Call To Worship
We confess the supremacy of God in Christ through reading and song.
READING FOR THE THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT
Isaiah 11:1; 35:1-2 (ESV)
There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse,
And a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.
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.
Our Sung Call to Worship
Lo How A Rose E’er Blooming
Confession
We confess our need for mercy through both responsive reading and song.
Our Spoken Confession
Based on Isaiah 5-6:5 (ESV)
Lord, we confess that in our flesh we have gone astray like Israel in Isaiah’s day.
You looked for justice,
but we produced bloodshed.
You looked for righteousness,
but we produced an outcry.
We expanded our houses and property,
while the weak and poor went without.
We rose up early in the morning
and tarried late into the evening,
pursuing our own pleasure
without regard to your deeds.
We justified our sin with cynicism.
We called evil good and good evil.
We were wise our in own eyes
and boastful of our self-indulgence.
We acquitted the guilty, condemned the innocent,
for the sake of a little profit.
Such sin kindles your anger, O Lord.
We have been a people of unclean lips.
How can we be saved?
TIME OF SILENT CONFESSION
Assurance and Peace
We profess our assurance of salvation and peace in Christ through both responsive reading and song.
Our Spoken Profession of Assurance
Remember the Gospel
1 Corinthians 15:1-6 (ESV) and The Apostles’ Creed
“Now I want to make clear for you, brothers and sisters, the gospel I preached to you, which you received, on which you have taken your stand and by which you are being saved, if you hold to the message I peached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I passed on to you as most important what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve.”
We 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 Spirit,
Born of the virgin Mary,
Suffered under Pontius Pilate,
Was crucified, dead and buried.
On the third day, He rose again from the dead.
He ascended to heaven,
And sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty:
From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
The holy universal church,
The communion of saints,
The forgiveness of sins,
The resurrection of the body,
And the life everlasting.
Amen.
Our Sung Profession of Assurance
Angels from the Realms of Glory
How Great our Joy
Thanksgiving and Petition
We Give Thanks in Prayer and Offer Petitions to God
We express our gratitude to God our Father for Christ’s work on the cross for us and bring our requests before him. In bringing our requests, we confess that we believe God truly is a good father, who cares about our needs and gives us what he knows is best.
We Give Thanks by Giving
We give financial offerings to support the work of the church because of our gratitude to God. By giving we confess we are trusting in God’s provision for us as well.
On the first Sunday of each month we have two offerings—one for the general fund and a second one for the benevolence ministry of our church.
We Give Thanks in Song
Hark the Herald Angels Sing
Scripture Reading
We hear the scripture text of the sermon read.
John 1:1-13 (ESV)
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. 9The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
Sermon
John 1:6-13 – Jesus Is: Jesus is the Light of the World – Pastor Michael Felkins
Sending
Having heard and confessed the Gospel, we are sent into the world on mission in Christ, which we express in both song and spoken word.
Sending Song
Go Tell it On the Mountain
Blessing
Blessing from Isaiah 60:1, 3 (ESV)
Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
And nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your rising.