FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT
The Twenty Ninth of November Two Thousand Twenty First Sunday of Advent BROADCAST ONLY
Gather in God’s Name
Prelude O Come, O Come, Emmanuel arr. Gerald Near Comfort, Comfort Now My People arr. Jean Pasquet Come, Thou Redeemer of the Earth arr. Gerald Near Comes Now the Gentiles’ Saviour J.S. Bach
Welcome and Announcements
Introit An Advent Processional Donald Pearson
Refrain: O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel. Rejoice! Rejoice Emmanuel, shall come to thee, O Israel.
Come thou, Redeemer of the earth, and manifest thy virgin birth: Let ev’ry age adoring fall, such birth befits the God of all. (Refrain)
Begotten of no human will, but of the Spirit thou art still. The Word of God in flesh arrayed, the promised fruit to man displayed. (Refrain)
The virgin womb that burden gained with virgin honour all unstained; The banners there of virtue glow; God in his temple dwells below. (Refrain)
Sanctuary Choir
* Advent Candle Liturgy
Leader: Today we light the candle of hope. We light this candle because we need hope. Because we cannot live without hope.
People: Because sometimes it feels like all hope is lost.
Leader: Lord, speak to us this day and in this season a word of hope.
People: May we never lose sight of the hope that is on the way.
Leader: Jesus Christ is the hope of the nations.
ALL: Let us worship God!
* Hymn 88 O Come, O Come, Emmanuel VENI EMMANUEL
O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel, that mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appear.
Refrain: Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, thou Wisdom from on high, who orderest all things mightily; to us the path of knowledge show; and teach us in her ways to go. (Refrain)
O come, thou Dayspring, come and cheer our spirits by thine advent here; disperse the gloomy clouds of night, and death’s dark shadows put to flight. (Refrain)
O come, Desire of nations, bind all peoples in one heart and mind; bid envy, strife, and discord cease; fill the whole world with heaven’s peace. (Refrain)
* Prayer of the Day
* Prayer of Confession
With the arrival of another Advent season, we pause to confess, O Lord, that we are not prepared for your coming. We’ve had plenty of time to ready ourselves, but we have not remained alert. Forgive us Lord, for not bending the knee, for not reading your Word, for not searching our hearts, for not facing our sins. Forgive us, we pray, according to your tender mercies. Grant that when Christmas morning breaks for us this year, we may have a fresh sense of your presence and a renewed resolve to live unto the praise of Christ’s glory. (A pause for silent individual confession follows.)
* Assurance of Pardon
* Response Hymn 110 Love Has Come, vs. 1 BRING A TORCH
Love has come: a light in the darkness! Love shines forth in the Bethlehem skies. See, all heaven has come to proclaim it; hear how their song of joy arises: Love! Love! Born unto you, a Savior! Love! Love! Glory to God on high.
* Passing of the Peace
Leader: The Peace of Christ be with you.
People: And also with you.
Proclaim God’s Word
Word for the Children
Prayer for Illumination Hymn 92, verse 1 While We are Waiting, Come WAITING
While we are waiting, come; While we are waiting, come. Jesus, our Lord, Emmanuel, While we are waiting, come. Amen.
Scripture Reading Isaiah 64:1-9
Leader: This is the Word of the Lord.
People: Thanks be to God.
Sermon That One’s Mine Rev. Michael R. Bailey
Respond to God’s Word
* Hymn 772 Live Into Hope TRURO
Live into hope of captives freed, of sight regained, the end of greed. The oppressed shall be the first to see the year of God’s own jubilee!
Live into hope! The blind shall see with insight and with clarity, removing shades of pride and fear, a vision of our God brought near.
Live into hope of liberty, the right to speak, the right to be, the right to have one’s daily bread, to hear God’s word and thus be fed.
Live into hope of captives freed from chains of fear or want or greed. God now proclaims our full release to faith and hope and joy and peace. * Affirmation of Faith: excerpts from A Brief Statement of Faith
In life and in death we belong to God. Through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, we trust in the one triune God, the Holy One of Israel, whom alone we worship and serve… With believers in every time and place, we rejoice that nothing in life or in death can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Concerns of the Church
Prayers of the People and 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.
Offertory I Will Not Leave You Comfortless Ron Nelson
I will not leave you comfortless, but I will come to you, and your heart will rejoice
Julie and Ellen Potts, soloists Marjorie Johnston, piano
* Doxology OLD HUNDREDTH
Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow, Praise Him, all creatures here below; Praise Him above, ye heavenly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen
* Prayer of Dedication
Go in God’s Name
* Charge and Benediction
* Benediction Response Creator of the Stars of Night CONDITOR ALME SIDERUM
* Postlude From Heaven Above to Earth I Come J. S. Bach
*Those who are able, please stand. Please silence cell phones during worship.
Service Notes:
Music Notes: • Today’s anthem is a lovely and haunting piece by American composer, Ron Nelson, who will turn 91 years old during the season of Advent. “I will not leave you comfortless” is a promise we long to hear during a pandemic, and the phrase that follows, “but I will come to you, and your heart will rejoice,” is a reassuring statement that speaks to more than one interpretation of Christ’s coming. Again, we are indebted to the Potts family for the Offertory: Julie and Ellen sing for online worship, and Maria and Ellen are scheduled to sing for in-person worship. • For the season of Advent, our Benediction Response will be the well-known Advent hymn, “Creator of the stars of night” (CONDITOR ALME SIDERUM), played on the chimes of our wonderful organ. Some version of the translated text, set to ancient plainsong, appears in more than 85 hymnals today, and most end with a Doxology. Hymn 84 in our Glory to GodHymnal offers a four stanza setting, and a sample of the full hymn text is below.
Creator of the stars of night, your people’s everlasting light, O Christ, Redeemer of us all, we pray you hear us when we call.
In sorrow that the ancient curse should doom to death a universe, you came, O Savior, to set free your own in glorious liberty.
When this old world drew on toward night, you came; but not in splendor bright, not as a monarch, but the child of Mary, blameless mother mild.
At your great Name, O Jesus, now all knees must bend, all hearts must bow: all things on earth with one accord, like those in heaven, shall call you Lord.
Come in your holy might, we pray, redeem us for eternal day; defend us while we dwell below from all assaults of our dread foe.
To God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit, Three in One, praise, honor, might, and glory be from age to age eternally. ~ Marjorie Johnston, Director of Music
OFFICER NOMINATIONS The Nominating Committee is in the process of preparing a slate of candidates for Elders and Deacons for the Class of 2024. The office of Elder is one of servant leadership undertaken by people of wisdom and maturity of faith. Elders are called to discern the will of God for the church and then lead the people of God in that direction. The office of Deacon is one of compassion, service and sharing the redeeming love of Christ with all - but especially with those carrying heavy burdens. All FPC Members have the right to nominate other church members. After prayerful consideration, please list your nominations and place in the offering plate, drop by the church office, submit online (fpctusc.org/nominations) or email Carl Jamison ([email protected]). ------Officer Nominations
Your Name: ______
Name: ______Name: ______Name: ______Elder Deacon Elder Deacon Elder Deacon