Prelude In the Bleak Midwinter arr. Held. Call to Worship Where the Promise Shines Joel Raney A Candle Lighting Ceremony for Advent

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2 Welcome News for the Good of the Church Prelude In the Bleak Midwinter arr. Held Call to Worship Where the Promise Shines Joel Raney A Candle Lighting Ceremony for Advent First Sunday of Advent The Promise of Hope Readers and Advent candle lighters The McCormick families Mike, Kim, Kara, Cameron, Connor, and Charlie The congregation is asked to join the choir in singing the refrain. *Refrain Congregation and Choir *Responsive Litany Advent is a time for God s people to reawaken their longings. We long for every hurt to be healed. We long for every tear to be dried. We long for every injustice to be made right. We celebrate God s promises and long for those yet to unfold. Candle Lighting and Reading *Refrain Congregation and Choir Opening Prayer *Hymn #82 Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus * Please rise in body and spirit. The hymns are in the burgundy Glory to God hymnal found in the pew racks. ** Words in bold print are spoken aloud as a congregation.

3 Moment of Silence Corporate Prayer of Confession It is only by the power of God that we are able to stand against evil. Trusting in God s grace, let us confess our sin. **Eternal God, we confess that we have failed to seek Your will. You come to us in glory, yet we hide our faces from You. You speak to us in truth, yet we close our hearts to Your word. Forgive us, God of grace. Release us from sin, restore our lives, and rule in our hearts, this day and always, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Now stand firm in your faith, covered by the saving grace of God and ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. In the name of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven! **Thanks be to God. Sharing of Christ s Peace * Song of Praise, Hymn #633 Praise Ye the Lord Presentation of Tithes and Offerings Choral Musical Offering A Tiny Little Baby Don Besig *Doxology Hymn #606 Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow Time with the children First Reading Thessalonians 3:9-13 page 1030 Second Reading Luke 21:25-36 pages Sermon Weighed Down Rev. Steve Frazier *Hymn #92 Invitation to the Lord s Table While We Are Waiting, Come The Great Prayer of Thanksgiving The Lord be with you. And also with you. Lift up your hearts. We lift them to the Lord. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is right to give our thanks and praise.

4 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. Communion of the People *Hymn #147 The First Nowell Charge * Benediction Hymn #543 God, Be the Love to Search and Keep Me Verse 5 A Blessing in Music Oh Come, Emmanuel arr. Held A Tiny Little Baby There s a wonderful story that I love to tell, bout a tiny little baby named Jesus. So gather around me now and listen well, bout a tiny little baby named Jesus. It happened, oh, so long ago, amid the cold of the winter snow. He came from heav n to the earth below, this tiny little baby named Jesus. And the angels sang: Glory to God! And the angels sang: Glory to God! And the angels sang: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and good will! There were shepherds who came from the hills afar to see the tiny little baby named Jesus, led by the light of the shining star, to see the tiny little baby named Jesus. They entered in that lowly place and saw the smile on the mother s face, and they all were filled with the holy grace of the tiny little baby named Jesus. And the angels sang: Glory to God! And the angels sang: Glory to God! And the angels sang: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and good will!

5 Welcome to our friends and visitors! We hope that you find our congregation a welcoming one. Please join us after worship for post-worship fellowship (refreshments and fellowship) in our courtyard lobby. Prayer List Dick Barnwell (friend of the Butlers), Brenda Berry (friend of Oralie & Raymond), Alan Butler (Paul Butler s brother), Jeanne Butler (Paul Butler s sister), Rebecca Duncan (friend of Oralie & Raymond), Jackie & Tyler Forsythe, Lt. Col. Rob Gerlach (deployed to Kuwait), Mary Alice Jarman (friend of the Powells), Brian Mills, Carl Rhodes, Dorothy Wooldridge (friend of Carl Rhodes) Everyone suffering with cancer and facing surgery Our friends at home, especially Ronald Curry (Grace Yingling s son), Lanier Halterman, Frances Hardy, A. T. Mayo, Sue Parker, Lane Pittman, Harvey Spiers, Grace Yingling Leading in worship today The Rev. Steve Frazier Edna Broadhurst, Director of Music Ministries Ushers: David Culpepper, Yolanda Faas, Dan Swanson Counters: David Culpepper, Nancy Grant Our bulletin is printed on Wednesday. We are pleased to include any you wish to be added to the prayer list. You may contact Raymond ( S, cell: ) or the church office ( ) by Tuesday evening.

