PREPARING TO COME TO THE LORD’S TABLE IN THE NEW YEAR PRAYER OF CONFESSION (in unison) PRELUDE Favorite Hymns Almighty and merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you (feel free to sing or hum along at home) and one another in both our actions and our inactions. We recognize that in your Son our light has come, yet often we choose to walk in shadow and CALL TO WORSHIP Isaiah 60:1-3 (responsively) ignore the light. Gracious God, forgive our sins and remove from us the veil Arise, shine; for your light has come, of darkness which shrouds our lives. Illuminated by your world and sacra- and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. ment, may we rise to the radiance of Christ’s glory. For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; DECLARATION OF PARDON (responsively) but the Lord will arise upon you, Hear the good news: and his glory will appear over you. in the name of the triune God Nations shall come to your light, I declare that, as far as the east is from the west, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. so far does he remove our transgressions from us. Thanks be to God: HYMN 102 Arise, Your Light Is Come (vs. 1) our sins are forgiven. Tune: FESTAL SONG Arise, your light is come! The Spirit’s call obey; SONG 567 Here I Am to Worship show forth the glory of your God which shines on you today. Tune: HERE I AM TO WORSHIP —reprinted with permission by OneLicense.net #A-703249 Light of the world, you stepped down into darkness, opened my eyes, let me see. SCRIPTURE READING Matthew 2:9-11 Beauty that made this heart adore you, hope of a life spent with you. HYMN 105 As with Gladness Men of Old (vs. 1-4) Refrain Tune: DIX Here I am to worship; here I am to bow down; As with gladness men of old did the guiding star behold, here I am to say that you’re my God. as with joy they hailed its light, leading onward, beaming bright; You’re altogether lovely, altogether worthy, so, most gracious Lord, may we evermore your splendor see. altogether wonderful to me. As with joyful steps they sped to that lowly manger bed, King of all days, oh so highly exalted, glorious in heaven above. there to bend the knee before Christ, whom heaven and earth adore; Humbly you came to the earth you created, all for love’s sake became poor. so may we with willing feet ever seek your mercy seat. Refrain As they offered gifts most rare at that manger plain and bare, I’ll never know how much it cost to see my sin upon that cross. so may we with holy joy, pure and free from sin’s alloy, I’ll never know how much it cost to see my sin upon that cross. all our costliest treasures bring, Christ, to you, our heavenly King. Refrain —reprinted with permission by ccli #1186381 Holy Jesus, every day keep us in the narrow way, and when mortal things are past, bring our ransomed lives at last CHILDREN’S TIME where they need no star to guide, where no clouds your glory hide. PASSING OF THE PEACE PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION SCRIPTURE READING: *DOXOLOGY 965 Tune: OLD HUNDREDTH Psalm 2:7-8 As they offered gifts most rare at that manger plain and bare, Luke 2:41-52 so may we with holy joy, pure and free from sin’s alloy, all our costliest treasures bring, Christ, to you, our heavenly King. HYMN 90 How Great Our Joy (vs. 3 & 4) Tune: JUNGST PRAYER OF INTERCESSION & THE LORD’S PRAYER There shall the child lie in a stall, this child who shall redeem us all. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Refrain Give us this day our daily bread. How great our joy! Great our joy! Joy, joy, joy! Joy, joy, joy! And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. Praise we the Lord in heaven on high! Praise we the Lord in heaven on high! And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, This gift of God we’ll cherish well, that ever joy our hearts shall fill. and the glory, forever. Amen. Refrain SERMON “Finding the Jesus You Thought You Had Lost” THE ETERNAL VISION Revelation 21:22-23 PRAYER FOR BLESSING ON THE WORD HYMN 93 Go Tell It on the Mountain CELEBRATION OF THE LORD’S SUPPER Tune: GO TELL IT GREAT PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING (responsively) Refrain The Lord be with you Go, tell it on the mountain, over the hills and everywhere; And also with you. go, tell it on the mountain that Jesus Christ is born. Lift up your hearts. We lift them up to the Lord. While shepherds kept their watching o’er silent flocks by night, Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. behold, throughout the heavens there shone a holy light. It is right to give our thanks and praise. Refrain God of grace and truth, ...in the song of your never-ending glory. Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might. The shepherds feared and trembled when lo! above the earth Heaven and earth are full of your glory. rang out the angel chorus that hailed our Savior‘s birth. Hosanna in the highest. Refrain Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. Down in a lowly stable the humble Christ was born, Generous God, ...Great is the mystery of faith. and God sent us salvation that blessed Christmas morn. Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again. Refrain COMMUNION THANKSGIVING AFTER COMMUNION BENEDICTION Luke 2:29-32 Worship Leaders: Rev. Kent Fry, preaching; Rev. Kama Jongerius, liturgist; Carter Baer, prayer for MOMENT FOR MISSION & SHARING THE GIFT OF FELLOWSHIP illumination; Joel Schoon-Tanis, Larry Sue, cantors; Janelle, Miriam, & Lorena Lopez-Koolhaas, musicians; Larry & Carla Sue, handbells; Bruce Formsma, trumpet; Linda Strouf, Minister of Mu- OFFERTORY Joy to the World arr. by Lennie Niehaus sic. DAILY BIBLE READINGS A question to ask as you read: Sunday Is there anything you do not understand about each passage? 10:00 a.m. Worship Service Sunday: Luke 2:41-52 Boy Jesus at the Temple Monday Monday: Genesis 17:19-24 Sign of the Covenant 7:00 p.m. History Book Group Tuesday: Exodus 13:1-2 Consecration of Firstborn Tuesday Wednesday: Leviticus 26:3-6 God Will Grant Peace 1:00 p.m. Staff Meeting Thursday: Leviticus 26:7-13 The Covenant Revealed Wednesday Friday: Malachi 4:4-6 Advice for the Coming of the Lord 6:15 a.m. Men’s Bible Study Saturday: Isaiah 62:10-12 Build up a Highway 8:00 a.m. Wednesday Morning Prayers Sunday: Luke 3:1-22 Jesus and John the Baptist 6:30 p.m. Bilingual Bible Study and Prayers You can access “Sharing God’s Story” on the homepage of church website, *All services & meetings will be held in Zoom. trcholland.org. It will be near the bulletin. There is also a children’s page based on to- See trcholland.org for details on how to login with Zoom. day’s scripture lesson. Please remember in prayer those in the hospital and in care facilities. Jesus in the Temple Please remember to have someone notify the church office when you are in the by Joel Schoon-Tanis hospital so you can receive spiritual care by the pastoral staff. Call 392-1459. When Jesus was 12 his parents took him on a road trip to Jeroosalem for a festival. It was a religious festival so there wasn’t cotton candy or rides but Jesus didn’t mind. In SYMPATHY is extended to the family and friends of El Slenk who died on December fact, when it was over he stuck around to talk about God with all the relijus guys at 28. the temple. Or as Jesus called it— “My Father’s house.” Josef wasn’t super happy. It PRAYER SPOTLIGHT: Borgess Hospital-Tom Norman. Home-Bill Charlton, Don can be hard to be the step-dad. Maatman, Barb Mummert, Ruby Steketee. Missionaries-John & Lynn Hubers (Ethiopia), Ministry with Japanese of West Michigan. PRAYER TEAM MEMBERS: Sue and Tom Ten Hoeve are on the prayer team this week. Check Our Website for up-to-date information on Third Church activities and virtual connection opportunities. www.trcholland.org Thank you to the women of Third (and George H) for joining our Zoom last Saturday with Lubna Younas. Also thank you and abundant blessings to those that donated to- wards Lubna’s Car Fund. We have more to raise and any additional funds will go to- wards car insurance and other incidentals so if you haven’t yet given we’ll be collecting until we meet our goal hopefully soon. A GIFT OF MUSIC TO YOU: Music holds a special place in our worship, especially dur- ing the Advent and Christmas season. This year, since we are unable to have many of our regular musical traditions, Linda Strouf, our Minister of Music, is recording a virtu- al piano concert for you to enjoy each week through January 11. You will find the links to these concerts on the main page of our website, down under Announcements.