Baby Jesus, Come to Save Us
A simple, creative worship experience for Advent.
Theme: The need for salvation. The Scripture expresses the “God, save me” cry to which we all can relate. Participants will examine their deepest needs and ask God to meet them at that place.
Sing Together:
- “Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus”
- “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”
Pray:
“Baby Jesus, we pray that you would come into our world and save us from our sin and from the hurts that we experience here on earth. We pray that we would know you as our Savior, even as a baby in the manger. Come, baby Jesus, and save us. Amen.”
Scripture
“O that you would tear open the heavens and come down, so that the mountains would quake at your presence—as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil—to make your name known to your adversaries, so that the nations might tremble at your presence!” (Isaiah 64:1-2).
Share the Message
Ahead of time think about what you want to say about why you personally need saving. You may or may not want to talk about specific situations in your life, but convey the gist of a deep need that helps you tangibly experience salvation. Or, you could tell about a time when you were “saved” from something more literally. The point is to motivate participants’ thinking about how they might feel or experience the salvation of God. Isaiah 64:7b says, “Because you’ve turned away from us, left us to stew in our sins” (THE MESSAGE). Imagine yourself being at that point—being in need of a Savior that desperately—and speak from your heart.
Desperate Acrostic
Provide each participant a sheet of posterboard and access to some paints and paintbrushes (or paper and markers, for a larger group gathering). On the left-hand side of the posterboard, participants should write vertically the word DESPERATE and create an acrostic poem describing their need for a Savior. (For example, Deep / Emotion / Seeking . . . and so on) Encourage participants to be creative.
Closing Litany