LIBERTY CHURCH, PCA A congregation of the Presbyterian Church in America Sunday, December 10, 2017 Praising God Connecting with His People Advancing His Kingdom Dr. Barry Cureton Shepherding Pastor Phill & Kelly Thomas Youth Directors
Worship Service And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14 Prelude Welcome and Announcements Ministry Minute Pastor Barry Ted Peiffer Pulpit Search Committee Silent Prayer of Preparation Introit Christmas Hymn Liberty Quartet Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, Arr. Keith Christopher Call to Worship Psalm 33:1-8 *Hymn of Praise O Praise to Thee, Eternal Lord #155 *Invocation *Confession of Faith The Nicene Creed We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of His Father, before all worlds. God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father; by whom all things were made. Who for us and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate; he suffered and was buried; and the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory to judge both the living and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end. And we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets; and we believe in one holy catholic* and apostolic Church; we acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and we look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen *that is, the true Christian church of all times and all places
*Gloria Patri Confession of Sin Almighty God, we are unworthy to come into your presence, because of our many sins. We do not deserve any grace or mercy from you. We have sinned against you, and we have offended you. And yet, as we acknowledge our sins and offenses, so also do we acknowledge you to be a merciful God, a loving and favorable Father, to all who turn to you. And so we humbly ask you, for the sake of Christ your Son, to show mercy to us, and forgive us all our offenses. Forgive the sins of our youth, and the sins of our old age. By your Spirit, O God, take possession of our hearts, so that, not only the actions of our life, but also the words of our mouths, and the smallest thought of our minds, may be guided and governed by you. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be all honor and glory, now and forever. Amen. [Adapted from John Knox's Liturgy of 1560] Words of Assurance Hebrews 1:1-3 *Carols of Praise Once in Royal David s City C. Alexander/H. Gauntiett Once in Royal David s City stood a lowly cattle shed, Where a mother laid her Baby, in a manger for His bed; Mary was that mother mild, Jesus Christ her little Child. He came down to earth from heaven Who is God and Lord of all, And His shelter was a stable, and His cradle was a stall; With the poor, and mean, and lowly, lived on earth our Saviour Holy. And through all His wondrous childhood He would honor and obey, Love and watch the lowly maiden in whose gentle arms He lay. Christian children all must be, mild, obedient, good as He. And our eyes at last shall see Him, through His own redeeming love; For that Child so dear and gentle, is our Lord in heav n above, And He leads his children on, to the place where He is gone. Not in that poor lowly stable, with the oxen standing by. We shall see him, but in heaven, set at God s right hand on high; When like stars His children crowned, all in white shall wait around.
O Holy Night O holy night, the stars are brightly shining It is the night of dear Savior s birth Long lay the world in sin and error pining Til he appeared, and the soul felt its worth A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices For yonder breaks, a new and glorious morn Fall on your knees Oh, hear the angel voices O night, divine! O night when Christ was born! O night, divine! O night, O night divine! Truly He taught us to love one another His law is love and His gospel is peace Chains shall He break, for a slave is our brother And in His name all oppression shall cease Sweet hymns of joy, in grateful chorus raise we Let all within us, praise His holy name Christ is the Lord Oh, praise His name forever His power and glory evermore proclaim His power and glory evermore proclaim Fall on your knees Oh, hear the angel voices O night, divine! O night when Christ was born! O night, O Holy night, O night divine! O night divine! O night divine! Shepherding Prayer Elder Steve Madden *Hymn of Thanksgiving God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen #160 Receiving of Tithes and Offerings Offertory O Little Town of Bethlehem Choir D. Forest Sermon Scripture Deuteronomy 18:15-19 [Children ages 4-2nd grade are dismissed for Wonders of Worship (Children s Church) with Cindy and Hannah Watkins.
Sermon Jesus Messiah: Prophet, Priest, and King Pastor Barry This Week: The Ultimate Prophet *Hymn of Response Go Tell It on the Mountain [Chorus:] 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 o'er silent flocks by night, behold, throughout the heavens There shone a holy light. [chorus] The shepherds feared and trembled when lo, above the earth rang out the angel chorus that hailed our Savior s birth! [chorus] Down in a lonely manger the humble Christ was born, and God sent our salvation that blessed Christmas morn. [chorus] CCLI 578579 *Benediction (followed by an opportunity to pray with the elders) Postlude This Advent Season as we celebrate the Incarnation of our Savior we are thankful for those great church leaders of centuries past who formulated our Creeds which bring glory to Our Savior in His divinity and humanity. Today, we recite the Nicene Creed which was first constructed at the First Council of Nicaea (325 AD) and later expanded on and adopted by the Council of Chalcedon (451 AD). The Creed was formulated to answer heresies regarding the Divinity of Christ and His relationship to the Father. As these heresies are still present today, the Creed is as relevant now as it was centuries ago.
Sermon Notes
Deuteronomy 18:15-18 Acts 3:17-26 15 The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear, 16 according to all you desired of the LORD your God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, nor let me see this great fire anymore, lest I die. 17 And the LORD said to me: What they have spoken is good. 18 I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him. 19 And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him. 17 Yet now, brethren, I know that you did it in ignorance, as did also your rulers. 18 But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. 19 Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, 20 and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, [a] 21 whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began. 22 For Moses truly said to the fathers, The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you. 23 And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people. [b] 24 Yes, and all the prophets, from Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have also foretold [c] these days. 25 You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. [d] 26 To you first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities.
