9:00am/10:30am Services December 3, 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
FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT Sunday, December 3, 2023 9:00am & 10:30am PLEASE SILENCE OR PLACE YOUR CELL PHONE ON VIBRATE. GATHERING PRELUDE WORDS OF WELCOME MINUTE FOR MISSION
Christian Education Initiative
John Thurston
ADVENT WREATH CANDLE LIGHTING AND CALL TO WORSHIP 9:00am Mark and Kim George
10:30am Steve and Amy Woods
Leader 1: Today is the first 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 Christ brings to the world. Leader 2: Today we light the first candle of the Advent wreath, the candle of TIKVAH, that is, the candle of HOPE. The scriptures encourage us, “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.” (Hebrews 10:23) Our hope is grounded in the fact that the Lord is faithfull, that the Lord has, and will, fulfill His promises. Congregation: “The Hope of Christ sustains us.” LIGHTING OF THE CANDLE OF HOPE Leader 1: Let us pray... Gracious and loving God, let your hope arise in our hearts. We lift our eyes to see that our hope comes from You alone. We invite Your Spirit into this beautiful Advent season. Renew our sense of holy anticipation. Let us be people who are waiting eagerly for Jesus to come again. May You be glorified in this season of expectation. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. *HYMN
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
*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 God, we praise You for sending light into this world. We confess that we live as though the light had never defeated darkness. We confess that we ignore the Savior You sent to be among us and to live in us. We’ve kept the birth of your Son confined to the Christmas season and do not yearn for His coming each moment in our waiting hearts. Forgive us for not opening our eyes to Jesus. Prepare us for His return. Help us rejoice in the light so that your grace can illuminate the darkened places of our hearts. Amen. ASSURANCE OF PARDON Leader:
Let us declare the grace of the Lord in song…
And ye, beneath life’s crushing load, whose forms are bending low, who toil along the climbing way with painful steps and slow, look now! for glad and golden hours come swiftly on the wing. O rest beside the weary road, and hear the angels sing! Leader: All:
Let us assure one another of God’s pardon. In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven. Thanks be to 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 Matthew 12:15-21 NIV Leader: All:
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. OFFERINGS OF THE PEOPLE OFFERTORY Emmanuel/Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus Choir: Emmanuel, Emmanuel! God will come to us one day, Emmanuel! Emmanuel, Emmanuel! Free us with Your love, we pray, Emmanuel!
Emmanuel, Emmanuel! God will come to us one day, Emmanuel!
Pg. 1390 Pew Bible
*DOXOLOGY
OLD HUNDREDTH
*PRAYER OF DEDICATION
GROWING SCRIPTURE
Isaiah 2:1-22 NIV
SERMON “Hope”
Pg. 975-976 Pew Bible Rev. Jim Noble
THE SACRAMENT OF THE LORD’S SUPPER All who profess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and have been baptized are welcome to partake of the Lord’s Supper. Children who have been baptized and instructed in its meaning are also welcome to partake. *HYMN
It Came upon the Midnight Clear
GOING *BENEDICTION & RESPONSE
*POSTLUDE
Now unto Him
Fountain Hills Saxophone Quartet
Accompanying in worship today is the Fountain Hills Saxophone Quartet.