FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
ORDER OF WORSHIP
December 17, 2023
PRELUDE Christmas Medley
WELCOME
ANNOUNCEMENTS
-ADVENT POTLUCK will be held today Sunday, Dec. 17 following worship service. Please bring a dish to share if you are able, but please plan to attend in any case as there is always plenty of food. The Christian Education Committee will provide a short program after the meal.
-TUESDAY MORNING COFFEE GROUP meets at First Lutheran Mission Coffee House at 9:30ish.
-THURSDAY MORNING BIBLE STUDY AND PRAYER TIME will be meeting in the Center Meeting Room at 9:30 AM.
-CHOIR PRACTICE: Choir will be singing next on Dec. 24--practice will be held at 9:45 AM that morning.
-THE PC(USA) CHRISTMAS JOY SPECIAL OFFERING will begin Sunday, Dec. 3 until Dec. 24. Envelopes are by the offering plates or write Special Offering, Christmas Joy in the memo line of your check. Thank you for your generosity!
-The Worship Committee is looking for GREETERS to welcome attendees at the north door of the sanctuary each Sunday. Greeters should arrive no later than 10:15 to hand out bulletins, welcome attendees, and ask visitors to fill out the pew inserts. If you are interested in doing this, please contact Ginny or a member of the Worship Committee.
CALL TO WORSHIP
LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Today we worship you with awe.
You have set your glory in the heavens, yet you are mindful of us and care for us.
Today we worship you with thanksgiving.
LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Today we worship with anticipation. Let us worship God!
OPENING HYMN #634 (Red) ‘To God Be the Glory’
To God be the glory, great things he has done!
So loved he the world that he gave us his Son,
who yielded his life an atonement for sin,
and opened the life-gate that all may go in.
Refrain:
Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord,
Let the earth hear his voice!
Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!
Let the people rejoice!
O come to the Father through Jesus the Son
and give him the glory, great things he has done!
Great things he has taught us, great things he has done,
and great our rejoicing through Jesus the Son,
but purer and higher and greater will be
our joy and our wonder, when Jesus we see. [Refrain]
ADVENT CANDLE LIGHTING – Lee P
Advent 3 – Joy
Our Advent Wreath reminds us of the approaching celebration of Jesus' birth
* the round wreath of evergreen leaves reminds us that God's love is everlasting
* the light of the candles represents the light which Jesus brought into a dark world.
Last Sunday we lit the candle of Hope, remembering the hope which comes in Christ, and we lit the candle of Peace, remembering God’s dream of a peaceful world. (Light Candles). Today we light the third candle of Advent, the candle of Joy. (Light Candle)
In Advent, we are in a time of waiting. Like the Israelites who wandered through the Wilderness, waiting to come into the Promised Land, we wait for the day when harmony will return to our world. We wait for the day where we can join our voices with the angels to sing “Joy to the World, the Lord is come!” We are reminded that three candles- hope, peace and joy can light the way to the time of our everlasting joy.
Isaiah 9:3
3 You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest,
On this day, we remember the Spirit who breathes joy into our lives.
*HYMN ‘A Candle is Burning’ (tune of ‘Away in the Manger’)
A candle is burning, a candle of joy,
A candle to welcome brave Mary’s new boy,
Our hearts fill with wonder, and eyes light and glow,
As joy brightens winter like sunshine on snow.
CALL TO CONFESSION
PRAYER OF CONFESSION (in unison)
Father, we confess that our witness is weak. When asked to give glory to Your name, we often give glory to our own. Unlike Jesus’s mother, Mary, who sought neither adulation nor accolade, we too often ask for both and then some. You have given us life and salvation and we give you sorrow and silence. Forgive us for not point to you and your ways so that others may hear, see, and believe. Lord, have mercy on us. We pray this in the name of our Lord and Savior. Amen.
ASSURANCE OF PARDON
*GLORIA PATRI (on screen)
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
World without end. Amen, Amen.
CHILDREN’S SERMON
PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION
SCRIPTURE READING
Psalm 8:1-5, 9 (read responsively)
1 O Lord, our Sovereign,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.
2 Out of the mouths of babes and infants
you have founded a bulwark because of your foes,
to silence the enemy and the avenger.
3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars that you have established;
4 what are humans that you are mindful of them,
mortals that you care for them?
5 Yet you have made them a little lower than God
and crowned them with glory and honor.
9 O Lord, our Sovereign,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Gospel Luke 1:26-49
26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” 29 But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 30 The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” 34 Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. 36 And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.
39 In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, 40 where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit 42 and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. 43 And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? 44 For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”
46 And Mary said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has looked with favor on the lowly state of his servant.
Surely from now on all generations will call me blessed,
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name;
SERMON Advent-ures: Mary, Faith, and Mindfulness
*AFFIRMATION OF FAITH - APOSTLES’ CREED
I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried; he descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty, from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic church; the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.
*HYMN OF RESPONSE #613 (Red) ’O Lord, Our Lord, How Majestic is Your Name’
O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth.
O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth.
O Lord, we praise your name.
O Lord, we magnify your name:
Prince of Peace, mighty God;
O Lord God Almighty.
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
-Susan H (MK’s daughter)
-Richard C and Dolores as caregiver
-Bob J and Jan as caregiver
-Darwin L and Jeanne as caregiver
-Bob O and Nancy as caregiver
Our homebound or in care members: Richard C, Bob J, Delores K, Rose P, Cliff R, Dee W (Please reach out and call)
This Week’s Prayer Families: Scott & Jennifer H & family Skylar, Saige, & Ramsie; Dean & Sharon H
Those who mourn: We pray for the Barnett and Goodale families and all who have lost loved ones.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
INVITATION TO OFFERING and PRAYER OF DEDICATION
SPECIAL MUSIC ‘Let us Sing Loudly’ MK H, organist
*DOXOLOGY (on screen)
Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen
*CLOSING HYMN #546 (Red) 'Lord Dismiss Us with Your Blessing'
Lord, dismiss us with your blessing; fill our hearts with joy and peace.
Let us each, your love possessing, triumph in redeeming grace.
O refresh us, O refresh us, traveling through this wilderness.
Thanks we give and adoration for your gospel's joyful sound:
may the fruits of your salvation in our hearts and lives abound!
Ever faithful, ever faithful to your truth may we be found.
Savior, when your love shall call us, from our struggling pilgrim way;
let us each, your love possessing, glad the summons to obey,
may we ever, may we ever reign with you in endless day.
CHARGE AND BENEDICTION
POSTLUDE ‘O Come, Emmanuel’ (Held)