Advent
CHRIST COMMUNITY CHURCH The First Lord s Day in Advent Call to worship Creation sings the Father's song, He calls the sun to wake the dawn And run the course of day, til evening falls in crimson rays His fingerprints in flakes of snow; His breath upon this spinning globe He charts the eagle's flight, commands the newborn baby's cry Hallelujah, let all creation stand and sing Hallelujah, fill the earth with songs of worship Tell the wonders of creation's King Creation gazed upon his face, the ageless One in time's embrace Unveilied the Father's plan of reconciling God and man A second Adam walked the earth whose blamless life would break the curse Whose death would set us free to live with Him eternally Creation longs for His return when Christ shall reign upon the earth The bitter wars that rage are birth pains of a coming age When He renews the land and sky, all heav'n will sing and earth reply With one resplendent theme: the glories of our God and King! Creation Sings the Father s Song; By Keith & Krystyn Getty, Stuart Townend; 2008 ThankYou Music; CCLI989254 Greeting Welcome in the name of the Lord! In the tender mercy of our God, the dayspring from on high shall break upon us, to give light to those who dwell in darkness and in the shadow of death and to guide our feet into the way of peace. ~ Luke 1:78-79 May the peace of our Lord Jesus be with you all. And also with you! Psalm reading Chapter 25:1-10 1 To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. 2 O my God, in you I trust;
let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me. 3 Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame; they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous. 4 Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. 5 Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long. 6 Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old. 7 Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O Lord! 8 Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in the way. 9 He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way. 10 All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end, Amen, Amen! Confession and absolution When the Lord comes, he will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness. Let us prepare the way of the Lord by confessing our sins against God and neighbor. Silent confession [Sing] Merciful God, we confess to you, before the whole company of heaven and one another (x2) that we have sinned in thought, word, and deed; and in what we have failed to do. Forgive our sins, heal us by Your Spirit, and raise us to new life in Christ, amen. Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. In Jesus Christ your sins are forgiven and all things made new. Rejoice in this good news, and be at peace. Amen.
Advent candle Hope, Isaiah 11:1-5 [Sing] O come, O come, Emmanuel And ransom captive Israel That mourns in lonely exile here Until the Son of God appears Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to you, O Israel! Prayers of the Assembly With all our heart and with all our mind, let us pray to the Lord, saying Have mercy, Lord. For peace within the world and for the welfare of the Holy Church of God, that we would cling to You and cling to our faith, we pray to the Lord: For the members of this congregation, for our elders, for those who have gone out from among us in the great commission of Christ Brian & Cindy Denker, and Stephen & Shelley Kennedy and for others the Britenmosers, I.O.I. and the Jacks families in Indonesia and Turkey, we pray to the Lord: For the aged and infirm, for the widowed and the orphans, for the sick and injured, for the poor and the oppressed, for the unemployed and the destitute, for prisoners and captives, and for all who remember and care for them, that among the suffering all might see Your purposes and mercies, we pray to the Lord: For pastors, priests, and other called ministers you have raised up from among us: For the leaders of this nation, for the leadership of our state and city, we pray to the Lord: In the communion of Christ Community Church and of all the saints, let us commend ourselves, and one another, and all our lives, to Christ our God. Even so, we say, come quickly Lord Jesus. To You, O Lord our God we pray, have mercy.
The Word Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the Words of eternal life. First Reading: Hear the Word of the Lord from the prophet Jeremiah: 14 Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 15 In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 16 In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: The LORD is our righteousness. (33:14-16) This is the Word of the Lord; Thanks be to God; Alleluia! Second Reading: Hear the Word of the Lord from the Gospel of Luke: 25 And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, 26 people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near. 29 And he told them a parable: Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. 30 As soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near. 31 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 32 Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. 34 But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. 35 For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36 But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man. (21:25-36) This is the Word of the Lord; Thanks be to God; Alleluia! Hymns and songs ~ Lo, He Comes with Clouds Descending, Hymn 199 ~ ~ Come, O Redeemer, Come ~ By Fernando Ortega; 1996 Metro One; CCLI989254 Father enthroned on high Holy Holy
Ancient, eternal Light Hear our prayer Come, oh Redeemer, come, Grant us mercy Come, oh Redeemer, come, Grant us peace Lord, save us from the dark Of our striving Faithless and troubled hearts Weighed down Look now upon our need Lord be with us Heal us and make us free From our sin Sermon Nicene creed Let us declare our holy faith. We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one being with the Father. Through Him all things were made. For us and for our salvation He came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit He became incarnate from the virgin Mary, and was made man.
For our sake He was crucified under Pontius Pilate; He suffered death and was buried. On the third day He rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and His kingdom will have no end. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son He is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the prophets. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come; Amen. Eucharist If you are a visitor among us here at Christ Community Church and you believe in our Lord Jesus Christ s death, burial, and resurrection from the dead for the forgiveness of your sins and you have been baptized, you are welcome to participate in The Eucharist, The Lord s Supper, with us. Unless otherwise instructed, join us at the kneeling bench at the altar. To receive the bread, hold out your hands and an elder or someone appointed to the task will hand you a piece of the bread. In the same manner, a cup will be given to you as well. We serve wine as well as grape juice in the cups. If you would like to have the grape juice, simply fold your arms across your chest in an X. This helps the server know which to serve The Lord is here; His Spirit is with us! Lift up your hearts; We lift them to the Lord! Let us give thanks to the Lord our God; It is right to give him thanks and praise!...prayer Holy, holy, holy Lord God of power and might heaven and earth are full of your glory Hosanna in the highest Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord Hosanna in the highest 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, the power, and the glory, forever, Amen. The blessing the bread and cup... Departing song Then they sang a hymn and went out. ~ I Am Resolved, Hymn 301 ~ I am resolved no longer to linger, charmed by the world's delight; things that are higher, things that are nobler, these have allured my sight I will hasten to Him, hasten so glad and free; Jesus, greatest, highest, I will come to Thee I am resolved to go to the Savior, leaving my sin and strife; He is the true one; He is the just one, He has the words of life I am resolved, and who will go with me? Come, friends, without delay; taught by the Bible, led by the Spirit, we'll walk the heavenly way Doxology and Benediction