Hope giving God
blessings and praise be yours and yours forever and ever
for in you we find our hope
in you promises are kept
promises you gave to your people, though the prophets and through the ages
again and again
it is wondrous we can you your hope
hope fulfilled and revealed in the Light of the world, shining in the darkness
that we know through Christ Jesus
your Son, our Lord and King
Christ Jesus
enrich our confidence in you, and the hope you give us
this advent season
help us to wait expectantly for you
look to Christmas
and look to your promised return
where all suffering and pain will be removed
and the world will be restored to where it should be
as we look, in hope, trust and expectation, for that day
we acknowledge the world is far from how it should be
many in our communities go without the basics of life to sustain them
parents worry about how to feed their children, let alone give them a present for Christmas
war and conflict seem to be raging in more and more places
it almost feels that hope is being lost in so many ways, by so many people
including the people, places and situations which are in our hearts and on our minds today, which we pause in the quiet of this place to recall
[pause]
we know we cannot change the world
that is your task to do
but we also know, as we wait hopefully for Christ to return
our task is to hold onto that hope
pray for hope to come to your world
we pray, too, that you might use us
to bring hope
into the people, places and situations in our lives we touch and inhabit
through the power of the spirit working through us
Amen