Lord s Day November 22, :15 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. Cover Symbol No. 4 - Burning Bush

Transcription

1 Lord s Day November 22, :15 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. Cover Symbol No. 4 - Burning Bush Explanation of the Cover Symbol Since the time of the Reformation, the burning bush has been a symbol of the Church. The Latin words are taken from Exodus 3:2 and read...and yet it was not consumed. In one of his letters Samuel Rutherford reminds his correspondent, The bush has been burning these five thousand years, and no man yet saw the ashes of that fire. Faith Presbyterian Church Presbyterian Church in America 620 South Shirley, Tacoma, Washington Ministers: Robert S. Rayburn, Richard H. DeMass, Steven A. Nicoletti fpc@faithtacoma.org Lord s Day November 22, 2015 Upon entering the sanctuary please maintain silence for the sake of the congregation s preparation for worship, and please make sure electronic devices are off or using silent mode. Prelude "Whatever My God Wants" (Was Gott will)... Wilhelm Friedemann Bach ( ) Welcome and Announcements +Silent Prayer The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord sits enthroned as king forever. May the Lord give strength to his people! May the Lord bless his people with peace! --From Psalm 29 (ESV) Glory, glory, hallelujah! Since I laid my burden down. I feel better, so much better, Feel like shouting, Hallelujah! I am climbing Jacob s ladder, Ev ry round goes higher and higher, Since I laid my burden down. Bradley Ellingboe

2 Call to Worship *Hymn of Praise to God Let All Things Now Living No Confession of Sin Silent Prayer Corporate Prayer Most holy and merciful Father: We confess to You and to one another, and to the whole communion of saints in heaven and on earth, that we have sinned by our own fault in thought, word, and deed; against Your holy law by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved You with our whole heart, and mind, and strength. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have not forgiven others, as we have been forgiven. We have been deaf to Your call to serve, as Christ served us. We have not been true to the mind of Christ. We have grieved Your Holy Spirit. We confess to You, Lord, all our past unfaithfulness: the pride, hypocrisy, and impatience of our lives. Have mercy on us, O Lord, and forgive our sins, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Assurance of Pardon I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins. Isaiah 43:25 (ESV) *Confession of Faith Q. Why do you say that by faith alone you are right with God? A. It is not because of any value my faith has that God is pleased with me. Only Christ s satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness make me right with God. And I can receive this righteousness and make it mine in no other way than by faith alone. Heidelberg Catechism No. 61. *Hymn of Faith in Christ Thou Hidden Source of Calm Repose No. 510 Unison Reading of God s Law Ephesians 6:5-20 (ESV p. 979) Worship of God with Tithes and Offerings "Lord Jesus Christ, Turn Towards Us"... G. P. Telemann ( ) The Nicene Creed I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, And 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 men 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 sitteth on the right hand of the Father: And He shall come again, with glory to judge both the quick and the dead; Whose Kingdom shall have no end. And I believe in the Holy Spirit, The Lord, and Giver of Life, Who proceedeth from the Father and the Son; Who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; Who spake by the Prophets: And I believe one Catholic and Apostolic Church: I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins: And I look for the Resurrection of the dead: And the Life of the world to come. Amen.

3 *Congregational Petitions Scripture Lesson Acts 5:17-42 (ESV pp ) Sermon How the Gospel Spreads *Hymn The Son of God Goes Forth to War *Benediction +Silent Prayer Almighty and most merciful Father, grant us a heart to love You; And enable us to show our thankfulness by giving up ourselves to Your service; And delighting in all things to do Your will; Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. I lift up my eyes to the hills; From where is my help to come? My help comes from the Lord, The maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved And he who watches over you will not fall asleep. Behold, he who keeps watch over Israel Shall neither slumber nor sleep. Psalm 121:1-4/Carlyle Sharpe Postlude *Congregation standing +The congregation is invited to kneel CCLI License # Sunday November 22 Morning Worship Sunday School Choir Rehearsal Evening Service Welcome & Announcement Elders Mark Aown John Scharer Congregational Petitions Leaders Mike Hanks Ray Weigley & 9:45 am 4:30 pm

