Restore Us, O God

Worship Planning Notes

Focus text: Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19

Methodists are a singing people. The hymns of Charles Wesley did as much or more to teach and edify the early Methodists as John’s sermons and treatises. So, it is fitting that we return to the season of Advent—the beginning of the liturgical year—with singing. I’m always struck by all the words we use to try to explain the meaning and significance of Advent and how much they fall short. In Advent, we remember the waiting of our ancestors while sitting in our own waiting for the fulfillment of God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. In some ways, we know the end of the story—the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Christ. At the same time, we are waiting for the fulfillment of our shared, millennia-long story. There is so much doctrine wrapped up in Advent, much less emotion and spirituality. So, while it may seem odd to focus on the Psalms for Advent, I wonder why we don’t do it more. What better way to capture the complexity of our Advent experiences than through the songbook that has accompanied untold generations of God-followers?!

As you plan for Advent, consider what experiences and feelings your congregation may be carrying into this season. What griefs are they holding? What uncertainties and anxieties dominate conversations? What difficulties has your community faced this year? What moments of rejoicing have marked the past twelve months? What hopes are you carrying into the new year? Then, consider: how might the psalms of Advent meet your congregation and neighborhood where they are? Let the answers to these questions guide how the community sings, prays, proclaims, and responds during Advent.

This series offers a wonderful opportunity for congregations to weave singing into the proclamation of scripture. For instance, you might consider weaving the hymn “Savior Like a Shepherd, Lead Us” (United Methodist Hymnal 381) into the reading of Psalm 80, repeating verse 1 after every few verses of the psalm to create a call-and-response between the reader and the congregation. Or you might use the psalter at the back of the United Methodist Hymnal to read and/or sing Psalm 80 responsively (United Methodist Hymnal 801).

Finally, consider how the themes of each week in this series might enliven and deepen your congregation’s sense of God’s restorative work among us. How might you pray for restoration? How might you sing restoration? Is there a hymn or song you can weave into worship in different ways for the next four weeks to draw attention to God’s presence in our Advent waiting? That song may not even be Advent-specific. For instance, Over the Rhine has a simple but powerful song called “New Redemption Song” that could be used as an offertory, a meditative response to the sermon, and/or a congregational prayer response throughout Advent. Or you might find that a repetitive Taizé chorus like “Wait for the Lord” (Worship and Song 3049) offers your congregation space to sit, reflect, and pray amid their Advent waiting. Above all, we want to offer congregants the space to communally experience the solidarity God and, through God, we all have with one another in the midst of this complex and beautiful season of the liturgical year.

Dr. Lisa Hancock, Director of Worship Arts Ministries, served as an organist and music minister in United Methodist congregations in the legacy Northwest Texas and North Texas Annual Conferences, as well as the New Day Amani/Upendo house churches in Dallas. After receiving her Master of Sacred Music and Master of Theological Studies degrees from Perkins School of Theology, Lisa earned her PhD in Religious Studies from Southern Methodist University, where she researched and wrote on the doctrine of Christ, disability, and atonement.