Needed to Borrow Maxine Saylor needs to borrow four hot plates in December and January for the Trailblazers. Please contact Maxine at 301-332-2012. Church Envelopes If you would like church envelopes for next year and didn t have them this year, please contact the church office or Chris Bohmer at 410-795-4892. Thank You The Liberty Church Family, Thank you for all your prayers for me during my recent illness and for the delicious fruit basket from the church. We appreciated the visits from Pastor Barry, Werner Kloetzli and the calls from Pastor Russ. Thanks again, Don Davidson Found There were some digital photo albums found in the cloak room, if anyone knows who they belong to, please contact the church office. If no one claims them in a few weeks, we will give them away. Need for Volunteers The Deacons are making some adjustments in procedures for SECURITY during Church services. We need additional men to participate in monitoring the building and property one Sunday about every three months. If interested in helping contact Oliver Dearden 410-833-8309 In God We Trust Community Group The IN GOD WE TRUST Group is starting again with a series from John Ankerburg Ministries "the book of REVELATION". The last meeting of the year is today. Watch the bulletin for upcoming dates in the new year. Meeting in the Fellowship Hall from 12:30 to 1:30ish. Bring your own lunch. For more information, contact Oliver or Fiona Dearden at 410-833-8309. Youth Group Youth Group is for 6-12 grade students every other Sunday night at 6:30 p.m. through 8:30 pm in the Block House. Join us for Youth Group in the block house Sunday, December 17th. LCS Fundraiser Krispy Kreme Donuts! The Robotics team from LCS is selling Krispy Kreme donuts. Whether you want original glazed, creme or iced doughnuts, coffee, or gift certificates for Christmas, we've got you covered. You can purchase doughnuts to take home with you or purchase a gift certificate for a dozen doughnuts to redeem at a later date. All orders must be in by Friday, December 15th. Pickup will be at LCS on Thursday December 21st at noon. There are flyers with more information on the back tables.
Schedule of Volunteers December 10 December 17 Nursery 9:30 a.m. Nursery 10:30 a.m. Toddler 10:30 a.m. Lisa Byrd Peggy Walker, Beth Harlan Elena Kitchen, Jackie Fuhrer Linda Anderson Meghan Ruch, Becky Hancock Nye & Kiley Hammer Lock-up Alan Hunzeker John Kitchen Sound Anthony Anderson Zach Dugan Greeters Usher Team Leader Pat Schlitzer, Mary Ellen Gannon Geof Smith Charlotte Crone, Donna Roberts Geof Smith Adult Sunday School Classes Colossians Charlie Cate Fellowship Hall 1 Peter Howard Hill Parlor Leadership Class Barry Cureton Barry s Office Sunday School classes will not be held on Dec 24 or Dec 31 to give our teachers a break for the holidays. Christmas Concert December 16 & 17 Want to help with the Christmas Concert to benefit the CPC? Why not share some of your holiday baked goods by donating some for our two post concert receptions? Goodies can be dropped off in the church kitchen or in the Old Sanctuary before the concert. Please no tree nuts or peanuts in the desserts. If you d like to help with serving punch or clean up, Margaret Cureton would love to hear from you or use the sign up sheets by each exit. The Goats and the Sheep will be together on the 17th!!! Next Sunday as we prepare for our second Benefit Christmas Concert for CPC, we will have the Old Sanctuary set for our post-concert reception. That means those who normally worship in the Old Sanctuary (the "goat section" as our dear Pastor Russ fondly designated them) will be worshipping in the Main Sanctuary with the "sheep" (as Pastor Russ designated them). We will all be under one roof that Sunday to make a "joyful noise" to the Lord as only goats and sheep can do! However the Cry Room will still be available. Thanks in advance for your understanding! Pastor B
Sunday, December 10 Weekly Schedule 2nd Sunday in Advent 9:30 am Sunday School for all ages/parents of Youth Group Meeting 10:30 am Coffee Fellowship 10:45 am Worship Service 12:30 pm In God We Trust/FH Monday, December 11 7:00 pm Tech Rehearsal for Christmas Concert Tuesday, December 12 6:00 am Men s Bible Study/Denny s 7:00 pm FMC, Mercy Needs Committee Meetings Wednesday, December 13 6:30 pm Prayer Group 7:00 pm Christian Service Brigade/LCS 7:00 pm Pioneer Girls/FH 7;00 pm Dress Rehearsal for Christmas Concert 7:00 pm Men s Bible Study/Parlor Saturday, December 16 6:30 pm Youth Group Handing out Bulletins at Christmas Concert 7:00 pm Christmas Benefit Concert 7:15 pm Youth Christmas Party/Block House Sunday, December 17 9:30 am Sunday School for all ages 10:30 am Coffee Fellowship 10:45 am Worship Service 3:30 pm Benefit Christmas Concert 3rd Sunday in Advent Sunday Morning Preaching Schedule Dec 17 - Chuck Garriott, Director of Ministry to State Dec 24 - Pastor Barry - "Christ as King" Dec 31 - Chuck Garriott- Prayer (Pastor Barry will be on vacation) Christmas Eve Candlelight Service Musical Prelude - 6:45 pm Service - 7:00 pm