Sunday Worship Bulletin - Fourth Church

Bulletins are posted on the day prior.

Sunday, November 23
9:30 a.m. Worship Service

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PRELUDE

Forlana
Gerald Finzi
Toccata
Girolamo Frescobaldi

INTROIT
O Worship the Lord
George Thalben-Ball
O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness; let the whole earth stand in awe of God.

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: Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
All: Serve the Lord with gladness; come into God’s presence with singing.
One: Know that the Lord is God. It is God who made us, and we are God’s; we are God’s people and the sheep of God’s pasture.
All: Enter God’s gates with thanksgiving and God’s courts with praise. Give thanks to God; bless God’s name.
One: For the Lord is good; God’s steadfast love endures forever and God’s faithfulness to all generations.

HYMN

“When in Our Music God Is Glorified”

When in our music God is glorified, and adoration leaves no room for pride, it is as though the whole creation cried: Alleluia!

How often, making music, we have found a new dimension in the world of sound, as worship moved us to a more profound Alleluia!

So has the church, in liturgy and song, in faith and love, through centuries of wrong, borne witness to the truth in every tongue: Alleluia!

And did not Jesus sing a psalm that night when utmost evil strove against the light? Then let us sing, for whom he won the fight: Alleluia!

Let every instrument be tuned for praise! Let all rejoice who have a voice to raise! And may God give us faith to sing always: Alleluia!

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

Holy God, you call us to work for a world where all will be fed and have dignity, but we find ourselves distracted by our own desires. You call us to seek justice and peace, but we are satisfied with injustice and discord. You call us to bring liberty to the oppressed, but we do not insist on freedom for all. Forgive us, O Lord. Turn us toward your will by the power of your Spirit, so all may know your justice and peace. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ, your Son, our Savior. Amen.

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

ANTHEM
“Tantum Ergo” (“Let Us Pray”)
Gabriel Fauré

FIRST LESSON
Luke 1:68–79

“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them. He has raised up a mighty savior for us in the house of his servant David, as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us. Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors, and has remembered his holy covenant, the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham, to grant us that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins. By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

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
Colossians 1:11–20

May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him 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. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He 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 him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.

SERMON
“Power”
Nancy Benson-Nicol

HYMN
“Blessed Assurance, Jesus Is Mine!”

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! O what a foretaste of glory divine! Heir of salvation, purchase of God, born of his Spirit, washed in his blood.

Refrain:
This is my story; this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long. This is my story; this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long.

Perfect submission, perfect delight, visions of rapture now burst on my sight; angels descending, bring from above echoes of mercy, whispers of love. (Refrain)

Perfect submission, all is at rest. I in my Savior am happy and blest, watching and waiting, looking above, filled with his goodness, lost in his love. (Refrain)

AFFIRMATION OF FAITH

Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.

RECEPTION OF NEW MEMBERS

HYMN
Will you let me be your servant, let me be as Christ to you? Pray that I may have the grace to let you be my servant too.

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

Gifts supporting the ministry and mission of Fourth Church can be made online

OFFERTORY ANTHEM
“O Be Joyful”
William Walton
O be joyful all ye lands: serve the Lord with gladness, and come before his presence with a song. Be ye sure that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves. We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. O go your way into his gates with thanksgiving, and into the courts with praise: be thankful unto him and speak good of his name. For the Lord is gracious; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth from generation to generation. 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.

OFFERTORY RESPONSE
A grateful heart is what I bring, a song of praise, my offering.
Among the saints I lift my voice: in you, O God, I will rejoice.

PRAYER OF DEDICATION
Great is your faithfulness, O God our Creator. Now we seek to be faithful in return, sharing the full measure of our gifts and devoting our lives to your goodness and truth. May the seeds sown today blossom into healing and hope for our neighbors and our world. Amen.

HYMN

“Arise, Your Light Is Come!”

Arise, your light is come! The Spirit’s call obey; show forth the glory of your God, which shines on you today.

Arise, your light is come! Fling wide the prison door; proclaim the captives’ liberty, good tidings to the poor.

Arise, your light is come! All you in sorrow born, bind up the brokenhearted ones and comfort those who mourn.

Arise, your light is come! The mountains burst in song! Rise up like eagles on the wing; God’s power will make us strong.

CHARGE AND BENEDICTION

CHORAL BENEDICTION

Go Now in Peace
Robert Lau

POSTLUDE
Now Thank We All Our God
Sigfrid Karg-Elert

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