SERVICE FOR THE LORD’S DAY
November 29, 2020
WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Due to Covid Numbers on the rise we are currently closed until further notice
Moment of Silence to Prepare Our Hearts for Worship
Worship - We lift our praise to you, O Lord.
Wait for the Lord (sing twice)
Wait for the Lord, his day is near.
Wait for the Lord, be strong, take heart.
Opening Prayer
Let us pray: Lord Jesus Christ, your world awaits you. The persecuted wait, longing for your justice. The poor wait, longing for prosperity. The hungry wait, longing food. We all wait, longing for your love, your peace and your joy. O come, Lord, liberator of humanity. O come, O come, Immanuel. Amen.
Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus, verses 1&3 CCLI 11259100
1 Come, Thou long-expected Jesus,
Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us;
Let us find our rest in Thee.
3 Born Thy people to deliver,
Born a child and yet a King,
Born to reign in us forever,
Now Thy gracious kingdom bring.
Lighting the Advent wreath
M: This year, we are looking at Advent as a journey; not exactly a trip to a different place.
K: Rather, we are on a spiritual journey;
M: to be refreshed, restored and ready, for Christmas, for Emmanuel’s birth,
K: for Jesus, and for all that His birth, life, death and resurrection means.
M: The Advent wreath is a circle with no beginning and no end. It is a symbol of God’s unending love and faithfulness.
K: Isaiah, the prophet calls us to prepare for the coming of Jesus, by making straight all that is crooked:
M: Isaiah said, “The Lord himself will give you a sign: the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”
K: We love because God first loved us. We see Jesus and we know the love of God.
M: Help us to be ready to welcome you again, O God!
K: We rejoice because our hope is in Jesus, Prince of Peace, King of King, Lover of our souls.
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, verse 1 CCLI 11259100
1 O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Refrain:
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
Confession & Pardon
P: God of love and kindness, you have promised to renew our lives. We admit often we are unwilling to see that you have always been here. Forgive our blindness and our impatience. Hear us now as we confess our personal sins silently (time for silent prayer). . . Have mercy on us. Open our eyes and our hearts that we may be witnesses to your love; that we see your love and share your love. Help us to see you, wherever you are present in the world and whenever you are present in others. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Confession Response: O Little Town of Bethlehem vs 4 CCLI 11259100
4 O holy Child of Bethlehem
Descend to us, we pray
Cast out our sin and enter in
Be born to us today
We hear the Christmas angels
The great glad tidings tell
O come to us, abide with us
Our Lord Emmanuel
O come to us, abide with us
Our Lord Emmanuel
ASSURANCE OF PARDON:
L: In God’s love and mercy, we are given each new day to love and serve.
In the name of Christ, you are forgiven. P: Thanks be to God!
Glory to the Father
Glory be to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
Let us pray: God of patience and peace, as John the Baptizer called the people to repentance, so you call us to new life in your Spirit. Help us wait for your promised coming, with faithful listening to your word. Amen.
Scripture: Luke 1, selected verses The Message
When Herod ruled Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah. His wife was Elizabeth. Zechariah and Elizabeth were both good people who pleased God. They did everything the Lord commanded, always following his instructions completely. But they had no children. Elizabeth could not have a baby, and both of them were very old. The priests always chose one priest to offer the incense, and Zechariah was the one chosen this time. So he went into the Temple of the Lord to offer the incense. On the right side of the incense table, an angel of the Lord came and stood before Zechariah. When he saw the angel, Zechariah was upset and very afraid. But the angel said to him, “Zechariah, don’t be afraid. Your prayer has been heard by God. Your wife Elizabeth will give birth to a baby boy; and you will name him John. Even before he is born, he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. John will help many people of Israel return to the Lord their God. John himself will go ahead of the Lord and make people ready for his coming.
O Come, All Ye Faithful, verse 2 CCLI 11259100
2 Yea, Lord, we greet Thee,
Born this happy morning,
Jesus, to Thee be all glory given;
Word of the Father,
Now in flesh appearing!
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ, the Lord!
Scripture The Gospel, according to Mark 1:1-8
Here begins the wonderful story of Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God.
In the book written by the prophet Isaiah, God announced that he would send his Son to earth, and that a special messenger would arrive first to prepare the world for his coming.
