The Bulletin is at: 12-01-2019 – Bulletin
The Service in PDF format is at: 12-01-2019 – Service
or the service is as follows:
FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT
December 1, 2019
THEME: Welcome to our Advent worship series, Arise and Shine. Each week in this series focuses on a different aspect of the light of Christ and how we are enlightened by him throughout our lives. In our worship for today, we celebrate rising light. Repenting of our sins, we put away the works of darkness and dress in the armor of light.
RINGING OF THE BELL
CHOIR ANTHEM: “Carols for Advent” By: Patrick Liebergen
O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel,
that mourns in lonely exile here, until the Son of God appear.
Now sing we noel! Sing we noel, noel, noel! O come, O come, Emmanuel!
O come, Thou Dayspring, come and cheer our spirits by your Advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, and death’s dark shadows put to flight.
O come, O come! O come, O come, come Emmanuel!
Emmanuel! We sing with joy, the birth is near, O come
The Son of God will soon appear. Prepare! The child will come from above.
The Prince of peace, the King of love.
Now sing we noel! Sing we noel, noel, noel.
O come, O come, Emmanuel!
INVOCATION AND CALL TO WORSHIP
L: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
C: Amen.
LIGHTING OF THE ADVENT WREATH
L: On the four Sundays in Advent, we light a new candle each week. We mark the four candles with these four words: hope, peace, joy, and love. Jesus Christ is the hope of all nations.
C: We wait for the Lord, and in His Word do we hope.
The first candle is lit during the Advent Song.
ADVENT SONG: “My Soul in Stillness Waits”
C: For you, O Lord, my soul in stillness waits, truly my hope is in you.
L: O Lord of Light, our only hope of glory, your radiance shines in all who look to you, come, light the hearts of all in dark and shadow.
C: For you, O Lord, my soul in stillness waits, truly my hope is in you.
WE CONFESS OUR SIN…
L: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.
C: If we claim to have fellowship with him, yet walk in the darkness,
L: we lie and do not live by the truth.
C: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light,
L: we have fellowship with one another,
C: and the blood of Jesus his Son purifies us from sin.
L: Let us confess our sins to God, our merciful Father.
Silence for reflection
L: Heavenly Father,
C: we have sinned against you by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart, and we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have run from your ways and embraced the darkness of this present evil age. Forgive us for the sake of Jesus your only Son and our only Savior.
L: Friends in Christ, if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. In Jesus’ name, you are forgiven and loved with an everlasting love! Arise, shine, for your light has come!
C: Amen.
BAPTISM OF MACALLAN STEWART SMITH
BAPTISM OF GARY RICHARD HAYNES
SERVICE OF THE WORD
THE SCRIPTURE LESSONS
The First Lesson: Isaiah 60:1-6
Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. Lift up your eyes all around, and see; they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from afar, and your daughters shall be carried on the hip. Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and exult, because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you. A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall bring good news, the praises of the LORD.
The Gospel Lesson: Luke 1:68, 74-79
“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit usfrom on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
SERMON SONG: “Oh, Come, Oh, Come Emmanuel” LBW 34
(vs. 1-4)
Oh, come, oh, come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here,
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel.
Oh, come oh come, great Lord of might,
Who to your tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient times once gave the law
In cloud, and majesty, and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel
Oh, come, strong Branch of Jesse, free
Your own from Satan’s tyranny;
From depths of hell your people save
And give them vict’ry o’er the grave.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel
Oh, come, blest Dayspring, come and cheer
Our spirits by your advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel
L: Thankful for the unfading Light of Christ who has come to save us, let us pray for the Church in all places, for the world, and for the confession of the Gospel, that by his light we may go into all the world saying,
C: “The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not overcome it.”
L: Lord of Light, you know that we lose heart, we dwell in the darkness and live in the valley of the shadow of death. Point us to Jesus, whose resurrection announces that,
C: “The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not overcome it.”
L: Lord of Light, give us your Holy Spirit, that by him we may be strengthened in our praying, encouraged by his wisdom and sustained in faithful supplication for those who stand in need our prayers (especially…). May these people, too, confess that,
C: “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?”
L: Lord of Light, you healed the sick, cured the lame, gave sight to the blind, restored hearing to the deaf and delivered those who were held in bondage by the devil. Give to our church the zeal and boldness to reach out into our world and say,
C: “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?”
L: Lord of Light, you were born among us as the Light of the world. Shine in our hearts during this Advent season. Savior, Light of the world, we entrust to you all for whom we pray, commending them to you, for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C: Amen.
“Oh, How I Love Jesus” TOSB 152
Oh, how I love Jesus,
Oh, how I love Jesus.
Oh, how I love Jesus,
Because He first loved me.
To me, He is so wonderful,
To me, He is so wonderful.
To, me, He is so wonderful,
Because He first loved me.
And now, He is my righteousness,
And now, He is my righteousness.
And now, He is my righteousness,
Because He first loved me.
“People Need the Lord” TOSB 117
Every day they pass me by, I can see it in their eye;
Empty people filled with care, headed who knows where.
On they go through private pain, living fear to fear.
Laughter hides the silent cries only Jesus hears.
People need the Lord. People need the Lord.
At the end of broken dreams He’s the open door.
People need the Lord. People need the Lord.
When will we realize people need the Lord.
We are called to take His light to a world where wrong seems right;
What could be too great a cost for sharing life with one who’s lost.
Through His love our hearts can feel all the grief they bear.
They must hear the words of life only we can share.
People need the Lord. People need the Lord.
At the end of broken dreams He’s the open door.
People need the Lord. People need the Lord.
That we must give our live for people need the Lord.
People need the Lord.
“Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus” LBW 30
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.
Israel’s strength and consolation,
Hope of all the earth thou art,
Dear desire of ev’ry nation,
Joy of ev’ry longing heart.
Born thy people to deliver,
Born a child, and yet a king;
Born to reign in us forever,
Now thy gracious kingdom bring.
By thine own eternal Spirit
Rule in all our hearts alone;
By thine all sufficient merit
Raise us to thy glorious throne.
L: Arise, shine, for your light has come!
C: And the glory of the Lord has risen upon you!
L: The Lord is my light and my salvation—
C: Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
CLOSING SONG: “Let All Things Now Living” LBW 557
Let all things now living A song of thanksgiving
To God the creator triumphantly raise,
Who fashioned and made us, Protected and stayed us,
Who still guides us on to the end of our days.
God’s banners are o’er us, His light goes before us,
A pillar of fire shining forth in the night,
Till shadows have vanished And darkness is banished,
As forward we travel from light into light.
His law he enforces, The stars in their courses
And sun in its orbit obediently shine;
The hills and the mountains, The rivers and fountains,
The deeps of the ocean proclaim him divine.
We too should be voicing Our love and rejoicing;
With glad adoration a song lets us raise
Till all things now living Unite in thanksgiving:
“To God in the highest, Hosanna and praise!”
L: Go in peace! Serve the Lord!
C: Thanks be to God!