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Call To Worship
We confess the supremacy of God in Christ through both responsive reading and song.
Our Spoken Call to Worship
From Isaiah 7:14-15, Malachi 4:2 (NKJV)
Isaiah 40:28 (CEV) Revelation 11:15,17
The Lord Himself will give you a sign:
Behold the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son,
and shall call His name Immanuel.
Curds and honey He shall eat,
that He may know to refuse the evil and choose the good.
O come, o come, Immanuel!
But to you who fear My name
The Sun of Righteousness shall arise
With healing in His wings.
O come, o come, Thou Dayspring!
Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the eternal God, Creator of the earth!
He never gets weary or tired;
His wisdom cannot be measured.
O come, o come, Thou Wisdom from on high!
Then the seventh angel sounded: and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!
O come, o come Desire of nations!
We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty,
The One who is and who was and who is to come!
Our Sung Call to Worship
Come Behold the Wondrous Mystery
Verse 1
Come behold the wondrous mystery,
In the dawning of the King.
He, the theme of heaven’s praises,
Robed in frail humanity.
In our longing, in our darkness,
Now the light of life has come!
Look to Christ who condescended,
Took on flesh to ransom us.
Verse 2
Come behold the wondrous mystery:
He the perfect Son of Man,
In His living, in His suffering,
Never trace nor stain of sin.
See the true and better Adam,
Come to save the hell-bound man,
Christ the great and sure fulfillment
Of the law; in Him we stand.
Verse 3
Come behold the wondrous mystery:
Christ the Lord upon the tree.
In the stead of ruined sinners
Hangs the Lamb in victory!
See the price of our redemption,
See the Father’s plan unfold,
Bringing many sons to glory:
Grace unmeasured, love untold!
Verse 4
Come behold the wondrous mystery:
Slain by death, the God of life.
But no grave could e’er restrain Him;
Praise the Lord, He is alive!
What a foretaste of deliv’rance,
How unwavering our hope.
Christ in power resurrected,
As we will be when He comes.
Ending
What a foretaste of deliv’rance,
How unwavering our hope.
Christ in power resurrected,
As we will be when he comes.
Words and Music by Matt Papa, Matt Boswell, and Michael Bleecker
©2012 Bleecker Publishing, Getty Music Hymns and Songs, Getty Music Publishing, Love Your Enemies Publishing, McKinney Music, Inc.
Confession
We confess our need for mercy through both responsive reading and song.
Our Spoken Confession
Long expected Jesus, we confess that we despair of Your coming.
We allow the tedium and burdens of each day to rob us of that truth.
Your timetable is a stumbling block to us and we lose faith that You will ever come again.
Cultural voices overpower the still small voice of Your Spirit.
Forgive us for our unbelief.
Keep our eyes fixed on You lest we become weary and discouraged in our souls.
Let us be found faithful until Your return.
Time of silent confession.
Our Sung Confession
O Come, O Come Emmanuel
Verse 1
O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here,
Until the Son of God appear. (Chorus)
Chorus
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel!
Verse 2
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. (Chorus)
Verse 3
O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,
And order all things far and nigh;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And cause us in her ways to go. (Chorus)
Verse 4
O come, Desire of nations, bind
All peoples in one heart and mind;
Bid envy, strife, and quarrels cease;
Fill the whole world with heaven’s peace. (Chorus 2 X’s)
Latin Hymn vs. 1 & 2 translated by John Mason Neal, vs. 3 & 4 translated by Henry Sloane Coffin
Public Domain.
Assurance and Peace
We profess our assurance of salvation and peace in Christ through both responsive reading and song.
Remember the Gospel
From 2 Peter 3:9, Hebrews 12:2
Take heart, Church!
The Lord is not slow concerning His promise,
as some count slowness,
but is longsuffering toward us,
not willing that any should perish
but that all should come to repentance.
Therefore, look to Jesus,
the Author and Finisher of our faith,
who, for the joy that was set before Him
endured the cross, despising the shame and
has sat down at the right hand of the Throne of God.
He has made atonement for our sins and waits to come
and gather his children to Himself.
Thanks be to God! Who was and is and is to come!
Our Sung Profession of Assurance
Joy Has Dawned
Verse 1
Joy has dawned upon the world,
Promised from creation—
God’s salvation now unfurled,
Hope for ev’ry nation.
Not with fanfares from above,
Not with scenes of glory,
But a humble gift of love—
Jesus born of Mary.
Verse 2
Sounds of wonder fill the sky
With the songs of angels
As the mighty Prince of Life
Shelters in a stable.
Hands that set each star in place,
Shaped the earth in darkness,
Cling now to a mother’s breast,
Vuln’rable and helpless.
Verse 3
Shepherds bow before the Lamb,
Gazing at the glory;
Gifts of men from distant lands
Prophesy the story.
Gold—a King is born today,
Incense—God is with us,
Myrrh—His death will make a way,
And by His blood He’ll win us.
Verse 4
Son of Adam, Son of heaven,
Given as a ransom;
Reconciling God and man,
Christ, our mighty champion!
What a Savior! What a Friend!
What a glorious myst’ry!
Once a babe in Bethlehem,
Now the Lord of hist’ry.
Chorus
Gloria, in excelsis Deo
Gloria, in excelsis Deo
Verse
Come to Bethlehem and see
Him whose birth the angels sing;
Come, adore on bended knee,
Christ the Lord, the newborn King.
Chorus
Gloria, in excelsis Deo
Gloria, in excelsis Deo
Words and Music by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend
©2004 Thankyou Music
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.
You may give electronically at gabcames.org/giving/ or place your offering in the boxes at the back of the sanctuary or send a check in the mail.
Scripture Reading
Matthew 1:21-23 — “She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people
from their sins.” Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel, which is translated “God is with us.”
Malachi 4:2 — “For look, the day is coming, burning like a furnace, when all the arrogant and everyone who commits wickedness will become stubble. The coming day will consume them,” says the LORD of Armies, “not leaving them root or branches. But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings, and you will go out and playfully jump like calves from the stall. You will trample the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day I am preparing,” says the LORD of Armies.
Luke 1:78-79
And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
to give his people knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins.
Because of our God’s merciful compassion,
the dawn from on high will visit us
to shine on those who live in darkness and the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.
O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here,
Until the Son of God appear.
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.
This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God!
Sermon
Sermon Series: A Christmas Carol
O Come, O Come Emmanuel – Pastor Eric Schumacher
Sending
Having heard and confessed the Gospel, we are sent into the world on mission in Christ, which we express in spoken word.
Blessing
This week as we wait for all manner of things, let us remember that the true longing of our hearts is Christ as we navigate the here and now and long for the not yet.