Sunday Worship Bulletin - Fourth Church

Bulletins are posted on the day prior.

Sunday, December 14
9:30 a.m. Worship Service

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PRELUDE

Savior of the Nations, Come
Johann Sebastian Bach

INTROIT
Come, Come, Emmanuel
Lynn Shaw Bailey and Becki Slagle Mayo
Come, come, Messiah, come. Come, Emmanuel. Come, come, O Promised One. Come, Emmanuel. Prophets of old have told of your coming. Long we have waited; long we have prayed. Kingdoms and kings will bow down before you. Come, Emmanuel, today. We are your children; you are our Savior. Lovingly guide us, we pray. Help us to follow; help us listen. Come, Emmanuel, today.

DOXOLOGY
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; praise God, all creatures here below; praise God above, ye heavenly host; Creator, Christ, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

CALL TO WORSHIP
One: May our souls magnify the Lord!
All: May our spirits rejoice in God our Savior!
One: The Mighty One has done great things for us.
All: Holy is God’s name!

HYMN

“Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates”

Lift up your heads, ye mighty gates; behold the King of glory waits; the King of kings is drawing near; the Savior of the world is here.

Fling wide the portals of your heart; make it a temple, set apart from earthly use for heaven’s employ, adorned with prayer and love and joy.

Redeemer, come! I open wide my heart to thee; here, Lord, abide. Let me thy inner presence feel; thy grace and love in me reveal.

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

Gracious God, this season offers us a glimpse of the coming of new life and fresh possibilities. It is sweetness for those who have known suffering. But we refuse to hear glad tidings. Worry, grief, and unceasing desire have prevented us from believing that we have and are enough. Our self-centered hearts often deprive our neighbors and loved ones of much deserved joy. Let your spirit kindle in us again the capacity to give and receive abundant joy. Now, in silence, we share with you all that keeps us from gladness and open ourselves to the gift of your consolation.

LIGHTING OF THE ADVENT WREATH

HYMN
“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”

O come, thou Dayspring, come and cheer our spirits by thine advent here; disperse the gloomy clouds of night, and death’s dark shadows put to flight. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

DECLARATION OF PARDON
One: Friends, believe the good news.
All: In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven.

SHARING THE PEACE OF CHRIST
Leader: The peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
People: And also with you.

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TIME WITH CHILDREN

WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

HANDBELL ANTHEM
“Puer Nobis Nascitur”
Plainsong/arr. John Behnke

FIRST LESSON
Isaiah 35:1–10
The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God. Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are of a fearful heart, “Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God. He will come with vengeance, with terrible recompense. He will come and save you.” Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy. For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp, the grass shall become reeds and rushes. A highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Holy Way; the unclean shall not travel on it, but it shall be for God’s people; no traveler, not even fools, shall go astray. No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it; they shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there. And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

One: The Word of God for the people of God.
All: Thanks be to God.

GLORIA PATRI
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost: as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. Amen.

SECOND LESSON
Luke 1:46b–55
And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

SERMON
Camille Cook Howe

HYMN

“My Soul Cries Out with a Joyful Shout”

My soul cries out with a joyful shout that the God of my heart is great, and my spirit sings of the wondrous things that you bring to the ones who wait. You fixed your sight on your servant’s plight, and my weakness you did not spurn, so from east to west shall my name be blest. Could the world be about to turn?

Refrain:
My heart shall sing of the day you bring. Let the fires of your justice burn. Wipe away all tears, for the dawn draws near, and the world is about to turn.

Though I am small, my God, my all, you work great things in me, and your mercy will last from the depths of the past to the end of the age to be. Your very name puts the proud to shame, and to those who would for you yearn, you will show your might, put the strong to flight, for the world is about to turn. (Refrain)

From the halls of power to the fortress tower, not a stone will be left on stone. Let the king beware for your justice tears every tyrant from his throne. The hungry poor shall weep no more, for the food they can never earn; there are tables spread; every mouth be fed, for the world is about to turn. (Refrain)

Though the nations rage from age to age, we remember who holds us fast: God’s mercy must deliver us from the conqueror’s crushing grasp. This saving word that our forebears heard is the promise which holds us bound, till the spear and rod can be crushed by God, who is turning the world around. (Refrain)

AFFIRMATION OF FAITH

Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; in whom all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. Jesus is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Christ Jesus is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. For in Christ all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE

THE LORD’S PRAYER
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 debts, as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

OFFERING

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OFFERTORY ANTHEM
“Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence”
Edward Bairstow
Let all mortal flesh keep silence and stand with fear and trembling and lift itself above all earthly thought. For the King of kings and Lord of lords, Christ our God, cometh forth to be our oblation and to be giv’n for Food to the faithful. Before him come the choirs of angels, with every principality and power; the Cherubim with many eyes, and winged Seraphim, veil their faces as they shout exultingly the hymn, Alleluia.

OFFERTORY RESPONSE
What can I give him, poor as I am? If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb; if I were a wise man, I would do my part; yet what I can I give him: give my heart.

PRAYER OF DEDICATION
Christ calls us to live generous and grateful lives. Take these gifts we offer today, O God, and use them to the fulfillment of Christ’s ministry. May these gifts help to free the captives, heal the sick, comfort the lonely, feed the hungry, heal the wounded. As Christ’s hands and feet, use us too, in service to building your beloved community. Amen.

HYMN

“Watchman, Tell Us of the Night”

Watchman, tell us of the night, what its signs of promise are. Traveler, what a wondrous sight: see that glory-beaming star. Watchman, does its beauteous ray news of joy or hope foretell? Traveler, yes; it brings the day, promised day of Israel.

Watchman, tell us of the night; higher yet that star ascends. Traveler, blessedness and light, peace and truth its course portends. Watchman, will its beams alone gild the spot that gave them birth? Traveler, ages are its own; see, it bursts o’er all the earth.

Watchman, tell us of the night, for the morning seems to dawn. Traveler, shadows take their flight; doubt and terror are withdrawn. Watchman, you may go your way; hasten to your quiet home. Traveler, we rejoice today, for Emmanuel has come!

CHARGE AND BENEDICTION

CHORAL BENEDICTION

God Be in My Head
John Rutter

POSTLUDE
Sleepers, Awake!
J. S. Bach

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