“This messenger will live out in the barren wilderness,” Isaiah said, “and will proclaim that everyone must straighten out his life to be ready for the Lord’s arrival.”*
This messenger was John the Baptist. He lived in the wilderness and taught that all should be baptized as a public announcement of their decision to turn their backs on sin, so that God could forgive them. People from Jerusalem and from all over Judea traveled out into the Judean wastelands to see and hear John, and when they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River. His clothes were woven from camel’s hair and he wore a leather belt; locusts and wild honey were his food. Here is a sample of his preaching:
“Someone is coming soon who is far greater than I am, so much greater that I am not even worthy to be his slave. I baptize you with water[e] but he will baptize you with God’s Holy Spirit!”*
Devotion God’s long range plan of love Kirk
A preacher once played his clarinet right before his sermon was about to start. The piece was pretty involved and needed a lot of breath on the preacher’s side. When he was about to start the sermon, he said that he needed to catch his breath. The congregation smiled. Next, he started his sermon with the words: Advent is a time to catch your breath, isn’t it?
My family calls me the Elf, because there is no season more filled with hope and love than Christmas. But as I have gotten older, and I get more tired, every Christmas season is different for me. Some years I can’t wait to put up all the Christmas decorations. Some years I don’t really feel like Christmas till later.
Advent is a time of waiting and preparing for the big event that we will be celebrating in a few weeks. It is a darker time of the year when we light candles and decorate our houses with artificial lights to make the season bright. It could be a season of new beginnings when we follow the star that will lead us to Bethlehem.
Mark’s gospel starts with the words the beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ. It reminds us that just as in the beginning the world was created by God. God also had a plan to change our lives for the better His long-range plan of Love..
Like the people in second Peter we might be worried whether all that waiting will be finally brought to a good end.
Jesus assures us that it will. If you don’t believe it, remember the story of John the Baptist in the wilderness. People came to him out of desperation and returned to their homes refreshed and renewed.
Jesus promises a greater gift yet. The Holy Spirit will come to us in the life and death of the Christ child.
Thinking of all the hustle and bustle of the season I think it is good for us to find some quiet place near the river where John the Baptist again can remind us of the great gift we have been given in Jesus Christ. Thinking of John the Baptist I think of a long pointed stick that teachers used to use before the age of computers to point something out on a map or a blackboard. John the Baptist is like that, he points away from himself to Christ. How do we live this advent? Do our actions point others to Christ?
How do we proclaim the Good News. One translation reads Good News - this is the victory of Jesus the Christ. It is not our victory but his. With John the Baptist we are invited to point to Christ’s victory. Those words can point someone who has lost hope into a new direction. We can make a difference by living our lives in a way that points people to Christ. We have been washed clean by the Holy Spirit in our own baptism. Stay with that image. Feel the refreshment and energy of the spirit.
Advent is an invitation for us to become like the people who were frozen by the power of evil, who felt powerless. To be touched anew by the mighty breath of God and to be transformed into people who care is what we have been called to do.
Sometimes we have a hard time describing how God has made a difference in our lives. And share an experience of grace with those around us. How the message to all from John the Baptist that a savior was coming, the Son of God was coming and he would in modern terms rock the world. His name would be Jesus and he would be born from a virgin’s womb and he would spread a new way of life across the world a life of peace, compassion, hope and love and he would offer the gift of eternal life for anyone that believes in him. Anyone that takes him as their savior. Think of Jesus’ birth, the Son of God as the launch of God’s long-range plan of love.
Close your eyes and think about the love that God has poured out over his children, you and me over the centuries and centuries. Think about Jesus life as a youth, entering the temple and praying and preaching the new word to all of the priests and those that were there. Think about all of the miracles that he performed. From turning water into wine, giving sight to the blind, healing the sick and crippled, feeding the masses with only a few fish and loaves of bread, releasing the children from the devil, walking on the waters, and healing the severed ear of the guard in the Garden of Gethsemane. Oh, what wonders he performed during his travels and ministry. But the greatest gift of sacrifice and the greatest miracle, is that he would be tried, convicted, beaten, flogged crucified dead and buried, and why, why would he have to endure such humiliation and pain, why would he have to pay such a price, why, to wash away all of our sins, all of our sins. But on the third day a miracle of love would again be given to us, he would rise again from the dead to walk with his people and disciples for 40 days before he ascended into heaven to rule at his father’s side. His Father, our Father, set in place a plan of love the day he announced the coming of his Son, Jesus and to use John the Baptist as the messenger of hope for all of us.
