9:00am/10:30am Services December 24, 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
FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT Sunday, December 24, 2023 9:00am & 10:30am PLEASE SILENCE OR PLACE YOUR CELL PHONE ON VIBRATE.
GATHERING
PRELUDE WORDS OF WELCOME ADVENT WREATH CANDLE LIGHTING AND CALL TO WORSHIP 9:00am Jenifer and Joe Zylwitis
10:30am
Reader 1: Today is the fourth 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 fourth candle of the Advent wreath, the candle of HESED, that is, the candle of LOYAL-LOVE. The Scriptures declare, “Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for him who died for them, and was raised again.” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15) Congregation: “The Love of Christ compels us.” (Lighting of the Candle of Love) PRAYER OF INVOCATION Reader 1: Let us Pray. Dear God, You have given us the greatest gift ever - the ultimate sacrifice of love - Your son, Jesus Christ. Father we thank You for your unconditional love that offers us grace in the midst of our sin. Fill us with Your Holy Spirit who guides us. Thank You for loving us so much. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Reader 2: Come let us worship the Lord as we raise our voices in song.
*HYMN
Love Divine, All Loves Excelling
*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 Christ, we confess our willingness to be loved but also our reluctance to love. We confess our readiness to accept Your forgiving love but also our refusal to forgive. We confess our eagerness to grasp Your offer of redeeming love but also our resistance to follow You without question. In this Advent time, forgive us our failure to respond as we should. Come to us anew, and by Your grace, assist us to receive you with love, as You have loved us. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. ASSURANCE OF PARDON Leader: Let us declare the grace of the Lord in song…
Leader: All: ANTHEM
Let us assure one another of God’s pardon. In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven. Thanks be to God. O Holy Night Adolphe Adam Kara Thomas, soloist; Yoko Lien, Cathy Hoxie, and Avery Moody, worship signing
O, holy night! the stars are brightly shining; It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth. Long lay the world in sin and error pining, Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth. A thrill of hope - the weary world rejoices, For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn! Fall on your knees! O hear the angel voices! O night divine, O night when Christ was born! O night, O holy night, O night divine!
Truly He taught us to love one another; His law is love and His gospel is peace. Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother, And in His name all oppression shall cease. Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we; Let all within us praise His holy name. Christ is the Lord! O praise His name forever! His pow’r and glory evermore proclaim! His pow’r and glory evermore proclaim!
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 Psalm 89:1-18 Leader: All:
This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God!
Page 849 Pew Bible
CARING PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE AND THE LORD’S PRAYER And forgive us our debts, Our Father, who art in heaven, as we forgive our debtors. hallowed be Thy name. And lead us not into temptation, Thy kingdom come, but deliver us from evil. Thy will be done, For Thine is the kingdom, on earth as it is in heaven. and the power, and the glory forever. Amen. Give us this day our daily bread. *HYMN
Joseph Heard the Troubling News
Text: Copyright © 2010 by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette. All rights reserved.
OFFERINGS OF THE PEOPLE OFFERTORY
Angels We Have Heard on High Ethan LaFore, organ
arr. Ethan LaFore
DOXOLOGY
*PRAYER OF DEDICATION
GROWING SCRIPTURE
Matthew 1:18-25
SERMON “Love”
Page 1374 Pew Bible Rev. Jim Noble
*HYMN
Angels We Have Heard on High
GOING *BENEDICTION & RESPONSE
Now unto Him
*POSTLUDE
Caroling, Caroling Susan Constance, organ
Alfred Burt