::  Download the 1.10.2016 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes
::  Download the 1.10.2016 Bulletin 
::  Download the 1.10.2016 Sermon Audio

image :: The Starry Night, Vincent van Gogh (1889, Dutch)

Preparation for Worship :: Honor, Love & Fear

“Stars cross the sky, wise men journey from pagan lands, earth receives its Savior in a cave. Let there be no one without a gift to offer, no one without gratitude as we celebrate the salvation of the world, the birthday of the human race. Now it is no longer, ‘dust you are and dust you shall return,’ but ‘you are joined to heaven and into heaven shall you be taken up’.”  (Basil the Great, 4^th century)

“We have none other whom we fear, save only our Lord God, who is in heaven… Honor to Caesar as Caesar, but fear only to God.” (Acts of the Scillitan Martyrs, 180 AD)

Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for Sunday January 10 include ::

:: Doxology (Thomas Ken, 1709) CHART [bandcamp track=2257784892 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]::  God is Love Let Heaven Adore Him (Timothy Rees, 1922) CHART [bandcamp track=381279901 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]::  Praise to the Lord the Almighty (Joachim Neander, 1680) CHART [bandcamp track=2701349241 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]::  Jesus, I my Cross Have Taken (Henry Lyte, 1825) CHART [bandcamp track=1380076138 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Magnificat (Luke 1:46-49) CHART [bandcamp track=3475501751 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]

Call to Worship :: John 8:12

Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Old Testament Reading :: Daniel 6:26

He is the living God, enduring forever; His Kingdom shall never be destroyed, and His dominion shall be to the end.

Prayer of Confession

Our gracious Father, You sent Your Son to die and rise to new life in order that death might be brought to an end and that we, too, might live a new life. Yet we often chosen death over life. In our thoughts, words, and deeds we have rebelled against You and Your intentions for us. We have broken our fellowship with You, whose love is better than life and whom to know is life itself. We have sinned against others, sometimes unintentionally and sometimes deliberately, and have diminished their lives. We have invited Your wrath, who were created to reflect Your glory. Father, forgive us our sin for Jesus’ sake. And grant that the same Spirit that raised Christ might convict and renew us, that we might walk in Your ways, to the glory of Your holy name. Amen.                   

Words of Encouragement :: Colossians 3:1,3-4

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Sermon :: I Peter 2:13-17

¹³ Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, ¹⁴ or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. ¹⁵ For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. ¹⁶ Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. ¹⁷ Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.

::  Download the 1.3.2016 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes
::  Download the 1.3.2016 Bulletin 
::  Download the 1.3.2016 Sermon Audio 

image :: Rue Halevy Seen from the Sixth Floor, Gustave Caillebotte (1878, French)

Preparation for Worship :: Abstain as Sojourners

“One of the great ends of Christ’s appearing in the world was to proclaim liberty to everyone that would accept of it. He offers a most glorious freedom from the worst of servitudes and bondages. He opens the doors of the most filthy prisons and draws out of the most loathsome dungeons, redeems out of the worst captivity to a most cruel enemy, frees from the hardest drudgery and brings into a perfect and glorious liberty, even the liberty of the sons of God.”  (Jonathan Edwards)

“You were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”  (Galatians 5:13)

Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for Sunday January 3 include ::

:: Love’s Redeeming Work Is Done (Charles Wesley, 1739) CHART [bandcamp track=135949962 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Before the Throne of God Above (Charitie Lees Bancroft, 1863) CHART [bandcamp track=4120787669 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Come All Ye Pining, Hungry, Poor (Anne Steele, 19th cent.) CHART [bandcamp track=2538870965 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Dearly We’re Bought (Joseph Hart, 1712-68) CHART [bandcamp track=1762495860 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Let Us Love And Sing And Wonder (John Newton, 1774) CHART [bandcamp track=3505470677 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Great Is Thy Faithfulness (Thomas O. Chisholm, 1923) CHART [bandcamp track=3717975761 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Doxology (Thomas Ken, 1709) CHART [bandcamp track=2257784892 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]

Call to Worship :: Isaiah 60:1-3

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and His glory appears over you. Nations will come to Your light, and kings to the brightness of Your dawn.

