University Presbyterian Church Order of Worship December 9, :30am 2nd Sunday of Advent

Transcription

1 University Presbyterian Church Order of Worship December 9, :30am 2nd Sunday of Advent < < I N V I T E D > > Instrumental Prelude: Gentle Mary Laid Her Child/Sheep May Safely Graze arr. Anna Page Hannah Byun, Principal Organist Opening Hymn #173: O Come, All Ye Faithful O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant, O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem! Come and behold him, born the King of angels. REFRAIN: O come, let us adore him; O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord. True God of true God, Light from Light eternal, Lo, he shuns not the Virgin s womb; Son of the Father, begotten, not created; (refrain) Sing, choir of angels, sing in exultation! O sing, all ye citizens of heaven above: Glory to God, all glory in the highest. (refrain) Yea, Lord, we greet thee, born this happy morning, Jesus, to thee be all glory given; Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing. (refrain) Advent Call to Worship: Isaiah 9:2 (adapted) The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness on them light has shone. Come and worship. Hear the word of the Lord whose light brings hope to a weary world. Scripture Reading and Lighting of the Advent Candle Luke 1:76-79 (p. 832) And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins. By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. Welcome & Greeting Time

2 Hymn #809: Doxology 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 Confession and Assurance of Pardon Hymn #155: O Little Town of Bethlehem O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie! Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by. Yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting Light; The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight. For Christ is born of Mary, and gathered all above, While mortals sleep, the angels keep their watch of wondering love. O morning stars, together proclaim the holy birth, And praises sing to God the King, and peace to men on earth. How silently, how silently the wondrous gift is given; So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of his heaven! No ear may hear his coming, but in this world of sin, Where meek souls will receive him still the dear Christ enters in. 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. Invitation to Children s Worship < < W E H E A R > Offering Moment & Prayer of Dedication Tithes & Offerings: Noël, Grand Jeu et Duo by Louis-Claude Daquin Hannah Byun, organ Sermon: A Harlot s Faith Rev. Aaron Williams Text: Joshua 2:1-21 (p. 169) 1 Then Joshua son of Nun sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying, "Go, view the land, especially Jericho." So they went, and entered the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab, and spent the night there. 2 The king of Jericho was told, "Some Israelites have come here tonight to search out the land." 3 Then the king of Jericho sent orders to Rahab, "Bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house, for they have come

3 only to search out the whole land." 4 But the woman took the two men and hid them. Then she said, "True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they came from. 5 And when it was time to close the gate at dark, the men went out. Where the men went I do not know. Pursue them quickly, for you can overtake them." 6 She had, however, brought them up to the roof and hidden them with the stalks of flax that she had laid out on the roof. 7 So the men pursued them on the way to the Jordan as far as the fords. As soon as the pursuers had gone out, the gate was shut. 8 Before they went to sleep, she came up to them on the roof 9 and said to the men: "I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that dread of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt in fear before you. 10 For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites that were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. 11 As soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no courage left in any of us because of you. The Lord your God is indeed God in heaven above and on earth below. 12 Now then, since I have dealt kindly with you, swear to me by the Lord that you in turn will deal kindly with my family. Give me a sign of good faith 13 that you will spare my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death." 14 The men said to her, "Our life for yours! If you do not tell this business of ours, then we will deal kindly and faithfully with you when the Lord gives us the land." 15 Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the outer side of the city wall and she resided within the wall itself. 16 She said to them, "Go toward the hill country, so that the pursuers may not come upon you. Hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers have returned; then afterward you may go your way." 17 The men said to her, "We will be released from this oath that you have made us swear to you 18 if we invade the land and you do not tie this crimson cord in the window through which you let us down, and you do not gather into your house your father and mother, your brothers, and all your family. 19 If any of you go out of the doors of your house into the street, they shall be responsible for their own death, and we shall be innocent; but if a hand is laid upon any who are with you in the house, we shall bear the responsibility for their death. 20 But if you tell this business of ours, then we shall be released from this oath that you made us swear to you." 21 She said, "According to your words, so be it." She sent them away and they departed. Then she tied the crimson cord in the window. << WE RESPOND>> Hymn of Response #135: Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus Come, thou long-expected Jesus, born to set thy people free; From our fears and sins release us; let us find our rest in thee. Israel s strength and consolation, hope of all the earth thou art; Dear Desire of every nation, joy of every longing heart. Born thy people to deliver, born a child and yet a king, Born to reign in us forever, now thy gracious kingdom bring. By thine own eternal Spirit rule in all our hearts alone; By thine all-sufficient merit raise us to thy glorious throne.

