Sunday December 17, 2023 Worship Service
Livestream at 11:10 a.m

GATHERING IN GOD’S NAME

WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

PRELUDE — The Holly and the Ivy — arr. Ola Gjeilo
Resound
As the prelude begins, you are invited to begin your personal preparation for worship.

SILENT MEDITATION
Jesus of Nazareth was a real man, living and dying at a turbulent moment in real space-time history.  His message, and the message about him that the early Christians called good news, was not about how to escape that world.  It was about how the one true God was changing it, radically and forever.   – N.T. Wright, Simply Good News

LIGHTING THE ADVENT CANDLE – THE CANDLE OF JOY      
The Goodman Family (Tim and Kris)

CONGREGATIONAL RESPONSE (#83) — Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus — STUTTGART

ADVENT CALL TO WORSHIP — Psalm 100: 1-3                                    
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth.
Serve the Lord with gladness; come into his presence with singing!
Know that the Lord is God.  It is he who made us, and we are his.
We are his people and the sheep of his pasture.

PRAISE AND ADORATION

*HYMN — Once in Royal David’s City — IRBY arr. David Willcocks                                                          
(All) Once in royal David’s city stood a lowly cattle shed,
Where a mother laid her baby in a manger for his bed;
Mary was that mother mild, Jesus Christ her little child.

(Choir) He came down to earth from heaven who is God and Lord of all,
And his shelter was a stable, and his cradle was a stall;
With the poor and mean and lowly lived on earth our Savior holy.

(All) For he is our childhood’s pattern, day by day like us he grew,
He was little, weak, and helpless, tears and smiles like us he knew:
And he feeleth for our sadness, and he shareth in our gladness.

(All) And our eyes at last shall see him, through his own redeeming love,
For that child so dear and gentle is our Lord in heaven above;
And he leads his children on to the place where he is gone.

CONFESSION AND PARDON

CALL TO CONFESSION

PRAYER OF CONFESSION
Great God, as we behold the birth of Jesus again, we are mindful of how we have failed to receive the fullness of that gift. The story points us to your glory, yet we struggle to join in the song of praise and thanksgiving.  Tell us again that the Savior is born. Tell us again that we are forgiven. Tell us again that our lives can be abundant in faith, hope and love because of what you have given us in Jesus Christ.  Amen.

 SILENT PRAYERS OF CONFESSION AND PETITION

 KYRIE ELEISON (#89) — For You, O Lord, My Soul in Stillness Waits — MY SOUL IN STILLNESS WAITS

ASSURANCE OF PARDON

 *GLORIA PATRI (#583) — Glory to God — GLORIA (Taizé)

PROCLAMATION OF GOD’S WORD AND PRAYER

SCRIPTURE — Isaiah 9: 1-7 — page 555 of the pew Bible                                      
The Word of the Lord.  Thanks be to God!

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE AND 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.

ANTHEM — O Magnum Mysterium — David L. Gardner                                        
Alleluia & Chamber Singers, Olivia Hacker, soloist

SCRIPTURE — Luke 2: 6-16 page 832 of the pew Bible
The Word of the Lord.  Thanks be to God!

ANTHEM — Fantasia on Christmas Carols — Ralph Vaughan Williams                           
Alleluia & Chamber Singers, Jesse Wohlman, soloist

*HYMN — Joy to the World — ANTIOCH arr. John Rutter
(All) Joy to the world, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her king;
let every heart prepare him room,
and heaven and nature sing, and heaven and nature sing,
and heaven, and heaven and nature sing.

(All) Joy to the world! The Savior reigns: let us our songs employ;
while fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
repeat the sounding joy, repeat the sounding joy,
repeat, repeat the sounding joy.

(Choir) No more let sins and sorrows grow, nor thorns infest the ground;
he comes to make his blessings flow
far as the curse is found, far as the curse is found,
far as, far as the curse is found.

(All) He rules the world with truth and grace and makes the nations prove
the glories of his righteousness
and wonders of his love, and wonders of his love,
and wonders, wonders of his love.

RECEPTION OF TITHES AND OFFERINGS

OFFERTORY — Alleluia! A new work has come on hand — Ghislaine Reece-Trapp                           
Chamber Singers

Mary Had a Baby — Roland Carter
Alleluia, Chamber, & Resound
Tyler Kalinowski, soloist

See Amid the Winter’s Snow — arr. Dan Forrest
Alleluia, Chamber, & Resound

*CHRISTMAS HYMN — O Come, All Ye Faithful ADESTE FIDELIS — arr. David Willcocks                             
O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant;
O come ye; O come ye to Bethlehem!
Come, and behold him, born the King of angels!

Refrain: O come, let us adore him; O come, let us adore him;
O come, let us adore him, Christ, the Lord!

Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation.
Sing, all ye citizens of heaven above!
Glory to God all glory in the highest!

Refrain

Yea, Lord, we greet thee, born this happy morning;
Jesus, to thee be all glory giv’n;
Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing!

Refrain

*CHARGE AND BENEDICTION

POSTLUDE — Children, Go Where I Send Thee  arr. Kevin Philip Johnson
Resound; Julia Ramirez & Noah Reestman, soloists
Ramon Carias, Ryan Wilson, & Marshall Zieman, percussion; Larry Frederickson, bass