Bethel Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) ~ a community of faith coming together, for fellowship, study and service... seeking God s peace, justice and love ~ 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.) 1 st Sunday of Advent / Communion Sunday December 2, 2017-11:00 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 O COME, O COME EMMANUEL arr. Lanz Call to Worship (L = Leader, P = People) L: The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill my promise to my people. P: Justice and righteousness will fill the land and all will live in peace and safety. Lighting of the Advent Candles Reader 1: We light this candle as a symbol of the hope we have in the promise of the Lord s coming. Reader 2: For the Lord will fulfill his promise to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. A righteous Branch will spring up for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. All: Come, Lord Jesus, come!
Prayer of Invocation Let us pray: Holy One, you have promised us that the day of our salvation is near. Keep us faithful in love and watchful in prayer, so that we may stand with confidence and joy at the coming of Christ, our redeemer and Lord. Amen. * Hymn No. 83 COME, THOU LONG-EXPECTED JESUS STUTTGART * Call to Confession Jesus said, Do not let your hearts be weighed down by the sins and worries of this life, but watch and pray for the grace of God, who will save you in your time of trial. With confidence in God s mercy, let us confess our sin. * Corporate Prayer of Confession Lord, have mercy on us. We are not ready for your coming. We live in sin, as though there were no justice. We live in fear, as though there were no grace. Forgive us, Lord. Show us your mercy and steadfast love. Lead us in your truth, and teach us your paths, for you are the God of our salvation. (silent and personal confession) Amen. * Sung Response No. 551 LORD, HAVE MERCY LAND OF REST Lord, have mer-cy; Christ, have mer-cy; Lord, have mer-cy up-on us. Lord, have mer-cy; Christ, have mer-cy; Lord, have mer-cy up-on us. * Declaration of Forgiveness The Lord is our righteousness. In Christ, we are forgiven.
Hymn No. 89 FOR YOU, O LORD, MY SOUL IN STILLNESS WAITS (Refrain) For you, O Lord, my soul in still-ness waits; tru-ly my hope is in you. Children s Moment THE WORD Choral Anthem CANDLES OF ADVENT by N. Price & D. Besig Prayer for Illumination Let us pray: Amid much confusion, signs leading away from you, we seek your truth. Open our hearts to the wonders of your work and the wisdom of your word. Amen. Responsive Reading from Scripture Wisdom Psalm 25 (Prayer for Guidance and for Deliverance) L: To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. P: O my God, in you I trust; do not let me be put to shame; do not let my enemies exult over me. L: Do not let those who wait for you be put to shame; let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous. P: Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. L: Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long. P: Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord, and of your steadfast love, for they have been from of old. L: Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for your goodness sake, O Lord! P: Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in the way. L: He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.
P: All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his decrees. Reading from Holy Scripture Prophet Jeremiah 33:14-16 (The Righteous Branch ) Pg. 694 Sermon: Surely the Days are Coming RESPONSE TO THE WORD * Affirmation of Faith The Apostles Creed Hymnal - pg. 35 * Hymn No. 357 THE DAYS ARE SURELY COMING LLANGLOFFAN THE SACRAMENT OF HOLY COMMUNION Call to Offering Trusting in the sure promises of Christ, and grateful for the Spirit s sustaining power, let us bring our tithes and offerings to God. Offertory A BRUSH OF WINGS by D. Lanz * Hymn No. 606 PRAISE GOD, FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW * Prayer of Dedication Let us pray: God of righteousness, you have saved us from the worst the world can do and have promised to redeem the whole creation when Christ comes again. In faith and hope we offer our gifts of money and self, that we may be part of what you are doing in the world even now, as we watch for Christ s coming in glory. Amen.
Invitation to the Lord s Table This is the table, not of the Church, but of the Lord. It is to be made ready for those who love him and who want to love him more. So, come, you who have much faith and you who have little, you who have been here often and you who have not been for a long time, you who have tried to follow and you who have failed. Come, not because it is I who invite you: it is our Lord. It is his will that those who want him should meet him here. Great Thanksgiving (L = Leader, P = People) L: The Lord be with you. P: And also with you. L: Lift up your hearts. P: We lift them up to the Lord. L: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. P: It is right to give our thanks and praise. It is right and a good and joyful thing always and everywhere to give thanks to you, Almighty God, creator of heaven and earth. You call all people to follow your paths of justice and peace, beating their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. In the light of your holy Word we look for the day when nation shall not lift up sword against nation, or learn war anymore. Therefore, with the entire company of heaven, and with your people on earth who live in this hope, we praise you and join in the never-ending hymn: 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.
Holy are you and blessed is Jesus Christ your Son, for he is Immanuel, God with us. Fulfilling the expectations of the prophets he healed the blind and the lame, cleansed the lepers, opened the ears of the deaf, raised the dead, and brought good news to the poor. Through his life, death, and resurrection you manifest your new covenant with humankind, and through the church of his disciples you give testimony to the power of your salvation for the world. Therefore in remembrance of all your mighty acts in Jesus Christ, we give ourselves in praise and thanksgiving as a living sacrifice in union with Christ s offering for the world as we declare: Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again. Send your Holy Spirit upon us, gathered here out of love for you, and on these gifts of bread and wine. Let the bread we break be a true fellowship in the body of Christ. Let the cup we share be a true participation in the new covenant in his blood. By your Spirit empower us to be Christ for the world, serving in his name until the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. Through your son Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit in your holy church, all glory and honor is yours, almighty God, now and forever. Amen. The Lord s Prayer (sin / sin against us) Words of Institution Distribution of the Elements
Prayer after Communion Let us pray. Lord Jesus Christ, you have put your life into our hands; now we put our lives into yours. Take us, renew and remake us. What we have been is past; what we shall be, through you, still awaits us. Lead us on. Take us with you. Amen. THE SENDING FORTH * Hymn No. 347 LET ALL MORTAL FLESH KEEP SILENCE PICARDY * Benediction Go in peace, live in love, and seek to be holy in all that you do. May the God of mercy keep you, the Holy Spirit cheer you, and Christ in glory greet you, now and at the day of his coming. * Sung Response No. 91 COME, COME EMMANUEL (sung twice) Come, come Em-man-u-el. Come, Em-man-u-el * Postlude DECK THE HALL arr. Coates