Order of Worship: Sunday, November 29, 2020
We have provided the written copy of the sermon (by clicking the sermon title) for those who would like to follow along during the service. To read past sermons, click here.
Pouring the Water
Welcome and Announcements
Prelude: Carol Medley
Call to Worship
O that you would tear open the heavens and come down.
We are the clay and you are our potter.
We are all the work of your hand.
Now consider, we are all your people.
Opening Hymn 83: Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus (All Verses)
Prayer of the Day
Faithful God,
your promises stand unshaken through all generations.
Like the prophets of old who cried for your justice to come down,
renew us in hope,
that we may be awake and alert
watching for the glorious return of Jesus Christ,
our judge and savior,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever. Amen.
Lighting of the Advent Candle
Let heaven and nature sing.
We light this candle in hope (light the first candle)
Hope that God will tear open the heavens and come down.
Hope that “thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven.”
Hope that the Advent God will wake us up and keep us alert to Christ’s coming.
In hope, let us proclaim, “And heaven and nature sing.”
Let us pray:
God of hope,
you take us and mold us
as a potter fashions clay.
Help us to be open to Christ’s coming,
that we may be formed as his disciples
into the shape of the kingdom
on earth as it is in heaven.
Amen
Advent Candle Verse: O Holy Child of Bethlehem
O holy child of Bethlehem, descend to us we pray;
cast out our sin and enter in, be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels, the great glad tidings tell;
O come to us; abide with us, our Lord Emmanuel!
Call to Confession
Prayer of Confession
God of the future,
with Isaiah we confess that we participate in that which is unclean,
we all fade like a leaf,
and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
We confess that we have not expected your kingdom,
for we live casual lives, ignoring your promised judgment.
Forgive us and restore us, that we might be saved.
Remind us that we are the clay
and you are our potter;
we are the work of your hand.
Set us on the path of righteousness,
for your sake and the sake of the world.
Assurance of Forgiveness
Hymn of Praise: Glory be to the Father
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.
Amen. Amen.
Questions to ask:
I wonder... What part of the Bible story is most important for me today?
I wonder... When did I experience something beautiful or good this past week?
I wonder... Who and what am I thankful for today?
Prayer for Illumination:
God of light,
we are all your people.
Gather us now around your Word,
that we may hear your way for us,
and hearing, walk with faith
into the future you have prepared.
Amen.
Affirmation of Faith:
I believe in God the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord;
who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and buried;
he descended into hell;
the third day he rose again from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost;
the holy catholic church;
the communion of saints;
the forgiveness of sins;
the resurrection of the body;
and the life everlasting. Amen.
Prayers of the People:
Lord in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
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.
Offering
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Closing Hymn 93: Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates (All Verses)
Benediction
Postlude: Sleepers, Wake!, arr. A. Schreiner