4 Prayers of the People & 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 trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen. *Closing Hymn #146: Joy to the World Joy to the world! the Lord is come; Let earth receive her King; Let every heart prepare him room, And heaven and nature sing, And heaven and nature sing, And heaven, and heaven and nature sing. Joy to the earth! The Savior reigns; let all their songs employ; While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains Repeat the sounding joy, repeat the sounding joy, Repeat, repeat the sounding joy. No more let sins and sorrows grow, nor thorns infest the ground; He comes to make his blessings flow Far as the curse is found, far as the curse is found, Far as, far as the curse is found. He rules the world with truth and grace, and makes the nations prove The glories of his righteousness, and wonders of his love, And wonders of his love, and wonders, wonders of his love. Children s Praise: Go, Tell It on the Mountain Cherub Choir; Kathleen Anderson, director; Sharon Peterson, accompanist Go, tell it on the mountain Over the hills and everywhere Go tell it on the mountain That Jesus Christ is born While shepherds kept their watching Over silent flocks by night Behold throughout the heavens There shone a holy light. The shepherds feared and trembled When lo! Above the earth Rang out the angel chorus. That hailed our Saviour s birth

5 Down in a lowly manger The humble Christ was born And God sent us salvation That blessèd Christmas morn Benediction Trumpet Postlude: Wake, Awake, for Night is Flying arr. Grimoaldo Macchia Hannah Byun, organ _+_+_+_+_+_+_+_ TODAY S WORSHIP PARTICIPANTS: Aaron Williams, Pastor, Discipleship Ken Sunoo, Pastor, Global Ministries Liz Whitney, Liturgist Dan, Ash, Emma & Amar Gunderson, Candlelighters David Gardner, Director of Worship & Arts Hannah Byun, Principal Organist CURRENT SERMON SERIES: MOTHERS OF JESUS What we learn about Jesus from the women in his ancestry Jesus is the Son of God and the Son of many women. The story of Mary is often told but not so much the story of Jesus other mothers. Matthew notes the omission and begins telling the story of Jesus (in Matthew 1:1-17) by reminding his readers of the extraordinary women in his story. He points in particular to five who find themselves in the lineage of the Savior, each remarkable in their own way. Together they point to the importance of women, to the grace that lays bare the brokenness of our humanity, and to the hope of heaven for all people in the birth of this one child, Jesus. MEMORIAL SERVICE A memorial service for Ken Yates will be held this Thursday (Dec. 13) at 1:00pm in the Sanctuary. CHANCEL FLOWERS The flowers on the Chancel today are given in loving memory of W. Prescott (Pres) Miller and Elizabeth Lucker Miller. To request Chancel flowers in memory or in honor of a loved one, please contact Bob Davies in the Worship department (x143, bobd@upc.org). Families with young children are always welcome to worship together in the Sanctuary. The service is also played on closed-circuit TV in Knox Parlor, just outside the Sanctuary, which is available for parents and children, if desired.

6 NEXT SUNDAY: December 16 Sermon: An Immigrant s Generosity George Hinman Text: Ruth 1:8-17, 4:13-15 (p. 210, 212) COPYRIGHT INFORMATION Lyrics to copyrighted songs used by permission (CCLI license # and OneLicense.net #A ).