made us swear to you if we invade the land and you do not tie this crimson cord in the window through which you let us down, and you do not gather into your house your father and mother, your brothers, and all your family. If any of you go out of the doors of your house into the street, they shall be responsible for their own death, and we shall be innocent; but if a hand is laid upon any who are with you in the house, we shall bear the responsibility for their death. But if you tell this business of ours, then we shall be released from this oath that you made us swear to you.” She said, “According to your words, so be it.” She sent them away and they departed. Then she tied the crimson cord in the window.
They departed and went into the hill country and stayed there three days, until the pursuers returned. The pursuers had searched all along the way and found nothing. Then the two men came down again from the hill country. They crossed over, came to Joshua son of Nun, and told him all that had happened to them. They said to Joshua, “Truly the Lord has given all the land into our hands; moreover all the inhabitants of the land melt in fear before us.”
New Testament Reading
Today’s New Testament reading is Matthew 1:1-5a:
An account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Aram, and Aram the father of Aminadab, and Aminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab…
Giving
UBC relies on the generosity of the community. If you are a in place that you are able to give of your time, talent, and resources to UBC we would be grateful. If you want to make a financial contribution, the easiest way to do so is through our church center app.
Wayward Ones
we are the wayward ones
liars and beggars, those who betray
we hand you over, deny your name
cast you aside, yet still you say
this is my body, this is my blood
broken and shed to show my low
we are the broken ones
cowards and fools, all filled with disbelief
we forsake you, deny your name
cast you aside, yet still you say
this is my body, this is my blood
broken and shed to show my love
remember me, remember me
come to the table, take and eat
remember me
Doxology
Praise God from whom all blessings flow
Praise him all creatures here below
Praise him above, ye heavenly host
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost
Amen
Benediction
As we approach this week
May we love God
Embrace Beauty
and Live Life to the fullest
Amen