4 Nursery Schedule Dorothy & Hope Proctor Hae Soo Lee & Callie Knauss Denise Welch & Amy Lewis Nancy Miller & Beth James Coffee/Tea Hosts Jim & Shari Roland Tamara & Nani Woodard Margo & Aspen Kelly Church Library Volunteer Patsi Arkin Building Monitors Paul Darby Ken Kvale Monday November 23 -Better English on Sixth Tuesday November 24 -Ladies Bible Study, WIC Room 117 -Samson Society, WIC Room 117 Nursery Sunday School Combined Nursery Prep for 11:00 Service 9:40-10:50 am 6:30-8:30 pm 9:30 am-12:00 pm 7:00-8:00 pm Wednesday November 25 -No Prayer Meeting -No Jr. High Youth Group -No Sr. High Youth Group -No Treble Choir Thursday November 26 -Thanksgiving Worship Service Next Sunday November 29 Morning Worship Sunday School Choir Rehearsal Evening Service Welcome & Announcement Elders Mike Pfefferle Mark Aown Congregational Petitions Leaders Kyle Murphy Derek Whaley 10:00 am & 9:45 am 4:30 pm

5 Nursery Schedule Marie Seifert & Lesley Pollack Leanne Van Gilder & Lindsay Funches Shari Roland & Allyson Bennett Evelyn German & Mariela Aown Coffee/Tea Hosts Ethan & Dolly Larson Robert & Kathy Case Nancy Rowan Church Library Volunteer Elizabeth Jimmink Building Monitors Dick Hannula Ken Kvale Nursery Sunday School Combined Nursery Prep for 11:00 Service 9:40-10:50 am Upcoming Events December 3 Mothers Encouragement Group December 3 Deacon Meeting December 16 Choir Rehearsal after Prayer Meeting December 17 Mothers Encouragement Group Advent & Christmas at Faith Presbyterian Church: November 29 First Sunday in Advent December 6 Second Sunday in Advent, Messiah presentation in the Evening Service December 10 Covenant High School Christmas Concert & Art Show December 11 Covenant High School Madrigal Feast December 13 Third Sunday in Advent December 20 Fourth Sunday in Advent, Children s Sunday School Christmas Program December 24 Candlelight Services, 4:00 pm and 11:00 pm This Evening We continue our series of sermons in James, tonight considering James famous words: Be doers of the Word and not hearers only. The Lord s Supper is observed every Lord s Day at Faith Presbyterian Church alternating between the morning and the evening services. The officers have wanted to retain evening communion not only because all the Lord s Suppers explicitly mentioned in the New Testament were in the evening, but as well to reinforce the importance of Sunday evening worship as a regular part of the observance of the Lord s Day. The Work of Your Diaconate The Deacons would again like to thank our congregation for entrusting us with the responsibility and the funds necessary to assist those in need on the congregation s behalf. In just this past month your contributions enabled us to help a sister congregation within our Presbytery with an urgent need in their ministry. We also assisted a family in our own congregation faced with an unexpected period of unemployment.