Oh, there is no doubt in my mind that our Father loves us and he shows us every day with every drop of rain, every blade of grass, every blooming flower, every river, stream, mountain, prairie, ocean and desert. He shows us his love with every breath of wind that caresses our cheek, every snow flake that touches our tongue. He shows us his love with every child that is born and every man, woman and child that is healed in body, mind and spirit. He shows us his love with every lost child that is found in the wilderness, every magical note of a sonata, every word of his Bible and every angel that he sends to us in our time of need. And let us never forget that those angels may be a friend or stranger that sees our need and reaches out to hug us and comfort us at our weakest moment. Oh, there is no doubt that our Father loves and cherishes each and every one of us.
So, during this time of Advent, the time that invites us into the story of light to share the light with those around us. The time to share God’s long-range plan of love with everyone around us.
Prepare the way of the Lord, our gospel reads today. When I came up to the church this morning, I was thinking about the smattering of snow this past Tuesday morning and how this time of year can give us large accumulations and how snow plows will plow away the snow to prepare the way for the cars, and people will clear the sidewalks so that we can safely walk into our church. As you all know the roads can get very dangerous this time of the year. It is easy to lose focus and slip off the road. God has prepared a safe road for us. He has taken everything away that might lead us into dangerous places. And he calls us to come to him and to be refreshed by the promise of our own baptism that goes far beyond the baptism of John in the desert. It not only refreshes us but it leads us into life eternal which starts here and will be brought to perfection in God’s eternal kingdom and his long-range plan of love for each of us if we but reach out and take his outstretched hand.
Take some time for peace and quiet. Share your experience of God’s love with someone you know or if you dare with someone you don’t know. Remember what it was, what it is that drew you to Jesus and find ways to share it with others. Share His Long-Range Plan of Love.
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing vs 2 & 3 CCLI 11259100
2 Christ, by highest heaven adored,
Christ the everlasting Lord!
Late in time, behold Him come,
Offspring of the virgin's womb.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
Hail the incarnate Deity,
Pleased in flesh with us to dwell,
Jesus our Emmanuel.
Hark! the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the newborn King!"
3 Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings,
Risen with healing in His wings.
Mild He lays His glory by,
Born that we no more may die.
Born to raise us from the earth,
Born to give us second birth.
Hark! the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the newborn King!"
The Prayers of the People
With joy we praise you, gracious God, for you have created heaven and earth, made us in your image, and kept covenant with us- even when we fell into sin.
We give you thanks for Jesus Christ, our Lord, whose coming opened to us the way of salvation and whose triumphant return we eagerly await Therefore we join our voices with all the saints and angels and the whose creation to proclaim the glory of your name.
Guide and direct us to help those in need, with food for the hungry, homes for the homeless and hope for the downtrodden. Hear us now O God, as we pray for our friends and family Pray for these: our members and friends in nursing homes, all veterans, service men & women & their families; all who have been sentenced to life without parole; all fire, law enforcement, & EMS personnel; June L; Pat and Jim Collins; Kaye Hale; Phyllis Dearing; Jessie Borgman; Sandy Miller; Tom Bloomingdale; Donna Luchman; Sue and Steve Rodgers; Jan and Kirk Barkdoll; Sally Hackett; Paul Glispie; Pryce Boeye; Ken Stinson; Betty Penry’s daughter, Amy; Wes and Joyce’s daughter, Anna; Marilyn’s son, Brad, her daughter, Candy; Jan’s and Kirk’s daughter, Amber; Chris and Colleen’s aunt, Joan Tabor; Debbie Smith’s brother, Tom; Kari Long; Randy Goslin; Pastor Melody’s friend, Myrna on the death of her husband, Chris; Duane’s uncle and aunt, Fay and Donna; Mission Starfish, Haiti.
The Lord’s Prayer
Joy to the World vs 1 & 4 CCLI 11259100
1 Joy to the world, the Lord is come:
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven, and heaven, and nature sing.
4 He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders, of His love.
Passing the Peace
Since God has forgiven us in Jesus Christ, let us forgive one another. The peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Let’s pass the peace to one another of Christ with a bow or wave.
Benediction
May the light of the Advent wreath and the Good News of the Gospel go with you today and everyday, as you are out and about in the world. Now may the Love of God, the Peace of Christ and the Power of the Holy Spirit be yours. Amen.
