Live Stream Service here
- Before Attending: Please review our service information.
- Download: Readings and Song Lyrics for December 20
Call To Worship
We confess the supremacy of God in Christ through both responsive reading and song.
Our Spoken Call to Worship
From Isaiah 2:2-5 (NRSV)
In days to come the mountain of the LORD’s house
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
and shall be raised above the hills;
all the nations shall stream to it.
Many peoples shall come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
to the house of the God of Jacob;
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.”
For out of Zion shall go forth instruction,
and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations,
and shall arbitrate for many peoples;
they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war any more.
O house of Jacob, come,
let us walk in the light of the LORD!
Our Sung Call to Worship
O Little Town of Bethlehem
Verse 1
O little town of Bethlehem,
How still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by;
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting Light;
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight.
Verse 2
For Christ is born of Mary,
And gathered all above,
While mortals sleep, the angels keep
Their watch of wond’ring love.
O morning stars, together
Proclaim the holy birth,
And praises sing to God the King,
And peace to men on earth!
Verse 3
How silently, how silently
The wondrous gift is giv’n!
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of His heav’n.
No ear may hear His coming,
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive Him, still
The dear Christ enters in.
Verse 4
O holy Child of Bethlehem!
Descend to us, we pray;
Cast out our sin, and enter in,
Be born in us today!
We hear the Christmas angels
The great glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide with us,
Our Lord Immanuel!
Words by Phillips Brooks
Music Lewis H. Redner
Public Domain
Confession
We confess our need for mercy through both responsive reading and song.
Our Spoken Confession
From the Worship Sourcebook
O God, you give us your good news
and call us into a new covenant relationship with you.
Help us to prepare the way of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Let the valleys be lifted up!
Draw us away from degrading thoughts and actions,
and lift from us depressions and worry.
Through humble people, prepare your world, O God.
Let the mountains be leveled off!
End our pride and take away our arrogance:
save us from false hope and unwarranted presumption.
Through faithful people, prepare your world, O God.
Let the crooked be made straight!
Forgive our sin, and pardon our wrongdoing;
defeat evil and overcome the power of death.
Through saved people, prepare your world, O God.
Let the rough be made smooth!
Help us grow in understanding,
and give us wisdom to discern that which is good and true.
Through sanctified people, prepare your world, O God.
Let all people see the salvation of our God.
Redeem your world, and make all things new,
and bring us into your holy and perfect presence,
now and for all eternity.
Keep us humble and faithful.
Save us and sanctify us, O God.
For the sake of Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord. Amen.
Silent prayer
Our Sung Confession
Child in the Manger
Verse 1
Child in the manger, infant of Mary;
Outcast and stranger, Lord of all;
Child who inherits all our transgressions,
All our demerits on Him fall.
Verse 2
Once the most holy Child of salvation
Gently and lowly lived below;
Now, as our glorious mighty Redeemer,
See Him victorious o’er each foe.
Verse 3
Prophets foretold Him, Infant of wonder;
Angels behold Him on His throne;
Worthy our Savior of all our praises;
Happy forever are His own.
Music and Words by Lachlan Macbean
and Mary Macdougall MacDonald
Public Domain
Assurance and Peace
We profess our assurance of salvation and peace in Christ through both responsive reading and song.
Remember the Gospel & The Lord’s Supper
Based on Colossians 1:15-22 (CSB)
Hear the Good News!
Jesus is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn over all creation.
For everything was created by him,
in heaven and on earth,
the visible and the invisible,
whether thrones or dominions
or rulers or authorities—
all things have been created through him and for him.
Jesus is before all things,
and by him all things hold together.
He is also 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 God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,
and through him to reconcile everything to himself,
whether things on earth or things in heaven,
by making peace through his blood,
shed on the cross.
Once you were alienated and hostile in your minds
as expressed in your evil actions.
But now he has reconciled us
by his physical body through his death,
to present you holy, faultless, and blameless before him.
What has Christ given us to remember his saving work?
He has given us a seat at his table.
What do we feast on at this table?
Behold the Lamb of God
who takes away the sin of the world!
What is this bread?
This is the body of Christ, God in the flesh, broken for us.
What is this cup?
This is the blood of Christ, God in the flesh, shed for us.
Glory to the King of Kings!
Glory to God in the highest!
Our Sung Profession of Assurance
Angels From the Realms of Glory
Verse 1
Angels, from the realms of glory,
Wing your flight o’er all the earth;
Ye who sang creation’s story,
Now proclaim Messiah’s birth:
Come and worship, come and worship,
Worship Christ, the newborn King!
Verse 2
Shepherds, in the fields abiding,
Watching o’er your flocks by night,
God with man is now residing,
Yonder shines the infant Light:
Come and worship, come and worship,
Worship Christ, the newborn King!
Verse 3
Sages, leave your contemplations,
Brighter visions beam afar;
Seek the great Desire of nations,
Ye have seen the Infant’s star:
Come and worship, come and worship,
Worship Christ, the newborn King!
Verse 4
Saints, before the altar bending,
Watching long in hope and fear,
Suddenly the Lord, descending,
In His temple shall appear:
Come and worship, come and worship,
Worship Christ, the newborn King!
Words by James Montgomery
Music by Henry T. Smart
Public Domain
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
Psalm 98:1-9
1 Oh sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done marvelous things!
His right hand and his holy arm
have worked salvation for him.
2 The LORD has made known his salvation;
he has revealed his righteousness in the
sight of the nations.
3 He has remembered his steadfast love and
faithfulness to the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.
4 Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth;
break forth into joyous song and sing praises!
5 Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre,
with the lyre and the sound of melody!
6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn
make a joyful noise before the King,
the LORD!
7 Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
the world and those who dwell in it!
8 Let the rivers clap their hands;
let the hills sing for joy together
9 before the LORD, for he comes
to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness,
and the peoples with equity.
This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God!
Sermon
Sermon Series: A Christmas Carol
Sermon Title: Joy to the World –Pastor Michael Felkins
Sermon Discipleship Questions
- What encouraged you?
- What convicted you?
- Is there anything in your life that needs to change?
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
Joy to the World
Verse 1
Joy to the world! The Lord is come;
Let earth receive her King;
Let ev’ry heart prepare Him room,
And heav’n and nature sing,
And heav’n and nature sing,
And heav’n, and heav’n and nature sing.
Verse 2
Joy to the earth! The Savior reigns;
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.
Verse 3
No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as the curse is found.
Verse 4
He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders of His love.
Words by Isaac Watts
Music by George Frederick Handel
Public Domain
Blessing
From A Brief Statement of Faith
In gratitude to God, empowered by the Spirit,
let us strive to serve Christ in our daily tasks
and to live holy and joyful lives,
even as we wait for God’s new heaven and new earth, praying:
Come, Lord Jesus!