Bethany loving with the heart of Jesus Clearing Out the Clutter Rev. John Hamilton December 24, 2017 10:00 AM Our Mission To trust in Jesus love like Jesus grow in Jesus bring others to Jesus
WE GATHER BEFORE GOD The Chiming of the Hour The Welcome and News of the Church The Prelude The Lighting of the Advent Candles The Prophet s Candle of Hope The Bethlehem Candle of Mercy The Angel s Candle of Joy The Wise Men s Candle of Faith The Prayer *The Hymn No. 189 Angels, from the Realms of Glory *The Prayer of Confession O come, O come, Emmanuel Come as light into our world of darkness; come as life into our world of death. Come as bread into our hungry hearts; come as water into our parched souls. Come as peace into our world of strife; come as love into our world of hate. Come as mercy into our lives of sin; come as hope into our times of despair. O come, O come, Emmanuel Come as flesh into our very human world; come as God for we need saved *Silent Prayer
*Assurance of Pardon *The Response O come, Desire of nations, bind all people in one heart and mind; bid envy, strife and quarrels cease; fill the whole world with heaven s peace. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel! WE GIVE TO GOD The Children s Message The Prayer of Dedication The Presentation of our Tithes and Offerings The Offertory A Beautiful Boy Beneath the Star Al & Joy Heaps The Response What Child is This? What child is this who, laid to rest On Mary's lap is sleeping? Whom Angels greet with anthems sweet, While shepherds watch are keeping? CHORUS: This, this is Christ the King, Whom shepherds guard and Angels sing; Haste, haste, to bring Him laud, The Babe, the Son of Mary. Why lies He in such mean estate, Where ox and ass are feeding? Good Christians, fear, for sinners here The silent Word is pleading. (Chorus) So bring Him incense, gold and myrrh, Come peasant, king to own Him; The King of kings salvation brings, Let loving hearts enthrone Him. (Chorus)
WE LISTEN TO GOD S WORD The Pastoral Prayer and The Lord s Prayer The Song Mary Did You Know? Lena Werner, Devin Underwood, John Hamilton The Scripture Readings Old Testament: Isaiah 40: 3-5 page 1119 New Testament: John 1: 10-14 page 1587 Leader: The Word of the Lord. People: Thanks be to God. The Meditation Clearing Out the Clutter Pastor John Hamilton WE RESPOND TO GOD S WORD *The Hymn No. 179 Joy to the World *The Benediction *The Benediction Response Glo-ri-a, in excelsis Deo; Glo-ria-a in excelsis Deo Postlude Christmas Eve Worship Schedule Sunday, December 24, 2017 The Family Service: 4:00 PM A service that focuses on children and families on this holy night. The Traditional Candlelight Service: 8:00 PM Carols, Scripture and a Christmas Message The Candlelight Service With Holy Communion: 10:00 PM A meditative service of lessons and carols, the Sacrament of Communion and special music.
Sunday, December 24 Fourth Sunday of Advent Christmas Eve 10:00 AM - Worship 4:00 PM - Family Service 8:00 PM - Traditional Candlelight Service 10:00 PM - Candlelight Vigil Service Monday, December 25 Christmas Day Pray for Mark & Sara Marra CHURCH OFFICE CLOSED Calendar and Events for the Week Wednesday, December 27 Pray for Shaun, Kathryn, Ava, Sophia, Lane, Case & Reed Martinec Thursday, December 28 Pray for Jamie, Christopher Martinelli 9:15 AM Quilting 12:00 PM Thursday Knitters 7:00 PM AA Meeting Friday, December 29 Pray for Morgan Martinson Tuesday, December 26 Pray for Courtland, Julie, Zachary Olivia, & Madison Marrow CHURCH OFFICE CLOSED Saturday, December 30 Sunday, December 31 New Year s Eve 10:00 AM - Worship FROM THE CHURCH OFFICE: Attendance for December 17, 2017: 8:15 75, 10:45 238, 6:00 40 Finance Report: As of December 17, 2017 ($) 2017 YTD 2016 YTD +/- Contributions and investment income 561,693 545,337 16,356 General Fund Subsidies (transfers) 169,583 226,640 (57,058) Total General Fund Income 731,275 771,977 (40,721) Year to Date Budget 722,328 +/- Budget 895
WELCOME TO BETHANY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH We are delighted to have you in worship with us today! Our worship services today, Christmas Eve, are at 10:00 am, 4:00 pm, 8:00 pm and 10:00 pm. Please see the back of the bulletin for a description of each of the evening services. A Nursery is adjacent to the Sanctuary for infants through 2 years of age, and has a paging system available. A Cry Room with windows and speaker is at the rear of the Sanctuary (near the usher s table) on the pulpit side. Child Care (2 nd Hour) for ages 2 and 3 is available in room 149. Worship and Wonder, available for children age 4 thru 2 nd grade during our 10:45am service. Children will be escorted by our teachers after the offering to the class, which is held in Rm 144. Parents can pick up their children in the classroom after church. Coffee, cookies/donuts and fellowship are in the Welcome Center Please sign the Fellowship Pad at the end of the pew and pass it on. Sound amplification devices are available to those who might need or want to use them. Our ushers are available to help with any needs that you have during worship. Please turn off cell phones before worship. Thank you. *on the Worship bulletin indicates all who are able, please stand. Keep in Prayer: Rob Lytle Recovering from surgery Marjorie Jablonski at Kane, recovering from the flu THANKS TO THOSE SERVING THE LORD THIS MORNING Ushers: Andrea Prohaska, Nikki O Brien, Jim Myers, Lee Restich No Worship & Wonder today No 2 nd Hour today Scrip Table: Andrea Prohaska Nursery: Jenny Smith (for 2 and under only)