November 29, 2020
WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Due to Covid Numbers on the rise we are currently closed until further notice
Moment of Silence to Prepare Our Hearts for Worship
Worship - We lift our praise to you, O Lord.
Wait for the Lord (sing twice)
Wait for the Lord, his day is near.
Wait for the Lord, be strong, take heart.
Opening Prayer
Let us pray: Lord Jesus Christ, your world awaits you. The persecuted wait, longing for your justice. The poor wait, longing for prosperity. The hungry wait, longing food. We all wait, longing for your love, your peace and your joy. O come, Lord, liberator of humanity. O come, O come, Immanuel. Amen.
Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus, verses 1&3 CCLI 11259100
1 Come, Thou long-expected Jesus,
Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us;
Let us find our rest in Thee.
3 Born Thy people to deliver,
Born a child and yet a King,
Born to reign in us forever,
Now Thy gracious kingdom bring.
Lighting the Advent wreath
M: This year, we are looking at Advent as a journey; not exactly a trip to a different place.
K: Rather, we are on a spiritual journey;
M: to be refreshed, restored and ready, for Christmas, for Emmanuel’s birth,
K: for Jesus, and for all that His birth, life, death and resurrection means.
M: The Advent wreath is a circle with no beginning and no end. It is a symbol of God’s unending love and faithfulness.
K: Isaiah, the prophet calls us to prepare for the coming of Jesus, by making straight all that is crooked:
M: Isaiah said, “The Lord himself will give you a sign: the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”
K: We love because God first loved us. We see Jesus and we know the love of God.
M: Help us to be ready to welcome you again, O God!
K: We rejoice because our hope is in Jesus, Prince of Peace, King of King, Lover of our souls.
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, verse 1 CCLI 11259100
1 O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Refrain:
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
Confession & Pardon
P: God of love and kindness, you have promised to renew our lives. We admit often we are unwilling to see that you have always been here. Forgive our blindness and our impatience. Hear us now as we confess our personal sins silently (time for silent prayer). . . Have mercy on us. Open our eyes and our hearts that we may be witnesses to your love; that we see your love and share your love. Help us to see you, wherever you are present in the world and whenever you are present in others. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Confession Response: O Little Town of Bethlehem vs 4 CCLI 11259100
4 O holy Child of Bethlehem
Descend to us, we pray
Cast out our sin and enter in
Be born to us today
We hear the Christmas angels
The great glad tidings tell
O come to us, abide with us
Our Lord Emmanuel
O come to us, abide with us
Our Lord Emmanuel
ASSURANCE OF PARDON:
L: In God’s love and mercy, we are given each new day to love and serve.
In the name of Christ, you are forgiven. P: Thanks be to God!
Glory to the Father
Glory be to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
Let us pray: God of patience and peace, as John the Baptizer called the people to repentance, so you call us to new life in your Spirit. Help us wait for your promised coming, with faithful listening to your word. Amen.
Scripture: Luke 1, selected verses The Message
When Herod ruled Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah. His wife was Elizabeth. Zechariah and Elizabeth were both good people who pleased God. They did everything the Lord commanded, always following his instructions completely. But they had no children. Elizabeth could not have a baby, and both of them were very old. The priests always chose one priest to offer the incense, and Zechariah was the one chosen this time. So he went into the Temple of the Lord to offer the incense. On the right side of the incense table, an angel of the Lord came and stood before Zechariah. When he saw the angel, Zechariah was upset and very afraid. But the angel said to him, “Zechariah, don’t be afraid. Your prayer has been heard by God. Your wife Elizabeth will give birth to a baby boy; and you will name him John. Even before he is born, he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. John will help many people of Israel return to the Lord their God. John himself will go ahead of the Lord and make people ready for his coming.
O Come, All Ye Faithful, verse 2 CCLI 11259100
2 Yea, Lord, we greet Thee,
Born this happy morning,
Jesus, to Thee be all glory given;
Word of the Father,
Now in flesh appearing!
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ, the Lord!
Scripture The Gospel, according to Mark 1:1-8
Here begins the wonderful story of Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God.
In the book written by the prophet Isaiah, God announced that he would send his Son to earth, and that a special messenger would arrive first to prepare the world for his coming.