6 If you know of those in our congregation with particular financial concerns, please discretely pass that information on to one of your Deacons. This is particularly appreciated as we move into the Advent season when financial struggles can seem more pronounced and can detract from the joy that remembering our Savior s birth should be. Final Week to Contribute to Sacred Road The deadline to contribute gifts for the Sacred Road Christmas service has been extended to Thanksgiving Day. There is still a need for Hello Kitty gifts for the girls and Super Hero gifts for the boys as well as cash donations toward sweatshirts for the youth group. Place the gifts, unwrapped, in the large box in the narthex. Cash donations may be placed in the small box in the narthex or given to the Kelly's or the German's. Wednesday, November 25 th Schedule A reminder that this coming Wednesday, November 25, there will be no Prayer Meeting, Treble Choir or Youth Group meetings. Thanksgiving Day Service and Offering Our Thanksgiving Day service is this Thursday, November 26 th at 10:00 am and will last for one hour. It is a service of hymns, testimonies, and the Lord s Supper. Come prepared to offer your own public thanksgivings to the Lord and to rejoice with others in theirs. We will also take our annual Thanksgiving Day offering for our own Presbyterian Church in America Mercy Ministries, through the Mission to North America Committee. This offering provides valuable financial support to men and women who are training for ministry leadership among the many people groups who are largely unreached by the Presbyterian Church in America. Through the Thanksgiving Offering supported by PCA churches and individual members, you have the opportunity to invest in future leaders of the denomination and the opportunity to provide valuable resources for the advancement of the Gospel. See today s bulletin insert for more information. Please make your checks payable to Faith Presbyterian Church. Faith Presbyterian Church Advent Devotional The Faith Presbyterian Church Advent Devotional is available in the Narthex today. You may also access the devotional online at our church website. Click on the Information tab, then Bible Reading. December 6 th Messiah Presentation - Invite Your Friends! The Christmas portion of G. F. Handel's masterwork, Messiah, will be presented at FPC on the second Sunday of Advent, December 6, 6:00 p.m. Soloists are Dia Murphy, Margaret Eby, Ross Hauck and Daniel Roberts. A string ensemble will accompany the soloists. Fliers are available in the narthex for your use in inviting friends and neighbors for a festive evening of music honoring our Lord Jesus Christ. Experience Covenant High School - Open House, December 10th Student recruitment for the school year is underway. If you have a high school age son or daughter, or if you know of someone who may be considering Covenant High School for next fall, please contact the school office. Covenant High School hosts an Open House for prospective students 8 th grade and up, and their parents on Thursday, December 10 th, at. Guests meet faculty, students, alumni and parents, enjoy a light buffet and visit classrooms. The art show and choir concert will follow. For more information or to request an invitation, office@chstacoma.org or telephone Website: chstacoma.org

7 CHS Madrigal Feast Get Your Tickets Now You are invited to attend the Madrigal Feast and Dessert Auction on Friday, December 11 th at 6:30 p.m. Please join us for a medieval evening of music, theatrics and food all to support the Covenant High School scholarship fund. The event will be held in DeSoto hall. Tickets are $25 per person and can be purchased from the school office ( ) or on-line at Please note that tickets are no longer available for purchase in the narthex after Sunday services. Purchase your tickets soon as there is limited seating. Church Budget The Budget Committee will be meeting to discuss the financial plan for If you have any comments or issues, please contact Doug Lawty or Derek Whaley by Friday, January 8 th. The Joint Officers will meet on Thursday, January 21 st to approve the budget. The Annual Meeting will be held Wednesday, January 27 th with dinner beginning at in DeSoto Hall followed by the meeting at 7:00 pm in the sanctuary. Save the Date for ALL Please save the dates: Friday February 12th (6pm-9pm) and Saturday the 13 th, 2016 (8am-5pm). What for? For your future in teaching English to non-native speakers! Even if you are not currently involved in Better English on Sixth, you will want to take advantage of this one-time offer of intensive 12-hour training to equip you to serve people in our community and beyond, now and later. Although you may not feel you have that much flexibility in your weekends, these dates are the Friday and Saturday of President's Day weekend, which we hope will give you extra flexibility. It is also Valentine's Day weekend--make the sojourner your Valentine this year! We encourage participation of those in high school--here is a guarantee: there are ESL people in your future! Equip yourself to help them now and put it on your resume! Interested in Theological Study? Plans are underway to offer in our area seminary level courses in biblical, systematic, and practical theology in connection with Covenant Theological Seminary. The seminary will issue graduate level credit for courses completed in exchange for tuition paid. This initiative is being sponsored by the Metro Northwest Church Planting Network, a consortium of a number of our presbytery churches. Before firm plans can be made and dates set we are looking to identify interested students. While the initiative has in view men who may be interested in the pastoral ministry, the courses will be open as well to interested lay men and women. If you have interest in enrolling in such courses would you please advise the church office? We will then forward your contact information to those organizing the project. Adult Sunday School The Foundations Class (Room 304) Pastor Rayburn continues this class for those new to the church. It covers the most fundamental teachings of our Christian Faith and introduces the distinctive elements of the Presbyterian tradition. The Women of Faith Class I (WIC Room 117) Our own Elder Dick Hannula has come out with another wonderful book and we are reading it together in our Sunday School class. Radiant: Fifty Remarkable Women in Church History, is a series of brief biographies about women in the history of the Christian Church from the first century through the 20 th century. Many of these women were martyrs, others suffered for their faith in Christ, and all reflected Christ s selfless love towards those around them. Some of these women will be familiar to most Christian readers, while others will not, and Dick brings each one to life in this fascinating read. Dick s reference to Psalm 34:5 perfectly describes all these women: Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. Join us in the WIC room if you d like to read and discuss this book together.