6 November Offerings 11/4 $ 2, /18 $ 3, /11 $ 6, /25 $ 2, MTD $14, November Attendance 11/4 Worship 55 Sunday school 19 11/11 Worship 58 Sunday school 20 11/18 Worship 58 Sunday school 22 11/25 Worship 50 Sunday school 18 The church office will be open on Wednesdays only, from 1:00 4:00. To assist with timely preparation of the bulletin, please send all notices to pastor@fpcports.org and/or bulletin@fpcports.org no later than 6 p.m. on Tuesday. Music is reprinted by permission and under CCLI License # Sess ion Moderator of Session The Rev. Dr. Steve Frazier Clerk of Session Gail Pittman (2019) Administration/Property Paul Butler (2020) Christian Formation Kim McCormick (2019) Congregational Fellowship/Care Betty Bartlett (2019), Pat Sparks (2020) Finance - Diane Griffin (2018) Mission/Outreach Oralie Wilhite (2020) Worship Michael Broadhurst (2020) Members and friends of the congregation are encouraged to contact the appropriate elder with their comments and suggestions. Chur c h Staff The Rev. Steve Frazier, Covenant Pastor ext. 202 pastor@fpcports.org Edna Broadhurst, Director of Music Ministries ext. 203 ednafpc@aol.com Gabbi Goodrich, Secretary g.furman121@hotmail.com Su n day Min is trie s 12/2 Breakfast Nancy Grant & Frankie Austin Sunday school Paul Butler Post-Worship Fellowship 12/9 Breakfast Sunday school Bill Faas Post-Worship Fellowship Birthdays 12/16 Breakfast Sunday school Paul Butler Post-Worship Fellowship 12/23 Breakfast Sunday school Chreston Holoman Post-Worship Fellowship December Birthd ays 2 Ka thy Goolsb y, 6 Joyc e K all aher, 12 Ja y Ja mes, 12 Viki Goo ls by, 18 Michael Broadhu r st, 20 Bill Faas, 21 Pa t Sparks, 22 Earl Gr if fin, 26 Sarah Aram b ul a, 28 Elizabet h [ Pond] Ger lac h, 28 Malaka i Al l en Goo dr i ch, 28 R il ey W i nk le r, 30 K ara McCorm ick, 30 Ia n Taylo r Missing a birthday? Contact the Church at pastor@fpcports.org or call or the bulletin editor at bulletin@fpcports.org. pastor@fpcports.org

7 First Presbyterian Church Portsmouth, VA Coming Events Sunday, December 2 First Sunday of Advent 9:00 Breakfast fellowship 9:20 Children s music 9:30 Sunday school 10:30 Worship, with the Lord s supper 11:30 Post-Worship Fellowship, with the first meeting of the 1 st Pres. Book Club following Wednesday, December 5 6:45 Bells 7:15 Choir Thursday, December 6 10:00 Bible study with the Rev. Dr. Chreston Holoman Saturday, December 8 12:00 Presbyterian Women s Circle Christmas gathering Sunday, December 9 Second Sunday of Advent 9:00 Breakfast fellowship 9:20 Children s music 9:30 Sunday school 10:30 Worship 11:30 Post-Worship Fellowship December birthdays celebration Wednesday, December 12 6:45 Bells 7:15 Choir Thursday, December 13 10:00 Bible study with the Rev. Dr. Chreston Holoman Sunday, December 16 Third Sunday of Advent 9:00 Breakfast fellowship 9:20 Children s music 9:30 Sunday school 10:30 Worship, with Dr. Antipas Harris 11:30 Post-Worship Fellowship Wednesday, December 19 6:45 Bells 7:15 Choir Saturday, January 12 Friday, January 18 Shelter Week Please consider volunteering as an overnight chaperone. See Sue Fay or Oralie Wilhite for details.

8 First Presbyterian Church Portsmouth Announcements "Advent" has its origin in Medieval Latin and means "arrival." The circular wreath made of evergreen boughs represents eternity. One candle is lit each Advent Sunday and represents our spiritual preparation for the coming of Jesus Christ. The First Candle is called the Prophecy Candle in remembrance of the prophets who foretold the birth of Christ. It represents hope or expectation in anticipation of the coming of the Messiah. The Second Candle represents love, and some call this the Bethlehem candle. It symbolizes Christ's birth and being laid in a manager. The Third "Pink" Candle is customarily called the Shepherds Candle and it represents joy. The Fourth Candle is often referred to as the Angels' Candle and represents peace. The Christmas Eve White Candle at the center of the Advent wreath is called the Christ Candle and represents the life of Christ that has come into the world. The Presbyterian Women's Circle will hold their annual Christmas gathering on Saturday, December 8, at 12:00 p.m. at the home of Pat Sparks, 400 Westmoreland Ave., Portsmouth. There will be a covered dish luncheon followed by a special Christmas program including a musical performance by Burma Smith's granddaughter, Lindsay. All the women of the church are welcome to join us for this event. Contact Pat Sparks or Alice Simpson if you plan to attend so that we will know how many folks we will be serving and bring your favorite dish to share at the luncheon. A note from Rise Against Hunger Richmond: It is with great pleasure that we announce the destination of the Rise Against Hunger meals you helped package on 10/13/2018. A shipping container, holding 285,120 meals, has been sent to Madagascar and Swaziland for our partner Adventist Development and Relief Agency. Ending hunger is only possible if we continue to grow the movement. We encourage you to share the news about this shipment. Since 2005, volunteers like you have helped us distribute over 310 million meals worldwide. We can end hunger by 2030, but we can't do it without you. The first/organizational meeting of the 1st Pres. Book Club will be held in the fellowship hall following post-worship fellowship on Sunday, December 2. All are invited to come with a suggestion of one or two books for the book club to read. A light lunch will be provided.