“This messenger will live out in the barren wilderness,” Isaiah said, “and will proclaim that everyone must straighten out his life to be ready for the Lord’s arrival.”*
This messenger was John the Baptist. He lived in the wilderness and taught that all should be baptized as a public announcement of their decision to turn their backs on sin, so that God could forgive them. People from Jerusalem and from all over Judea traveled out into the Judean wastelands to see and hear John, and when they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River. His clothes were woven from camel’s hair and he wore a leather belt; locusts and wild honey were his food. Here is a sample of his preaching:
“Someone is coming soon who is far greater than I am, so much greater that I am not even worthy to be his slave. I baptize you with water[e] but he will baptize you with God’s Holy Spirit!”*
Devotion God’s long range plan of love Kirk
A preacher once played his clarinet right before his sermon was about to start. The piece was pretty involved and needed a lot of breath on the preacher’s side. When he was about to start the sermon, he said that he needed to catch his breath. The congregation smiled. Next, he started his sermon with the words: Advent is a time to catch your breath, isn’t it?
My family calls me the Elf, because there is no season more filled with hope and love than Christmas. But as I have gotten older, and I get more tired, every Christmas season is different for me. Some years I can’t wait to put up all the Christmas decorations. Some years I don’t really feel like Christmas till later.
Advent is a time of waiting and preparing for the big event that we will be celebrating in a few weeks. It is a darker time of the year when we light candles and decorate our houses with artificial lights to make the season bright. It could be a season of new beginnings when we follow the star that will lead us to Bethlehem.
Mark’s gospel starts with the words the beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ. It reminds us that just as in the beginning the world was created by God. God also had a plan to change our lives for the better His long-range plan of Love..
Like the people in second Peter we might be worried whether all that waiting will be finally brought to a good end.
Jesus assures us that it will. If you don’t believe it, remember the story of John the Baptist in the wilderness. People came to him out of desperation and returned to their homes refreshed and renewed.
Jesus promises a greater gift yet. The Holy Spirit will come to us in the life and death of the Christ child.
Thinking of all the hustle and bustle of the season I think it is good for us to find some quiet place near the river where John the Baptist again can remind us of the great gift we have been given in Jesus Christ. Thinking of John the Baptist I think of a long pointed stick that teachers used to use before the age of computers to point something out on a map or a blackboard. John the Baptist is like that, he points away from himself to Christ. How do we live this advent? Do our actions point others to Christ?
How do we proclaim the Good News. One translation reads Good News - this is the victory of Jesus the Christ. It is not our victory but his. With John the Baptist we are invited to point to Christ’s victory. Those words can point someone who has lost hope into a new direction. We can make a difference by living our lives in a way that points people to Christ. We have been washed clean by the Holy Spirit in our own baptism. Stay with that image. Feel the refreshment and energy of the spirit.
Advent is an invitation for us to become like the people who were frozen by the power of evil, who felt powerless. To be touched anew by the mighty breath of God and to be transformed into people who care is what we have been called to do.
Sometimes we have a hard time describing how God has made a difference in our lives. And share an experience of grace with those around us. How the message to all from John the Baptist that a savior was coming, the Son of God was coming and he would in modern terms rock the world. His name would be Jesus and he would be born from a virgin’s womb and he would spread a new way of life across the world a life of peace, compassion, hope and love and he would offer the gift of eternal life for anyone that believes in him. Anyone that takes him as their savior. Think of Jesus’ birth, the Son of God as the launch of God’s long-range plan of love.
Close your eyes and think about the love that God has poured out over his children, you and me over the centuries and centuries. Think about Jesus life as a youth, entering the temple and praying and preaching the new word to all of the priests and those that were there. Think about all of the miracles that he performed. From turning water into wine, giving sight to the blind, healing the sick and crippled, feeding the masses with only a few fish and loaves of bread, releasing the children from the devil, walking on the waters, and healing the severed ear of the guard in the Garden of Gethsemane. Oh, what wonders he performed during his travels and ministry. But the greatest gift of sacrifice and the greatest miracle, is that he would be tried, convicted, beaten, flogged crucified dead and buried, and why, why would he have to endure such humiliation and pain, why would he have to pay such a price, why, to wash away all of our sins, all of our sins. But on the third day a miracle of love would again be given to us, he would rise again from the dead to walk with his people and disciples for 40 days before he ascended into heaven to rule at his father’s side. His Father, our Father, set in place a plan of love the day he announced the coming of his Son, Jesus and to use John the Baptist as the messenger of hope for all of us.