Old Testament Reading :: Exodus 6:2-8

God spoke to Moses and said to him, “I am the Lord.  I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name the Lord I did not make myself known to them.  I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners. Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant.  Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment.  I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.  I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord.’”

Prayer of Confession :: John Wesley (1703-1791)

Forgive them all, O Lord; Our sins of omission and our sins of commission; The sins of our youth and the sins of our riper years; The sins of our souls and the sins of our bodies; Our secret and our more open sins; Our sins of ignorance and surprise, and our more deliberate and presumptuous sin; The sins we have done to please ourselves, and the sins we have done to please others; The sins we know and remember, and the sins we have forgotten; The sins we have striven to hide from others and the sins by which we have made others offend You; Forgive them, O Lord, forgive them all for His sake, who died for our sins and rose for our justification, and now stands at Your right hand To make intercession for us, Jesus Christ our Lord.                                             

Words of Encouragement :: John 1:29

Behold, the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world!

Sermon :: I Peter 2:11-12

¹¹ Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. ¹² Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
a light has dawned.” 
Isaiah 9:2

image :: Daybreak, George Ştefănescu-Râmnic (1988, Romanian)

Family Service: 4pm
A special service for families with young children.
Download a PDF of this year’s worship bulletin here.

Links to selected recordings for this year’s service:

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

Soon and Very Soon

Children Go Where I Send Thee

Go Tell It On The Mountain

Service of Lessons and Carols: 7pm
A cycle of Scripture readings and hymns for all ages. We will celebrate the Lord’s Supper as a part of this service.
Download a PDF of this year’s worship bulletin here.

No nurseries provided for Christmas Eve Services. Children of all ages welcome.

At both Christmas Eve Service, an offering will be taken for the Deacon’s Mercy Fund to provide financial assistance for the needy in our church and community and for ministries approved by the WEPC Diaconate.  At the 4PM service, children may make an offering of non-perishable food for the WEPC Food Pantry.

::  Download the 12.27.2015 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes
::  Download the 12.27.2015 Bulletin 
::  Download the 12.27.2015 Sermon Audio 

 
image :: Little Creatures, Dmitri Pryahin (2013, Russian)

Preparation for Worship :: God’s People

“The thread which binds the whole Bible story together is emphatically not the history of an idea but the history of a people…calling a people to Himself, that they may be with Him and that He may send them forth.”  (Lesslie Newbigin)

“The resurrection of Jesus is the ultimate sign that our salvation comes only when we cease trying to interpret Jesus’ story in the light of our history, and instead we interpret ourselves in the light of His.”  (Stanley Hauerwas)

Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for Sunday December 29 include ::

:: Joy to the World (Isaac Watts, 1719) CHART [bandcamp track=258610291 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: O Come All Ye Faithful (attr. John Francis Wade, 1743) CHART [bandcamp track=1923573538 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Doxology (Thomas Ken, 1709) CHART [bandcamp track=2257784892 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Away in a Manger (Anonymous, 1885) CHART  [bandcamp track=3207541258 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Go, Tell it On the Mountain (Traditional American) CHART [bandcamp track=391303091 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Hark, the Herald Angels Sing (Charles Wesley, 1739) CHART [bandcamp track=1263242955 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]

Call to Worship :: Isaiah 25:8-9

He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of His people He will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken. It will be said on that day, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for Him, that He might save us. This is the LORD; we have waited for Him; let us be glad and rejoice in His salvation.”

Old Testament Reading :: Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me;  Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Prayer of Confession

Holy Lord, You have prepared Your salvation in the presence of all peoples. Yet, we confess that we have not followed the light of Your Word. We have not been consoled by Your presence, and have sought comforts of our own design. We have not sought Your will, or trusted Your Good News to be good. We have failed to rejoice at Your Son’s coming and refused His peace on earth. We have hoped for little from You, And the very thoughts of our hearts are revealed in the light of the glory of Your great mercy toward us. Forgive our unbelief, and renew us by Your Holy Spirit that we might eagerly worship You, that we may watch and wait and once more find the Gospel of our Savior, Jesus Christ, to be our greatest joy. Amen.

Words of Encouragement :: Galatians 4:4-7

When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

Sermon :: I Peter 2:9-10

⁹ But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. ¹⁰ Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.