Liturgy for the First Sunday of Advent, Year B (Mark)
Introduction
Advent opens a new church year, and with it the year of Mark, the shortest and most urgent of the Gospels. For those expecting visions of angels or the sweet stories found in Luke, this liturgical year opens with a jolt. People ask God to tear open the heavens, and Jesus tells his friends to stay awake.
This complete liturgy for the First Sunday of Advent, Year B, follows the Revised Common Lectionary and centers on hope that keeps watch through long nights. It includes a lighting of the Advent candle, a call to worship, opening prayer, prayer of confession, assurance of pardon, prayer for Illumination, and benediction. You can find every Advent order of worship in the Advent Liturgy hub, and for other ministry resources, consider joinging my newsletter. join my newsletter.
Lectionary readings for this Sunday
Isaiah 64:1-9: A lament from a people who long for God to come down, confessing that they have faded like leaves, and remembering that God is the potter and they are the clay. See who wrote Isaiah, including why scholars place these chapters after the exile.
Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19: A psalm of Asaph calling on the Shepherd of Israel to restore the people and let God's face shine. Read about the Good Shepherd and the psalms of Asaph.
1 Corinthians 1:3-9: Paul gives thanks for the grace given to the Corinthians as they wait for the revealing of Christ, trusting the God who will strengthen them to the end. See who wrote 1 Corinthians and what grace means in the Bible.
Mark 13:24-37: Jesus speaks of a darkened sun and falling stars, points to the fig tree, and tells his disciples to keep awake. Learn how to read apocalyptic language in Scripture and what the fig tree means in the Bible.
Liturgy for this Sunday
Lighting of the Advent Candle: Hope
One: We light this first candle for hope.
All: Hope that keeps watch through the long night.
One: The world is waiting, and so are we.
All: Come, Lord Jesus. Do not delay.
One: Let us live in light of that great day.
All: May that light come to us and shine through us.
Call to Worship
One: Restore us, O God.
All: Let your face shine, that we may be saved.
One: The nights are long, and the world is restless.
All: We have come to watch and to wait.
One: Stir up your strength, and come to us.
All: Come, Lord Jesus. We will keep awake.
Opening Prayer
O that you would tear open the heavens and come down. God of the long wait, we pray Isaiah's prayer because we know his world: mountains that will not move, fires gone to ash, people who have stopped expecting much. Yet you are still the potter, and we are still the clay. Shape us in this season of waiting. Keep us awake to the signs of your coming, the way a farmer watches the fig tree for the first green on the branch. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Faithful God, we confess that we have grown drowsy. We have stopped watching for you. We fill the dark with noise and distraction and call it rest. We have faded like leaves in late November, and our failures have blown us around like the wind. Forgive us. Wake us up. Take us in your hands again and make us new. Amen.
More Advent Prayers of Confession
Assurance of Pardon
"He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord." (1 Corinthians 1:8-9)
Friends, believe the good news: in Jesus Christ we are forgiven. Thanks be to God!
More on the Assurance of Pardon
Prayer for Illumination
Holy God, heaven and earth will pass away, but your words will not pass away. Open our ears in this season of waiting, and let your Word keep us awake. Amen.
More Advent Prayers for Illumination
Benediction
Go out into the long nights of Advent with your eyes open and your hearts awake. Watch for the first green on the fig tree, the small signs that God is near. And may the God who is faithful keep you strong to the end, until Christ comes. Amen.
More Benedictions and Blessings
See also
Advent Liturgy
Worship Resources
Calls to Worship
Opening Prayers
Advent Prayers of Confession
Assurance of Pardon
Advent Prayers for Illumination
Benedictions and Blessings
Planning next Sunday?
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