Oh, there is no doubt in my mind that our Father loves us and he shows us every day with every drop of rain, every blade of grass, every blooming flower, every river, stream, mountain, prairie, ocean and desert. He shows us his love with every breath of wind that caresses our cheek, every snow flake that touches our tongue. He shows us his love with every child that is born and every man, woman and child that is healed in body, mind and spirit. He shows us his love with every lost child that is found in the wilderness, every magical note of a sonata, every word of his Bible and every angel that he sends to us in our time of need. And let us never forget that those angels may be a friend or stranger that sees our need and reaches out to hug us and comfort us at our weakest moment. Oh, there is no doubt that our Father loves and cherishes each and every one of us.
So, during this time of Advent, the time that invites us into the story of light to share the light with those around us. The time to share God’s long-range plan of love with everyone around us.
Prepare the way of the Lord, our gospel reads today. When I came up to the church this morning, I was thinking about the smattering of snow this past Tuesday morning and how this time of year can give us large accumulations and how snow plows will plow away the snow to prepare the way for the cars, and people will clear the sidewalks so that we can safely walk into our church. As you all know the roads can get very dangerous this time of the year. It is easy to lose focus and slip off the road. God has prepared a safe road for us. He has taken everything away that might lead us into dangerous places. And he calls us to come to him and to be refreshed by the promise of our own baptism that goes far beyond the baptism of John in the desert. It not only refreshes us but it leads us into life eternal which starts here and will be brought to perfection in God’s eternal kingdom and his long-range plan of love for each of us if we but reach out and take his outstretched hand.
Take some time for peace and quiet. Share your experience of God’s love with someone you know or if you dare with someone you don’t know. Remember what it was, what it is that drew you to Jesus and find ways to share it with others. Share His Long-Range Plan of Love.
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing vs 2 & 3 CCLI 11259100
2 Christ, by highest heaven adored,
Christ the everlasting Lord!
Late in time, behold Him come,
Offspring of the virgin's womb.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
Hail the incarnate Deity,
Pleased in flesh with us to dwell,
Jesus our Emmanuel.
Hark! the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the newborn King!"
3 Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings,
Risen with healing in His wings.
Mild He lays His glory by,
Born that we no more may die.
Born to raise us from the earth,
Born to give us second birth.
Hark! the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the newborn King!"
The Prayers of the People
With joy we praise you, gracious God, for you have created heaven and earth, made us in your image, and kept covenant with us- even when we fell into sin.
We give you thanks for Jesus Christ, our Lord, whose coming opened to us the way of salvation and whose triumphant return we eagerly await Therefore we join our voices with all the saints and angels and the whose creation to proclaim the glory of your name.
Guide and direct us to help those in need, with food for the hungry, homes for the homeless and hope for the downtrodden. Hear us now O God, as we pray for our friends and family Pray for these: our members and friends in nursing homes, all veterans, service men & women & their families; all who have been sentenced to life without parole; all fire, law enforcement, & EMS personnel; June L; Pat and Jim Collins; Kaye Hale; Phyllis Dearing; Jessie Borgman; Sandy Miller; Tom Bloomingdale; Donna Luchman; Sue and Steve Rodgers; Jan and Kirk Barkdoll; Sally Hackett; Paul Glispie; Pryce Boeye; Ken Stinson; Betty Penry’s daughter, Amy; Wes and Joyce’s daughter, Anna; Marilyn’s son, Brad, her daughter, Candy; Jan’s and Kirk’s daughter, Amber; Chris and Colleen’s aunt, Joan Tabor; Debbie Smith’s brother, Tom; Kari Long; Randy Goslin; Pastor Melody’s friend, Myrna on the death of her husband, Chris; Duane’s uncle and aunt, Fay and Donna; Mission Starfish, Haiti.
The Lord’s Prayer
Joy to the World vs 1 & 4 CCLI 11259100
1 Joy to the world, the Lord is come:
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven, and heaven, and nature sing.
4 He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders, of His love.
Passing the Peace
Since God has forgiven us in Jesus Christ, let us forgive one another. The peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Let’s pass the peace to one another of Christ with a bow or wave.
Benediction
May the light of the Advent wreath and the Good News of the Gospel go with you today and everyday, as you are out and about in the world. Now may the Love of God, the Peace of Christ and the Power of the Holy Spirit be yours. Amen.