A SPECIAL WELCOME TO OUR GUESTS: We extend a warm welcome from Bethel Presbyterian Church! We invite you to participate in signing the Friendship Folders adding your name and address and if you desire a church newsletter or a pastoral call. When we pray the Lord s Prayer, we say sins sin against us rather than debts... or trespasses Prayer requests can be noted on the cards provided in the pew racks. Please put those in the offering plate.
Chiming of the Hour The Service for the Lord s Day Bethel Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) 4 th Sunday of Advent December 23, 2018-11:00 AM * Indicates congregation standing if able. Congregational responses indicated in bold. GATHERING AND GREETING OF GOD S PEOPLE Welcome and Announcements Please sign the Friendship Pad found in your pew, passing it down the pew then back. Prelude A CHRISTMAS MEDLEY arr. J. Purifoy Call to Worship (L = Leader, P = People) L: Prepare the way of the Lord; P: make a path for our God in the desert. L: Each valley shall be exalted; P: Every mountain and hill be laid low. L: The crooked shall be made straight; P: rough places shall become plain. L: The glory of the Lord shall be revealed; P: all people shall see it together. L: This is the promise of the Lord; P: God s promise shall be fulfilled. Lighting of the Advent Candles Reader 1: We light this candle as a symbol of God s love for us and our love for one another. Reader 2: For the Lord rejoices over us with gladness, and renews us in his love. He exults over us with singing and turns our shame to praise. All: Come, Lord Jesus, come!
Prayer of Invocation Let us pray: God of grace, your eternal Word took flesh among us when Mary placed her life at the service of your will. Prepare our hearts for his coming again; keep us steadfast in hope and faithful in service, that we may receive the coming of his kingdom for the sake of Jesus Christ, the ruler of all, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. * Hymn No. 87 COMFORT, COMFORT NOW MY PEOPLE GENEVAN Children s Moment THE WORD Choral Anthem SEE AMID THE WINTER S SNOW by E. Caswell Reading from Holy Scripture Prophet Isaiah 12:2-6 (Thanksgiving and Praise) Pg. 603 Gospel Luke 1:45-55 (Mary s Song of Praise) Pg. 53 Choral Anthem HURRY, SHEPHERDS, RUN by Douglas Wagner Choral Anthem WAITING FOR A KING by Joseph Martin Lyric Rivera, flute Sharing of Joys and Concerns RESPONSE TO THE WORD Prayers of the People We bless you, our God, mighty sovereign power, gentle caring mother. You do not forget your children. We bless you, our God, for your great gifts to us: creation fragile and fascinating, Scripture revealing your truth.
And you bless us with your forgiving love, with the vision of your kingdom, shedding light in our darkness. Bless us and disturb us God with that vision of your kingdom, and as we voice our hopes to you now, may they strengthen us, reassure us and move us We pray for those caught up in wars around the world; soldiers, refugees and those who hold fast to the reasons for the fighting We pray for the homeless excluded from what the rest of us are doing, cold, struggling to keep a hold of who they are We pray for those who are ill, coping with pain, fearing the worst, and for health professionals who plan for the future We pray for those people struggling in relationships, especially at this family time, when the cracks are kept just below the surface And for the deepest hopes of our hearts, we pray now Into the mess of this world a fragile child will come yelling in the night for his mother, needing milk and clean linen We pin our hopes on you, little baby, our God pushed out into the world, through pain and into poverty. Our God is with us and our hope is reborn. Amen. The Lord s Prayer (sin / sin against us) * Hymn No. 105 PEOPLE, LOOK EAST BESANCON
Invitation to the Offering The earth is the Lord s, and all the is in it, the world, and those who live in it. Offertory WHAT CHILD IS THIS arr. Lanz * Hymn No. 606 PRAISE GOD, FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW * Prayer of Dedication Let us pray: Blessed are you, O God, maker of all things. Through your goodness you have blessed us with these gifts: our selves, our time, and our possessions. Use us, and what we have gathered, in feeding the world with your love; through the one who gave himself for us, Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord. Amen. THE SENDING FORTH Choral Anthem GLORY OF CHRISTMAS arr. H. Halvey Rebecca Price, soloist * Benediction God of the watching ones, the waiting ones, the slow and suffering ones, the angels in heaven, the child in the womb, give us your benediction, your good word for our souls, that we might rest and rise in the kindness of your company. Amen. * Sung Response No. 91 COME, COME EMMANUEL (sung twice) Come, come Em-man-u-el. Come, Em-man-u-el * Postlude THE FIRST NOEL / CHRISTMAS EVE WALTZ arr. Lanz