Download: Readings and Song Lyrics for December 22, 2024
Pre-service Song
Immanuel (Come and Behold)
Come and behold, the Son
The Son who was born to save
To save us from sin and live with us.
Come and behold, the Lord
The Lord who has come to dwell
To dwell and to be our God with us.
He is
Immanuel! Our God is with us!
The Holy One, a son, Jesus.
Sent to fulfill all that was spoken,
The Holy One, the Son, Immanuel!
Come and behold, the Lamb
The Lamb who has come to die
To die so that we might live with Him.
He is
Immanuel! Our God is with us!
The Holy One, a son, Jesus.
Sent to fulfill all that was spoken,
The Holy One, the Son, Immanuel!
Do not fear! Our God is near,
The Lord of lords appeared
for you and for me; Let us sing!
Shout for joy! This baby boy
will sin and death destroy.
All praise to the conquering King. (Repeat)
Immanuel! Our God is with us!
The Holy One, a son, Jesus.
Sent to fulfill all that was spoken,
The Holy One, the Son, Immanuel!
Come and behold all you
All you who can feel your need
Your need for the Son, the Lord, the Lamb, the King!
By Ashley Hoobler and Eric Schumacher
Call To Worship
We confess the supremacy of God in Christ through both responsive reading and song.
Our Spoken Call to Worship – Advent Reading/Candle Lighting
John 3:16-17; 1 John 4:9-11 (ESV)
For God so loved the world,
that he gave his only Son,
that whoever believes in him should not perish
but have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world
to condemn the world,
but in order that the world might be saved through him.
In this the love of God was made manifest among us,
that God sent his only Son into the world,
so that we might live through him.
In this is love, not that we have loved God
but that he loved us and send his Son
to be the propitiation for our sins.
Beloved, if God so loved us,
we also ought to love one another.
We light these candles as a sign of the love of Christ.
Our Sung Call to Worship
Hark the Herald Angels Sing
Hark! The herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King;
Peace on earth, and mercy mild;
God and sinners reconciled.”
Joyful all ye nations, rise,
Join the triumph of the skies;
With angelic hosts proclaim,
“Christ is born in Bethlehem!”
Hark! The herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King.”
Christ, by highest heaven adored,
Christ, the everlasting Lord:
Late in time, behold Him come,
Offspring of a virgin’s womb.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see,
Hail th’incarnate Deity!
Pleased as man with men to dwell,
Jesus our Emmanuel.
Hark! The herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King.”
Hail the heaven born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings,
Risen with healing in His wings.
Mild He lays His glory by,
Born that we no more may die,
Born to raise the sons of earth,
Born to give them second birth.
Hark! The herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King.”
Words by Charles Wesley, Music by Felix Mendelssohn
©Public Domain
Confession
We confess our need for mercy through both responsive reading and song.
Our Spoken Confession
1 John 1:8-9; 2:1-2 (ESV)
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves,
and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and
just to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
But if anyone does sin,
we have an advocate with the Father,
Jesus Christ the righteous one.
He is the propitiation for our sins,
and not for ours only
but also for the sins of the whole world.
Time of silent confession.
Our Sung Confession
O Saviour of Our Fallen Race
O Savior of our fallen race,
O Brightness of the Father’s face;
O Son who shared the Father’s might
before the world knew day or night.
O Jesus very Light of Light
Our constant star in sin’s deep night;
Now hear the prayers Your people pray
Throughout the world this holy day.
Remind us Lord of life and grace
how once, to save our fallen race,
You put our human vesture on
and came to us as Mary’s son.
Today, as year by year its light
brings to our world a promise bright,
one precious truth outshines the sun;
Salvation comes from You alone.
For from the Father’s throne You came,
His banished children to reclaim;
And earth and sea and sky revere
the love of Him who sent You here.
And we are jubilant today,
For You have washed our guilt away.
O hear the glad new song we sing
on this, the birth of Christ our King!
O Savior of our fallen race,
the world will see Your radiant face
for You who came to us before
will come again and all restore.
Let songs of praise Your name adorn,
O Christ, Redeemer, virgin born
whom with the Father we adore
and Holy Spirit evermore.
Original Lyrics: Christe Redemptor Omnium, Latin office hymn, circa 6th Century. Translated by Gilbert E. Doan, Jr. Adapted by Kristyn Getty, Music by Keith Getty
Assurance and Peace
We profess our assurance of salvation and peace in Christ through both responsive reading and song.
Remember the Gospel
Galatians 4:4-7 (NASB)
But when the fullness of the time came,
God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law,
so that He might redeem those who were under the Law,
that we might receive the adoption as sons and daughters.
Because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son
into our hearts, crying out, “Abba! Father!”
Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son;
and if a son, then an heir through God.
