First Presbyterian Church
December 20, 2020
10:00 AM
Worship Service Unified
Order of Worship
CALL TO WORSHIP (based on Psalm 89 and Luke 1)
We will sing of your steadfast love, O Lord, We
will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations.
We declare that your
steadfast love is established forever; your faithfulness is as firm as the
heavens.
You promised Mary that
she would bear a child — one who would inaugurate your commonwealth, your realm
that will have no end.
You have established your
realm for all generations.
Let us worship the Living
God.
Hymn
of Praise: “On This Day, Earth Shall Ring”
1.
On this day earth shall right with the song children sing to the Lord, Christ
our King, born on earth to save us; him the Father gave us.
Refrain: Id-e-o-o-o, id-e-o-o-o, id-e-o-o-o, gloria in excelsis Deo!
2.
His the doom, ours the mirth; when he came down to earth, Bethlehem saw his
birth; ox and ass beside him from the cold would hide him. (Refrain)
3.
God's bright star, o'er his head, Wise Men three to him led; kneel they low by
his bed, lay their gifts before him, praise him and adore him. (Refrain)
4.
On this day angels sing; with their song earth shall ring, praising Christ,
heaven's King, born on earth to save us; peace and love he gave us. (Refrain)
PRAYER OF CONFESSION (In Unison)
O God, we have been created in your image; indeed, you have
crowned us with glory and honor. But we have lived self-centered lives, thereby
failing to reflect your glory. We have not treated others with dignity and
respect. We have violated your good creation. We confess our sin, O God. Renew
us and restore us to our rightful place as bearers of your image. Empower us as
agents of your love and justice in all that we are and all that we do. Amen.
*SILENT PRAYERS OF CONFESSION
*THE 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.
ASSURANCE OF PARDON
God’s mercy abounds. God’s
Advent grace goes before us, after us, through us — sometimes even unbeknownst
to us, restoring us and empowering us for participation in God’s work in the
world. Friends, hear the good news of the gospel: we are forgiven and restored,
set on right paths of justice and peace.
INVITATION: “Dear Lord, I
need You, please come into my life today.
Amen”
LESSON: Isaiah 9:
1-9
9But there will be no
gloom for those who were in anguish. In the former time he brought into
contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time
he will make glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee
of the nations. 2The people who walked in darkness have seen a
great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness— on them light has
shined. 3You have multiplied the nation, you have increased its
joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as people exult when
dividing plunder. 4For the yoke of their burden, and the bar
across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor, you have broken as on the
day of Midian. 5For all the boots of the tramping warriors and
all the garments rolled in blood shall be burned as fuel for the fire. 6For
a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his
shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace. 7His authority shall grow continually, and
there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will
establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time
onward and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
SERMON: “How Many
Names of Jesus?” Rev.
Peter Hofstra
AFFIRMATION OF
FAITH (from A Declaration of Faith)
Jesus, the
long-expected Savior, came into the world as a child, descended from David,
conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of Mary, a virgin. He lived as a Jew among
Jews. He announced to his people the coming of God’s kingdom of justice and
peace on earth. We affirm that Jesus was born of woman as is every child, yet
born of God’s power as was no other child. In the person and work of Jesus, God
and a human life are united but not confused, distinguished but not separated.
The coming of Jesus was itself the coming of God’s promised rule. Through his
birth, life, death, and resurrection, he brings about the relationship between
God and humanity that God always intended. Alleluia. Amen.
PASSING OF THE
PEACE
THE OFFERING OF
OUR TITHES & GIFTS
On
this fourth Sunday of Advent, we ponder the gift of incarnation — of God
becoming flesh so that we might be restored and given new life in Christ. The
Christ child is the resplendent gift of the season — a gift of God’s own self
that frees us to respond with gifts in return.
*DOXOLOGY
Praise God, from
whom all blessings flow; Praise Him, all creatures here below; Praise Him
above, ye heavenly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.
Incarnate God,
we offer our gifts to you that they may be used to further the promise of hope,
peace, love and justice in our community and in our world. Empower us, O God,
to follow these gifts into the world around us so that they, and we, might
become bearers of peace, love and justice on the earth. Amen.
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE AND
THE LORD’S PRAYER
God, you lift up the lowly and fill the
hungry with good things. You supplant ruthless competition with generosity in
which all have enough. You envision a world in which the humiliated are
restored to their rightful place as bearers of your image. In this season of
Advent, help us discern the places where you are coming to us to repair and
renew your good but broken creation. By the power of your Spirit at work in our
lives, liberate us from chronic selfishness and self-negation so that we might
discover our capacities for compassion and the pursuit of justice. Help us to
see ourselves and others as bearers of your image — as people who shine like
the sun. Help us also to live according to your Great Commandment: to love you
with our whole being, and to love others as ourselves. Help us to trust that
your future is struggling toward realization even now in our midst. Empower us
for solidarity with all who have been marginalized in our world, whose voices
have been suppressed. Give us ears to hear their hopes and fears so that
together we might restore your world on the foundation of the justice you
intend for us in Christ. Into your hands we place those who weigh heavily upon
our hearts this week: those facing violence in their neighborhoods and
countries; healthcare and frontline workers who are serving selflessly during
this pandemic; those experiencing loss during this time — loss of loved ones,
loss of health, loss of income, loss of security; leaders who are discerning
new ways forward and plans for how to help those they govern in this
challenging time; congregations and ministries who are now finding new ways to
worship and serve during this Advent season; and for all those we name in these
moments of silence. We pray all these things in the name of Jesus Christ, who taught
us to pray saying,
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. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us
from evil; for Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
SONG OF RESPONSE: “Away in
a Manger”
1. Away in a manger, no crib for a bed, the little Lord Jesus
laid down his sweet head. The stars in the sky looked down where he lay, the
little Lord Jesus, asleep on the hay.
2. The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes, but little Lord
Jesus, no crying he makes; I love thee, Lord Jesus, look down from the sky and
stay by my cradle till morning is nigh.
3. Be near me, Lord Jesus, I ask thee to stay close by me
forever, and love me, I pray; bless all the dear children in thy tender care,
and fit us for heaven to live with thee there.
*BENEDICTION
*THREE FOLD AMEN
Elements of Order of Worship drawn from The Presbyterian Outlook,
written by Roger Gench.
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