December 17 Order of Service and Announcements

9:00am/10:30am Services December 17, 2023 MORE PEOPLE, MORE LIKE CHRIST

Address: 34605 N. Tom Darlington Rd. Scottsdale, AZ 85266 Office phone: (480) 488-3384 / Fax: (480) 488-0850 Facebook: Desert Hills Presbyterian Church (Scottsdale, AZ) YouTube: “Desert Hills Presbyterian Church” Instagram: Follow us @DesertHillsPres Website: www.deserthills.org

THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT Sunday, December17, 2023 9:00am & 10:30am PLEASE SILENCE OR PLACE YOUR CELL PHONE ON VIBRATE. GATHERING PRELUDE WORDS OF WELCOME MINUTE FOR MISSION

Walking Beside Ministry

ADVENT WREATH CANDLE LIGHTING AND CALL TO WORSHIP 9:00am Jim and Brenda Ruud

10:30am Larry and Carol Young

Reader 1: Today is the third Sunday in the season of Advent. Advent means “coming,” and in this season we prepare for the coming of Christ. We light the candles on the Advent wreath to remind us of the blessings that Christ brings to the world.

Reader 2: Today we light the third candle of the Advent wreath, the candle of HEDVAH, that is, the candle of JOY. We join with brothers and sisters in Christ in proclaiming, “The joy of the Lord is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10) Congregation: “The Joy of the Lord is our strength”

[Lighting of the candle of Joy.]

PRAYER OF INVOCATION Reader 1: Let us pray. Heavenly Father, this third week of Advent, let us remember that the good news of Jesus’ birth brings us great joy this Christmas season. Our joy comes from You. The joy that filled the hearts of the shepherds, the angels, the wise men, the hosts of heaven, and Mary and Joseph is the joy that still has the power to overwhelm our hearts with rejoicing. You offer that same joy to us now as we know You and recognize Jesus as our Savior and Lord. In His name we pray. Amen.

Reader 2: Come let us worship the Lord as we raise our voices in song. *HYMN, vs. 2 & 3

Good Christian Men, Rejoice

*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. *GLORY BE TO THE FATHER

PRAYER OF CONFESSION Lord of Christmas joy, we have done wrong. We have tarnished the gift You gave freely. We have buried You so deeply in our hearts, the world doesn’t see You. We have not followed Christ, we have ignored your teachings, we have lived lives of apathy against Your love, we have built fences and fortresses to push people away. Forgive us, we pray. Free us from our sin, free us from our captivity, free us to a life lived in joy through Jesus Christ our Lord, in whose name we pray. Amen.

ASSURANCE OF PARDON Leader: Let us declare the grace of the Lord in song…

Leader: All:

Let us assure one another of God’s pardon.

In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven. Thanks be to God.

ANTHEM Mary, Did You Know?

Chancel Choir; Marge Sutton and Richard Cook, soloists

Mary, did you know that your baby boy Would someday walk on water?

Mary, did you know that your baby boy Would save our sons and daughters?

Did you know that your baby boy Has come to make you new?

This child that you delivered, will soon deliver you?

Mary, did you know that your baby boy Will give sight to a blind man?

Mary, did you know that your baby boy Will calm a storm with his hand?

arr. Jack Schrader

The blind will see, the deaf will hear, The dead will live again; The lame will leap, the dumb will speak The praises of the Lamb.

Mary, did you know that your baby boy Is Lord of all creation?

Mary, did you know that your baby boy Will one day rule the nations?

Did you know that your baby boy Was heaven’s perfect Lamb?

This sleeping child you’re holding is the great I AM! Mary, did you know?

Did you know that your baby boy Has walked where angels trod?

When you kiss your little baby Then you kiss the face of God.

PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION Spirit of God, speak once again through the Words of Scripture that our listening ears may hear Your voice. Help us to place Your Word in our minds, treasure it in our hearts, choose it with our wills, and live it through our bodies. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.

SCRIPTURE Leader: All:

Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11

This is the word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God!

CARING PRAYERS OF THE 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, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

Pg. 1064 Pew Bible

*HYMN

Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming

OFFERINGS OF THE PEOPLE OFFERTORY Advent “Joy” Medley Donna Meyer, piano

arr. Donna Meyer

DOXOLOGY

*PRAYER OF DEDICATION

GROWING SCRIPTURE

Luke 1:39-55

SERMON “Joy”

Pg. 1457 Pew Bible Rev. Jim Noble

*HYMN vs. 1, 2, 4

Joy to the World

GOING *BENEDICTION & RESPONSE

Now unto Him

*POSTLUDE

Joy to the World Jeffrey Anthony, organ

G. F. Handel