MORE PEOPLE MORE LIKE CHRIST
9:00am/10:30am Services
December 1, 2024
FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT
Sunday, December 1, 2024 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 Flo and Sid Banwart 10:30AM Margo and Larry Kowal
Reader 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.
Reader 2: Today we light the first candle of the Advent wreath, 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 faithful, that the Lord has, and will, fulfill His promises.
Congregation: “The Hope of Christ sustains us.”
LIGHTING OF THE CANDLE OF HOPE
Reader 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 (1 John 1:9)
Leader: If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. Therefore, let us assure one another of God’s pardon. All: 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
Leader: This is the word of the Lord. All: Thanks be to God!
Isaiah 40:1-8
Page 1028 Pew Bible
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.
How Firm a Foundation
OFFERTORY Comfort, Comfort Now My People Johannes
Chancel Choir
“Comfort, comfort now my people; tell of peace!” So says our God.
“Comfort those who sit in darkness mourning under sorrow’s load.
To my people now proclaim that my pardon waits for them! Tell them that their sins I cover, and their warfare now is over.”
Straight shall be what long was crooked, and the rougher places plain.
Let your hearts be true and humble, as befits God’s holy reign.
For the glory of the Lord now on earth is shed abroad, and all flesh shall see the token that God’s word is never broken.
*DOXOLOGY OLD HUNDREDTH
*PRAYER OF DEDICATION
GROWING
SCRIPTURE Luke 1:1-25 Page 1456 Pew Bible
SERMON The “Fear Not” of Patient Faith 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. There are gluten free options available at the usher stand.
Please hold the bread, so that all may commune together, but drink the cup when served.
Good Christian Friends, Rejoice
GOING
*BENEDICTION & RESPONSE Go, All Ye Faithful
*POSTLUDE
