(To be read unhurriedly)

                       LITANY FOR ADVENT
                       December 15, 1991


PASTOR: O GOD the Father of heaven: have mercy on us, for we depend
wholly upon Your love and grace.

PEOPLE: O LORD the loving Father of heaven and earth: have mercy on
us, for we dwell in darkness apart from You.  O GOD the Son, Savior of
the lost: have mercy on us, if in any way we have gone astray.  O LORD
Christ: have mercy on all those who, like sheep, have gone astray.

O GOD the Holy Spirit, Gift of the Father and of the Son: let the
Light of Life shine on us and have mercy on us.  O LORD, Holy
Comforter: by Your grace have mercy on us.

O Great GOD, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: have mercy on us, who,
apart from Your grace, are but miserable sinners.  O blessed Trinity,
three Persons and One God, have mercy on us.

O Great God, we thank You for Your love that reaches even to where we
are.  We bless You for Your great love.

O Eternal Son, we thank You for Your Coming to Earth; for Your
sacrifice for us on the Cross; for Your Victory over death and hell;
for Your love that reaches even to where we are.  We bless You for
Your great love.

O Holy Spirit of Truth, we thank You for making the Christmas message
personal; kindle in every heart the flame of eternal life; may the
Christ be born in every one of us today.  We bless You for Your great
love.

We trust Your grace, O God, for forgiveness of sins.  By Your Coming,
Your death, Your life, Your grace and mercy, forgive us all our sins,
O Christ.

We renounce all other pretenders to the Throne of the Universe.  We
acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father,
by the power of the Holy Spirit.

We ask You to cleanse and sanctify our relationships.  Be the Lord and
God of how we relate to You, to other people, and even to ourselves, O
God.

We ask You, O God, to teach us how to love You.  In Your tender
compassion, O God, help us to love You with all our hearts, and minds,
with our coming together in worship, and with our private
conversation.

We ask You to come into our hearts to abide forever.  Come into my
heart, O Jesus, that by Your salvation I may give the gift of Your
Presence to those I love.

This Christmas, O God, be pleased to come to stay with us.  O God,
there is room for You where we live!

PASTOR: This Christmas, O Lord, be pleased to be at the center of all
we are and do.

UNISON: Come home for Christmas, O Lord! This very moment we ask You
in to abide in our hearts and in our homes. Be at home in this place!
Be "at home" in us that we truly may be at home in You. Amen.

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|                                                                       |
|       http://www.enc.edu/org/wollynaz/rmetcalfe/sermons.html          |
|                                                                       |
|  Dr. Russell Metcalfe is Pastor Emeritus of the Wollaston Church of   |
|  of the Nazarene.   You can reach Dr. Metcalfe at eflactem@aol.com.   |
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