We Gather Together to Worship Our God
Prelude: We Three Kings (in the setting of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Fuer Elise) John Hopkins
Gathering Hymn: Hymnal #207 Good Christian Men, Rejoice
Announcements:
Today:
- 9:00 Sunday School for all ages. Pre-k – 7th meet downstairs; the High School and Adult Class meets in the Sanctuary.
- 10:30 Worship in the sanctuary.
- 5:30 pm, Tonight, Young Adult Bible Study at Jay and Kayla’s. (Address in bulletin) Meal provided.
- 5:30 pm, Tonight, “Who Is the Holy Spirit?” community groups at the church. We will enjoy a fellowship potluck together and sing as a large group. Then we will break into smaller groups for study and prayer.
- 6:00 pm, Tonight, Piedmont Area “Who Is the Holy Spirit?” community group (address in bulletin).
This Week:
- 6:30 pm, Tuesday, Loving Him Well (Women’s Study) at the church.
- 4:30 pm, Wednesday, Music Practice.
- 5:00 pm, Wednesday, Son Light Puppeteer practice.
- 5:30 pm, Wednesday, Kids’ Quest for grades pre-k-4th and the Middle School Youth for grades 5th-7th begin. Meal provided.
- 6:15 pm, Wednesday, High School Youth Group at the Community Center for grades 8th-12th. Meal provided.
- 6:15 pm, Wednesday, “The Study of Eschatology”
- 6 am, Thursday, Men’s Prayer-time and Bible Study.
- 8 am, Saturday, Men’s Prayer-time and Bible Study.
General:
- December 17th, we will celebrate the Lord’s Supper.
- 6:00 pm, December 17th, Kids’ Quest Christmas Program. A time of refreshments and fellowship will follow.
- 6:00 pm, December 24th, Christmas Eve Candlelight Service.
- There will be no Music Practice, Puppet Practice, Kids’ Quest, High School Youth Group, or Eschatology class on December 20th, December 27th, or January 3rd.
- 6:00 pm, December 20th, Christmas Caroling. We will meet at the church, go carol, and return to the church around 7:30 pm for hot chocolate and cookies. For more information, see Denzel N.
- There will be no Men’s Prayer-time and Bible Study on December 21st, 23rd, 28th, or 30th.
- There will be no Sunday School on December 24th or December 31st.
- 6:30 pm, January 4th, Mercy Ministry Team Meeting.
- 8:45 am, January 5th, MOPS meets at the church.
- 6:00 pm, January 8th, Session Meeting.
- Please take a Mercy Bag from the basket in the Foyer and bless a person who is in need. This bag includes toiletries, a McDonald’s gift card, and a Christian tract.
- Days 336-366 of the Family Devotional are available to be picked up from the table in the Foyer.
- Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University class will start Thursday, January 11, 2024, 6:30p here at the church. Join us to learn how you can pay off debt, save more money, and build wealth. Contact Tanse & Tonya H. to sign up or if you have any questions. (Cost will be $45/family, payable to the church, but scholarships are available).
- Our ministry focus this month is the Adopt-A-Senior Tree. Please take a tag off the tree, indicate on the clipboard which number you took, and bring all items back to the church by December 18th.
Responsive Call to Worship: Psalm 34: 1 – 3
Leader: I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
All: My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad.
Leader: Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together!
Prayer of Adoration
Hymn of Praise: Hymnal #195 Joy To The World
We Confess Our Sin
Call to Confession: Isaiah 1: 16 – 18
Leader: Hear the words of our holy God as He calls us to come and confess our sin before Him: “Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause. Come now, let us reason together,” says the Lord: “though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.”
Silent Confession of Sin
Corporate Prayer of Confession: Adapted from the Valley of Vision—Joy
All: O Christ, all your ways of mercy end in my delight. You did weep, sorrow, and suffer that I might rejoice. For my joy you have sent the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, making known your promises, showing me my future eternal happiness, and have given a fountain of living water welling up inside of me.
If I weep at night, give me joy in the morning. Let me rest in the thought of your love, of the pardon for my sin, my title to heaven, my future unblemished state. I am an unworthy recipient of your grace. I often take for granted your blood which was shed for me and make little of your great love for me.
But in true repentance, I can draw water from the wells of your joyous forgiveness. Let my heart leap towards the eternal sabbath rest, where the work of redemption, sanctification, preservation, and glorification is finished and perfected for ever, where you will rejoice over me with joy. Amen.
Responsive Assurance of Pardon: Psalm 32: 1 – 5 (NLT)
Leader: Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight!
All: Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt, whose lives are lived in complete honesty!
Leader: When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me.
All: My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat.
Leader: Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.”
All: And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone.
Hymn of Assurance: Hymnal #213 What Child Is This?
We Give Thanks To The Lord
Tithes and Offerings
Offertory: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel/Plainsong (In the setting of Chopin’s Revolutionary Etude) Thomas Helmore
Originally, “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” was a song from the medieval Roman Catholic Church from the 12th century, translated into an Advent hymn in English in the 19th century. Gregorian chants are an example of Plainsong.
Chopin’s Revolutionary Etude (study) was written in 1831 as a heartbroken response to the November Uprising, upon the conclusion of Poland’s failed revolution against Russia.
Doxology
We Hear God Speak
Advent Reading: Peace
Hymn of Response: Hymnal #196 Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus
(Following this time, a nursery is available, Toddlers’ Church for ages 2-4, and Children’s Church for ages 5-8.)
Prayer of God’s People
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, As it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, The power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
Singing With Mary Luke 1: 46 – 55
A copy of the sermon notes is available: 12-10-23 sermon notes
Audio Only:
Hymn of Response: Hymnal #455 And Can It Be
We Are Dismissed with God’s Blessing
Benediction
Hymn: Joyful, Joyful We Adore You
Postlude: Pat-a-Pan/Bernard de la Monnoye