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Newsletter of First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta
SUNDAY Schedule Sunday, December 19 Fourth Advent Sunday • Prayer breakfast for Homeless persons - 6:30 am, Fifield Hall • Communion Service 8:30 am, Winship Chapel • The Mustard Seed Bookstore 9:00 am - 1:00 pm • Worship Service - 9:00 am, Sanctuary • Sunday School for All Ages - 10:05 am • Fellowship Hour - 11:00 am Fifield Hall • Worship Service - 11:15 am, Sanctuary • Fellowship Hour - 12:15 pm, Reception Room • Nursery/Preschool Staff Christmas Lunch - 12:30 am, Women’s Bible Classroom • Youth Musical Rehearsal 12:30 pm, Fifield Hall • Friends of Silence - 5:00 pm, Group Counseling Room
Friday, December 24 Christmas Eve • Church Family Candlelight Service 4:00 pm, Sanctuary • Holy Communion and Candlelight Service - 5:30 pm, Sanctuary • Vivaldi’s Gloria Service of Lessons and Carols Saint Cecilia Consort and Chancel Choir 10:30 pm, Sanctuary
December 19 & 26, 2010 Christ at the Center
A
s we make our way toward Bethlehem, we have been talking together in our Advent sermon series about the names that Isaiah used to envision the coming of the Messiah: December 19 - George Wirth “For a child has been born to preach for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon His shoulders, and He is named “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” On this fourth Sunday in Advent, our attention turns to this final ascription, “Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:2-7). The Hebrew word for peace is “Shalom,” and it means not only the absence of war but also a state of “wholeness, health, reconciliation and to be at rest” (Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible). That was the vision which God gave to Isaiah as he prophesied during those ancient days of conflict, fear and darkness for the people of Judah…and that is the same vision which Luke describes in his gospel as the angels sang on that first Silent Night to the shepherds in the hills surrounding Bethlehem: “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth among all people!” (Luke 2:14). The vision of God’s peaceable Kingdom is one of the major themes in the Bible, and that will be the focus of our sermon this coming Sunday. I look forward to being with you in worship this coming Sunday, and hope that you will invite your family and friends to come on along as well!
Faithfully yours,
George B. Wirth
T
he Christmas story is full of songs of praise and joy, including the songs the angels sing to the shepherds. After the Shepherds go to see Jesus they December 26 - Kevin Knab go into the towns to preach praising his name. But praise does not end there. Through out the Old Testament, writings tell of how the whole of creation has a purpose. In explaining God’s grandeur, every aspect of creation has a part in praising God from the highest stars to the flecks of dust and everything in between. Psalm 148 is a creation psalm. The detail and richness of the language used in this psalm rings out like bells through the Christmas season. The peculiar language references sea monsters, waters stored above the heavens and Cedar trees. The echoes of Jesus birth reverberate after Christmas in the words of Psalm 148. Join me in exploring these connections in examining the depth of praise throughout the eons.
Kevin Knab
Sunday December 26 6:30 am - Prayer Breakfast for Homeless 8:30 am - Communion Service in Winship Chapel 9:00 am - No Sunday School 10:15 am - Worship Service in the Sanctuary 11:15 am - Fellowship Hour in The Reception Room