Our Sung Profession of Assurance
Immanuel (Come and Behold)
Come and behold, the Son
The Son who was born to save
To save us from sin and live with us.
Come and behold, the Lord
The Lord who has come to dwell
To dwell and to be our God with us.
He is
Immanuel! Our God is with us!
The Holy One, a son, Jesus.
Sent to fulfill all that was spoken,
The Holy One, the Son, Immanuel!
Come and behold, the Lamb
The Lamb who has come to die
To die so that we might live with Him.
He is
Immanuel! Our God is with us!
The Holy One, a son, Jesus.
Sent to fulfill all that was spoken,
The Holy One, the Son, Immanuel!
Do not fear! Our God is near,
The Lord of lords appeared
for you and for me; Let us sing!
Shout for joy! This baby boy
will sin and death destroy.
All praise to the conquering King. (Repeat)
Immanuel! Our God is with us!
The Holy One, a son, Jesus.
Sent to fulfill all that was spoken,
The Holy One, the Son, Immanuel!
Come and behold all you
All you who can feel your need
Your need for the Son, the Lord, the Lamb, the King!
By Ashley Hoobler and Eric Schumacher
King of Kings/Gloria in Excelsis Deo
In the darkness we were waiting
Without hope, without light,
Till from heaven You came running,
There was mercy in Your eyes.
To fulfill the law and prophets,
To a virgin came the Word,
From a throne of endless glory,
To a cradle in the dirt.
Chorus
Praise the Father,
Praise the Son,
Praise the Spirit, three in one.
God of Glory, Majesty,
Praise forever to the King of Kings
To reveal the kingdom coming
And to reconcile the lost,
To redeem the whole creation,
You did not despise the cross.
For even in Your suffering,
You saw to the other side.
Knowing this was our salvation,
Jesus, for our sake You died. (Chorus)
And the morning that You rose,
All of heaven held its breath,
Till that stone was moved for good,
For the Lamb had conquered death.
And the dead rose from their tombs,
And the angels stood in awe,
For the souls of all who’d come,
To the Father are restored.
And the Church of Christ was born,
Then the Spirit lit the flame.
Now this Gospel truth of old,
Shall not kneel, shall not faint.
By his blood and in His name,
In His freedom I am free
For the love of Jesus Christ,
Who has resurrected me.
Chorus
Gloria, in excelsis Deo
Gloria, in excelsis Deo
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
By Brooke Ligertwood, Jason Ingram, and Scott Ligertwood, Gloria: Traditional French Carol
© 2019 Hillsong Music Publishing Australia; Fellow Ships Music; So Essential Tunes
©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.
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
Isaiah 53:1-11 (ESV)
1 Who has believed what he has heard from us?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been
revealed?
2 For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form
or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our
sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us
peace, and with his wounds we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
and as for his generation, who considered
that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people?
9 And they made his grave with the wicked
and with a rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;
he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an
offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring;
he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord
shall prosper in his hand.
11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see
and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the
righteous one, my servant,
make many to be accounted righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.
Luke 2:24-32 (ESV)
24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” 25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and
devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, 28 he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,
29 “Lord, now you are letting your servant
depart in peace, according to your word;
30 for my eyes have seen your salvation
31 that you have prepared in the presence of
all peoples,
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory to your people Israel.”
This is the word of the Lord.
The grass withers and the flower falls
but the word of the Lord endures forever.
Sermon
Isaiah 53:1-11, Luke 2:24-32 – “The Plan” – Pastor Michael Felkins
Sermon Discipleship Questions
1. What encouraged you?
2. What convicted you?
3. 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
How Beautiful the Mystery
How beautiful the mystery:
Th’Eternal Word comes down
To live and love and die and rise,
To claim His victor’s crown.
Content we find Him cradled there
Amongst the filth and beasts.
Who would believe that He will be
Our guide from death to peace!
Chorus
How beautiful the mystery:
Th’Eternal Word came down;
The Servant-King has set us free
To live for His renown.
By angry swords and dark decree
He’s driven from His land.
But still He humbly bows His head
To trust His Father’s hand.
The spotless Lamb lays down his life,
A curse upon a cross.
Then lives that He might guarantee
That no sheep will be lost. (Chorus)
How beautiful the mystery:
The Word shall come again
To raise His own to live with Him,
Set free from death and sin.
O! may our hearts grow ever fond
Of Mary’s precious boy:
Our Christ, our hope, our heart’s desire,
Our King and Sov’reign joy! (Chorus)
By Eric Schumacher, David L. Ward and Jeff Bourque
© 2010 Hymnicity
Blessing
Ephesians 6:23-24 (NASB)
Peace be to the brothers and sisters, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with incorruptible love.
Scripture for next Sunday: John 15:1-17