:: Download the 12.20.2015 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes
:: Download the 12.20.2015 Bulletin
:: Download the 12.20.2015 Sermon Audio
image :: Angels Appearing Before the Shepherds, Henry Ossawa Tanner (1911, American)
Preparation for Worship :: God is Blessing Us
“O, Source of all Good
What shall I render to You
for the gift of gifts, Your own dear Son, begotten, not created,
my Redeemer, Proxy, Surety, Substitute,
His self-emptying incomprehensible,
His infinity of love beyond the heart’s grasp.
Herein is wonder of wonders:
He came below to raise me above,
was born like me
that I might become like Him.” (Puritan Prayer)
Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for Sunday November 29 include ::
:: Doxology (Thomas Ken, 1709) CHART [bandcamp track=2257784892 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Love Came Down at Christmas (Christina Rossetti, 1885) CHART [bandcamp track=3311510953 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone) (John Newton, 1779; Tomlin & Giglio, 2006) [bandcamp track=3958547232 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: In The Bleak Midwinter (Christina Rossetti, c.1872) CHART [bandcamp track=4215802200 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: All Things New (Horatius Bonar, 1846) CHART [bandcamp track=503053927 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Creator of The Stars of Night (7th Century Latin Hymn) CHART [bandcamp track=2507463581 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Silent Night (Joseph Mohr, 1818) CHART [bandcamp track=2720913592 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Joy to the World (Isaac Watts, 1719) CHART [bandcamp track=258610291 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Our Lord, Come (I Corinthians 16:22; Revelation 22:20) CHART
Call to Worship on the Fourth Sunday of Advent :: Haggai 2:7-8
“In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,” says the LORD Almighty.
Old Testament Reading :: Jeremiah 23:5-6
Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: “The Lord is our righteousness.”
Prayer of Confession :: Book of Common Prayer
Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against You in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved You with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent, for the sake of Your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in Your will, and walk in Your ways, to the glory of Your Name. Amen.
Words of Encouragement :: Matthew 1:21
She will give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.
Sermon :: Acts 3:22-26
22 ”Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. 23 And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.’ 24 And all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these days. 25 You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’ 26 God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.”