:: Download the 12.7.2014 Worship Study Guide and Sermon Notes
:: Download the 12.7.2014 Bulletin
:: Download the 12.7.2014 Parent Bulletin
:: Download the 12.7.2014 Sermon Audio
image :: Zacharias and Elizabeth, Stanley Spencer (English, 1914)
Preparation for Worship on the Second Sunday of Advent :: Zechariah & Elizabeth, Righteous Waiting
“A prison cell, in which one waits, hopes, does various unessential things, and is completely dependent on the fact that the door of freedom has to be opened from the outside, is not a bad picture of Advent.”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters & Papers from Prison
Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs for December 7 include:
:: Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing (Robert Robinson, 1758) [bandcamp track=4015998502 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]
:: O Come, O Come Emmanuel (Latin antiphons, 12th century) [bandcamp track=3332547118 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]
:: Amen, Amen (Neil and Kate Robins, 2008) [bandcamp track=3980195636 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]
:: Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence (Liturgy of St. James, 5th century) [bandcamp track=3632738392 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]
:: It Came Upon a Midnight Clear (Edmund H. Sears, 1849) [bandcamp track=958843212 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=short]
Call to Worship :: Isaiah 64:1-4
Oh, that You would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains would tremble before You! As when fire sets twigs ablaze and causes water to boil, come down to make Your name known to Your enemies and cause the nations to quake before You! For when You did awesome things that we did not expect, You came down, and the mountains trembled before You. Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides You, who acts on behalf of those who wait for Him.
Merciful God, who sent Your messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation: Give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins, that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our Redeemer; who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Declaration of Faith :: The Nicene Creed, 325AD
We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of his Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father; by Whom all things were made; Who for us and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge both the living and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end. And we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, Who proceeds from the Father and the Son; Who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified; Who spoke by the prophets; and we believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church; we acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and we look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
Old Testament Reading :: Deuteronomy 18:15
The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him.
Confession of Sin
Lord, You alone are full of grace and truth, but we have not kept watch for You. We have occupied ourselves with our own concerns. We have sought our own glory above Yours. We have not waited to find Your will for us. We have not noticed the needs of others around us. We have not acknowledged Your beauty and the love that You have shown us. Forgive us for our sins against You. Heavenly Father, help us to yield to the wisdom of Your ways; Lord Jesus, lead us to live in light of Your coming; Holy Spirit, give us faith to see that You are truly among us; Amen.
Words of Encouragement :: Zephaniah 3:14-15
Sing aloud, O daughter Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem! The LORD has taken away the judgments against you, He has turned away your enemies. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; you shall fear disaster no more.
Sermon :: Luke 1:5-25
5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. 7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.
8 Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. 11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”
18 And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” 19 And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” 21 And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. 22 And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute. 23 And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.
24 After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, 25 “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”