8 The Women of Faith Class II (Library) Led by Mrs. Regina Kamke, this class is reading together Letters of John Newton published by The Banner of Truth Trust. The Word of Faith Class (Sanctuary) Elder Mike Pfefferle continues his series on the Law of God. This class will explore the relationship between the Law of God as found in the Old Testament and the Christian believer. Did Christ put an end to the law, as Romans 10:4 seems to say? Was the Old Testament law ever a path to righteousness? Are Christians bound to keep the Ten Commandments (including that pesky one, the Fourth)? Can a Christian say with David, Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day (Psalm 119:97). Or is that submitting again to a yoke of slavery (see Galatians 5:1)? Come to this class and find out! High School Sunday School (North Half of DeSoto Hall) The high school class continues their series The Drama of Scripture: Finding Our Place in the Biblical Story, based on the book by Craig G. Bartholomew and Michael W. Goheen. Covenant Group for Singles and Young Marrieds (Conference Room) We are currently studying Faith in a Pluralistic Society - Studies in Judges. Please join us to study God s Word, with fellowship and donuts. Music Notes The prelude for our Evening Worship begins at 5:45 p.m. today. It will include music from our Choristers under the direction of Mrs. Melissa McMillan. Prior to their singing, we will introduce the newest (the 29th annual) Overman Carol, written by Dr. Richard Overman and his son Robert. The Christmas portion of G. F. Handel's masterwork, Messiah, will be presented at FPC on the second Sunday of Advent, December 6, 6:00 p.m. Soloists are Dia Murphy, Margaret Eby, Ross Hauck and Daniel Roberts. A string ensemble will accompany the soloists. Invite your friends and neighbors for a festive evening of music honoring our Lord Jesus Christ! ACM Recital Competition is an annual scholarship event for young Christian musicians on April 2, Parents and students (ages 8-19) are encouraged to begin preparing for this now. The purse of prizes for a dozen winners is $2,000. For more information, visit acmusicians.org. College & Career Group Our college & career group meets at the Aown s home on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month: once for a social gathering and once for a small-group-style gathering. Our current upcoming schedule is: December Gatherings To Be Announced For more information, and to receive last minute updates and announcements, please contact Pastor Nicoletti to be added to our Facebook group or list. Men of Faith, Morning Prayer Meetings There are opportunities to meet with fellow Men of Faith for prayer each week: Wednesday morning with Phil Perkins: We meet at Treos Cafe in Old Town Tacoma, 2312 North 30 th at 6:00 am. This meeting, which originated six years ago has continuously focused on the Psalms. Thursday morning with Thom Wilson at 6:30 am at the church. We are reading and praying through Joshua and Judges. Nursing Mothers In addition to the nursery rooms, Room #117 the Women In the Church room, is open and available for your convenience during all Worship Services. The service can be seen and heard in the WIC room.

9 God's Breadbasket Ministry The purpose of God s Breadbasket is to provide meals for those families needing extra help due to illness, death in the family, or the arrival of newborns. If you know of a need, please contact Kathy Haass, Alisha Bennett or the church office. Next 'up' to provide meals: Lyndsay Funches, Kathy Hannula, Dolly Larson, Kris Pappuleas, Dorothy Proctor, Miriam Shelden, Becky Wilson, Patsi Arkin, Ruth Bechtel, Kathy Case, Evelyn German, Suzan Gross and Janet Jack. Make an extra meal for your freezer to save time. Ladies, if you would like to participate in this ministry, please contact Kathy or Alisha to be added to the roster. Thank you! Women to Women Ministry There is now a ministry of mentoring by women to women here at Faith. If you would like to meet with a woman for this purpose, you may contact Debbie Mellott and she will put you in touch with one of the women providing this ministry. Hearing Assistance If you would like a device to help with hearing the worship service, please see a Deacon in the Narthex.