NEWS FOR THE BODY OF CHRIST Mentors Needed The Confirmation class is looking for people who are interested in serving as Mentors for the students in the class. There are currently 5 female students, and 4 males. If you have a love for Jesus, and want to help a young person do the same, please consider volunteering. Mentors will be asked to spend some time with the youth and other mentors as a group, and individually, in order to help the youth as he or she writes their statement of faith, makes their Confirmation and becomes a member of Bethany Presbyterian Church. Please contact Sue Nagy or one of the pastors if interested. Christmas Card Exchange Available December 3rd through January 7th. Send and receive Christmas cards with attending church members. (No postage needed).use the alphabetized mailboxes located in the Narthex. Celebrate and share God's love with your church family! New Women s Bible Study Starting January 7, 2018: The book Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver will be studied and discussed several times throughout the week. Books will be available after the worship service throughout December ( a free will offering of $8.00 to cover the cost will be accepted but not required) You are welcome to attend any of these groups that fit your time schedule. Sunday school hour (9:30AM), Tuesday Night-(6:30PM), Saturday morning (2 nd and 4 th week-9am), Friday morning- (10AM) Know everyone is welcomed whether you are a regular bible study participant or you have never participated in one. If you have any questions feel free to contact Pastor Melany Hamilton at melany.hamilton@bethanypresby.org. Chancel Flowers 2018: The schedule for chancel flowers will be in the Welcome Center starting on December 3. If you are already on the schedule from 2017, you will automatically be put on for 2018. If you have a change for your flowers please make the corrections on the schedule or call Jill in the church office. Flowers are $30 for a vase and $40 for a centerpiece. All of our flowers are ordered from local florist Broniak & Kraf in South Fayette. Breakfast and the Bible On January 7th, Breakfast and the Bible will be starting a new series, Only Two Religions, by Dr. Peter Jones. This is an adult Sunday school class led by Shaun and Kathryn Martinec. We meet during Sunday School hour, 9:30-10:30, in the Bethany Room. There will be breakfast, weekly videos, and discussion time. We encourage you to join our group as we begin this new series and learn about being a Christian in today s world. If you have any questions, please call or text Shaun at 724-263-9043 or Kathryn at 412-716-0978.
Only Two Religions Do we worship the Creator or the Creation? If you survey the religious landscape of modern culture, you will encounter an astonishingly diverse range of views. But beneath the surface, these seemingly disparate spiritualities share a common worldview, one that is radically opposed to the Christian faith. In this series, join Dr. Peter Jones as he examines the worldview and fundamental religious convictions that drive modern culture. He demonstrates that in the final analysis, there can be only two religions - worship of the Creator or worship of creation. December Special Offering - Christmas Joy Offering The special offering envelope for December supports the Christmas Joy offering. 50% of this collection supports the Presbytery Christmas Joy offering which provides assistance to current and retired church workers in their time of need and develops our future leaders at Presbyterian-related schools and colleges. The other 50% will be donated to the Bethany Hurricane Relief Fund. The mission team is currently working with hurricane victims in Texas and plans to assist in Florida and Puerto Rico as well. TAX REFORM AND YEAR-END CONTRIBUTIONS Significant U.S. tax reform is targeted for December 2017. As proposed, the tax reform could significantly impact charitable giving due to proposed increases in the standard deduction. For some individuals and families, it may be advantageous to accelerate contributions that were originally planned for 2018 into 2017. If you choose to accelerate contributions, please plan to communicate such to the church finance office in conjunction with your year-end contribution. Also, many families and individuals may see their tax burden reduced in 2018. If you ve always wanted to give more to the Lord s work at Bethany, but haven t been in a position to do so, a 2018 tax reduction might be a good opportunity! As the end of the year approaches, please keep in mind that contributions for 2017 must be received at the church no later than December 31, 2017. IRS rules provide that a check placed in the church offering plate in January 2018 cannot be recorded as a 2017 contribution, even if the check has been dated in 2017. Contributions postmarked in 2017 and received in 2018; however, can and will be credited to 2017. If you have questions, please don t hesitate to contact: - Mark Wolstoncroft Treasurer (412) 527-8212 wolstoncroft@gmail.com - Kim McCann Accountant (412) 221-5132 finance@bethanypresby.org Kim is generally in the office Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday until 2:00 p.m. However, she will be away the week of December 16 th.