:: Download the 12.13.2015 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes
:: Download the 12.13.2015 Bulletin
:: Download the 12.13.2015 Sermon Audio
image :: The Arrival at Bethlehem, Luc-Olivier Merson (1897, French)
Preparation for Worship :: God is Truthful
“My idea of God is not a divine idea. It has to be shattered time after time. He shatters it Himself. He is the great iconoclast. Could we not almost say that this shattering is one of the marks of His presence? The Incarnation is the supreme example; it leaves all previous ideas of the Messiah in ruins.” (C.S. Lewis)
“The eternal Son of God, Who is and remains true and eternal God, took to Himself, through the working of the Holy Spirit, from the flesh and blood of the virgin Mary, a truly human nature so that He might become David’s true descendant, like His brothers in every way except for sin.” (The Heidelberg Catechism)
Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for Sunday December 13 include ::
:: Doxology (Thomas Ken, 1709) CHART [bandcamp track=2257784892 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]:: Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence (Liturgy of St. James, 5th century) CHART [bandcamp track=3666026699 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: Amen, Amen (Neil and Kate Robins, 2008) CHART [bandcamp track=3980195636 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: It Came Upon a Midnight Clear (Edmund H. Sears, 1849) CHART [bandcamp track=958843212 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]:: We Are Going to See the King (Andre Crouch, 1978) CHART >>> AUDIO
:: Our Lord, Come (I Corinthians 16:22; Revelation 22:20) CHART
Call to Worship on the Third Sunday of Advent :: Revelation 1:5-7
To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood and made us a kingdom, priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of Him. Even so. Amen.
Old Testament Reading :: Isaiah 59:15-16,19-20
Truth is lacking,
and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey.
The Lord saw it, and it displeased him
that there was no justice.
He saw that there was no man,
and wondered that there was no one to intercede;
then his own arm brought him salvation,
and his righteousness upheld him…
So they shall fear the name of the Lord from the west,
and his glory from the rising of the sun;
for he will come like a rushing stream,
which the wind of the Lord drives.
“And a Redeemer will come to Zion,
to those in Jacob who turn from transgression,” declares the Lord.
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 :: I Timothy 1:18a
The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.
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.”