Worship Service for December 13, 2020, at 11 AM

Welcome

Opening Song: O Come, O Come Emmanuel

O come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear

Chorus:
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee O Israel

O come, Thou Dayspring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here
And drive away the shades of night
And pierce the clouds and bring us light

Chorus

O come, Desire of nations, bind
All people in one heart and mind
Bid envy strife and quarrels cease
Fill all the world with heaven’s peace

Chorus

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny
From depths of hell Thy people save
And give them victory o’er the grave

Chorus

Invocation

Confession and Forgiveness:

P: Our Heavenly Father asks us to come into His presence.

C: But we are sinful and unworthy.

P: Yes, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, but Jesus Christ died on the cross that
we may be forgiven and washed clean of all our sins by His blood spilled on the cross.

C: Lord, if You wash us, we will certainly be clean and pure.

P: We take a moment to bow before the His cross and silently reflect on our lives and confess our sins.

(Time of silence for reflection and confession)

P: Let us confess, together, our sins to God our Father.

C: Heavenly Father, we confess that we are sinners.  We have sinned against you and our neighbors. We have not loved you with our whole heart and we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have not lived out our faith out in our community. We justly deserve Your punishment.  For the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us.  Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in Your will and walk in Your ways to the glory of Your holy name.  Amen.

P: Almighty God in His mercy has given His Son to die for you and for His sake, forgives you all your sins.  As a called and ordained servant of Christ, and by His authority, I, therefore, forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

C: Amen

Song of Praise and Thanksgiving: What A Glorious Night

The shepherds came to, see the baby, stood by his mother’s side
Here laid the Savior, inside a manger
O what a glorious night, O what a glorious night

Chorus:
I hear the angels singing, hallelujah
Let the Earth receive her King
I know that love has come, sing it out
Jesus Christ is born, Jesus Christ is born

The shepherds wonder, they couldn’t hide it,
Told everyone in sight
All were amazed when they heard how God came
Down on this glorious night
God came down on this glorious night

Chorus

Glorious, glorious, What a glorious night!
Glorious, glorious, What a glorious night!

Chorus:
I hear the angels singing, hallelujah
Let the Earth receive her King
I know that love has come, sing it out
Jesus Christ is born, Jesus Christ is born

All is calm now, all is quiet, a star shining in the sky
Below in Bethlehem, the King is sleeping
Oh what a glorious night Oh what a glorious night

Epistle Reading – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil. Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

Gospel Reading – John 1:6–8, 19–28

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light but came to bear witness about the light…

…And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” So they said to him, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”

(Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.) They asked him, “Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” John answered them, “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

Children’s Message

Sermon Hymn – He Has Come For Us (God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen)

God rest ye merry gentlemen let nothing you dismay
Remember Christ our Savior was born on Christmas day
To save us all from Satan’s power when we were gone astray
Oh tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy
Oh tidings of comfort and joy

Chorus:
He has come for us, this Jesus
He’s the hope for all mankind
He has come for us, the Messiah
Born to give us life (He is born to give us life)

From God our heavenly Father, a blessed angel came
And unto certain shepherds brought tidings of the same
How that in Bethlehem was born the Son of God by name
Oh tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy
Oh tidings of comfort and joy

Chorus

Sermon – “The Lord Comes…As Priest”

Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
   because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
   he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
   and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,
   and the day of vengeance of our God;
   to comfort all who mourn;
to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
   to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
   the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
   the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.
They shall build up the ancient ruins;
   they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
   the devastations of many generations…

…For I the Lord love justice;
   I hate robbery and wrong;
I will faithfully give them their recompense,
   and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
Their offspring shall be known among the nations,
   and their descendants in the midst of the peoples;
all who see them shall acknowledge them,
   that they are an offspring the Lord has blessed.

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord;
   my soul shall exult in my God,
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;
   he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress,
   and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
For as the earth brings forth its sprouts,
   and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
   to sprout up before all the nations.

Prayers

Apostles’ Creed

I 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, died and was buried.
He descended into hell.
The third day he rose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty.
From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church,
the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

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 trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.  For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever.  Amen

Words of Institution

Peace

P: The peace of the Lord be with you all.
C: And also with you.
P: We greet each other in the peace of Christ.

Distribution

Prayer

Benediction

Closing Song: Joy To The World (Unspeakable Joy)

Joy to the world, the Lord is come Let earth receive her king
Let every heart prepare Him room And Heaven and nature sing
And Heaven and nature sing
And Heaven, and Heaven and nature sing

Joy to the world, the Savior reigns That all their songs employ
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy. Repeat the sounding joy
Repeat, repeat the sounding joy

Chorus 1
Joy, unspeakable joy An overflowing well no tongue can tell
Joy, unspeakable joy Rises in my soul, never lets me go
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

Chorus 2
Joy, unspeakable joy An overflowing well no tongue can tell
Joy, unspeakable joy Rises in my soul, never lets me go.

Offering

Upcoming Events

Today, After the Service – Top Golf

December 18, 6 pm – Christmas in the Park
Wesley Chapel District Park

December 20, 11 am – Dinner Service
Song and Dance Studio

December 24, 6 pm – Christmas Eve Candlelight Service
Song and Dance Studio